Monday, November 24, 2008 @ 3:16 pm by Josh Burcham

After taking my Strengths Finder, these were the strengths themes that described me. See this past post to learn about the workings of Strengths Finder.

My Strength Themes:
1. Responsibility
2. Adaptability
3. Connectedness
4. Strategic
5. Belief

Shared Theme Description
People who are especially talented 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.

What makes you stand out?
Chances are good that you now and then set aside time to appreciate the loveliness and splendor of your surroundings. Driven by your talents, you are quite comfortable letting the day’s events and people’s demands determine what really deserves your attention. Instinctively, you picture yourself handling situations and issues that could arise in the coming months, years, or decades. You mentally rehearse what you plan to do in various worst-case and best-case scenarios. Your forethought prepares you to deal with whatever happens. You are a flexible person. You are not easily flustered by unexpected events, problems, or opportunities. By nature, you are the group member who moves through the day handling unexpected situations as they arise. Some are important. Others are not so important. You probably have earned a reputation for changing plans to deal with surprises. Because of your strengths, you generally find it is easier to know a person when the individual understands how to take life easy. Unraveling the mystery of what makes someone unique cannot be rushed, in your estimation. This explains why you intentionally avoid people who are constantly harried, hurried, stressed, or tense.

Monday, November 17, 2008 @ 2:58 pm by Josh Burcham

After taking my Strengths Finder, these were the strengths themes that described me. They really know what they are doing over at Strengths Finder 2.0 to nail me so well.

My Strength Themes:
1. Responsibility
2. Adaptability
3. Connectedness
4. Strategic
5. Belief

Shared Theme Description
People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.

What makes you stand out?
Driven by your talents, you volunteer for additional duties. You really enjoy being given authority over projects, individuals, or groups. You expect to be held accountable for the results you produce as well as your words and deeds. Instinctively, you yearn to be given additional duties. You expect to be held accountable for your productivity, profit, behavior, comments, and actions. Chances are good that you probably are the team member who wants to be held accountable for the results you produce and the obligations you assume. You can readily admit when you are wrong. You usually accept without complaining the consequences of your words and deeds. By nature, you are naturally compelled to admit the truth. If someone asked you or told you to intentionally mislead someone, you would reply, “I cannot and I will not do that!” It’s very likely that you try to finish the tasks you agreed to do. Perhaps you even overcome some unexpected problems. Occasionally you work longer hours when it is necessary. Maybe you do whatever you can to avoid breaking the promises you made to people.

Monday, November 17, 2008 @ 2:17 pm by Josh Burcham

Too often we spend to much of our time trying to develop our weakness and not our strengths. What happens if we start focusing and improving those things that God has naturally talented us with. Those that God has gifted us with. Strengths Finder 2.0 is a business tool to help you find your strengths and improve on them. (Re-Post from Brad Ruggles)

The Path of Most Resistance
As kids, when we came home with a report card that was all A’s and B’s with one D which did we spend the most time on? Right, we tried to fix that D so that we could be a good, “well-rounded” student.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that we just ignore our areas of weakness or tell our children that it’s ok to fail classes they’re not good at. The problem arises when we spend so much time working on fixing our shortcomings that we neglect to invest time into improving our strengths.

Overcoming deficits is an essential part of the fabric of our culture. Our books, movies and folklore are filled with stories of the underdog who beats one-in-a-million odds. And this leads us to celebrate those who triumph over their lack of natural ability even more than we recognize those who capitalize on their innate talents.

Tom Rath, Strengths Finder 2.0

Climb Every Mountain
Have you ever been told by a well-meaning parent or teacher, You can be anything you want to be as long as you try hard enough! This flawed maxim of personal development may sound good but is usually a recipe for frustration and discouragement. No matter how hard I try or how much I practice I’ll probably never be much of a singer because I just wasn’t blessed with a singing voice. I can set my mind to becoming the best CPA but let me tell you, you definitely wouldn’t want me preparing your tax return (I suck at numbers). Here’s a simple formula from Strengths Finder 2.0 to illustrate:

So in my case, let’s say on a scale of 1 to 5 that I am a 2 when it comes to my singing ability (I’m sure if you heard me you may choose a negative number but that’s beside the point). Even if I score a perfect 5 for investment (the time spent practicing and building my knowledge and skills) the most I’ll I can ever hope to attain in this area is a 10 (5 x 2).

The inverse is also true. When I place the maximum investment into the areas in which I have the most natural talent and ability, the results are far greater.

Be A Better Version of Who You Already Are
The idea that we can create perfectly well-rounded individuals in our schools and universities is a myth. There is no such thing as a perfectly balanced individual. We’re all going to have areas where we excel and areas where we fall short.

The truth of the matter is this: you cannot be anything you want to be – but you can be a lot more of who you already are.

So let’s turn this into a practical discussion.

What Are Your Strengths?
List your top 3 strengths. There’s a time and place for modesty but this isn’t it. I want you to list your natural talents and abilities, the things that make you come alive.