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THE BOOK’S MAIN IDEA: By focusing on your strengths, you can go further, enjoy life more, and contribute to the world in your special way. Strengths Finders 2.0 by Tom Wrath and Gallup walks you through the secrets of how to tap into your strengths and the strengths of others to reach amazing heights in your life.

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Ben’s Book Review

Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath & Gallup

Buy “Strengths Finders 2.0” Here

Download my notes here

Review and Summary

This is a fantastic book to not only help you understand the principle of how building on your strengths rather than working on your weaknesses will get you further in life. It is not only more enjoyable, but will be more effective as well.

The first section of the book is an overview about using your natural talents, called “strengths” in this book, and why you want to focus on building your strengths rather than working on your weaknesses. The second section is a list of the 34 strengths highlighted, explained, and unlocked for you.

My Notes

StrengthsFinder: The Next Generation

Goal: What’s right with people
- Working with Clifton
- People do better when working on their strengths
- Discovered 34 Strengths
- Created an assessment
  - Now millions have used it
- More work to do
  - Employee engagement (being happy at work)
  - If people don’t focus on their strengths, the costs are heavy
  - People who DO FUCUS on their strengths
    - Six Times more likely to be engaged
    - Three times likely to have a quality of life as well
  - If your manager…
    - Ignores you – 40% chance of disengagement
    - Focus on weaknesses – 22% chance of disengagement
    - Focus on strengths – 1% chance of disengagement
    - Focus on strengths = >> Cure disengagement
  - New in StrengthsFinder 2.0
    - Still 34 Themes
    - Faster Assessment and more reliable
    - Suggested actions to take according to your top 5 themes
    - Lots of resources to leverage your strengths
    - ALL ABOUT APPLICATION
  - Applying your strengths
    - Makes you happier and more productive

PART I: Finding Your Strengths — An Introduction

The Path of MOST Resistance

The path of most resistance
- Flawed philosophy
- Focusing on where you are low
- Designed to become who we are not
- Devote more time focusing on weaknesses rather than strengths
Story of Rudy
- Tried really hard to be on Football team
- He was not good at football
  - He only played for a few seconds and made a single tackle (after the game was in the back)
- His victory was touching people’s heart – not football
Media makes heroes of those who focus on weaknesses
- Overcoming deficits is a significant part of our culture
- Books and movies filled with underdog stories
- Heroes epitome of American Dream
- This UNFORTUNATELY Champions the path of MOST resistance
  - Slight Edge – quiet heroes play to their strengths and soar
  - Passion where they are best
  - Misguided Maxum: You can be anything you want to be if you just try hard enough
    - Adopting this Maxum means working hard and achieving little
  - The position Strengths Finder takes
    - You have strengths
    - If you work on your weaknesses (places where you don’t have talents), you achieve very little with huge amounts of efforts
    - If you focus on strengths, you will achieve huge results, happily and with little efforts
  - Seems heretical
    - Ben – You can become anything you want, but you are better off being yourself
    - “You cannot be anything you want to be — but you can be a lot more of who you already are.” – Excerpt From: Tom Rath. “StrengthsFinder 2.0.” iBooks.
  - Synergizing with others
    - Story of Hector, the shoe salesman, and Sergio, the marketing and sales expert
      - Alone they were failures
      - Together they experienced extraordinary growth

The Strengths Zone

Talent Study
- How talent can be applied in a wide variety of roles
- All over the world
  - Having the opportunity to develop strengths more important that success in the role
  - No opportunity to develop strengths – dread work, negative experience, achieve less, not fulfilling
- Conclusion
  - You need to know and develop your strengths in the roles you play
- Why people are not living from strengths
  - They don’t know their strengths

Your Themes of Talent

People don’t know what they are good at, and they can only perform from their strengths
Language of Strengths
- Lots of words to describe what is wrong with people
- Need terms to describe what people do well
Project to determine what people do well
- 100,000 interviews
- 34 main themes discovered – best attempt at create a common language
  - There are 100’s of specific themes not included
  - This doesn’t capture everything
  - They wanted to keep language manageable
- Strengths finder vs. Talents
  - Strengths finder ACTUALLY MEASURES Talent
  - Talent is just one of the ingredient in the formula to build strengths
    - Needed to build strengths:
      - Talent
      - Knowledge
      - Skill
      - Practice

A Recipe for Strength

Core personality traits, passions, and interests are stable in life
- A child’s personality at age 3 is similar to that at age 26
- Talents, knowledge, skills, and practice
- Without knowledge, skills, and practice Talent goes untapped
- It’s easier to add knowledge, skills, and practice to your repertoire
- Adding talent (where little exists) is NOT the best use of your time
Formula for Most Super Successful People
- Talent X Investment = Strengths
- (Investment = adding knowledge, skill, or practice)
- Raw talent then serves as multiplier

Look back on the Rudy story

- He had little talent, so he had to add tons and tons of effort or investment to achieve something
Everyone is different
- We all recognize that people are different
- It can sometimes be difficult to discover our talents
- We can therefore start with a Theme, this gives us the language to begin thinking of what the talents cover
Using talents
- Being aware talents
  - Build these
- Being aware of areas where you have little talent
  - Move away from this area

Managing Weaknesses

Knowing your areas of lesser talents can be helpful
- Being unaware of them can lead to weaknesses
- Being aware can help you avoid major roadblocks
Questions to ask
- Is it necessary to operate in the area of your lesser talent at all?
- If you can avoid it, move away from it
- If you can’t
  - You might need to set up systems to help you manage weaknesses
- Partner with others
  - You can find someone with talents in areas that you are weak in
  - This enables you to leverage others and others to leverage you to create a synergistic result

Blind Spots

There might be things that your dominant talent leaves behind
You might be naturally blind about issues
Learning what to look for, you can develop strategies to deal with them

The New Assessment

Refined assessments
34 Themes help describe variations
Resources 5000 insights
Strength discovery and action planning guide
Action Planning Guide

