Now, Discover Your Strengths
The
last time I had dinner with my friend Clayton Wilfer, he asked me this question:
"Jim, do you believe in personal transformation?" As a professional
coach, you'd predict I'd say "yes." But I could feel the setup, and
knew the "right" answer was "no." I gave Clayton a sheepish
"yes."
Clayton works at Best Buy, a company that has embrased the notion of a "strengths
based" company. He shared with me that the foundational ideas for this
come from the book Now, Discover Your Strengths. The
authors of that book do not believe in personal transformation:
"What looks on the surface like transformation is actually acceptance of
some things that can never be transformed talents. We don't change. We simply
accept our talents and refocus our lives around them. We become more self-aware."
This is the second of a series of at least three books based on research by the Gallup organization. All three books leverage the idea that people perform best if they are working from their natural strengths, and organizations perform best the more of their people are working from their natural strengths.
The first book in the series, First, Break All the Rules : What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently by Curt Coffman, Marcus Buckingham makes the basic point that what separates great managers from good managers is their ability to identify what their people do best, and then get them in a place to do that. I'll discuss that book in a separate report.
The second in the series, the book discussed here, Now Discover Your Strengths is written by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton. It takes a deeper look at the 34 strengths Gallup identified, and provides access to an online assessment tool allowing the reader to identify their top five strengths.
The third in the series, Follow This Path by Curt Coffman and Gabriel Gonzalez Molina takes the idea of strengths, and explains how organizations can "drive growth by unleashing human potential."
The point of this report is to share with you some of my favorite quotes from Now, Discover Your Strengths.
Below are a few of the passages I highlighted as I read this book.
From
the Introduction:
"To excel in your chosen field and to find lasting satisfaction in doing so, you will need to understand your unique patterns. You will need to become an expert at finding and describing and applying and practicing and refining your strengths."
"These are the two assumptions that guide the world's best managers:
1. Each person's talents are enduring and unique.
2. Each person's greatest room for growth is in the areas of his or her greatest
strength.
These two assumptions are the foundation for everything they do with and for their people. These two assumptions explain why great managers are careful to look for talent in every role, why they focus people's performances on outcomes rather than forcing them into a stylistic mold, why they disobey the Golden Rule and treat each employee differently, and why they spend the most time with their best people."
Chapter 1: The Anatomy of a Strength
Tiger Woods, Bill Gates, and Cole Porter
"For the sake of clarity, let's be more precise about what we mean by a "strength." The definition of a strength that we will use throughout this book is quite specific: consistent near perfect performance in an activity."
"First, for an activity to be a strength, you must be able to do it consistently."
"Second, you do not have to have strength in every aspect of your role
in order to excel."
"Third, you will excel only by maximizing your strengths, never by fixing
your weaknesses."
"The acid test of a strength? The ability is a strength only if you can
fathom yourself doing it repeatedly, happily, and successfully."
Three Revolutionary Tools
"Talents are your naturally recurring patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior. Your various themes of talent are what the Strengths-Finder Profile actually measures."
"Knowledge consists of facts and lessons learned."
"Skills are the steps of an activity."
"These three -- talents, knowledge, and skills -- combine to create your strengths."
"Although it is occasionally possible to build a strength without acquiring the relevant knowledge and skills (there are 'natural' sales people), it is never possible to possess a strength without the requisite talent."
Chapter 2: Strength Building
Knowledge and Skills
"What looks on the surface like transformation is actually acceptance of some things that can never be transformed--talents. We don't change. We simply accept our talents and refocus our lives around them. We become more self-aware."
Talent
"Any recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior is a talent if this pattern can be productively applied."
"Your brain does what nature always does in situations such as this: It finds and follows the path of least resistance, your talents."
"The point here is not that you should always forgo weakness fixing. The point is that you should see it for what it is: damage control, not development."
"...the danger of repetitive training without underlying talent is that you burn out before you net any improvement. To improve at any activity requires persistence. In order to withstand the temptation to slacken off, you need fuel. You need a way to derive energy from the process of improving so that you can keep improving. Unfortunately, when you repeatedly try to mend a broken connection, the opposite happens. It drains you of energy. No matter how well conceived the training, your movements remain jerky and disjointed. You practice and practice, but it still feels unnatural and unsatisfying. And since there is no psychic reinforcement, it is hard to gear yourself up to try again. Mending a broken connection can quickly become an alienating, thankless task."
Chapter 3: Discover The Source of Your Strengths
The Traces of Talent
"First, if you want to reveal your talents, monitor your spontaneous, top-of-mind reactions to the situations you encounter."
"...here are three more clues to keep in mind: yearnings, rapid learning, and satisfactions."
Chapter 5: The Questions You're Asking
How Can I Manage Around My Weaknesses?
"To begin with, you need to know what a weakness is. Our definition of a weakness is anything that gets in the way of excellent performance."
