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Talent (a natural way of thinking, feeling, or behaving) * Investment (Time spent practicing, developing your skills, and building your knowledge base) = Strength (the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance) * We cannot be anything we want to be-but we can be a lot more of who we already are! * * (Strengths discovery and action-planning guide) Your top 5 theme report, built around the new strengths insight descriptions * 50 Ideas for Action based on 1000s of best practice suggestions we reviewed * A strengths discovery interview that helps you think about how your experience, skills, and knowledge can help you build strengths * A strength based action plan for setting specific goals for building and applying your strengths in the next week, month, year * * * * * Select jobs that allow you to have the leeway to work as hard as you want and in which you are encouraged to measure your own productivity.
You will feel challenged and alive in these environment. * * As an achiever, you relish the feeling of being busy, yet you also need to know when you are “done”. Attach timelines and measurement to goals so that effort leads to defined progress and tangible outcomes * * Remember to build celebration and recognition into your life. Achievers tend to move on to the next challenge with out acknowledging their success. Counter this impulse by creating regular opportunities to enjoy your progress and accomplishments. * * Your drive for action might cause you find meeting a bit boring.
If that’s the case, appeal to your Achiever talents by learning the objectives of each meeting area of time and by talking notes about progress toward those objectives during the meeting. You can help ensure that meetings are productive and efficient. * * Continue your education by attending certifications in your area or specialty in addiction to attending conferences and other programs. This will give you even more goals to achieve and will push your existing boundaries of accomplishment. * * You do not require much motivation form others. Take advantage of your self-motivation by setting challenging goals.
Set a ore demanding goal every time you finish a project. * * Partner with other hard workers, Share your goals with them so they can help you to get more done * * Count personal achievements in your scoring “system”. This will help you direct your Achiever talents toward family and friends as well as toward work. * * More work excites you. The prospect of what lies ahead is infinity more motivating than what has been completed. Launch initiatives and new projects. Your seemingly endless reserve of energy will create enthusiasm and momentum. * * Make sure that in your eagerness to do more at work, you do not skimp quality.
Create measurable outcome standard to guarantee that increased productivity is matched by enhanced quality. * (Working with others who have Achiever) * * Establish a relationship with this person by working alongside him. Working hard together is often a bonding experience for him. He is annoyed by “slacker” * Ask questions as “How late did you have to work to get this done? ” or ” when did you come in this morning”. He will appreciate this kind of questions. * Seek work in which you can make your own decisions and act on them. In particular, look for start up or turnaround situation. * At work, make sure that your manager judges you on measureable outcomes rather than your process. Your process is not always pretty * * You can transform innovative ideas into immediate action. Look for creative and original thinkers and help them more their ideas from conceptual theory to concrete practice. * * Look for areas that are bogged down by discussion or clocked by barriers. End the stalemate by creating a plan to get things moving and spur others into actions * * You learn more from real experience than from the theoretical discussion.
To grow consciously expose yourself to challenging experience that will test your talents, skills and knowledge * * Remember that although your tenacity is powerful, it may intimidate some. Your activator talents will be more effective when you have first earned by other’s trust ad loyalty * * Identify the most influential decision makers in your organization make ir a point to have lunch with each of them at least once a quarter to share your ideas. They can support you in your activation and provide critical resources to make your ideas happen * * You can easily energize the plans and ideas of others. Consider partnering with focused, futuristic, strategic or analytical people who will lend their direction and planning to your activation, thereby creating an opportunity to build consensus and get others behind the plan. By doing this, you complement each other. * * * Give the reasons why your request for action must be granted. Otherwise, others might dismiss you as impatient and label you a “ready, fire , aim” person. * * You possess ad ability to create motion and momentum in others. Be strategic and wise in the use of your activator talents.