Parting Thoughts

Talents and Passions = things we really love to do
- Sometimes people never uncover their strengths
- “He would have been the world’s greatest general if he had been a general.”
The world will be better off if we follow our strengths
Strengths finder doesn’t anoint you with strengths, it merely helps you discover them

PART II: Applying Your Strengths

This is a list of all 34 themes

Achiever
Activator
Adaptability
Analytical
Arranger
Belief
Command
Communication
Competition
Connectedness
Consistency
Context
Deliberative
Developer
Discipline
Empathy
Focus
Futuristic
Harmony
Ideation
Includer
Individualization
Input
Intellection
Learner
Maximizer
Positivity
Relator
Responsibility
Restorative
Self-Assurance
Significance
Strategic
Woo

The 34 Themes and Ideas for Action

1. Achiever

Achiever

(EXECUTING)

Summary
- Explains your drive
- Every day, you need to achieve to feel good about yourself
- Internal fire burning inside – pushes you to do more and achieve more
- Not always logical or focused – but always there
Benefits
- Will give you the energy needed to achieve without burning out – work long hours
- Jolt you need to do new things… gives you a power supply to keep moving
- Don’t require much motivation from others. Set out to achieve own goals.
Limitation
- Must learn to live with some discontent
- Starting every day back at Zero
- Never rest. Always more to do.
Examples
- Feeling a need to rack up points every day (driven by to do list)
- Helps achieve
Ideas for Action
- Good at jobs that allow you to work as hard as you want & measure own productivity
- Like being busy. Need to know when you are done. Attach timeline and measurable end points.
- Focus on achieving in all areas of life. Achieve with family & friends (relationships).
- Build celebration of success into life.
- Meetings: Learn objective for meeting and track the progress.
Working with Achiever
- Acknowledge successes.
- Work directly with them.

2. Activator

Activator

(INFLUENCING)

Summary
- Things get done from action – only action is real and can make things happen.
- Must act, regardless of whether you know enough or not
- Believe: action is the best device of learning (act, look at it, learn from it)
Benefits
- Transform ideas into action
- Energize plans and ideas of others
Limitations
- Process or methodology not always pretty
Examples
- Just jumped into things without completely thinking through it (oil drilling)
- Experiencing bumping into the wall by self
Ideas for Action
- Look to be judged by measurable outcomes
- Challenge to have experiences that challenge skills and knowledge
- Look for focus or others to help get their ideas going
- Be strategic and wise with activator talents
Working with
- Pair with thinkers to end the stale mate
- Ask this person how to get going, what is the next step…

3. Adaptability

Adaptability

(RELATIONSHIP)

Summary
- Live in the moment
- Discover things one choice at a time
- Very flexible, stays productive when demands pulling in many direction
Benefits
- Allows responding willingly at the moment
- Likes pressure or need for instance response
- Can easily take change or adapt to events (don’t get upset or thrown off)
Limitations
- No plans, up for anything, hard to plan or stick to plans
Examples
- Love live TV, because you never know what is going to happen
- Lives in the moment – whatever you are in the mood for
Ideas for Action
- Avoid roles that require predictability
- Cultivate reputation as calm or reassuring person
  - It is about calmly responding to situations
  - Productive flexibility not “I don’t care” attitude
- Don’t let others take advantage of flexibility – they may take over (use guidelines to help you decide when to flex and when to stay firm)
- Consider roles where you need to adapt quickly
- Look to others for help with planning (shape long-term goals)
Working with
- Flexible nature benefits any team – adapts to changes easily
- Most productive on short-term assignments (nothing long and drawn out)

4. Analytical

Analytical

(STRATEGIC)

Summary
- Challenges other people “Prove it” “Show me why what you are claiming is true”
- Insist that people’s theories are sound – objective and dispassionate
- Like data because it is objective – like to understand how the data fit together to reveal the truth
Benefits
- Gets to the root cause or truth
- People may come to you to expose clumsy thinking to analytical/refining mind
- Love asking questions to find out more about a subject
- Mind is constantly working and producing ideas and analysis
Limitations
- Others see it as logical and emotionless
- Some annoyed by lack of flexibility or imagination
- Others may take skepticism personally
Examples
- Innate ability to see patterns before they exist
- Break things down to useful components
- Claims can be broken down to facts to back it up
Ideas for Action
- Find roles to work with data, find patterns, or organize ideas
- Have supportive and reliable sources of data
- Let people know your ideas or thoughts, communicating thoughts adds value
  - Must be pushed from theory to practice
  - Partner with activator
- Expand analytical talents: learn more, or volunteer
Working with
- Important decisions: need time and information
- Must show numbers and accuracy to this person when convincing them of new ideas
- Make sure accuracy and time are there

5. Arranger

Arranger

(EXECUTING)

Summary
- Conductor, manage all the variable, arranged variables into the best way to get things done
- Always looking for the perfect configuration
- Confronted with unexpected: jump into confusion of change and find new ways of doing things
Benefits
- Keep so many ideas in your head
- Willing to shelf well laid plans for a better idea
- Weigh values of different options quickly
Limitations
- Others may hold to the past or well thought out things
- Arranger thing makes everyone rely on you to get things … arranged … quickly
Examples
- Good at looking at a complex situation and only see a few good solutions
- Get ideas (out of box) to create new solutions
Ideas for Action
- Learn goals of co-workers and friends and help them get there
- Learn more about people and use this ability to get them in the right spot
- Keep track of deadlines, inform people of your progress
- Seek complex environments with few constraints
- Take the time to clearly explain why your way would be more efficient
  - Share some of your, “what if…” thinking with them
- Working with
  - This person is excited with complexity and many moving parts
  - This person can help position people in a team well, too
  - If something is not working, this person will enjoy figuring out solutions

6. Belief

Belief

(EXECUTING)

