My Strength Themes

According to the Gallup StrengthsFinder® assessment, my top 5 strengths or strength themes are Intellection, Adaptability, Connectedness, Strategic, and Input.

So, what is a “strength” or a “strength theme”?

Talent is, according to Gallup, a naturally recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior. Knowledge is that which is learned, and skill is knowledge put into practice.

Strength is talent multiplied by knowledge and skill.

When we speak of a “strength” or “strength theme” we’re speaking of one of the 34 “themes” developed by Gallup for their StrengthFinder assessment. Although, using our definitions above, these are really “talent” themes as apposed to “strength” themes. The StrengthsFinder is designed to identify “naturally recurring patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior”.

That there is only 34 defined themes does not limit the population to a specific set of strengths or talents. I’m sure there are other people in the world with the exact same top 5 strength themes as myself. Does that mean that they’re the same as me?

Hardly. Discovering your strength themes is only the beginning. It’s opening the door to further exploration and insight. Everybody develops and uses their strengths in accordance with their own personality, life style, and circumstances. Thus these “themes” are just that – themes or underlying qualities.

To truly understand your strength themes takes, first, awareness, then continued observation of your own actions and preferences as well as reflection on how your strengths manifest themselves in your daily life.

While I won’t go into all 34 themes in this article, here is a list of those themes and you can find out more at The Clifton StrengthFinder Center.

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

As I discuss my strength themes, first let me say that the definitions and discussions offered by Gallup go into much greater detail than the short descriptions I’m providing here.

1. Intellection

“People strong in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.”

2. Adaptability

“People strong in the Adaptability theme prefer to "go with the flow." They tend to be "now" people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.”

3. Connectedness

“People strong in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.”

4. Strategic

“People strong in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.”

5. Input

“People strong in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.”

 

My first two thoughts after reading a bit about these strength themes were 1) in regard to Intellection – isn’t everybody like this? And 2) in regard to Adaptability and Strategic – aren’t these a contradiction?

Particularly with our top strength theme, it may be so ingrained in us that we pretty much assume that it is a natural human quality and not something that is unique to ourselves.

While, on one hand, I may say “isn’t everybody like this?” Others will say “wow, there’s really people like that.”

In regard to the Adaptability and Strategic themes – this was an early eye opener for me. I know I’m a very adaptable person. I easily “go with the flow” and rarely make detailed plans in my daily life. Days have a life of their own and even if I plan out my day, early on those plans go out the window because things happen and I adapt.

On the other hand, I also know that I can be very strategic. I see the potential future results of plans and actions taken today and can base decisions on what I see in the future. Throw Connectedness into it, I can see (connect) plans with results that others may think are totally unrelated.

In most cases, Adaptability trumps Strategic. What I learned was that, when necessary, I had to be deliberately strategic. I had to consciously put aside my adaptable tendencies in order to allow myself to be strategic.

 

Input and Intellection kind of go hand in hand and I see them manifesting themselves on a daily basis. I like to read and I like to read about new things that, for whatever reason, pique my interest and give me reason to think.

Here’s an example of what very often happens... I’m looking up information about a particular open-source software package on the Internet. I find the site I’m looking for and I’m reading all about the software (far more than I needed to know at that time). As I’m reading, I come across the bios on the developers. I find out one of the developers is from Vienna, Austria. The next thing I know, I’m reading the history of Austria when I finally shake my head and say “wait a minute, all I needed to know was how to use a certain function in the software.”

Now let me tell you about the “circle of death”.

My “Input” theme means, for me, that I like information. In particular, I like information about people. I like to talk with people. Actually, I like to listen to people – especially when they’re telling me something about themselves.

My “Intellection” theme, in this case, makes me think about what someone has told me. After a conversation, I will most likely be thinking about what you said and reflecting on the information you gave me.

And, of course, I’ll “Connect” that with other things that I know about you or other situations we’ve shared together or past conversations we’ve had together.

After all of this reflection, I may adapt myself to the “new” information I now know about you and I may treat you, react to you, or think about you differently (this shouldn’t be construed as a bad thing, rather this is a better understanding of who you are).

I may also develop new “Strategies” for the future of our relationship (depending on what that relationship is, of course).

Lastly, given all of this new information, I’m going to want to know more. I need more input. And the cycle starts over.

Chances are, if I let this out of control, you’re going to get tired of me, even frustrated with me (some of you know exactly what I mean). On the other hand, when I keep this to a healthy level, we are very likely to develop a decent inter-personal relationship and a good understanding of each other.

Something I value but maybe others don’t. So I have to adapt.

 

I hope these examples show both the value and the detriment of Strengths. Remember, talent is a “naturally recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior”.  As such, strengths are what comes naturally. It is important and advantageous to learn what your talents are and to develop them in to strengths. It’s equally important to know when and how to use your strengths to achieve the greatest effectiveness in your life. Something I’m still learning (and adapting to) every day.

 

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