When is the best tie, where is the best place, and who are the best people with whom to leverage your valuable influence? * * * (Working with others) * * Tell this person that you know she is someone who can make things happen and that you may be asking her for help at key times. * * * When this person complains, listen carefully-you may learn something. Then get her on your side by talking about new initiative that she can lead or new improvements that she can make. Do this immediately because unchecked she can quickly stir up negatively when she gets off track. * * Ask this person what new goals or improvements your team needs to achieve, Then help her to see what steps she can take to start making progress toward these goals. * * * * * * * * Cultivate your reputation as a clam and reassuring person when others become upset by daily events * Avoid roles that demand structure and predictability. These roles will quickly frustrate you, make you feel inadequate, and stifle you’re your independence. * When the pressure is on, help your hesitant friends, colleagues, and clients find ways to collect themselves and take control of the situation.
Explain that adaptability is about more than simply rolling with the punches; it is about calmly, intelligently and readily responding to circumstances. * * Don’t let others abuse your inherent flexibility. Though your Adaptability talents serve you well, don’t compromise your long term success by bending to every whim, desire, and demand of others. Use smart guideline to help you decide when to flex and when to stand firm. * * Seek roles in which success depends on responding to constantly changing circumstance. Consider career areas such as journalism, live television production, emergency healthcare and customer service.
In these roles, the best react the fastest and stay levelheaded. * Fine-tune tour responsiveness. For example, if your job demands unanticipated travel, leant how to pack and leave in 30 minutes. If your work pressure comes in unpredictable spurts, practice the first three moves you will always make when the pressure hits. * * Look to other for planning. People who have strong focuses, strategic, or value talents can help you shape your long term goals, leaving you to excel at dealing with the day to day variations. * *
You Adaptability talents give you an even-keel mindset that lets you ride the ups and downs without becoming an emotional volcano. Your “don’t cry over spilled milk” approach will help you quickly recover from setbacks. * Avoid tasks that are too structured and stifle your need for variety. If given a lost of tasks to complete, try to indulge your desire for flexibility by making a game of that list. See if you can be creative or make the tasks more fun in some way. * * Openly use your reassuring demeanor to soothe disgruntled friends or coworkers. Thick about the approach you used, and remember to apply it again hen the situation present itself. * Working with others who have adaptability * This person’s instinctively flexible nature makes him a valuable addition to almost any team. When plans to awry, he will adjust to the new circumstances and try to make progress. He will not sit on the sidelines and sulk. * * With this person’s willingness to “go with the flow”, he can provide a wonderful environment in which others can experiment and learn. * This person will be most productive on short-term assignments that require immediate action. He prefers a life filled with many quick skirmishes rather than long, drawn-out campaigns. * * * * * * * * * Choose work which you paid to analyze date, find patterns or organize idea, For example, you might excel in marketing, financial or medical research or in database management, editing or risk management. * * Whatever your role, identify credible sources on which you can rely. You are at your best when you have well researched sources of information and number to support your logic. For example, determined the most helpful books, websites or publications that can serve as references. * * You mind is constantly working and producing insightful analysis. Are others aware of that?
Find the best way of expressing your thoughts: writing, one-on-one conversations, group discussion, perhaps lectures or presentation. Put value to your thoughts by communicating them * * Make sure they your accumulation and analysis of information always leads to its application and implantation. If you don’t do this naturally find a partner who pushes you rom theory to practice, from thinking to doing. This person will help ensure that your analysis doesn’t turn into paralysis. * * Take an academic course that will expand your analytical talents. Specifically, study people whose logic you admire. * * Volunteer your analytical talents.
You can be particularly helpful t those who are struggling to organize large quantities of data or having a hard time brining structure to their ideas * * Partner with someone with strong activator talents. This person’s impatience will move to more quickly through the analytical phase into the action phase. * * You may remain skeptical until you see solid proof. Your skepticism ensures validity, but others may take it personally. Help others realize that you skepticism is primarily about data, not people. * * Look for patterns in data. See if you can discern a motif, precedent or relationship in scores or numbers.
