It was during a workshop that I was first introduced to the GALLUP Strengths. At the end of the workshop, we were acquainted with our strengths, in an order of top to bottom.
At first when looking at my strengths, I admit that I was not overly excited. In the back of my mind, I think I wanted the GALLUP report to tell me I had some type of super-strength. In a real way, it did just that. I simply was slow about understanding what I had discovered.
As time went on and I began to do more study and gain more knowledge, I became absolutely amazed at the accuracy of my top strengths. Since that time, I have been using them to further my own Person Vision.
My purpose in sharing my personal strengths is to help you understand how they identify very unique aspects about who we are. That is what totally! blew my mind. These are characteriestics — my personal strengths — that I would had no real concept about.
My Top Strength – Individualization: When I first saw it, I don’t mind saying that I was not impressed. As I began to put my dots together and pursuing my own Personal Vision, those dots said a lot about my vision. First of all, I am totally intrigued by the unique personality traits of each person. Instinctively, I easily observe things such as another’s style of communication, how they are motivated, think and build relationships. As a coach, this strength is a great advantage when it comes to building teams because I know who belongs on which teams, based on their strengths. I remember years ago as a supervisor on a job, I worked with building teams, and this was before I understood this strength. I was surprised at how easily I knew where to place members of the team so they could maximize their strengths, and both the person and the organization could benefit. It was a great experience!
My Second Top Strength – Input: Honestly, it was a very long time before I saw any value whatsoever in this strength, and it was my number two strength. It has to do with my curiosity and somewhat obsession for collecting things. Similar to my initial reaction to individualization, I saw no real glory to be retrieved from this so-called strength. But it was my number 2 strength, so I wanted to know about it. It would be quite a while later before I would understand that I collect research, books, and knowledge. When I have an article to write, or need some quick knowledge, I can go straight to my immense library, and almost instinctively know which of my 1,000 plus books has the information or knowledge that I need. As a coach, consultant, speaker and author, that is an important and very relevant strength for me to have.
My Third Top Strength: – Futuristic: This strength, I really should have understood from the beginning because I am constantly thinking about what something could be in the future. It is almost second nature for me to consider the future potential of things. And when it comes to learning, I love knowing about trends and patterns, which is what futurists use to make predictions and help other leaders make important decisions for their companies and industries. Coaches and consultants are both consumed with having a better product, better team, best life and better world. It identifies who I am in a very unique way.
In closing
My purpose in sharing this information about my GALLUP Strengths is two-fold. First, to help you know me a little better, and how my unique strengths fit into my coach and consulting professional services. My second purpose is to demonstrate how unique we each are, and how our strengths help to identify who we are on the inside, and how we can use that information to impact our friends, families, and world on the outside. I hope you found this interesting.
Diana Dee, Learning Futurist