The idea behind this assessment is that it presents you with your top 5 strengths. You should then focus on developing and using these strengths instead of focusing on and trying to develop your weaknesses (Our society is very focused on this - If you aren't good at something, you are supposed to work to improve). The idea is these are the 5 things your brain is already wired for, the electrical connections are most firmly in place and so these are the things that come easiest to you and therefore you are more efficient at doing them. Why waste time trying to improve something your brain simply isn't wired to do? It's inefficient, and the time would be far better spent excelling what you are already good at - no wasted potential.
So, earlier this week the books (And codes to take the test) showed up. The test itself is a fairly simple concept - given two choices, pick the answer that fits you better. However they found that instinctual answers provided the best insight as to who you are, so you have 20 seconds max to answer each pair of questions. If you fail to do so, it moves on to a different pair of questions. This rapid-fire questionnaire becomes rather intense as the questions role by. 35 minutes later, the test is over. Definitely the most in-depth personal assessment I have ever taken.
Before I took the test I spent a bit of time thinking about who I really am. What makes me "tick". I wanted to see just how accurate this assessment was, and if it was going to provide any benefit in confirming my thoughts. So, here is what I had come up with:
-= How I Would Describe Myself (Prior to Taking the Assessment) =-
- I am a quick learner. Give me something new to try, and within a few attempts I can be moderately good at it. A jack-of-all-trades, master of none so to speak. This has made picking up new programming languages a breeze for me, and also helps me to blend in with groups very effectively. Place me in a completely random group, and I will spend the first bit of time quietly watching/listening/learning until I figure out how I should act to best fit in.
- I get along with almost anyone. I can pick up on what others are thinking/feeling pretty quickly, and am (usually) able to respond in a way that people just seem to like me. Doesn't necessarily mean that I am friends with everyone, just that I can tell what emotionally people are experiencing - perceptiveness. This is augmented by my ability to learn from new situations quickly.
- I over-analyze everything. It can be the most mundane detail and I will try to think through every possible path, and every possible consequence. It's really what has gotten me to where I am in life. I feel that if I have thought through all the scenarios then nothing bad can really happen to me - it gives me comfort in knowing that I control my life, and that I can anticipate what is coming. I think this is one of the reasons why I am good at my job. I can generally see problems with a potential implementation before they arise, and come up with a better option before it's too late.
- I love thinking about exciting or difficult problems. I very deeply have a problem solving mentality, it's just how I think. You have a problem, I will try and have a solution. During design meetings at work we are given a task, and we have to come up with an implementation that will work to accomplish said task. While Dave and Adam are very vocal intellectuals, I tend to become extremely quiet, and (apparently) will have a very blank look on my face. Becki brought this up to me once that for the longest time she thought I just wasn't listening, but since then has come to realize that I always am, it's just my way of thinking about problems and making sure I take into account every detail of the problem at hand. (I think I simply put the other processes to sleep so that my brain has maximum power available to solve the task. Annnnnd geek moment over :-P) I also think that this combined with my over-analyzing things helps me to provide pretty good insight into situations. I would like to think that when people come to me for advice, that I do a pretty good job of giving a solid answer.
-= What I Found... =-
I discovered (rather creepily) that every single one of these traits was listed in my top 5 strengths. If you look at all of the top 5 combined and working together as synergies, you get a complete picture of who I am. And now about half of the people have taken it in our office, and looking at their listed strengths I can honestly say that each matches them perfectly. Awesome stuff! Soooo, here are my results followed by what they mean:
-= Top 5 Strengths - In Order =-
- Empathy
- Strategic
- Learner
- Intellection
- Individualization
-= What Do They Mean =-
Empathy
Shared Theme Description
People who are especially talented in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others’ lives or others’ situations.
Your Personalized Strengths Insights
What makes you stand out?
Driven by your talents, you may yearn to be held in affection by others. This partially explains why you search for ways to fill the lives of others with joy. Because of your strengths, you have a special gift for helping people realize that you truly value them and hold them in high regard. By nature, you are keenly aware of others’ moods. Your insights can be especially valuable when you are helping someone develop strength by acquiring a skill, gaining knowledge, or using a talent. Instinctively, you encourage people express their innermost thoughts and feelings, and you refrain from judging them. You like knowing that others depend on you to listen. Moreover, you have noticed that individuals come to you for advice. It’s very likely that you cause others to pay attention to their innermost thoughts and feelings. People are confident of your ability to exercise good judgment and common sense. Many people trust you to keep to yourself whatever they choose to share. Your capacity to imagine their situations and be sensitive to their needs allows individuals to unburden themselves. You listen. You customarily acknowledge their unique circumstances.
Strategic
Shared Theme Description
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.
Your Personalized Strengths Insights
What makes you stand out?