Summary
- Family oriented, altruistic, spiritual
- Beliefs give meaning and satisfaction
- Beliefs and values provide consistency
- Success is more than money and prestige
Benefits
- Friends find you reliable, know where you stand
- Consistent set of priorities
- Easy to trust
- Values are why you work so hard
- You can remind people why their work is important – you can motivate them with this vision
Limitations
- Work must be meaningful, must matter to you
- May be the lowest paid in the group and not even care
- May be so caught up in values, might not balance it with career
Examples
- Find purpose, and then be happy with it
- Purpose is the most important
Ideas for Action
- Find work that works with your beliefs
- Discover and clarify your values – repeat them
- Actively seek roles that match your values
- Create a gallery or record of the lives you have influenced for the good
- Balance work and commitment to values
Working with
- This person will likely be very passionate about the work
- Learn about this person’s values and commitments – you need to understand their belief system

7. Comand

Command

(INFLUENCING)

Summary
- Leads you to take charge
- Once your opinion is formed, and goal is set, you need to share it with others
- Not afraid with confrontation – compelled to present facts or truths regardless of harm
Benefits
- People will be drawn to you
- You have presence, they will hand you the reigns
- Whatever needs to be said, you just say it
Limitations
- Some may label you opinionated
- Sometimes people feel intimidated
Examples
- People feared to work with you before, but then understand your strengths
- You will likely call people out for breaking the rules
- You take charge of the situation, people want you to take charge
Ideas for Action
- Always be ready to confront – practice the words to change this urge to effective persuasiveness
- Strive to become known as a candid person
  - Explain that you are upfront because it is uncomfortable to keep things bottled up
- Partner with Woo or Empathy talents
  - Some things do not need to be challenged – avoid obstacles through relationships
- Like to wrestle for the reins of power – even if you are not formally in charge, you can influence things to happen
- Selling may be a good career for you
Working with
- Always ask this person for evaluations of the company, this person will give you a straight answer
- Look to this person to get something moving again or jar things up
- Never confront this person unless you are 100% ready to follow through

8. Communication

Communication

(INFLUENCING)

Summary
- You like to explain, describe, host or teach
- You feel a need to bring ideas to life, to liven the idea with images and metaphors
- You want your information to survive, to divert their attention, and capture it
Benefits
- You can put together powerful word combinations
- You can use your words to inspire people to act,
Limitations
- Wants to tell stories – use talking to solve problems
Examples
- Great at telling stories, share a story to make an impact and deliver a message
- Using imagery to help people understand an idea
Ideas for Action
- Talk about passionate things and use examples
- Do well in roles that require you to capture attention
- Collect stories or phrases that resonate with you
- Take note on parts of your presentation that people react to
- Practice – knowing where you are headed and being prepared will make things natural
- Examine the groups that you connect with the best
- Frame your ideas – write a book or speak publicly or present
Working with
- This person caries on conversation easily
- Ask them to come to social events
- Let this person tell stories
- Use this person to help you communicate ideas

9. Competition

Competition

(INFLUENCING)

Summary
- Rooted in comparison – look at the performance
- You need to compare and win, you like other competitors, and like winners
- Don’t compete for fun, you compete to win
Benefits
- Driven by competition
- Energized by a realizable goal
Limitations
- If you do not win, the achievement feel hollow
Examples
- Likes to compete in sports (competitions) that can win
Ideas for Action
- Select work environments in which you can measure your achievements
- List all the people you currently compete
- Turn ordinary tasks into games, you will get more done this way
- Let people know that being competitive does not mean feeling good by putting others down, it means deriving satisfaction from reaching new heights
- Set up your own competitions
- Look for role models
Working with
- Use competitive language with this person
- Help this person find places where he/she can win – they compete to win
- Let them mourn when they lose

10. Connectedness

Connectedness

(RELATIONSHIP)

Summary
- Things happen for a reason, you are sure of it
- Everyone is part of something larger (collectiveness)
- This implies responsibilities
- Likes seeing how things are related
Benefits
- Value system: Considerate, caring, and loving – sensitive of others
- Faith is strong and sustains you
Limitations
- Can this person do things alone or operate in an adversarial environment
Examples
- Humility is the essence of connectedness
- Love to think of the entire group of people involved and contributing
Ideas for Action
- Roles in which you listen and counsel
- Expand connectedness: start a club or organization
- Be a leader in building teams
- Move through boundaries
- Help people see connections and how they are a part of something bigger
- Bring people together and help people look past their boundaries
Working with
- Defends social issues strongly – understanding these will develop your relationship with this person
- Connect with this person by understanding their point of view

11. Consistency

Consistency

(EXECUTING)

Summary
- Balance is important to you
- Need to treat people the same – don’t want to see the scales tipped in favor of one or more people
- Believe people function best with clear rules and fair and equal opportunities
Benefits
- See people as equal
- Help everyone get their fair share
- Work with ways that rules are applied uniformly across the board
Limitations
- Draws attention to people who abuse or take more than their share
- You might overemphasize how people get things done and ignore what gets done
- Hard to deal with those who bend the rules or individual qualities
- Difficulty with change
Examples
- Point out when people are being unfair or taking more than giving
- Work to make sure everyone gets a fair shot
- Give credit where credit is due
Ideas for Action
- Make a list of rules of consistencies that you can live from
- The clearer you are with these rules, the more comfortable you will be with individuality
- Seek to be a force in leveling the playing field
- Cultivate a reputation in which you pinpoint those that really deserve credit
- Look for ways to accommodate individual differences – partner with maximizer or individualization
- Always stand up for what you believe – leverage talents when you need to communicate not so pleasant news
Working with
- Be supportive with this person during times of change
- Ask this person to pinpoint the accomplishments of others

12. Context

Context

(STRATEGIC)

Summary
- You look back to the past to find answers for the present
- Think about earlier (simpler) times to understand the meaning, the initial blueprints
- Understanding of the past brings confidence (because you understand the beginning)
Benefits
- Have strong sense of how things were and should be
- Relates to people by their past background
- Learn well from precedents
Limitations
- Takes time to orient with changes or new situations
Examples
- Avoid repeating the mistakes of the past
- Relates people to what had happened to the in the past
- Connect with a company or people in a group by understanding what they went through
Ideas for Action
- Mantra: “Those who don’t understand the past are bound to repeat it”
- Help others plan for the future by understanding the past (learn from past)
- Collect stories from past
- Partner with those with strong future or strategic talents
  - Fascination with what could be can stop Context from getting mired in the past
  - Understanding of Context from the Past will stop Futuristic or Strategic from repeating mistakes of the past
- Accept change – you don’t need to live in the past; you can identify the aspects of the past that must be discarded; you can also use this information to understand what can be
- Reading historical novels or biographies will give you valuable insights and information
Working with
- During meetings, the Context person will be able to help the team understand what has been done – thinks in terms of case studies
- Allow them to talk about their backgrounds

