Thankful that one of my local ministry partners (who has the strength of Individualization) convinced us all to take the Strength Finders 2.0 assessment.
He told us that many large companies have used it to revolutionize the way that they work together. He also said that it was the driving force behind why certain companies became some of the best working environments in the world.
I have taken personality tests and even spiritual gift tests, so I was already thinking…”Do I really need another one of these tests”? But I would later see that the Strengths Finder 2.0 helped me understand some key things about myself that I didn’t know before.
Since taking the tests, we have a couple of axioms that we have been trying to live by.
- There is no such thing as a truly well rounded person, but there is the chance to have a well rounded team.
- We cannot use our knowledge of each other’s strengths to point out what the other person is not.
- We will use our knowledge of our team mates strengths to call out greatness in one another.
- We can use our strengths to assign a team member to a project that they would be the most fitted for.
- Just because we know our strengths doesn’t mean that we are incapable in other non mentioned areas.
- We choose to give our greatest attention to our strengths rather than what we are weaker in.
- If possible, we can work to better manage our weaknesses or rather delegate them to another who would love the assignment.
- In our marriages and teams, we should know all that we can about each other’s strengths and how to draw them out.
- In our marriage, we are a team within a team. We can leverage each other’s strengths in all areas of our lives.
- This doesn’t replace the need for us to understand our Spiritual gifts, but through it we can enhance our understanding.
- Intellection
- Input
- Futuristic
- Learner
- Achiever
That is four “strategic” and one “executing” strength, no “relational.” At first glance, a person who doesn’t understand could see the fact that I have no top relational strengths as a bad thing. That judgement of others and even oneself is part of our problem.
We naturally tend to gravitate to “what we are not” , or what others or not, rather than playing to what we or they are good at.
However this list does not mean that I have no relational strengths at all. That is simply not true. I worked in sales and marketing for many years on straight commission pay. If I did not have relational ability, I would have never survived.
But one thing I began to see for myself in this process is how I had a certain inclination to my strengths all throughout my life. I began thinking back and seeing scenes of my life where I gravitated to each of these top strengths.
As for how this all plays out in life, the Strengths Finder book really helps you understand how your strengths work in your life and how you can manage them and use them to benefit a team, project, marriage, and your calling.
