When thinking about self-improvement, what do you think about most: building your strengths or working on your weaknesses?
Most people have an obsession with correcting both their habits and character traits that they are not pleased with. Although this is important, it often leads us to completely forget about our strengths. Being able to identify our assets allows us to better leverage them professionally, which leads us to make an improvement in our performance.
In fact, focusing on your strengths is a lot more satisfying than trying to change every minor default that you have.
Keeping this idea in mind, the author has identified 34 key strengths that people can display.
Achievers are driven by a constant and insatiable need for achievement.
When your alarm rings in the morning, the only thing that you want to do is hit the snooze button and continue sleeping. However, some people wake up with a lot of motivation the second that they open their eyes. In fact, they often feel as if they already dont have enough time in the day to accomplish the things that they have in mind.
I present to you the Achievers.
Achievers are the people who are continuously in pursuit of their goals. As a result, you will hardly ever see them at rest. In fact, they often overwork themselves. However, there is a method to their madness; they take on new and exciting tasks that make them happy. Their persistency keeps them both motivated and productive despite the amount of hours that they work. Their drive continuously pushes their progress.
For example, the best lawyer in the industry puts her heart and soul into each and every case. Often, youll see her in the office much later than everyone else on a daily basis.
However, there are also disadvantages to being an Achiever. First of all, they can often get so tied up in their next objective that they always seem to think that they have not done enough, despite being the best in the business. This often raises the question, How can an Achiever do their best without burning out?
To start, frequently remind yourself of your past accomplishments. Try to recall challenging tasks that you have achieved or difficult obstacles that you have overcome. Use these to your advantage by competing with yourself, but also to remain grounded due to your past accomplishments.
Next, work in an environment where you can create a scoring system to help keep track of your progress and success. Instead of comparing yourself to your coworkers, this will both measure your productivity objectively and it will strengthen your sense of achievement on a daily basis.
Lastly, dont forget to put most of your energy into the tasks that you can do best instead of just trying to accomplish everything on that list just to say that youve done everything. This will save you energy while simultaneously help your company by generating your optimal value.
Believers possess enduring core values; Futurists can imagine the future.
All of us have that one person in our lives that never goes against their beliefs. Although their stubbornness sometimes hinges progress, the Believer, in the correct environment, can bring more than youd expect to an organization.
Undeniably, in order for a Believer to be successful and beneficial, their work needs to comply with their values. In their eyes, there is no difference between belief and motivation.
For example, suppose that there is a person who believes in making the world a better place. They would not belong in the usual company where profit is the goal. On the contrary, they would fit in much better at an NGO or a company with a benevolent mission.
However, Believers often struggle to find an organization that shares their beliefs, so they often pursue their own enterprise. They are the most successful with a Futurist by their side.
Futurists are the people who take advantage of their imagination to create empowering visions of the future. Since they question the boundaries of what is achievable, they paint a clear image of what an inspiring future should look like, which often drives others to make remarkable products, work in teams more effectively and even try to make a change in the world for the better.
This is why the Believer and the Futurist would make the perfect pair. However, Futurists are actually perfect for any person that wants to begin a new enterprise. Futurists are capable of motivating an entire organization with their idealistic visions.
Commanders like to take charge, while Developers are happy to encourage others.
Do you have a coworker that is never afraid of sharing their opinions? Does that person always want to be the leader?
Well, in this case, youve met a Commander. This person is usually very valuable when it comes to decision making, but, if theyre not cautious, they can also create both a resentful and fearful work environment.
Commanders are often brutally honest with their view points and by habit are intimidating. If you think that you are a Commander, definitely try softening your approach. This could help turn your potential weakness into a definite strength.
Instead of always imposing your opinions and views on others, create a reputation as someone who is open and honest, but in a direct way. If you can does that, then in times of confusion or despair, people will look up to you for a just evaluation of the situation.
Since Commanders propel things forward by directing others, Developers are there to put their energy towards encouraging others and on developing their potential. A Developer gets ecstatic from other peoples progress, and they are there to support those who have given up on themselves. Their strive to help people shows how well Developers are suited for such nurturing roles like coaching, teaching, or HR.
If you are a Developer, take this advice into consideration: in order to raise peoples skills, praise them for their specific behavioral traits so that they know specifically what to do more of.
Harmonizers excel at finding common ground, and Responsibles strive to deliver what they promise.
The different thinking models cause different behavioral patterns, and if Commanders always take a chance to prove themselves right, for Harmonizers it is of greatest importance to achieve consensus.
The ability to compromise makes Harmonizers perfect for team work, which requires cooperation and agreement. On the other hand, lack of ambition makes Harmonizers less suitable for the jobs in the spheres with high competition.
However, the Harmonizers pursue of agreement in any situation can have a reverse effect if applied improperly.
For instance, taking into consideration the personal comments of every member can consume too much time and be not very effective. Thus, Harmonizers should always stick to the schedule and aim at the team goals more than at personal comfort of each member.
Responsibles are in a way similar to Harmonizers in their desire to cater for the needs of every member of the team.
In fact, these two types value social bonding the most, but Responsibles focus is drawn from the team agreement to supporting each and every person working in the team. Such approach suggests that Responsibles are very efficient for the jobs that require self-dedication and a sense of responsibility.
Nevertheless, the desire to meet the expectations of everyone makes Responsibles prone to taking on extra tasks. In order to keep the balance, they should know what is their responsibility and what is not, learning how to deny the inappropriate requests in order to avoid work overload.
Ideators love creating ideas, and Learners love the process of accumulating knowledge and skills.
Searching for links between the unrelated notions is the main skill of Ideators.
This type always tries to see things from a different angle, finding bonds between the unrelated things. This way, Ideators have a more general picture of things and events and produce more innovative ideas.
Taking into consideration this ability, Ideators should be employed in the spheres where new ideas and progressive visions are required, such as writing, concept development, marketing, etc. In addition, the perfect job for Ideators would include various creative tasks, as mundane work can soon make them lose interest.
It is also very important for Ideators to find a source of inspiration. The stimulating activities such as communication, visual perception or intellectual work can serve as the conditions for new links and ideas occurring.
In contrast to Ideators who produce numerous ideas, Learners value gaining knowledge the most.
Learners enjoy the process of studying and practicing more than the final mastery acquired. In any field, they are able to apply this skill and learn how to do basically anything.
To achieve the best in their career, Learners should engage in consulting and similar jobs. Such positions require learning the new ways of doing things and dealing with new situations. As a great bonus, Learners can attend certificate programs or special training funded by the hiring company.
Strategists look for analytical solutions to problems, while WOOers use the power of persuasion.
Strategists, as it comes clearly from the name of this type, are very effective at developing a plan of actions from a long-term perspective.
This type is brilliant in predicting the possible outcomes and impediments, which allows them adjusting the strategy and making it the most effective for a certain goal.
However, Strategists can often face difficulties towards reaching the career goals.
Indeed, sometimes the Strategists concise and clear arguments leave no place for discussion, which may be bad for making deals. Therefore, they should be more considerate while describing their vision to others.
In contrast, sometimes Strategists lack the ability to explain their plan and some of its aspects, which can lead to miscommunication. For example, the design phase of any project requires a clear definition of all the possible scenarios, which Strategists must be able to provide.
While Strategists are impartial and logical, WOOers Win Others Over with their openness and excellent communication skills.
For WOOers, any person they meet is a potential friend, and this charismatic type creates bonds with anyone easily. WOOers do not focus on the work only; friendly relations within the team is one of the major goals for them. This makes them irreplaceable at jobs that involve social orientation, such as mass media, public relations, etc.
However, this approach can often lead to the quantity principle overweighing quality, leading to a multitude of superficial relations rather than a few reliable friendships. Thus, WOOers should try building deeper relationships with the trustworthy co-workers.
Final Summary
In general, this book suggests the following:
The current hiring approach aims at changing the workers behavioral patterns, making them more appropriate for a certain position. However, defining the main working types can be much more effective, as it allows using the peculiar features of every type to fit certain vacancies.
Applicable advice:
Define the main useful skills in every employee.
Instead of criticizing ones actions and suggestions, try to analyze what he or she is best at, and let them practice that skill in the project. Such approach will make the team work more prolific and the atmosphere friendlier.