On "Strengths": Predictions and Results

Source: Gallup.com

A few months ago, I read StrengthsFinder 2.0 (in conjunction with other books like The Pathfinder​... which I'm still working on. That book is massive!) in an attempt to examine myself in more detail. I didn't take the assessment at the time because I borrowed this book. Based on reading the description of each strength, I predicted that I would have the following as my top 5 themes:

1. Maximizer
   "People exceptionally talented in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb."
2. Discipline
   "People exceptionally talented in the Discipline theme enjoy routine and structure. Their world is best described by the order they create."
3. Intellection
   "People exceptionally talented in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions."
4. Achiever
   "People exceptionally talented in the Achiever theme work hard and possess a great deal of stamina. They take immense satisfaction in being busy and productive."
5. Harmony
   "People exceptionally talented in the Harmony theme look for consensus. They don’t enjoy conflict; rather, they seek areas of agreement."​

(For those who are curious about what the colors mean: the colors represent the kind of domain a strength is in. Red = the way you think about things; purple = the way you run things; blue = the way you have relationships; yellow = the way you do outreach. Some people will have the top 5 strengths from all domains - others will have the top 5 strengths all coming from one domain. Neither are bad. More info on strengths can be found here. What do you identify yourself with?)

Several days ago, I finally took the assessment. The results were:

1. Empathy
   "People exceptionally talented in the Empathy theme can sense other people’s feelings by imagining themselves in others’ lives or situations."
2. Learner
   "People exceptionally talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. The process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them."
3. Responsibility
   "People exceptionally talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty."
4. Discipline - this was part of my prediction.
5. Intellection - this was also part of my prediction.

2 out of my 5 predictions made it in. Curious how they were not in my top 3 though. I thought about the results for a couple days and here's my interpretation from the bottom to top (save the strongest for last).

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Rank 5: INTELLECTION
This is how the intellection theme manifests in my thoughts and behavior:

• When I was a kid, I had a tendency to not find my peers that interesting. I loved listening to adults - my parents' friends, or my friends' parents. It was a treat to hear stories told by people living in a different kind of "world".
• The peers who I did find interesting and fun to hang out with were the nerdy/geeky ones. I had always felt I was the dumbest one in the room (which does erode self-esteem) but I also liked it because that means I can learn from them. [Intellection x Learner]
• I didn't realize how much intellectual stimuli I needed until I had the opportunity to work outside academia.
• I like thinking about higher-level concepts. I love getting mind-blown. That's probably why I loved philosophy classes so much. I would get lost in them... and then finally understand concepts about a week later compared to everyone else.
• I need time to think about stuff. The more time I take the more refined my ideas are going to get. My performance is worst when I'm put on the spot.
• I cannot give feedback or pitch an idea in short notice. If there's a meeting that requires my input I need at least 24-hours notice. A week's notice is even better, so I can schedule time to prepare for it. [Intellection x Discipline]
• I love introspection... as you can see from this blog.

Rank 4: DISCIPLINE
This is how the discipline theme manifests in my thoughts and behavior:

• ​I need deadlines and milestones. I need to know the order of priorities.
• ​My behavior is quite predictable because I operate on rule sets. Since I operate on rule sets, I generally give zero exceptions. Because if I do, it deviates from the plan.
• It's not that I can't deal with edge cases. If I run into one, I just need ample time to think through it so I can come up with the best solution. [Discipline x Intellection]
• If I were to schedule a meeting (whether that is for work or for leisure), I need to organize it at least a week in advance. A day in advance is cutting it way too close.
• I abhor surprises (even if they are good ones) because then I need to factor them into my plan.
• I dislike uncertainty* - I need the answer before the end of the day so I can plan for the next day or week. I cannot stand the feeling of having unresolved problems on my plate on a weekend. Ugh! [Discipline x Responsibility]
• I like recurring events because once I learn the ropes, I can create a plan for optimizing the process for next time. I dislike one-off events because I can't test out my refined plan any time soon. [Discipline x Learner]
• ​If there's an error I failed to catch and it's pointed out to me later by someone else, I die a little inside.
• Although attempting to build order in a world of chaos is a rather Sisyphean thing to do, I do it anyway.
• If I get asked the same thing over and over, I will produce documentation to reduce the overall time wasted by everyone (everyone wins!). On my good days, I can anticipate what questions will be asked beforehand and I can answer them before they are asked. [Discipline x Empathy]
• When I leave a job, I end up leaving a chasm that's too large for one person to fill because I can naturally do the work of multiple people. This is because I can optimize processes and make them run effortlessly, and then that means I have more time to work on more things.

Rank 3: RESPONSIBILITY
This is how the responsibility theme manifests in my thoughts and behavior:

• I will do pretty much anything it takes to get things done correctly.
• If I am taught how to do something, and if it was not the right way to do it, I will be disgruntled.
• If there's a deadline, I will do pretty much anything it takes to meet it.
• Since I do whatever it takes to execute a given task correctly and on time (if not early), I usually am given more work. This sometimes is the beginning of a vicious cycle where I am "rewarded" by given more work (especially the type of work that isn't intellectually stimulating or one-off things that I can't optimize the process for) ... this leads to burnout. [Responsibility x Intellection x Discipline]
• If you give me an unreasonable deadline that prevents me from doing things correctly (because not enough time), then you have earned my resentment.
• ​If there's something I said I would do and if I fail to do it, I feel terrible. [!] This can work against me if I do not set realistic, achievable goals for myself.
• When I manage a team, I take it upon myself to do what I can to protect my people. ...And if I fail to do that, I beat myself up. One of my biggest failures at work is failing to advocate for someone who was undergoing workplace harassment. I was too afraid to stand up. [Responsibility x Empathy]
• To me, contradiction is mostly just plainly wrong. I abhor hypocrisy. So I do my best to be internally consistent. [Responsibility x Discipline]