13. Deliberative

Deliberative

(EXECUTING)

Summary
- Careful, vigilant, private person; the world is an unpredictable place (there are risks)
- Carefully understand a situation and understand where things can go wrong
- Life is a minefield; Walk with care
Benefits
- Draws risks out in the open where they can be assessed and reduced
- Asks questions, looks at variables, gets things done right
Limitations
- Others may not like the carefulness or time that it takes to tread lightly
- Others may think of this as a fear of action or tentativeness
Examples
- Reducing the number of variables
  - Negotiation – likes to get all the small variables out of way
- Prone to asking questions like, “How is this going to work? How will this play out?” – asking questions helps everyone prepare better
- Double check everything – need to know things are solid
Ideas for Action
- Good judgement – legal work, consulting, help others see through their decision
- Explain process of careful decision making
- Use these talents to handle things cautiously – there are advantages of carefully taking steps especially in times of change
- Build friendships slowly, but take pride in this – check people out carefully
- Partner with Activator, Command, or Self Assurance talents; together make decisions (sound decisions) – call a “consideration period”
- Give yourself permission to withhold your opinion until you get all the facts
Working with
- Put this person with teams that seem to be impulsive
- Ask this person to identify land mines or problems that could arise
- This person will not likely have many friends, so don’t take it personally if they keep you at arms length

14. Developer

Developer

(RELATIONSHIP)

Summary
- See the potential in others (this is all you see)
- No one is fully formed
- Always looking for people to grow (you can clearly see signs of people growing)
Benefits
- Goal is to help people experience success, and help them grow
- People will seek you out for assistance and encouragement
Limitations
- You will be compelled to help more people than is possible to do
- You may also over-invest in losing causes (people not progressing)
Examples
- Love to see people reach their potential
- Derive pleasure in watching people discover their talents and do things they never thought possible
- Help people move in the right direction
Ideas for Action
- Make a list of people you have helped learn and grow
- Seek roles where you can identify and encourage growth
- Tell people ways they have succeeded – thank people that have helped you develop
- Partner with strong individualization challenge (so you can identify where people actually have talent) – Encourage people to find roles that fit
- Acknowledge that you can’t mentor or help people – just take advantage of short opportunities to make a difference
- Pay attention to your own development, so you can help others grow, too
Working with
- Point out to this person where he or she has helped others excel
- Find out from this person who has developed and deserves praise
- Ask this person how you have grown

15. Discipline

Discipline

(EXECUTING)

Summary
- Your world needs to be orderly and planned. Everything is broken down and ordered
- You want to feel control, routines, timelines, and methods
Benefits
- Instinct ability to maintain progress and productivity
Limitations
- Others may resist your need for order
- Dislike of surprises
- Controlling behaviors that box people in
- Mistakes may depress you
- Others will confuse discipline and order with rigidity
Examples
- Time management courses (personal development)
- You use tools (lists, reminders, schedulers…) to get things done
  - Use lists to keep on track
- Love efficient filing system – works well
- Keep track of everything, so you can do your work
Ideas for Action
- You can help others understand that maintaining order helps you get things done more efficiently
- Don’t hesitate to check as often as you want to make sure things are right
- Must find ways to move through failures and the lack of others’ methods
  - Move beyond annoyance – focus on the results of others, not their methods
- You love looking over details; allow yourself to – you are a perfectionist at heart (use it)
- Create systems and methods to improve efficiencies – look for opportunities to create this
- Invest in furniture and organization systems
- Timelines are important; create a step by step plan – help keep everyone on task
- Help others understand that your discipline helps you pack more into your day, be more efficient, and get more done
- Working with un-disciplined people: ask them to clarify deadlines and expectations, so you can accommodate them
- Seek roles and responsibility with structure – create systems: people will appreciate predictability
Working with
- Let them know deadlines early – they will likely start getting to work early
- Don’t surprise them with sudden changes (keep them in the loop)
- Disorganization will annoy this person

16. Empathy

Empathy

(RELATIONSHIP)

Summary
- You can sense the emotions of others and feel what they are feeling, see the world from their eyes
- You don’t necessarily agree with, condone, or support (that’s sympathy) – you merely understand
Benefits
- Instinctive ability to understand, hear the unvoiced words
- Help people find the right words to express their feelings, give words to their emotional life
- People are drawn to you
Limitations
- Temptation to allow empathy (good) turn to sympathy (not necessarily good)
- Others may see you as a bleeding heart
- These feelings of empathy may overwhelm you
Examples
- Are able to really hear someone, and often act as an intermediary, and help people be heard
- Likes to ask, “What would this person feel about this, or what would she like to say about…”
- Can feel whether people are engaged or connected
Ideas for Action
- Help others understand when someone is having a difficult time
- Understand someone’s emotional estate
- Partner with someone with strong command or activator talents to take action
  - Help you to take action even though it might hurt other’s feelings
- Act as confidant and allow people to bring their problems to you – use your discretion and desire to be helpful
- These feelings of empathy may overwhelm you
  - Create boundaries and something at the end of the work day to signal that work is over
  - Buffer your emotions by putting up time off
- Partner with another Empathy to check your feelings and gauge the feelings of others
- Empathy is especially important in trying times
- Witnessing happiness in others brings you pleasure
- Intuitions may be very valuable – take note of them
Working with
- Ask this person to help you understand others
- Before making changes, ask this person how he and others he knows will help
- This person may be able to sense how others feel and what they are missing

17. Focus

Focus

(EXECUTING)

