Tuesday, June 14, 2005

 

Learning about yourself

Greenville College participates in something called the Clifton StrengthsFinder, which is something of a personality test from the Gallup Organization. Every single person--faculty, staff, and students--at Greenville College takes the test and gets an accompanying book specifically for students for free. During the two years I was in school there, especially through some of my communication classes with Prof. Ross, I found it to be very interesting and an insightful tool to learn about myself and other people and how relationships work.

Several months ago, Paul and I were talking about the Myers-Briggs/Keirsey Temperament [aside: I'm ISFJ and he's ENTP], and that led to talking about StrenghtsFinder, which made me very curious as to what his top five strengths are. In order to take the test, you basically have to purchase a book containing a personal code, which was one of Paul's birthday presents from me. But instead of buying him the same book that I own, I bought him the one my grandfather had at Christmastime because the board at their church all got the book and took the test. That book is specially directed toward churches and serving within a church community and it looked like very interesting reading--to both of us.

My Top Five Strengths
Developer People strong in the Developer theme recognize and cultivate the potential in others. They spot the signs of each small improvement and derive satisfaction from these improvements.
Input People strong in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.
Harmony People strong in the Harmony theme look for consensus. They don’t enjoy conflict; rather, they seek areas of agreement.
Responsibility People strong 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.
Arranger People strong in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.

Paul's top Five Strengths
Woo [Winning Others Over] People strong in the Woo theme love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person.
Futuristic People strong in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.
Includer People strong in the Includer theme are accepting of others. They show awareness of those who feel left out, and make an effort to include them.
Ideation People strong in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.
Activator People strong in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.

Full list of the above links.

P.S. For those who gave up on Paul ever updating his blog...he actually has and we're trying to get him to put more of his funny clinic stories up there. :-)

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