By connecting the dots in the data and inferring a causal link, you may be able to help others see these patterns. * * Help others understand that your analytical approach will often require data ad other information to logically back up new ideas that they might suggest. * * (Working with others who have analytical) * Whenever this person is involved with an important decision, take time to think through the issues with her. She will want to know all the key factors involved. * When you are defending a decision or principle, show this person the supporting numbers. She instinctively gives more credibility to information hat display numbers. * Because accuracy is so important to this person getting a task done correctly may be more important to her than meeting a deadline. Therefore, as the deadline draws near, keep checking in with her to make sure that she has the necessary time to do the job right. * * * Learn the goals of your coworkers and friends. Let them know that you are aware of their goals, and then help set them up for success. * If a team needs to be created, make sure you are involved. You can recognize talents skills, and knowledge in people and that awareness will help you get the right people in the right spots. You intuitively sense how very different people can work together. Take a close look at groups with divergent personalities and opinions, as they may have the greatest need for you arranger talents * Be sure to keep track of ongoing deadline for you many tasks, projects and obligations. Although you enjoy the chance to juggle lots of activities, others with less powerful arranger talents may become anxious if they don’t see you working on their projects frequently. Inform them of your progress o ease their fears. * See complex, dynamic environments in which there are few routines *
Take on the organization of a big event-a convention, a large party or company celebration. * Give people time to understand your way of doing things when you present it to them. Your mental juggling is instinctive but others might find it difficult to break with existing procedures. Take the time to clearly explain why your way can be more effective. * At work, focus your arranger talents on the most dynamic areas of your organization. Division or departments that are static and routine in nature are likely to bore you. You will thrive when your arranger talents are energized and you will suffer when you are bored. Help others see your far-reaching expertise by sharing your “what if” thinking with them. When they know you’ve identified and carefully considered all possible options and arrangement, they will feel more confident. * You are flexible in the way you organize people, as well as in how you configure space. Figure out how you can improve workflow by rearranging spaces and/or procedures to maximize efficiency and to free up time for your and for others. * * (Working with others who have arranger) * This person is excited by complex, multifaceted assignments.
He will thrive in situations in which he has many things going on at the same time. * When you are launching a project, ask this person for help in positioning the members of the project team. He is good at figuring out how each person’s strengths might add greatest value to the team. * This person can be resourceful. Feel confident that if something is not working, he will enjoy figuring out other ways of doing things. * clarify your values by thinking about one of your best days ever. How did your values play into the satisfaction that you received on that day? How can you organize your life to repeat that day as often as possible? actively seek roles that fit your values. In particular, think about joining organizations that define their purpose by the contribution they make to society. * the meaning and purpose of your work will often provide direction for others. Remind people why their work is important and how it make a difference in their lives and in lives of others. * you belie talents allow you to talk to the hearts of people. Develop a “purpose statement” and communicate it to your family, friends and coworkers. Your powerful emotional appeal can give them a motivating sense of contribution. create a gallery of letters and/or pictures of the people whose lives you have substantially influenced. When you are feeling down or overwhelmed, remind yourself of your value by looking at this gallery. It will energize you and revive your commitment to helping others. * set aside time to ensure that you are balancing your work demands and your personal life. Your devotion to your career should not come at the expense of your strong commitment to your family. * don’t be afraid to give voice to your values. This will help others know who you are and how to relate to you. * ctively cultivate friends who share you basic values. Consider your best friend. Does this person share your value system? * partner with someone who has strong Futuristic talents. This person can energize you by painting a vivid picture of the direction in which your values will lead. * accept that the values of other people might differ from your own. Express your beliefs without being judgmental. * * (Working with others who have belief) * This person is likely to be very passionate about the things closest to her heart. Discover that passion and help her connect it to the work she has to do. * Learn about this person’s family and community. She will have made rock-solid commitments to them. Understand, appreciate and honor these commitments and she will resect you for it. * * You do not have to share this person’s belief system but you do have to understand it, respect it and apply it. Otherwise, major conflicts will eventually erupt. * * * You will always be ready to confront. Practice the words, the tone, and he techniques that will turn you ability to confront into real persuasiveness. * In your relationships, seize opportunities to speak plainly and directly about sensitive subjects.