It’s very likely that you might recognize recurring sequences in data, events, information, or people’s comments. These insights might enable you to form links between things that others cannot. Instinctively, you might have a knack for identifying problems. You might generate alternatives for solving them. Sometimes you consider the pros and cons of each option. Perhaps you factor into your thinking prevailing circumstances or available resources. Maybe you feel life is good when you think you may be choosing the best course of action. Driven by your talents, you may be attracted to assignments that demand original and inventive thinking. In some cases, you track down new ideas, facts, or data. Your out-of-the-box thinking might challenge some people to abandon, or at the very least to question, specific conventional practices. When you cause one or two of them to suggest options, maybe their need to protect the status quo will be replaced by a desire to gather more information. Because of your strengths, you may be viewed by some people as an innovative and original thinker. Perhaps your ability to generate options causes others to see there is more than one way to attain an objective. Now and then, you help certain individuals select the best alternative after having weighed the pros and cons in light of prevailing circumstances or available resources. By nature, you may feel wonderful when people value your innovative ideas. Perhaps you help them envision what can be accomplished in the coming months, years, or decades.
Learner
Shared Theme Description
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.
Your Personalized Strengths Insights
What makes you stand out?
It’s very likely that you channel your efforts into the task at hand. You persevere until you have gained the knowledge and skills needed to attain a goal. You can toil for many hours to secure your objective. You probably work hardest and most productively at a particular time of day. Driven by your talents, you concentrate for extended periods of time. This is one reason why you ultimately master skills and grasp concepts. Chances are good that you might have a particular desire for knowledge. Perhaps you feel it makes little sense to skim through a book and read only the highlights. You might want to delve more deeply into intriguing subjects than most people. Maybe you love to gather all kinds of information. Instinctively, you sometimes yearn to know more about the thoughts of certain visionaries. Perhaps in their presence you begin to see how some of the inventions and ideas they propose might affect your life. Because of your strengths, you may feel upbeat about life when your desire to acquire knowledge or skills is regularly satisfied. You might grow increasingly unhappy with a job or assignment that fails to challenge your mind. Being forced to do the same thing day after day is sometimes depressing. Even when individuals in positions of authority reward
you or tell you how much they value your performance, you may eventually have difficulty disguising your dissatisfaction.
Intellection
Shared Theme Description
People who are especially talented in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.
Your Personalized Strengths Insights
What makes you stand out?
By nature, you believe you make great strides mentally when you have opportunities to exchange ideas, theories, or concepts with intelligent people. You delight in accumulating unusual insights. Often you expand on these thoughts. You probably are eager to test them during conversations with other intelligent individuals. This is one way you broaden your knowledge base. Chances are good that you are willing to spend time sharing your ideas with intelligent individuals. Of course, you want them to tell you their latest thinking.
Conversations that involve a lot of questions and answers stimulate your mind. You know you have spent your time wisely when you have a number of new ideas, theories, or concepts to somehow file away or remember for future use. Driven by your talents, you need uninterrupted quiet time to be alone with your thoughts. Seldom do you automatically accept all the ideas of someone who has authored a book, been interviewed by the media, or been invited to address an audience. Instead, you scrutinize the theories and concepts of writers, speakers, and philosophers. You probably are a critical thinker. Instinctively, you are
comfortable saying, “I am a fine educator.” You probably converse with others in your field about ideas, theories, or concepts to gather the latest thinking. Using these insights, you are apt to draw your students into discussions that entice them to explore topics. You want them to really understand the subject rather than memorize a few facts just to pass a test. It’s very likely that you usually are quiet during conversations, taking in everything that is said. You are particularly attentive when intelligent people toss about their ideas, theories, or concepts. Often you acquire more information and gain more insights than the speakers do. When you
choose to expound on a topic that interests you or pose pertinent questions, many individuals listen carefully to every word you utter.
Individualization
Shared Theme Description
People who are especially talented 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.
Your Personalized Strengths Insights
What makes you stand out?
Driven by your talents, you might offer assistance to certain people after you have spent some time observing and talking with them. To some degree, you pinpoint each one’s unique interests, talents, limitations, experiences, goals, knowledge, or skills. Maybe these insights permit you to tailor your response to meet the person’s situation. By nature, you may assist people with your sound reasoning and logical assessment of particular opportunities, problems, or proposed solutions. It’s very likely that you are keenly aware of people’s unique traits. You notice characteristics that distinguish each person from everyone else. Because of
your strengths, you might prefer to assist individuals who have set clear goals for themselves Perhaps the more you know about someone’s dreams, the easier it is for you to befriend that person. Chances are good that you sometimes become the spokesperson for individuals who struggle to express their thoughts or feelings. When their silence is deafening and the injustice done to them is real, perhaps you serve as their advocate. However, in situations where people speak up for themselves or others, you may choose to simply listen and
observe.
-= Conclusion =-
Seems to me like that describes me almost to a T. What do you think, is it me? :-)
