Communication | Input | Maximizer | Ideation | Futuristic
StrengthsFinders 2.0
There you have it. Now you know all about me. Those are my StrengthsFinders 2.0 themes.
Actually, there’s one more thing you should know. I’ve always been a little bothered that I didn’t get Woo. It struck me as the coolest sounding theme, and I wanted it. The assessment only provided a top 5 list. I’ll continue to imagine woo was my sixth theme.
Myers-Briggs
Over the past 30 years I’ve done more than my fair share of inventories and assessments. I remember when I was in college I took the MBTI. I was an ENFP. At the time it was a good fit with my self-image. I was happy to be an ENFP.
A few years later I took the test again. This time I changed to an ENTJ. Reading the description, I remember the phrase Field Marshal associated with the type. The word power was also liberally sprinkled through the description.
I didn’t feel like an ENTJ and felt reasonably sure others would not perceive me that way either. Must have been an off day.
Over the course of the next 20 years I took it several more times. ENTJ every single time. Guess I changed.
Social Styles
This one has always been my favorite. I’ve seen versions of it also called Work Styles.
Answer a bunch of questions and find out where you land in a 4-box matrix: Analytical, Driver, Amiable, Expressive. It’s simple, and I can remember the types.
Anyone who knows me and can guess what those four words mean will likely put me in the right box: Expressive. I’d put myself there too and feel comfortable with that label.
More Inventories
Thinking back, I remember a whole bunch of other assessments:
- DISC
- Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument
- Thomas-Kilman Conflict Mode
- Predictive Index
- Freebies you can find online
So What?
I like doing these tests. When I’ve been in groups, it seems that others do too.
Liking them shouldn’t be enough. They’ve got to serve a purpose. When doing team building or leadership development work, the tools are supposed to meet one or both of the following goals:
- Help participants better understand themselves so that they can take advantage of their natural talents, styles, or preferences.
- Help participants better understand their coworkers so that they work more effectively together.
For me these tools generally don’t meet the goals. Take the StrengthsFinder for example. To write this post, I had to dig out my book to remember what my themes were. And even now that I have them, I have no idea what they say about me. I could read the descriptions and suggested actions again, but I think I’ll pass.
When used in groups, there comes the point where participants share results with others. As the leader, my job is to convince people that all types add value and that the group is stronger when individuals recognize, appreciate, and take advantage of those differences.
I often sense some insights occurring in the room: Oh, that’s why she acts that way. Unfortunately, I rarely believe that any of those insights will make a lasting positive impact.
Sometimes I leave worried that the new insights will instead be used as excuses to not work out differences that affect how folks work together.
5 Alternatives to More Inventories
There is are better ways to help people understand themselves and each other. They are free. They are much more insightful. And when done well, they produce a lasting positive impact.
1. Pay Attention
You work side-by-side with the same people every day. Watch their reactions to situations. Notice what they get excited about and what leads to grumbling. When do they thrive and when do they struggle? It’s not that hard to quickly understand their strengths, styles, and preferences. They are demonstrated through their behaviors.
2. Ask Questions
Some of your observations may lead to faulty conclusions because you are making assumptions about the underlying intentions and motivations. To get at those, you’ll need to ask some questions. Pursue your curiosity with respect. Convert your guesses into knowledge.
3. Be Open
If you want to be understood, you’ll need to share your expectations, wants, needs, and preferences. If a coworker asks a question, be honest with your answers.
If they don’t ask, be proactive. Imagine telling a coworker, “You know, I usually don’t say much in our meetings because I really need to reflect on a problem before commenting on it. I wish there was a way to still offer my thoughts after the fact.” It’s exactly this kind of conversation that can create enormous positive change.
4. Give Feedback
One of the powerful features of multi-rater (people rate you in addition to rating yourself) assessments is that we get feedback from others. The theory is that people will be more honest when they can deliver opinions anonymously. Plus it’s easy because the assessment is structured with easily answered, multiple-choice questions. Click and done.
The problem is that people are often afraid about what they might learn. If they get hit with a slew of new, critical information, they are hurt that no one thought enough to tell them until now.
We all have blind spots. There are qualities that others see in us that we don’t see in ourselves. Once I had some well-dressed evangelizers knock on my door. I noticed one of them had his fly undone. I thought for a minute about what to do. I figured he was going to discover it sooner or later and that sooner would be better than later. Before they left, I said, “Your barn door is open.” It wasn’t easy to say, but am guessing that he eventually appreciated it. Share your feedback.
5. Reflect
This one could have been part of #1. Pay attention to yourself. Notice what you like and don’t like. Think about what you want and need. Identify your strengths. You don’t need the StrengthsFinder. You are perfectly capable of reaching those conclusions on your own.
And if you want to incorporate #2 as well. Ask others questions about you. Here’s a few to get you started:
- What do you need from me that would help us work better together?
- When I’m presenting in a meeting, what could I do to be more clear?
- What could I change to be a better team player?
Start Talking
Understanding ourselves and others is tremendously important for effective workplace teams. Assessments might help, but you’d be smart to put more effort into building relationships and then having honest conversations.
Create a workplace culture where this happens easily and with skill, and then notice what happens to team performance across your organization. I think you’ll like what you see.