Summary
- Need a clear destination
- Set goals each year, month, week, and day – goals serve as the compass
- Focus forces you to evaluate whether actions help you move toward your goal
Benefits
- Focus forces you to become efficient
- You keep everyone on point
  - If something doesn’t help you move to your destination, it is not worth your time
- Limitations
  - Feel frustrated with delays or things that get in the way
  - Getting things done is sometimes allowed to take priority over feelings or sensitivities of others
- Examples
  - Efficiency is important – getting things done quickly is valuable
  - Always sorting out priorities – figuring out the quickest route to the end goal – getting rid of unessential things
  - Able to keep people focused on the vision and keep bringing people back to the goal
  - Surgical shopper
- Ideas for Action
  - Include timelines and measurements with your goals – proof of progress
  - Function independently – need little supervision
  - Help others set goals
  - At the end of meetings summarize what was decided and what actions need to be done
  - Allow others to act, think, or talk differently – allow this and pay attention
  - Set goals for your personal life to create balance in life
  - Schedule priorities and stick to that schedule
  - Reject tasks and projects that do not align with your mission
  - Write down your aspirations – take more control of your life
- Working with
  - Involve a Focus person in projects with critical deadlines
  - When this person is in a meeting, try to follow agenda (idle talk annoys this person)
  - Be aware that getting the work done for this person takes priorities over people’s sensitivities

18. Futuristic

Futuristic

(STRATEGIC)

Summary
- The future fascinates you (it pulls you forward and inspires you)
  - Wouldn’t it be great if…
- You get energized by visions of the future
Benefits
- People look to you to get a vision of the future – you can paint it for them and help inspire them
  - Make your vision of the future as vivid as possible, it will make people latch on to that inspiration
- Inspirational visions of what could and should be
Limitations
- The present is sometimes too frustrating and sometimes people are too pragmatic
Examples
- Always says, “Did you ever think about… I wonder if we could…”
- No such thing as the status quo – you either move forward or backward – need to free from traditions and create a new future
- Envision ideas and visions for a better future – redefining how things should be done
Ideas for Action
- Roles in which you contribute your ideas of the future to others
- Share your ideas about the future
- Keep describing the vision of the future to others
- Partner with Activator – helps remind you to create the future by today’s action
- Describe the future in vivid details for others to see
- Break down lofty visions into models, steps, and actionable links to where we are now
  - Need to provide logical support in real possibility
- Surround yourself with people who are eager to put your ideas in motion
- Read articles about science, tech, etc. to fuel imagination
Working with
- This person lives for the future – ask them to share their vision with you
- Talk with this person often about what could be
- Help this person make the visions of the future as VIVID as possible

19. Harmony

Harmony

(RELATIONSHIP)

Summary
- Look for areas of agreement (hold conflict to a minimum)
- Steer people toward harmony and look for consensus and support (belief)
- Hold your peace in the higher goal of consensus
Benefits
- You help others come together and get along
Limitations
- Tempting to give in to all your own objectives and allow others to overrun you
- Avoid temptation to run away from conflicts and leave matters unresolved
Examples
- Likes and gets along with people
- Doesn’t irritate easily – take the form of the vessel in which she is poured
- Just allows difference of opinions and understanding to form a consensus
- Peacemaker
Ideas for Action
- Ask two disagreeing parties to share their thoughts – get the issues out, so you are more likely to come to a consensus
  - At times allowing others to speak may actually create disharmony
  - Some people with Achiever may get frustrated with all the talk and no action – for instance
  - Don’t hesitate to jump in and turn the conversation around to a practical track
- Avoid roles that are confrontational or adversarial
- Partner with command or activator person – this person can help you confront conflicts head on
- Help others be more engage in team projects
Working with
- Steer this person away from conflict
- Keep conversation on practical matters
- This person will help others who are in disagreement find common ground and get along

20. Ideation

Ideation

(STRATEGIC)

Summary
- You are fascinated by ideas, concepts, connections
- Looking at the world through new angles, views, and find
- Derive a jolt of energy when a new idea comes to you – ideas are thrilling
Benefits
- Driven by ideas – they give you energy
Limitations
- Can be distracted by thinking
- Tend to get bored easily
Examples
- Comes up with explanation to describe why the world is the way it is
- The idea of each piece of a whole, function something fills, needs to fix problems
Ideas for Action
- Seek roles where you can contribute ideas
- Overcome boredom with games stimulations
- Finish thoughts and ideas before you communicate them – others will dismiss the ideas not fully formed
- Edit or filter ideas before sharing them discard ideas that won’t work or are impractical
- Understand when and where you get your new ideas (read, think, and ponder to grow ideas and materials for ideas) – brainstorm with others
- Partner with Analytical – they will question and test your ideas
Working with
- This person enjoys the power of words that captures ideas – these stimulate their thinking
- Make the most of this person’s ability to create
- Feed this person information to come up with new ideas

21. Includer

Includer

(RELATIONSHIP)

Summary
- Philosophy – stretch the circle wider. Expand the group, so that as many people as possible can enjoy the support
- Each of us should be included
- Avoid people and groups that exclude people
- Cast few judgments
Benefits
- Instinctively accepting person
- Looks for ways to include people – fundamentally, we are all the same
- Engages people who are quiet
- Natural capacity to truly care for all people
Limitations
- Avoids groups that exclude people
- Becomes friends with people almost too fast – including some people who have issues
Examples
- Invite others to play or participate
- Makes quick friends and works out ways to see the good in those people
- Good at finding opportunities to bring people together
- Finds people on the sideline and pulls them in
Ideas for Action
- Good in roles representing people who are not being heard – satisfaction comes from helping them be included
- Good in roles working with people and making everyone feel important
- Look for opportunities to bring people together and help people get to know other people
- Help everyone find common ground
- Let others know they can call on you to step in to help with problematic individuals
- Partner with activator or command talents to deliver bad news that may hurt someone’s feelings
- People relate to each other through you (you keep people connected to each other’s)
Working with
- Group functions – ask this person to make sure that everyone is included
- This person might discover potential markets not being reached or served
- This person will make sure you are a part of the conversation

22. Individualization

Individualization

(RELATIONSHIP)