You unwillingness to hide from the truth can become a source of strength and constancy for your colleagues and friends. Strive to become known as a candid person. * Ask people for their opinions. Sometimes your candor ill be intimidating, causing others to thread lightly for fear of your reaction. Watch for this. If necessary explain that you are upfront simply because it feels uncomfortable to keep things bottled up, not because you want to frighten other people into silence * Partner with someone with strong Woo or Empathy talents, some obstacles do not need to be confronted; they can be circumvented.
This person can help you avoid obstacles through relationship. * Your “take change” attitude steadies and reassures others in times of crisis. When faced with a particularly trying challenge, use your Command talents to assuage others’ fear and convince them you have things under control. * * Your command talents might compel you to wrestle for the reins of power because you love being in the driver’s seat. But remember that even when you are not formally in charge, your presence can be an unseen yet powerfully felt force. * Step up and break bottleneck. Others count on your natural decisiveness to get things moving.
When you remove roadblocks, you often create new momentum and success that would not have existed without you. * * Consider taking the led on a committee. You have definite ideas about what you would like to se happened, and you can naturally influence a group to follow you. You might be comfortable spearheading new initiatives. * Seek roles in which you will be asked to persuade others. Consider whether selling would be a good career for you. * Find a cause you believe in and support it. You night discover yourself art your best when defending a cause in the face of resistance. * * * (Working with others who have command) * Always ask this person for evaluation of what’s happening in your organization. He is likely t give you a straight answer. In the same vein, look to him to raise ideas that are different from your own. He isn’t likely to be a head-nodder. * When you need to jar a project loose and get things moving again, or when people need to be persuaded look to this person to take charge. * * Never threaten this person unless you are 100% ready to follow through. * * * * You will always do well in roles that require you to capture people’s attention. Think about a career in teaching, sales, marketing, ministry or the media.
You communication talents are likely to flourish in the these area. * Start a collection of stories or phrases that resonate with you. For example, cut out magazine articles that move you, or write down powerful word combinations. Practice telling these stories or saying the words. Refine. * When you are presenting, pay close attention to your audience. Watch their reactions to each part of your presentation. Your will notice that some parts are especially engaging. Afterwards, take time to identify the moments that particularly caught the audience’s attention. Draft your next presentation around these highlights. Practice. Improvisation has a certain appeal, but in general, an audience will respond best to a presenter who knows where he or she is headed. Counterintuitively, the more prepared you are, the more natural your improvisations will appear. * Identify your most beneficial sounding boards and audiences-the listeners who seem to bring out your best communication. Examine these individuals or group to learn why you are so good when you speak with them or to them, and look for the same qualities in potential partners and audiences. * Keep getting smarter about the words you use.
They are a critical currency. Spend them wisely and monitor their impact. * You communication talents can be highly effective when your message has substance. Don’t rely on your talents alone; take your communication to the level of strength by developing your knowledge and expertise in specific area. * You are gifted in fostering dialogue among peers and colleagues. Use your communication talents to summarize helping others see what they have I common. * If you enjoy writing, consider publishing your work. If you enjoy public speaking make a presentation are a professional meeting or convention.
In either case, your communication talents will serve to assist you in finding just right way to frame your ideas and state you purpose. You delight in sharing your thoughts with others, so find the medium that best fits your voice and message * Volunteer for opportunities to present. You can become known as someone who helps people express their thoughts and ambitions in captivating way. * * (Working with others who have communication) * This person finds it easy to carry on a conversation. Ask her to come to social gathering, inners or any events where you want to entertain prospects or customers. Take time to hear about this person’s life and experience. She will enjoy telling you, and you will enjoy listening. And your relationship will be closer because of it. * Discuss plans for your organization’s social events with this person. She Select work environment in which you can measure your achievement. You might not be able to discover how good you can ben without competing. * List the performances scores that help you know where you stand every day. What scores should you pay attention to? * Identify a high-achieving person against whom you can measure you own achievement.
