This is Thanksgiving Week in the United States, when we make time to think about what we're thankful for. After working with hundreds of people on their strengths, I'm grateful for the different ways that people are talented. Some bring focus and determination, some bring flexibility and adaptation, some bring clarity and direction, some bring optimism and hope. The world is fascinating because of the 34 strengths given to us.
Lately I've been getting requests for strengths programs on the topic of change. The conversation goes like this, "We've had so many changes lately, and more are coming—how do we deal with change according to our strengths?" And I say, "That's a great question, let's talk about it!"
It's Halloween time, so we got to thinking how our strengths might dress up for the holiday. We've already considered how the strengths may celebrate their birthday, do Disney World® and choose a baby name. In this post, we wonder how they may dress on Halloween.
It's my birthday, so I got to thinking how my strengths might affect the way I want to celebrate, and how folks with other strengths may celebrate theirs. We've already considered how the strengths may do Disney World® and choose a baby name. In this post, we wonder what they might do on their special day.
Are the top areas of talent for women different than for men? How are the strengths of Millennials unique from other generations? How is Japan different than every other country? These are the fascinating questions answered by Gallup, which recently released the all-time results of its CliftonStrengths® talent assessment.
The report, which reveals the results of more than 21 Million assessments worldwide, provides an interesting look into the top most frequently occurring strengths by gender, generation, and country.
Here are some highlights:
As I shared in the last post, self-awareness is critical for success in life, work, and relationships, and there are plenty of great tools out there. If you commit to learn from just one tool, you will be farther along today than you were yesterday, and tomorrow you will be farther along than you were today. So, what tools do I use when I work with people?
You find two kinds of people in life and work—those who pursue self-awareness and those who do not. Those who do not can become those who do, but it usually takes an act of disruption—even violence—to upset the status quo of self. I think we’re better off knowing ourselves than not.
Most of us don’t enjoy giving feedback to people. That’s because there are three challenges to overcome. First, you may not have developed basic feedback skills. Second, you see the world a certain way. Third, the other person sees the world their way. That’s three big challenges that can create a mess. But you can overcome these challenges through a simple and clean feedback formula that makes use of your strengths.
Recently I published a blog post about the intersection of the Enneagram and strengths. I was wondering how the CliftonStrengths assessment, which identifies natural areas of talent, might relate to the Enneagram tool, which explains nine personality types. After a couple of weeks of reflection and feedback, I’m rethinking some points I made in the blog post.
Note: Read my response to this blog post after thinking more about this topic.
Sometimes connections between ideas come when you’re not expecting them, even in front of a room of people. Recently I was leading an introductory strengths workshop for a team. While explaining the concept of talent, I shared Gallup's definition of talent: