Been rereading my Strengths Finder results. If you’ve never heard of ‘Strengths Finder’, you can check it at http://www.strengthsfinder.com - it is one of many self-analysis thingamys out there – much like Belbin or Myers Briggs. It’s incredibly accurate from what I can tell from my results and other people’s and it’s particular focus is to help you value your core inate strengths as an individual and how you can structure your life to alway play to your strengths.
The simple plan is Your talent x Your investment = Your Strength.
It’s my plan that Mando Group can be structured in such a way so that all staff can play to strengths and combined with some NLP analysis and training we can all learn how to understand and communicate with one another effectively and help each other play to strengths.
My Top 5 ‘strengths’ come out as the following:
ARRANGER
People who are especially talented 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.
It’s very likely that you volunteer for additional duties. You really enjoy being given authority over projects, individuals, or groups. You expect to be held accountable for the results you produce as well as your words and deeds. Because of your strengths, you are frequently asked to study data for your team. Numbers make sense to you. Interestingly, the same data baffle, confound — that is, confuse — and frustrate others in the group. These individuals likely are appreciative of your proficiency with mathematics. Chances are good that you may have a gift for noticing the differences between people. You might think variety is a good thing, not a bad thing. You might help individuals from diverse backgrounds discover ways they can cooperate so the team succeeds. Driven by your talents, you embrace life with more gusto when you can work or play alongside your teammates, classmates, coworkers, or peers. You normally figure out ways you can participate in a variety of group-oriented activities. Instinctively, you are the team member who keeps everyone else informed about newsworthy events in your family, neighborhood, community, school, or workplace. You usually have a plan for collecting information from a wide variety of sources.
STRATEGIC
People who are especially talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.
By nature, you probably feel very good about yourself and life in general when you know the exact words to express an idea or a feeling. Language has fascinated you since childhood. Your ever-expanding vocabulary often earns you compliments. Chances are good that you long to know more so you remain on the cutting edge of your field or areas of interest. Your inventive mind usually generates more possibilities than you can handle or fund. Nonetheless, you are committed to acquiring knowledge and/or skills. You study everything involved in a situation and conceive entirely new ways of seeing or doing things. What you already know prompts you to ask questions and delve even deeper into a subject or problem. Because of your strengths, you notice that multiple solutions to nagging problems automatically pop into your mind. You usually study each option from many different angles. After carefully evaluating the entire situation, you likely choose the alternative that makes the most sense. Why? You habitually aim to outscore or outperform most of your rivals most of the time. Instinctively, you work diligently to invent alternative courses of action. You notice new as well as unusual configurations in facts, evidence, or data. Others, however, can see only separate, unrelated bits of information. You are fascinated by problems that puzzle, confound, or frustrate most people. Driven by your talents, you select the right combination of words to convey your ideas or feelings. In the middle of discussions, your vocabulary provides you with precise phrases and terminology. You probably express yourself with ease and grace.
RELATOR
People who are especially talented in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.
Instinctively, you are determined to share your knowledge and skills with people you coach, mentor, or train. Because of your strengths, you embrace life more fully when you are surrounded by people whose personal aims or professional ambitions are clearly defined. Driven by your talents, you may welcome the questions or concerns voiced by people. You might listen compassionately to some and offer counsel to others. People sometimes seek you out because your insights are helpful. Maybe they appreciate the way you occasionally cause them to think in new ways. By nature, you have close companions who frequently seek your guidance. You help them find answers to their personal and professional problems. This makes you a valuable friend. It’s very likely that you are comfortable offering suggestions to people who regularly seek your counsel — that is, recommendations about a decision or course of action they are considering. These individuals usually feel deep affection for you. You are likely to spend time together socializing as well as working or studying.
LEARNER
People who are especially talented 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.
It’s very likely that you spend considerable time examining exactly why something has gone wrong. Whenever you experience a personal or professional loss, make a mistake, or experience failure, you tend to investigate. You are likely to be restless until you have answers to all your basic questions: What? How? When? Where? Who? Why? Because of your strengths, you habitually bring together all sorts of information so you can refer to it later. At the instant you collect a fact, example, story, or piece of data, typically you are eager to use it. You trust it is valuable. Your fascination with knowledge has probably been part of you even before you formed the words to ask your first question. Instinctively, you thirst for new ideas and knowledge. Often you lose yourself in a book. You pore over the ideas contained on its pages for long stretches of time. Why? You want to absorb as much information as you can. Driven by your talents, you are a history buff — that is, someone ardently devoted to studying the past. You are especially drawn to firsthand accounts of global conflicts. You link people to events and trace timelines. You are likely to examine major battles from the perspective of foes and allies as well as neutral parties. The sum of your findings probably allows you to determine what started and eventually ended each war. Chances are good that you yearn to acquire additional knowledge and skills. Often you use these to do something better, more perfectly, or more completely than you have in the past. You seek opportunities to enhance your capacity for fixing things, correcting mistakes, or overcoming weaknesses.
SELF-ASSURANCE
People who are especially talented 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.
Driven by your talents, you routinely engage in exciting and adventurous activities. You refuse to settle for a boring existence. You probably sense that you have much to offer individuals and groups. Purposeful challenges combined with your realized potential impel you to take risks others avoid. It’s very likely that you like advancing on your own. You enjoy defying the odds. You find limited satisfaction in pursuing the easiest, the most popular, or the accepted course of action. By nature, you describe the good life as taking the dare, walking to the edge, running toward the unknown, or working high in the air without a net to stop your fall. You probably enjoy the rush of adrenalin that accompanies risky deeds or decisions. Instinctively, you prefer to register for rigorous courses of study rather than take easy classes. This often satisfies your need to do things that do not come naturally. You trust you can endure the unpleasantness and difficulties that accompany the expansion of your knowledge base, the acquisition of skills, and the conquest of deficiencies. Because of your strengths, you may like to get together with certain colleagues, associates, coworkers, or fellow students. Perhaps you relish talking about large-scale concepts, opinions, or theories.