If there is more than one, list al the people with whom you currently compete. Without measure, how will you know if you won? * Try to turn ordinary tasks into competitive games. You will get more done this way. * When you win, take the time to investigate why you won. You can learn a great deal more from a victory than from a loss. * Let people know that being competitive does not equate with putting others down. Explain that you derive satisfaction from pitting yourself against good, strong competitors and winning. * Develop a “balanced metric”-a measurement system that will monitor all aspects of your performance. When competing with others, create development opportunities by choosing to compare yourself to someone who is slightly above your current level of expertise. Your competition will push you to refine your skills and knowledge to exceed those of that person look one or two levels above you for role model who will push you to improve. * Take the time to celebrate your wins. In your world. There is no victory without celebration. * Design some mental strategies that can help you deal with a loss. Armed with these strategies, you will be able to move on to the next challenge much more quickly. Working with others who have competition * Use competition language with this person. It is a win-lose world for him, so from his perspective, achieving a goal is winning, and missing a goal is losing. * Help this person find places where he can win. If he loses repeatedly, he may stop playing. Remember, I the contests that matter to him, he doesn’t compete for the fun of it. He competes to win. * When this person loses, he may need to mourn for a while. Let him. Then, help hi quickly move into another opportunity to win. * Consider roes in which you listen and counsel.
You can become adept at helping other people see connection and purpose in everyday occurrences. * Explore specific ways to expand your sense of connection, such as starting a book club, attending a retreat, or joining an organization that puts Connectedness into practice. * Within your organization, help your colleagues understand how their efforts fit in the larger picture. You can be a leader in building teams and helping people feel important. * You are aware of the boundaries and borders created within organizations and communities, but you treat these as seamless and fluid.
Use your Connectedness talents to break down silos that prevent shared knowledge. * Help people see the connections among their talents, their actions, their mission, and their success. When people believe in what they are doing and feel like they are part of something bigger, commitment to achievement is enhanced. * Partner with someone with strong communication talents. This person can help you with the words you need to describe vivid examples of connection in the real world. * Don’t spend too much time attempting to persuade others to see the world as a linked web. Be aware that your sense of connection is intuitive.
If others don’t share your intuition, rational argument will not persuade them. * Your philosophy of life compels you to move beyond your own self-interests and the interest of your immediate constituency ad sphere of influence. As such, you see the broader implications for your community and the world. Explore ways to communicate these insight to others. * Seek out global or cross-cultural responsibilities that capitalize on your understanding of the commonality inherent in humanity. Build universal capability, and change the mindset of those who think in terms of “us” and “them” *
Connectedness talents can help you look past the outer shell of a person to embrace his or her humanity. Be particularly aware of his or her humanity. Be particularly aware of this when you work with someone whose background is very different from yours. You can naturally look past the labels and focus on his or her essential needs. * (Working with others who have Connectedness ) this person will likely have social issues that she will defend strongly. Listen closely to know what inspires this passion in her. Your acceptance of these issues will influence the depth of the relationship you can build with her. encourage this person to build bridge to the different groups in your organization. She naturally thinks about how things are connected, so she should excel at showing different people how each relies on the others. * if you also have dominant Connectedness talents, share articles, writing, and experiences with this person. You can reinforce each other’s focus. * make a list of the rules of Consistency by which you can live. These rules might be based on certain values that you have or on certain policies that you consider “non-nego-tiables. Counterintuitively, the more clear you are about these rules, the more comfortable you will be with individuality with these boundaries. * seek roles in which you can be a force for leveling the playing field. At work or in your community, become a leader in helping provide disadvantage people with the platform they need to show their true potential. * cultivate a reputation for pinpointing those who really deserve credit. Make sure that respect is always given to those who truly performed the work. You can become known the conscience of your organization or group. * ind a role in which you can enforce compliance to a set of standard. Always be ready to challenge people who break the rules or “grease the wheels” to earn an unfair advantage for themselves. * keep you focus on performance. You consistency talents might occasionally lead you to overemphasize how someone gets work done, and ignore what he or she gets done. * because you value equality, you find it hard to deal with individuals who ben the rules to fit their situation. Your Consistency talents can help you clarify rules, policies and procedures in ways that will ensure that they are applied uniformly across the board.