Rank 2: LEARNER
This is how the learner theme manifests in my thoughts and behavior:

• If I don't learn anything new for a prolonged period of time, I feel less alive.
• Access to professional development opportunities is a must for me to sustain motivation at work - especially past the 1-year mark where the amount of new stuff to learn decreases.
• I love learning about different topics. I loved my undergraduate degree because it was like a 4-in-1 package. (I am greedy when it comes to learning.)
• Taking electives in areas totally unrelated to my major was not a problem for me. I loved the courses in music and Greek/Roman mythology. There were too many things I wanted to take in undergrad...
• One day I will go back to university and maybe get a few more degrees because... why not? ;)
• I always strive to be the #1 student in the class - when I learn, I am fierce.
• If there is an error, I must correct it. I kick myself if I make the same mistake twice. I need to consciously resist my urge to kick everyone else if they make the same mistake more than once. [Learner x Responsibility]
• I have an error log going on in my head at all times - one log for my own mistakes and another log for the mistakes that everyone else makes. [Learner x Discipline]
• When there's assignments, I start and finish them early. Moments when I do them last-minute are rare. [Learner x Discipline]
• There's a lot of unconscious information processing that goes on in my sleep. I learn something, literally sleep on it for a few days, and I'm much better at it even if I haven't actually practiced... because I practiced it in my head. [Learner x Intellection]
• Image training is effective for me in learning something new. By watching other people learn, I can vicariously experience what other people are learning. As a result, if I attempt something for the first time after watching someone else learn it, I do surprisingly well. [Learner x Empathy]
• I always think I can do better. [!] This can work against me in the form of self-deprecating thoughts such as "I'm never going to be good enough".

Rank 1: EMPATHY
Something that I didn't even consider as a strength made it in as the top strength (!). After mulling over it for a while, things started to make sense: most of the things I mention below come so naturally to me to the point where I don't notice it. If there was anything I do notice about myself, it was because the strength was working against me (so I thought I had flaws).

• Since when I was a kid, I have a hobby of impersonating people/characters. I love watching impersonators. To me, the best impersonators can anticipate how the impersonated person/character would react in novel situations and act it out convincingly.
• I can't watch anything that involves surgery (even if it's not realistic). I can't listen to accounts of surgery either. As long as it's something that I can imagine, my brain would automatically start imagining things and my legs start to physically hurt.
• The single most important concept I learned in university is the Theory of Mind (in a nutshell "Not everybody thinks the way you do"). That got me thinking "what is it like to be a different person?" and I started to try and put myself in other people's shoes with more intent and deliberation - not only for impersonation purposes. [Empathy x Intellection x Learner]
• One of the most riveting moments in my work is when individuals share their newly learned wisdom (through, oftentimes, cathartic experiences) with me. Being invited to share that emotion is a true honor. [Empathy x Intellection x Learner]
• Another one of the most rewarding moments in my work when individuals convert their anxiety into excitement. That gives me energy too.
• On good days when my emotion-sensing-bandwidth is fine-tuned, I can sense the unsaid. When I address it I am met with surprise ("How did you know what I was thinking?") and relief ("I'm so glad someone understands me.").​
• One of my core values is psychological safety. In the context of work, I need to feel safe to perform well, and one of my top priorities (if not the priority) is to create a safe environment for the people around me. I strongly believe that sharing/expressing one's emotional vulnerability (in a civil manner of course) is not a weakness - it is the bravery of keeping it real, and it is also part of the responsibility that a leader has: creating a psychologically safe environment for their people so that they can perform with maximum efficiency and effectiveness. [Empathy x Responsibility x Discipline]
• This blog post.
• I am aware that there is a different school of thought that keeping emotions completely outside of the workplace is what "professionalism" is. After thinking about it for several years, I still disagree with it. I've seen one too many cases where the individual who lives by that school of thought suddenly erupts in the workplace! To me, that is an order of magnitude more unprofessional and it looks hypocritical which is automatically unforgivable in my books. [Empathy x Responsibility x Discipline]
• People commonly (very kindly) refer to me as a "servant leader" or "(the) culture (of an organization)".
• It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish where my emotion ends and where the other person's emotion starts. [!] It can work against me when I am exposed to negative thoughts for too long - it starts to become my own. I need to be aware of how much sanity I have left and need to set boundaries when I'm close to running out.
• [!] On bad days, I fail to recognize that others can have (shockingly) poor theory of mind, and that there's nothing necessarily wrong with having a poor theory of mind. It can be difficult to read people (for example, I am apparently a difficult person to read) so it's unfair everyone to be really good at it. But sometimes I feel judgmental about it.​  :P

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After doing this exercise (which took me several days), I can say these two things: First, I think I know myself a bit better than I did before - I found a new way to consolidate/categorize my thoughts and behaviors. Second, I feel much more okay with myself than I did before. Throughout childhood and into adulthood and working life, I felt like I was constantly encouraged to contort myself into funky pretzel shapes to fit into unrealistic norms or environments that I naturally am not compatible with. I felt like there was always something wrong with me that I had to fix or hide.

​I think I can let all of that go now :)