Summary
- Intrigued by the distinct qualities of the person – focus on the differences, style, motivation, ways of thinking
- Hear one-of-a-kind stories of each; tailor everything differently to others
- It is appropriate, just, and effective to treat everyone differently
Benefits
- Keen observer of everyone’s unique strengths – can help pull out the best in people
- The secret to great teams is casting to individual strengths, so that everyone can do a lot of what they do well
- Ability to see people as unique individuals
- People will look to you to explain the motivations and actions of others
Limitations
- Some may see you as playing favorites, treating people unequal, or being unfair to some
Examples
- Personally, takes care of people’s individual needs – meet with people when they need it
- See what is in people’s minds – what makes them tick or what they are thinking of
- Can easily identify what kind of a person someone is
Ideas for Action
- Ideal roles are those where the individualization talents can be used and appreciated: counseling, teaching, or selling
- Become an expert in describing your own strengths and styles
- Help others plan and design a future tailored to them and what they do best by asking them questions
- Help others understand the benefits of treating others differently to those who like equality – explain your rationale and philosophy
- Can relate to people’s stories, and use these stories when expressing ideas to others to make your point more effectively
- Use your gift to identify differences in data, individuals, opportunities
Working with
- This person can help you see the world through the eyes of another
- This person can help you identify actions tailored for different individuals

23. Input

Input

(STRATEGIC)

Summary
- Inquisitive, collector, discoverer, answers questions
- Finds so many things interesting – the world is exciting because of its infinite variety
- Like doing things where you learn or collect new things
- Stores these things away – never know when or why you might need them – not comfortable with throwing anything away
Benefits
- Collects tangible things and information
- Naturally soaks up information like a sponge
Limitations
- Could collect far too many things – collects garbage and trivial information
Examples
- Wants to know everything – makes a game of finding the answers to questions
- Loves the internet and finding information to almost anything
Ideas for Action
- Jobs involving collecting new information every day: teaching, journalism, research…
- Devise a system to store and easily recall/locate information
- Partner with dominant focus or discipline talents to stay on track
- Remember input needs output. Find groups or individuals that can benefit from the information and things you collect – be intentional about sharing them (don’t be afraid to position yourself as an expert)
- Information needs to be leveraged, turned into knowledge, and taken advantage of
- Identify areas of specialization and actively seek more information about that
- Schedule time to read information that stimulates you (collect new vocabulary words)
Working with
- Keep this person posted on the latest news – Find common interests, share information and build a relationship with this person that way
- In meetings, ask this person for related information to leverage his knowledge

24. Intellection

Intellection

(STRATEGIC)

Summary
- You like to think, mental activity, exercising muscles of the brain
- Enjoys time alone for musing and reflection – you are your own best companion
Benefits
- Mental activity may be focused
- Mental Hum: Introspection may lead to pragmatic maters, goals, tasks of the day…
Limitations
- Mental activity may lack focus
- Discontent may come from comparing what you are doing with the thoughts you conceive
- People may think you are disengaged when you close the door or spend time alone
Examples
- Love people, but like lots of solitude to allow focus to simmer with something
- Need to have noise around him to occupy brain in order to concentrate better
- Solitary confinement calmed and strengthened this person – time to think about things that are important to you
Ideas for Action
- Let ideas simmer
- Begin or continue studies in philosophy, literature, or psychology – enjoy subjects that stimulate your thinking
- List ideas in a log or diary
- Deliberately build relationship with other big thinkers
- Help others understand that valuing time alone is simply your thinking style not a reflection on the value placed on relationships
- Get involved in the beginning of projects so you can see the thought train and progression from start to finish (you enjoy seeing things begin and the ideas travel along)
- Engage people in intellectual debate – but reserve debate for people who are keyed to it. Find people who like to talk about the same issues you do. Encourage others in dialogue and encourage them to use their full intelligence. There will be some that find this intimidating, and will need time before put on the spot
- Schedule time for thinking – this can be energizing for you. Take time to write.
Working with
- Don’t hesitate to challenge this person’s thinking – they will take it as a sign that her ideas are valuable and you are paying attention to her
- When you need things to be evaluated, ask this person to read them and ask them what he or she thinks
- Capitalize on the fact that thinking stimulates this person, when you need something thought through or figured out, ask this person to think it through and uncover a detailed explanation

25. Learner

Learner

(STRATEGIC)

Summary
- You love to learn – (the subject is determined by other things)
- Loves the process of learning (ignorance to competence)
- Don’t need to be an expert, it just the joy of getting there (learning more important than knowledge)
- Not necessarily the most intelligent, just loves to soak up information and skills
- Not curious in broad sense – just likes to hone in on topics and learn more
Benefits
- Takes advantage of adult learning experiences
Limitations
- May not necessarily be focused or useful
- May lose track of time when immersed in something you are learning
Examples
- Not feel like learning enough on the job. Take up a new hobby and learn a new skill.
- Get a reputation for voraciously soaking up information – learning new things (being an expert is not important, just the joy of learning new stuff)
Ideas for Action
- Loves assignments that take on new subjects and requires to learn a lot in a short period of time
- Find learning time, schedule learning sessions that will not be interrupted by important and urgent things
- Develop ways to track your learning
- Seek roles that require technical competence, especial in a field that changes and where your knowledge needs to be updated
- Might excel in consulting role, where you need to learn lots quickly
- Honor desire to learn – take advantage of adult learning opportunities wherever you can get them
Working with
- Help this person find new ways to learn and feed off the motivation that comes from learning more in the target area
- Help this person track their learning and even consider rewarding milestones

26. Maximizer

Maximizer

(INFLUENCING)