Consider drafting protocols to make sure that these rules are clearly stated. * partner with someone with powerful Maximizer or Individualization talents. This person can remind you when it is appropriate to accommodate individual difference. * always practice what you preach. This sets the tone for equality and encourage peaceful compliance. * others will appreciate your natural commitment to consistency between what you have promised and what you will deliver. Always stand up for what you believe even in the face of strong resistance. You will reap long-last-ing benefits. * everage your Consistency talents when you have to communicate “not so pleasant” news. You can be naturally adept at helping others appreciate the rationale behind decision, which will make the situation easier on them-and you. * (working with others who have Consistency) * be supportive of this person during times of great change because she is most comfortable with predictable patterns that she knows work well. * this person has a practical bent and thus will tend to prefer getting tasks accomplished and decisions made rather than doing more abstract work such as brainstorming or long-range planning. when it comes time to organize others after the completion of a project, ask this person to pinpoint everyone’s contribution. She will make sure that each person receive the accolades he or she truly deserves. * before planning begins on a project, encourage the people involved to study past projects. Help them appreciate the statement: “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. ” * if you are in a role that requires teaching others, build your lessons around case studies. You will enjoy the search for the appropriate case, and your students will learn fro these precedents.
Use your understanding of the past to help others map the future. * at work, help your organization strengthen its culture via folklore. For example, collect symbols and stories that represent the best of the past or suggest naming an award after a person who embodied the historical traditions if your organization * partner with someone with strong futuristic or strategic talents. This person’s fascination with what “could be” will stop you from becoming mired in the past, while your deep understanding of context will stop him or get from ignoring the lessons of the past.
Together you are more likely to create something that lasts. * accept change. Remember that your context talents do not require you to “live in the past. ” instead, you can actually become known as an active agent for positive change. You natural sense of context should allow you to identify more clearly than most the aspects of the past that can be discarded and those that must e retained to build a sustainable future. * use fact-based comparisons to prior success to paint a vivid picture for theirs of “what can be” in the future. The real-life illustrations you create can build confidence and emotional engagement. you recognize that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Probe your friends and coworkers about actions that might have contributed to their current success so you can help them make better choices in the future. This will help them put their decisions into a overall context. * read historical novels, non-fiction or biographies. You will discover many insights that will help you understand the present. You will think more clearly. * * compare historical antecedents and situations to your current challenge. Identifying commonalities may lead you to a new perspective or an answer to your problems. seek out mentors who have a sense of history. Listening to their memories to spark your thought process. * working with others who have context * during meetings, always turn to this person to review what’s been done and what’s been learned. Instinctively, he will want others to be aware of the context of decision making. * this person thinks in terms of case studies: “when did we face a similar situation? What did we do? What happened? What did we learn? You ca expect him to use this talents to help others learn, especially when the need for anecdotes and illustration is important. * hen you introduce this person to new colleagues, ask them to talk about their backgrounds before you get down to business. * you have naturally good judgment, so consider work in which you can provide advice and counsel. You might be especially adept at legal work, crafting sound business deals, it ensuring compliance to regulations. * whatever your role, take responsibility for helping others think through their decisions you can see factors that others may not see. You will soon be sought as a valuable sounding board. * explain your process of careful decision making-that you highlight risk in order to take control and reducing it.
