CliftonStrengths Results

“The most underrated professional strategy and life skill is self-awareness.” This was the opening description of the Personal Discovery class in which I recently enrolled. The course also noted learning the advantages and the unintended consequences of who you are as well as the potential to create a life design. I went into the class thinking, “great, maybe this will help me figure out why I am so screwed up!” I can’t stay at a job more than a few years, I don’t know how to talk to people in social situations, I get bored more easily than a teenager during February vacation and I am confused and frustrated with myself on an almost constant basis. Well, this class delivered! I was half joking with myself thinking one 3-week class would solve all my life problems. I took mostly to get out of the house and pass the time with something different that I found moderately interesting. The class turned out to be more than I even expected, and I am someone with high expectations (more on that in a future post about my Enneagram results).

Before the class even began, the instructor, Jennefer Raymond, emailed me asking to know a little bit more about my reasons for taking the course to have a more productive initial class. When I told her about the constant job change issue, she connected with me explaining she had a similar pattern throughout her career and recommended a TED Talk and a book that may be helpful. (I plan to do a future post on these as I dive deeper, but as a teaser I can tell you I learned that I am a Multipotentialite from the TED Talk.) I was more excited to go into the first class knowing that Jennefer really cared about the subject and wanted to make sure each student got the most out of it. We discussed the different personality tests in the first session and learned that self-discovery is not about fixing your personality but about understanding it and using the knowledge to help others better understand you and to improve communication with others in general.

The test I found most fascinating was the CliftonStrengths Assessment. At the end of the assessment, you are provided with your top five themes or talents along with information on how to maximize your potential and some possible weaknesses, or blind spots. My top five themes are Restorative, Learner, Intellection, Input and Discipline. I was surprised that Restorative was my top talent because it is someone who finds problems and resolves them. I interpreted it as someone who looks for a problem or intentionally stirs the pot, but after speaking with Jennefer during the second class, I realized it is someone who sees room for improvement and someone who, when faced with a problem, creates a plan to resolve it rather than running from it. I definitely relate to this description as I frequently find flaws or weaknesses with myself that I interpret as a problem that must be fixed. I almost wish I could run from things I interpret as problems, because noticing flaws or slight imperfections gets exhausting as they pile up in my mind, demanding a solution. However, just knowing that this trait has the potential to be used as a strength gives me some comfort and I look forward to exploring the Restorative theme more to utilize it in a more positive way than I am currently.

Learner is described as someone with a great desire to learn and continuously improve, which is similar to Restorative. However, those with Learner enjoy the process of learning more than the outcome or solution. Some aspects I found interesting when researching further were that Learners hate monotonous tasks and maintenance projects. I love pruning bushes and pulling weeds, but I hate mowing the lawn. I like numbers and using Excel to help organize financial data, but I hate paying the bills. Those same blades of grass are going to grow and need cutting in a week and more bills are going to need paying in a week. I like to do tasks where it’s not always the same outcome week after week. With pruning or weed pulling I can observe the results over time and learn from mistakes and successes. With Excel, I can experiment with different formulas and reporting tools to make it more useful to the person viewing the data. Another major takeaway I got was that Learners would benefit from taking at least one adult learning course each year. Without even realizing it, I was satisfying a need just by taking this Personal Discovery course. Similarly, it is important for Learners to collaborate with someone that pushes them to learn more. The instructor’s enthusiasm and energy for this subject motivates me to complete this extra research.

The Intellection theme is described as someone who is introspective with a strong appreciation for deep conversations. That explains why I am almost incapable of small talk. I am in awe of people who can carry on a conversation about nearly anything for hours. Meanwhile, I just had to google small talk topics to get ideas for this paragraph. So, I’ll leave it at that as proof of my struggle. However, if someone initiates a conversation about a topic that I’m interested in like best SpongeBob episodes (“Sailor Mouth” of course!), predictions on what is in store for Stranger Things 4 or fantasies about possible Harry Potter spinoffs like a prequel book series on when Harry’s parents were at Hogwarts. There’s so much material there from the love triangle with his father and Snape to the details of how Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs came to be Animagus to support Moony. See what I mean. But if someone says, “nice weather,” I say “yup” and then I’m out of ideas on words or sentences. For the SpongeBob fans, my mind goes blank just like SpongeBob’s does when Squilliam asks him his name in the “Squilliam Returns” episode. SpongeBob only knows how to talk about fine dining and breathing and I only know how to talk nerd. The tip that I related to most for this theme was that Intellection is wasted if it stays in your head, it must be shared either by discussion or writing. Writing is my preference, but finding a discussion group on Meetup or a similar platform is in interesting new method for me to explore as well.

Those with Input enjoy acquiring and collecting information that can help others. Reading books or articles is important to them, but it is equally important that they are able to share this information with others. Being able to help others and feel useful is a key factor of this theme. This explains my interest in becoming a SHINE Counselor as I described in my Year of Action post. It also explains why I’m so conflicted about staying in my accounting career. As an Accountant, I feel like the bad guy all the time. “No, I can’t pay this bill without an official invoice.” “Municipal Law says Town funds can’t be used for bereavement expenses.” Yuck, I get annoyed with myself sometimes, but at the same time I want to stay out of jail for financial fraud. (OK, that might be a bit extreme, but it’s my Restorative mind’s perspective.) With SHINE, there’s no question that it is a charitable service to help those in need and I would be utilizing the knowledge I have from one of my many, many, many jobs. I am still in talks with the SHINE Coordinator to find a volunteer position in the area and look forward to seeing where that opportunity takes me.

Finally, Discipline. There’s not much I need to elaborate on with this theme. It’s pretty much the dictionary definition we all know, a desire for rules and obedience, a need for order and organization, a control freak. Ok, I added that last one. I am not surprised that this was one of my top five themes, but I can’t say I’m super proud that it is either. The one thing I will say is that I know I am orderly and neat and perfectionistic, but because I am aware of it, I try to keep it to my own habits and not impose it on others or to a group. I like to do things a certain way in a certain order at a certain time and follow a similar routine for similar tasks, but I don’t preach to others that they should do the same. I eat Cheerios for breakfast in the same bowl with the same spoon and put the box in the same place for easy refill access and my water in the same position for efficient thirst quenching, but do I tell others to eat that way too, no. I would be pretty aggravated though if someone sat in my Cheerio eating seat at my Cheerio eating time so perhaps this is something I do need to reflect on, haha.

Stay tuned for more information on the other two personality tests, 16 Personalities and Enneagram.