Summary
- Excellence is the measure
  - Below average to above average is not rewarding
  - Transforming from Strong to Superb takes less effort and is more rewarding
- Strengths fascinate you. You search them out.
Benefits
- You can identify strengths – rapid growth, learning, un-tutored excellence
- Feel compelled to nurture the strength to excellence – polished to a shine
Limitations
- Others see your focus on strengths as discriminating (you choose to spend time on strengths)
- Don’t want to work on being well-rounded or grow in areas where there is little or no talent
- Don’t like working with people who are so far away (would rather work with people who are closer to excellence)
- People might think you are complacent when you ignore areas where you don’t have strengths and focus on areas where you do
Examples
- Ask people what they like about themselves – what they are good at “Let’s focus on the attribute you like about yourself.”
- Excited to work with people and projects that just need refinement and adjustments to be amazing
- Like working in roles where you use the strengths and avoid the things that you are not good at
Ideas for Action
- Seek roles where you are helping people succeed: coaching, mentoring, teaching, consulting…
- Help people describe what they do best – measure the performance in others to identify strengths
- Focus on your greatest talents – keep working on strengths in your greatest areas
- Partner with a problem solver (or anyone else who has a strength you don’t) – Partner with Restorative
- Explain to others why you spend time working on things you are good at rather than improving what you are not good at
- Don’t try to fix what is broken, strengthen what is working well
- Keep focus on long-term relationships and goals
- Study Success – spend time with those who have found success
Working with
- This person is interested in making the most of things that work
- Rather than continual problem solving, look to improve systems and people
- Focus on strengths with this person

27. Positivity

Positivity

(RELATIONSHIP)

Summary
- Generous with praise and light heartedness
- It is good to be alive, work can be fun
- Never lose your sense of humor
Benefits
- You make the world of others look better
- You lighten the spirits of others and celebrate achievement
- So passionate about talking and sharing things with people
Limitations
- Some cynics reject your positivity as unrealistic
- Some negative people will unload on you
Examples
- Single out one or two people and make them feel particularly special
- Loves creating buzz – tells everything about some new or awesome thing
- Love being a positive person
Ideas for Action
- Will excel in any role that paid to highlight positive: teacher, leadership, sales, entrepreneurial
- Enthusiasm used to provide impetus to keep others moving
- Plan celebrations to capitalize on positive outlook and support others
- Explain to others that enthusiasm is not naivety – positivity is grounded in reality
- Show appreciation of other in specific, tangible ways – help others see what is going well with them
- Insulate yourself from whiners and complainers and negative people
Working with
- Tap into this person’s enthusiasm, positivity, drama, and energy
- Although this person is not always in a good mood, he can make others enjoy their work
- Does not fix negative people – just energizes positive people in need of a spark

28. Relator

Relator

(RELATIONSHIP)

Summary
- Attitude toward relationships – brings you toward people you ALREADY know
- Derive pleasure and strengths from being around close friends
- Understand feelings, goals, and dreams of people near you
Benefits
- Gift for developing relationships and connecting with others – enjoy the company of good, close friends
- Trust yourself to the other person, takes risks, and move steps toward other people
- Values genuine relationships
- Becomes a catalyst for trusting relationships
Limitations
- People might take advantage of your wiliness to connect and serve
Examples
- Selective about relationships – not looking for new friends
- When reaches past the threshold – feels compelled to go deeper and deeper
- True friends are different than acquaintances
Ideas for Action
- Find workplace where friendships are encouraged (not a formal workplace)
- Learn as much as you can about the people you meet –
- Become a catalyst for trusting relationships
- Let your caring show – find people to mentor others, stay in contact with friends, arrange events to grow together – put yourself out there
- Make time – quality moments, schedule activities for those close ones
Working with
- This person enjoys developing genuine bonds
- Tell this person that you care about them – they will want to know where they stand
- Trust this person with secrets – they will not betray your trust!

29. Responsibility

Responsibility

(EXECUTING)

Summary
- You take ownership to anything you commit to
- You feel emotionally bound to see things through to completion – your reputation is on the line
- Apologies, excuses, rationalizations are not acceptable
- Every worthy project needs someone to accept responsibility for it
- Reputation is very important
Benefits
- You always seek to follow through on your word (and if need be, make it up when you can’t–restitution)
- People know that things will get done when given to you – people will come to you
Limitations
- Willingness to volunteer will lead you to take on more than you can handle
- May bend backward making things right for everyone involved (can’t separate business ethics from personal ethics)
Examples
- When something happens not according to what you promised, you seek to make good on your promise by fixing things
- Tend to volunteer for everything, but must realize that God (or others) are responsible for some things
- Difficult to live two standards when personal ethics clash with business ethics
Ideas for Action
- Describe your sense of responsibility, need to finish things, drive to keep promises, and desire to always make things right
- You thrive on responsibility and you can deal with it
- Align with others who also thrive on responsibility
- Tell your manager, he/she doesn’t need to check in with you until the end
- Be selective – Learn to say no. Ask for more responsibility for those things that are important to you (carefully manage your responsibilities and balance them with your resources)
- Partner with Focus or Discipline. They can help you stay on task and avoid being overloaded.
- Create metrics and goals to make sure you deliver on expectations
Working with
- Living up to commitments is important to this person, so this person may not work well with those who don’t value keeping commitments.
- This person doesn’t like to trade quality to speed. Don’t rush him/her.
- Talk about quality first.
- Help this person not to take on too much.

30. Restorative

Restorative

(EXECUTING)

Summary
- You love to solve problems. It energizes you. You love finding solutions.
- You enjoy bringing things back into life, discovering the issues, solving them, and fixing it.
Benefits
- You have a skill of fixing things, and solving problems
- A rush in fixing things
Limitations
- Hard to resist fixing things for others and creating dependency
- Feel defeated when a problem remains unresolved
Examples
- Likes things like writing and working on programs
- Likes jobs where you solve problems
- Working on projects might lead to satisfaction or frustration
Ideas for Action
- Might enjoy jobs where things need to be solved: programmer, medicine, consulting, customer service (a field that requires exceptional skill or knowledge)
- Let others know you enjoy fixing problems
- You can help those who shy away from problems
- You can fix yourself – build and develop yourself
- Let other people solve their own problems, this can hinder their learning
- Leverage your talent to prevent problems before they occur
Working with
- Ask this person for insights when a situation or problem arises – this person will respond in a professional resourceful way
- This person may feel defeated when a problem remains unresolved. Help him/her through it.

