Strengths and Weaknesses

We were given this book to read through and take an assessment on at work a few months ago.  It was called Strength Finders 2.0 and had some interesting concepts.  Basically it talked about how a lot of people know their weaknesses and focus on working to change their weaknesses, but it may be better to work on and grow your strengths instead.

At first I was a little skeptical because I want to work on my weaknesses and feel like I can change things and accomplish something.  That being said…..once I took the assessment I may be changing my mind.  It wasn’t a test assessment as much as it gave you the top five strengths that you are (in the book’s opinion).  The book actually had quite a few strengths listed in it making it so each person’s assessment is unique….it is definitely interesting to take.  

So we received these certificates that listed our top five strengths and a definition of them.  The actual book goes more into detail with how to interact with each other and their strengths and some other good stuff I won’t give away.  What I have discovered once taking the assessment and going over my list of top five strengths is that I actually ENJOY these things that are listed as strengths as well.  

Maybe I wouldn’t have listed them as my strengths, in fact some of them I know that I can be gifted at but they can be scary so I tend to avoid them while knowing I could do well at them (maybe that is a confidence weakness).  So instead of working super hard on my weaknesses and getting frustrated and wanting to improve I have been trying to focus on my strengths and enjoying it.  This does not mean that I am ignoring my weaknesses completely, if anything hopefully deepening my confidence in the strengths I enjoy will not only reduce some of my weaknesses but I will learn how to figure out how I can be most effective in work, ministry, etc…  

Not that these are my only strengths or even that I’m super good at them or anything…. I think they play out in different ways but here are the top five strengths the assessment gave me and that I have been trying somewhat to focus on over the past little bit.

Belief:  We have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for our life.

Individualization: We are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person.  We have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively.  

Connectedness: We have faith in the links between all things.  We believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.

Responsibility: We take psychological ownership of what we say we will do.  We are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.

Developer: We recognize and cultivate the potential in others.  We spot the signs of each small improvement and derive satisfaction from these improvements.

So yeah…I’m not necessarily planning my life around these strengths or anything, but it has been interesting to approach things from a perspective of how fit into my weaknesses or strengths.