We live in a culture fixated on what you do wrong instead of what you’re doing right. Well, not necessarily wrong, but it’s hard to disassociate weakness with a feeling of wrongness. It’s easier to take a magnifying glass and look over at what’s going wrong instead of the positives. Introspection is a good thing. It’s something we all do, yet the magnifying glass we’re using reflects too much sunlight, burning huge holes in our productivity, and causing constant little fires. We focus too much on our weaknesses instead of our strengths.
StrengthsFinder 2.0 from Gallup and by Tom Rath is an updated guide on the successful Now, Discover Your Strengths. It’s a culmination of over 40 years of research by Gallup on how successful individuals harness their strengths, and how every one of us can do the same.
The points made in StrengthsFinder 2.0 sometimes feel counterintuitive to everything we’ve ever learned about developing our skills…and that’s why we need it.
Part I:
Part I of the book gives some background on Gallup and the statistical data they’ve amassed to come to these conclusions. After reading Part I, it’s time to take the test. You can take the assessment at the StrengthsFinder website using the unique access code located at the back of your book. The test is only about 30 minutes and upon completion, you will be shown five words. Each of these words represents a theme of talent, which if you invest enough time and practice into will become a strength. Once you’ve completed the test, the real fun is reading through Part II.
Part II:
Through each of the 34 “themes of talent” that Gallup has narrowed down. Each theme has a description of the particular talent, examples of what this talent sounds like from professionals directly, ideas for action, and working with others who also have this core talent. With your completed assessment, you will also have a number of resources through the website as well to help you learn more about your talents and how to turn them into strengths.
When I initially took this test 2 years ago, I didn’t fully value my results. I remember going through the book before the assessment and thinking “I hope Communication is something I get. Oh! Definitely Empathy. I’m good at all of them!”
Well…I didn’t get them. I got these five random words that left me feeling a bit disappointed at first:
Input
Learner
Context
Intellection
Individualization
It wasn’t until I read through StrengthsFinder 2.0 that I realized each word encompassed all of those traits I wanted and more. It fine tuned my understanding of my talents in a way that I had instinctively known, but couldn’t articulate in a way that encompassed them fully.
Yes, I’m empathetic, but in part, because I’m able to look at the context of a situation and understand a person’s point of view. I’m an excellent communicator because I like to put all that knowledge from my Input and Learner talents to use.
I recently picked up StrengthsFinder 2.0 again, and it’s one of the reasons I’m starting my book review blog posts with this book. It isn’t a lengthy book by any means, but it’s a useful tool to help reflect (see there’s my Context at work) and to build those strengths to their highest potential. If any of your co-workers take this assessment as well, it’s nice to see what their strengths are, and what they think of their results. It’s important to understand your team and your staff so that you can better help them succeed in the workplace.
We’ve been told over and over in life that our goal must be to overcome our weaknesses, so it’s not an easy task to turn your magnifying glass and focus on your strengths. But to light a fire inside of you, to continue reaching for success, it’s important to focus on your strengths and help them grow.
I hope you’ll check out StrengthsFinder 2.0 and take action with me! If you do, please tell me what you’re strengths are below in the comments.
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