31. Self-Assurance

Self-Assurance

(INFLUENCING)

Summary
- Similar to self-confidence (deep belief that you are able, able to take risks, take on challenges)
- You have faith in your strengths – you are able to deliver…
Benefits
- Confidence in both abilities and judgment
- Sees your contribution to the world as distinct
- Authority and Accountability – you alone have the final say on how to do and act in your world
- You have an aura of certainty – not easily persuaded
Limitations
- Can be stubborn
- Hard to put your point of view into words
- Others might see you as self-righteous
Examples
- Makes decisions and sticks to them – likes decisions they make
- Confidence provides support and encouragement to others
Ideas for Action
- Look for situations where no rule book exists
- At your best when called upon to make many decisions. It can sometimes
- Help others see your point of view – let others know that even if you are confident, you still want to hear their ideas
- Self-confidence can be VERY persuasive – seek roles in leadership, sales, coaching, etc. …
- Partner with others who have strong strategic, deliberative, or futuristic strengths
- Can be decisive in the midst of chaos – your confidence can set others at ease
- Set ambitious goals and don’t hesitate to reach for goals others see as impossible
- Don’t need lots of direction and support from others
Working with
- Give this person leeway in making decision – doesn’t want or need hand-holding
- Let this person be in control of his/her world
- If this persons is overstepping or over claiming, point it out to them immediately

32. Significance

Significance

(INFLUENCING)

Summary
- You want to be very significant in the eyes of other people
- Want to be recognized, heard, stand out, and be known
- Need to be admired as credible, professional and successful
Benefits
- Associates with others that are credible, professional, and successful
- Intense yearnings
- Life is filled with goals, achievements, and qualifications
- These yearnings drive you onward – this keeps pulling you upward and keeps you reaching
Limitations
- Might seem conceited and egotistical
- Others might label you as a big-talker if you don’t deliver on your goals
- Self-esteem is in other people’s hands – problems that arise with the need to be liked or admired
- You tend to fear failure
Examples
- Believes that it’s okay to have power, pride, and a big ego – just drive it in the right direction
- Has a feeling that you are special – loves the pressure of standing out (people will notice and pay attention to you)
- Feels like they are on stage – want to stand out as the best, win awards, etc.
Ideas for Action
- Choose jobs where you can decide you own direction and determine your own tasks
- Reputation is important – decide what it will be and tend to it
- Share your dreams and achievements with others
- Stay focused on performance
- Look for opportunities that put you on the center stage
- Leading teams puts you at your best
- Make a list of goals and dreams and review it often – it will inspire you
- Accept that you might fear failure – use this as a motivation to make sure your performance matches your claims
- The need to be liked or admired can be problematic, but there is nothing wrong with being liked or admired
Working with
- Be aware of this person’s need for independence
- This person thrives on meaningful recognition
- Give this person the opportunity to stand out and be known

33. Strategic

Strategic

(STRATEGIC)

Summary
- Enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best rout
- Not a skill that can be taught, it is a distinct way of thinking (special perspective)
Benefits
- See patterns when others see complexity
- You can see around obstacles (discard paths that don’t get you there)
- Build a strategy after analyzing the paths
- Can predict what others do and plan how to deal with each move
Limitations
- May be too focused on goals to the exclusion of important things
- Awareness of possible danger might be viewed as negativity by some
- Others might feel strategic thinking is an attempt to belittle their ideas
Examples
- Can always see the consequences and what’s around the bend (while others are focused on inconsequential marker or data points)
- Loves logic problems – always playing out things to see where they lead
- Able to see an opportunity where others don’t, and easily gets ready
Ideas for Action
- Fully reflect on goals you want to achieve – schedule musing time
- Can see things that others can’t – plan your range of responses in detail
- Contribute your strategic thinking to a group that does important work – you can be a leader
- Strategic thinking is necessary to keep ideas moving toward goals rather than deteriorating
- Because you can see obstacles, you can provide these warnings to help others
- Be a resource for consultation for those that are stumped or hindered
- When others think you are focusing too much on obstacles, share with them not only the presence of a potential problem, but also a solution
- Help others understand that your strategic thinking is not an attempt to belittle, but to understand the situation
- Trust your insights and intuition and use them to secure your future
- Partner with strong activator to put action to ideas – be involved with innovative projects
Working with
- Involve this person in planning sessions
- Give this person ample time to think through the situation
- Share successful strategies and case studies that have worked in your field with this person

34. Woo

Woo

(INFLUENCING)

Summary
- WOO stands for Winning Others Over
- You enjoy the challenge of meeting other people and getting them to like you
Benefits
- Strangers (are not intimidating) they are energizing – you want to strike up conversations with people and learning things about them
- Enjoy breaking the ice and learning about new people – you get to know them and move on
- Can easily find the common ground with people they meet
Limitations
- Might not have many friends, but friendly to many people
- Others might mistake your need to be friendly with insincerity
- Quick to meet and greet and move on might strike others and phony or not genuine
Examples
- Make friends with even the most random of strangers
- Not really have lots of friends, but has lots of connections
- Can even be a bit shy at time, but rather like putting people at ease
Ideas for Action
- Choose a job where you can interact with people daily
- Tend to your personal network by interacting with people often – create a file of people you know, etc. Include details about that person
- Join organizations where you can network, committees, etc.
- Find the words to explain to people that networking is part of your style
- Partner with dominant relator or empathy talents – this person can solidify the relationships that you begin
- You have the ability to take the pulse of your surroundings and open doors – start conversations that engage others
- The first moments of social engagements are crucial – try to be the first person that people meet, which will help put them at ease
- Practice ways to charm and engage others – even researching people before you meet them so you can build on their common interest
Working with
- Help this person meet new people every day
- She can put strangers at ease and help them feel comfortable
- This person can help you extend your own network
- This person values having a wide group of friends – don’t take it personally when this person meets you then quickly moves on

VFAQ (VERY Frequently Asked Question)

Having taken 1.0, should you take 2.0? – Both results are valid – 2.0 just has more resources
If you take the same version of Strengths Finder, you may have slight variations, but most of them will remain the same.

See My Other Personal Development Works Reviews

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