"1. Get a little better at it."
"2. Design a support system."
"3. Use one of your strongest themes to overwhelm your weakness."
"4. Find a partner."
"5. Just stop doing it."
"Our research into human strengths does not support the extreme, and extremely misleading, assertion that 'you can play any role you set your mind to,' but it does lead us to this truth: Whatever you set your mind to, you will be most successful when you craft your role to play to your signature talents most of the time."
* * *
StrengthsFinder Themes and Strengths
When you purchase the book, you also get access to the web site were you can complete the "StrengthsFinder" assessment that will identify your top five strengths.
Below you'll find the 34 Strengths the Gallup folks identified organized into their four Themes. Although these themes are mentioned in Now, Discover Your Strengths, they are not fully described. You'll find that description, and these lists in the book Follow This Path. Also, if you're curious, I've indicated my top five strengths.
The Gallup organization is hesitant to put much emphasis on these themes, but I like them. Below is an excerpt from an e-mail exchange with a Gallup representative I received when I was trying to track down a list of which strengths go with which themes:
As our intelligence around strengths-based development has evolved, so have our ways of categorizing themes into dimensions. The most recent such categorization included four dimensions with 7 relating themes, 6 impacting themes, 9 striving themes, and 12 thinking themes. These are listed on page 41 of Follow This Path (Warner, 2002).
Having said that, please don't focus too much on which themes go into which dimensions...the real value of StrengthsFinder is in the 34 themes, not the 3 or 4 groups. We are actually in the process of removing references to the dimensions in our training and writing, as we have discovered that they have a tendency to limit the individualization and power of the StrengthsFinder instrument. We want to emphasize variation between individuals, not limit it.I have heard people say things like, "When I saw that all of my Signature themes were in the THINKING domain I really worried that I didn't have any RELATING or STRIVING talent" or "Gosh, none of my themes is in the THINKING domain! Does that mean I don't know how to think?" We sure don't want those reactions to what is really a wonderfully unique combination of themes. I just like to bring them back to their individual Signature Themes and help them discover the ways that they think, relate, contribute etc.
In some of our sales consulting work we mention certain categories such as motivation, relationship-building, work structure, or customer service. Rather than grouping themes into these categories, we challenge participants to think about these key elements of a sales role and then think about how they can successfully impact these areas based on their strengths. Future use of categories will be in this context.
Relating Themes
Communication
People strong in the Communication theme generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters.Empathy
People strong in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others’ lives or others’ situations.Harmony
People strong in the Harmony theme look for consensus. They don’t enjoy conflict; rather, they seek areas of agreement.Inclusiveness / Includer
(formerly Inclusiveness) People strong in the Includer theme are accepting of others. They show awareness of those who feel left out, and make an effort to include them.Individualization
People strong in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively.Relator [JE's #1]
People who are strong in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.Responsibility [JE's #5]
People strong in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.
Impacting Themes
Command
People strong in the Command theme have presence. They can take control of a situation and make decisions.Competition
People strong in the Competition theme measure their progress against the performance of others. They strive to win first place and revel in contests.Developer
People strong in the Developer theme recognize and cultivate the potential in others. They spot the signs of each small improvement and derive satisfaction from these improvements.Maximizer [JE's #3]
People strong in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.Positivity
People strong in the Positivity theme have an enthusiasm that is contagious. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do.Woo
People strong in the Woo theme love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person.
Striving Themes
Achiever
People strong in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.Activator
People strong in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.Adaptability
People strong in the Adaptability theme prefer to "go with the flow." They tend to be "now" people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.Belief
People strong in the Belief theme have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for their life.Discipline
People strong in the Discipline theme enjoy routine and structure. Their world is best described by the order they create.Focus
People strong in the Focus theme can take a direction, follow through, and make the corrections necessary to stay on track. They prioritize, then act.Restorative
People strong in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.Self-Assurance
People strong in the Self-assurance theme feel confident in their ability to manage their own lives. They possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their decisions are right.Significance
People strong in the Significance theme want to be very important in the eyes of others. They are independent and want to be recognized.
Thinking Themes
Analytical
People strong in the Analytical theme search for reasons and causes. They have the ability to think about all the factors that might affect a situation.Arranger
People strong in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.Connectedness [JE's #4]
People strong in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.Context
People strong in the Context theme enjoy thinking about the past. They understand the present by researching its history.Consistency / Fairness
(formerly Fairness) People strong in the Consistency theme are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same. They try to treat everyone in the world with consistency by setting up clear rules and adhering to them.Deliberative
People strong in the Deliberative theme are best described by the serious care they take in making decisions or choices. They anticipate the obstacles.Futuristic
People strong in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.Ideation
People strong in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.Input
People strong in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.Intellection
People strong in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.Learner
People strong in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.Strategic [JE's #2]
People strong in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.