You don’t want others to misconstrue your Deliberative talents for tentativeness or fear action. * you inspire trust because you are cautious and considerate about sensitive topics. Use these talents by taking on opportunities o handle delicate issues and conflicts. * rather than take foolhardy risks, you are apt to approach a decision cautiously. Trust your instincts when you believe that something is too good to be true. * during times of change, consider the advantage of being conservative in your decision making. Be ready to explain these advantage to others. * on’t let anyone push you into revealing too much about yourself too soon. Check people out carefully before sharing confidential information. You naturally build friendships slowly, so take pride in your small circle of good friends. * partner with someone with strong Command, self-assurance or activator talents. Together you will make many decisions and these decisions will be sound. * temper the tendency of others to haphazardly move into action by declaring a “consideration” period before decisions are made. Your caution can serve to steer others away from folly and toward wise conclusions. give yourself permission to withhold your opinion until you get all the facts and have an opportunity to ponder your stance. You are not someone who embraces outcomes so that all the angles are covered. As a Deliberative person, you function as a “brake: for more impulsive types who with to quickly. * working with others who have Deliberative * Ask this person to join teams or groups that tend to be impulsive. She will have temporizing effect, adding much needed thoughtfulness and anticipation to the mix. * This person is likely to be a rigorous thinker.
Before you make a decision , ask her to help you identify the land mines that may derail tour plans. * Respect the fact that this person may be private. Unless invited do not push to become too familiar with her too quickly. And by the same token, don’t take it personally if she keeps you at arm’s length. * * Make a list of the people you have helped learn and grow. Look at the list often, and remind yourself of the effect you have had on the world. * Seek roles in which your primary responsibilities include facilitating growth. Teaching, coaching or managing roles might prove especially satisfying for you. *
Notice when others succeed, and tell them. Be specific about what you saw. Your detailed observations of what led to their victory will enhance their growth. * Identify the mentor or mentors who recognized something special inside you. Take the time to thank them for helping you develop, even if this means tracking down a former schoolteacher and sending him or her letter. * Partner with someone with strong individualization talents. This person can help you see where each person’s greatest talents lie. Without this help, your Developer instincts might lead you to encourage people to grow in area in which they lack real talent. *
Carefully avoid supporting someone who is consistently struggling in his or her role. In such instances, the most developmental action you can take is to encourage him or her to find a different role-a role that fits. * You will always be compelled to mentor more people than is possible. To fulfill this inner drive while maintaining a primary mentoring focus, consider the impact of being a “mentor for the moment” many of the most poignant and memorable developmental moments occur when the right words are delivered at the right time-words that clarify understanding, reignite a passion, open eyes to an opportunity, and change a life course. Don’t over-invest in losing causes. Your natural inclination to see the best in people and situations can create a blind spot that will keep you from moving on to more opportune situation. * Your Developer talents might lead you become so invested in the growth of others that you ignore your own investment. Remember that you give what you do not have. If you want to have a bigger impact on the well-being and growth of others, you need to keep growing yourself. Find a mentor or coach who can invest in you. * Make list of people you would like to help develop. Write what you would consider to be each person’s strengths.
Schedule time to meet with each of them regularly-even if for only 15 minute –and make a point a discussing their goals and their strengths. * (Working with others who have Developer) * reinforce this person’s self-concept as someone who encourage people to stretch and to excel. For example, tell him, “they would never have broken the record by themselves. Your encouragement and confidence gave them the spark they needed. ” * look to this person when it is time to recognize your coworkers, he will enjoy selecting the achievements that deserve praise and his colleagues on the receiving end will know that the praise in genuine. ask this person to help you grow in your job, he is likely to pick up small increments of progress that others miss. * don’t hesitate to check as often as necessary ensure that things are right. You feel an urge to do it anyway, and soon others will come to expect it from you. * accept that mistakes might depress you. Precision is a core part of who you are. Precision is a core part of who are; however you must find ways to move through these moments of annoyance to prevent becoming discouraged. * recognize that others may not be as disciplined as you are.
