StrengthsFinder

MY TOP 5 STRENGTHS

1.  Deliberative (Thinking)

     -People who are especially talented in the Deliberative theme are best described by the serious care

they take in making decisions or choices. They anticipate the obstacles.

2.  Input (Thinking)

     -People who are especially talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.

3.  Significance (Striving)

     - People who are especially talented in the Significance theme want to be very important in the eyes of others. They are independent and want to be recognized.

4.  Command (Impacting)

     - People who are especially talented in the Command theme have presence. They can take control of a situation and make decisions.

5.  Restorative (Striving)

     - People who are especially talented in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.

Myers-Briggs

INTJ - Have original minds and great drive for implementing their ideas and achieving their goals. Quickly see patterns in external events and develop long-range explanatory perspectives. When committed, organize a job and carry it through. Skeptical and independent, have high standards of competence and performance – for themselves and others.

            They say there are two sides to every story; two faces to every coin. So what happens if we only look at one side? We only see one side of story and only half of the coin, which means we may not see every different aspect or angle. This means we may miss something crucial. So how does this apply to leadership? Well, if a person were only to look one aspect of their strengths they may not be utilizing all of their talents to the full potential. In order to avoid this it helps to look at various aspects of a person leadership qualities by applying multiple forms of assessment. The two most well known are the Gallup StrengthsFinder and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator therefore those are the two used to assess ourselves.

            First was the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI. Using this system we were asked to respond to a series of Yes or No question in order to discover our personality type. After I completed the test I received the letters INTJ. These letters corresponded to four different traits that together formed a specific personality type. ‘I’ was the first letter and corresponds to introversion. This aspect I could easily see over extraversion, as I prefer to work alone and without the distraction of other people. The second letter, ‘N’, is for intuition.  Again I would agree this trait would apply to me since I am one to think on a solution for a problem long before I jump in and act on it. ‘T’, the third letter, which represents thinking, does not surprise me at all. This due to the fact that I do not let emotions influence my work or my decisions and this has lead to me described as ‘cold’ and ‘uncaring’. In fact, I am just very analytical and tend to weigh the situation at hand. The last trait was very close with ‘J’, or judging, winning out with only a small percent. Judging does not relate to judgmental but rather a solid and planned out way of doing things. I like to have a plan, or somewhat of a plan, before doing something rather than winging it.

            The second assessment was the Gallup StrengthsFinder, which seemed to be more in-depth but on a more personal and less work-orientated level. My top five strengths as determined by GSF were as follows; deliberative, input, significance, command, and restorative. I was not all that surprised by what my top five strengths were but rather by the order in which they were placed. I would describe myself as a more command and restorative person over deliberative and input. This is due to command and restorative are qualities of a person who takes charge and knows what to do when faced with a problem. Instead, GSF placed deliberative, input, and significance in my top three. These combined culminate in a person who anticipates obstacles, has a craving for more information, and is very independent. All of these traits I see in myself and therefore am not surprised by what they are but rather by their relative order.

            These two assessments and their subsequent reports show two very similar yet different types of leaders and people. Yet, when you put them together you begin the whole picture. This is point of utilizing both assessments and applying the results to your life and career. Sometimes it takes someone with a little different perspective in order to put everything in order. In the same way, using two varying tests to achieve similar results showcases an array of traits that culminate into a single personality.