Thoughts, after Strengths
Today, in Power Shift, we're talking about Strengthsfinder results. Since I didn't post yesterday, there'll be two today—a before and after of the session.
Today is everything I had hoped it would be the first time’round.
First, two brilliant quotes that I’ll hold onto:
“Awareness creates choice; practice creates capacity.” —Amanda Blake
“Strengths = talent × investment” —Rachel de Jong
Creating a shared language
All of these personality tests have their own issues, biases, and histories—instutionally, implicitly, and tacitly. Their power comes in as they establish a shared language for discussion.
Quite a bit of this session, discussed through sound and written word, via the chat. was around establishing a shared language. It was about understanding the difference between a strength and a weakness—
An Aside
Defining Weakness
Weakness is the flipside of strengths. Weaknesss is strength overapplied or misaligned to the moment (one strength used in the specific situation when another would have been more appropriate).
The best definition I’ve heard for weakness, especially in a this strengthful framing. It aligns with one of the aphoristic phrases I’ve used for a while, “your strength can be your largest weakness…” but better phrased.
—it’s about using your top five themes as a discussion starting point. You get into the room and ask each other:
What are your themes?
Why do you think they apply? Why not?
Then listen.
The best part of the chat discussion—I thought—was towards the end when we started talking about seeing a more holistic or broader view of these strengths when combining with other personality sorts of tests. How do they map or apply in an astrological thought-model? Or the human design system? Enneagram? Big Five? Meyers Briggs?
Choosing one, or a couple, and gather for a team activity together. Sharing and reflecting on how that reflects in the day-to-day interactions, “oh, that’s why I’ve been feeling friction here…we have very different approaches and using different strengths here.” Part of the Forming Playbook in the stages of team development.
What do you bring and borrow?
Rachel de Jong dedicated a specific section of the session to discuss how to get the best and most use out of the report—great facilitation and question asking, ! This is the bit that I was missing my first time around—not judgement with phrases like, “your results were really weird.”
What I truly admired were the questions to ask and reflect on, that are related to what would go on a professional .README doc. You get the best of me when…you get the worst of me when…
Even better, the simpler phrasing around bringing and borrowing.
The strengths I bring to the equation of whatever I do:
finding connections between disparate phenomena;
fascinated by ideas, appreciating explorative intellectual discussions;
create alternative ways to get things done, spotting relevant patterns and issues;
gathering and arranging information and ideas with flexibility and for maximum use of resources.
I know aspects of the things I borrow, but don’t yet have the words. Especially in an interview setting, etc.
The internal work of strength-finding
The largest takeaway of this session is the level and constant inner-work, shadow-work, of finding your strengths. Naming them.
For me, seeing the shift of strengths from a mix of execution and strategic thinking to one more weighted on strategic thinking. I need to reflect, and note, on the times that I actively use these strengths. Leaning into them and finding ways that align with the Work is important.
And the whole thing about The Work that also came out of the session. There’s the money-making work, then there’s the life-work, and community-work. There are many forms labor and work take. Some of them make money more easily, others are necessities but not societally valued monetarily.
When focusing on the goal of my internal wanderings, my past year’s purpose has been finding work. Work that pays with a contract and benefits. I’m looking forward as this session helps me focus on these aspects of myself to focus the framing of my search even more.
This writing practice though—that’s it’s a form of Work that doesn’t pay.
Bringing me back to the beginning.
Awareness creates choice.
Practice creates capacity.