Gallup Strengths

For my internship, we took a strengths test called the Clifton Strength Test. I was at first skeptical of the test because I thought it'd be like a horoscope kind of test, but after receiving my strengths and reading more about them I realized it had a ton of potential as a way to learn more about yourself. I also want to acknowledge something that Andrew Davis, my internship coordinator, explained to us when we first talked about these strength reports. When they asked CEOs and government leaders to take these strength tests, they found no pattern at all for their strengths. So it's not that having or not having a certain strength is key to success. Instead, it's all about how you use your strengths and making them work for you. I like this insight because it shows that these strengths are more for self-discovery, and not for comparing to other people.

If at any point during reading this, you feel a eureka moment like "Ohhhh that's why he's like that" or you disagree with the Clifton Gallup Strength test( which is totally fine I very much did when I first took it, but it also turns out being critical is a part of my restorative strength, so how Ironic) let me know because I would love for this to be a conversation. For me, learning about these strengths is just a start, but getting feedback from people who know me would be so helpful in developing myself. You can send me an email at mwrede8@gmail.com.

Here are my strengths: WOO, Communication, Input, Restorative, Positivity.

Here's also a graph to see where they fall in terms of the domains of the 34 strengths identified by the Clifton strength test.

If you want to read some more about the descriptions of these, I encourage you to check out my strength report.

Here's a quick description of the strengths.

WOO: People exceptionally talented in the Woo theme love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with someone

COMMUNICATION: People exceptionally talented in the Communication theme generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters.

INPUT: People exceptionally talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.

POSITIVITY: People exceptionally talented in the Positivity theme have contagious enthusiasm. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do.

RESTORATIVE: People exceptionally talented in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.

Helping or Hindering:

The report includes a description of adjectives used to describe people with these strengths when it's helping or hindering that person. I loved the adjectives because they are active dichotomies that I find myself walking the line between all the time. Trying to be helping and not hindering can be difficult and reading the hindering is a reminder of the counter-productive use of our strengths. If you know me at all, these should help explain to me and some of the qualities you see on a daily basis.

Communication:

Helping: storyteller, great presence, easy to talk to, energizer, entertaining, charismatic

Hindering: blabbermouth, poor listener, self-absorbed, show-off, always needs attention

Input:

Helping: great resource, knowledgeable, excellent memory, a mind for detail, collects interesting things, excellent conversationalist

Hindering: knows a lot of worthless information, packrat, cluttered house-cluttered mind, boring conversationalist

Positivity:

Helping: enthusiastic, lighthearted, energetic, generous with praise, optimistic

Hindering: insincere, naïve, superficial, Polly Anna

Restorative:

Helping: problem solver, the troubleshooter, finds improvements and solutions

Hindering: focuses on weaknesses, punitive, negative, critical

Woo:

Helping: outgoing, people-oriented, networked, rapport-builder

Hindering: fake, shallow, does not care about deep relationships

Connecting Strengths to who I am:

What I love about these strengths is that they speak so much to who I am as a person. That's obviously the point, but I thought I would share the moments that remind me why these strengths are so key to who I am.

I am the kind of person that will talk to anyone, and I mean everyone. I talk to cashiers, people in line, strangers on the street, people on runs. I love starting conversations because for me every person is so special and has a story to tell. It energizes me to connect with people no matter who they are. It's something that I feel is lost in a world where our differences seem to be greater than that which connects us. I am constantly stopping and trying to listen to those around me. I have an appreciation for each person I meet and I feel like every day I find myself in amazement by the people I meet. I am a learner and trying to learn more from people, podcasts, books, and other sources is what pushes me forward. When I read these strengths, it explains some of the underlying things that are just a part of who I am. It also reminds me to stay focused on these stories because at the end of the day that's what will be key to my life: the people I meet and their stories. It helped me understand how the things that I see core to who I am can actually be strengths in an organization and how to leverage them.