More than likely, their clumsy process will frustrate you, so try to look beyond it, and focus on their results, not on their process. * exactitude is your forte; you enjoy poring over details. Seek opportunities to peruse contracts, important communication or financial documents for errors. You can save yourself and others from making costly mistakes and looking foolish. * increasing efficiency is one of your hallmarks. You are a perfectionist at heart. Discover situations in which times or money is being wasted because of inefficiency, and create systems or procedures to improve efficiency. you not only create order, you probably also crave it in the form of a well-organize space. To completely free your Discipline talents, invest in furniture and organization systems that enable you to have “a place for everything and everything in its place. ” * timelines motivate you. When you have a task to complete you like to know the deadline so you can plan your schedule accordingly. Apply your Discipline talents by outlining the step-by-step plan you will use. Others will appreciate your cues because they will help keep everyone “on task. ” * thers may confuse your Discipline talents with rigidity. Help them understand that your Discipline helps you pack more effectiveness into a day- often because you prioritize your time. When working with others who are not as Discipline , ask them to clarify deadlines so you can adjust your workload to accommodate their requests. * seek out roles and responsibilities that have structure. * * Create routines that require you to systematically follow through. Over time, people will come to appreciate this kinds of predictability. * * * (Working with others who have Discipline ) * when working on a project with this person make sure to give her advance notice of deadlines, she feels a need to get worked done ahead of schedule, and she can’t do this if you don’t tell her the timelines. * * Try not to surprise this person with sudden changes in plans and priorities. The unexpected is distressing to her. It can ruin her day. * * Disorganization will annoy this person. Don’t expect her to last long in a physically cluttered environment. * * * * Help your friends and colleagues be more aware when one of your peers is having a difficult time.
Remember, most people do not have your ability to pick up on sensitive situations. * Act quickly and firmly when others behave in a way that is unhealthy for themselves or others. Understanding someone’s emotional state doesn’t not mean that you must excuse this behavior. Be aware that when you empathy turns to sympathy, others might see you as a “bleeding heart. ” * Partner with someone with strong command or activator talents. This person will help you take needed action, even through people’s feelings might suffer as a result. * Consider serving others as a confidante or mentor.
Because trust is paramount to you, people are likely to feel comfortable approaching you with any need. Your discretion and desire to be genuinely helpful will be greatly valued. * At times, your empathy for others may overwhelm you. Create some rituals that you can use at the end of your day to signal that work is over. This will help buffer your emotions and prevent burnout. * Identify a friend who has strong Empathy talents, and check your observations with his or her. * Sensitive to the feelings f the others you really gauge the emotional tone of a room.
Use your talents to forge a bridge of understanding and mutual support. Your Empathy will be especially important during trying times because it will demonstrate your concern, thereby building loyalty. * Witnessing the happiness of yours brings you pleasure. Consequently, you are likely to be attuned to opportunities to underscore other’s successes and positively reinforce their achievements. At each opportunity, deliver a kind word of appreciation or recognition. In doing so, you are likely to make a profound and engaging impression. Because you are observant of how others are feeling, you are likely to intuit what is about to happen before it become common knowledge. Although your intuitions may at times seem nothing more than “hunches,” task conscious note of them. They may turn out to be valuable assets. * Sometimes Empathy does not require words at all. A kind gesture may be all someone needs to be reassured. Use your Empathy talents to nonverbally comfort others with a glance, a smile or a pat on the arm. * (working with others who have Empathy) * sk this person to help you understand how certain people in your organization are feeling. He is sensitive to the emotions of others. * before securing this person’s commitment to a particular course of action, ask him how he feels and how other people feel about the issues involved. For him, emotions are as real as other more practical factors and busy be weighed when making decisions. * when employees or customers have difficulty understanding why an action is necessary, ask this person for help. He may be able to sense what they missing. * *