Strengths Stories

CliftonStrengths Achiever Strength

I Will Be Dead Before I Stop Making Lists: CliftonStrengths Achiever Strength

CliftonStrengths Stories In Action—Talent Theme: Achiever I have lists everywhere: in my phone, in my productivity planner, on my notepad, on post-its, and random scraps of paper. And, despite all these physical manifestations of lists, there are about a thousand more of them in my head. I will be dead before I stop making lists,…

CliftonStrengths Activator CareersCliftonStrengths Activator Careers

Sometimes Destiny Helps Us Activate Our Strengths In New Ways – StrengthsFinder Talent of Activator

Strengths Stories In Action – StrengthsFinder Talent Theme: Activator I felt like I was putting everyone out with my broken ankle. I wanted to do everything myself. So I took forever to get places. I struggled to open doors on my own. I put on a fake smile when people asked me how I was…

CliftonStrengths Adaptability Careers

How I Use The Adaptability Strength to Simplify, Go With The Flow, And Get Through Tough Times

After moving across country from Florida to California, I wrote and published an article for the American Bamboo Society’s magazine. It was called “Lessons from grass, being like bamboo.” The radical (Chinese) character for bamboo represents the stems and leaves of bamboo. It’s the one on the left below. It looks a little like two…

CliftonStrengths Communication Careers - Quote Box for Negative Performance Review Story

How A Negative Performance Review (and StrengthsFinder) Changed My Life

Communication Talent Theme – Strengths Story I felt that something was wrong. My Harmony strength was in full alert, stage 5, alarm bells ringing. All was not well. But what was it? What was wrong? When I called my boss to talk about a project he said, “Just send it to me, it’s faster for…

CliftonStrengths Connectedness Careers

Using Connectedness To See Opportunity – StrengthsFinder Talent Theme Connectedness

How I Use Connectedness to Realize New Opportunities, Practice Gratitude, and Learn More About the World Around Me I finally took the plunge and registered for a guided one-week hiking trip in the backcountry of British Columbia, Canada. I had been talking about organizing my own multi-day backpacking trip for several years but had not…

CliftonStrengths Harmony Careers

Seeing Common Ground And Dying Inside When Others Won’t Try: Harmony Talent

How The Dark Side Of Harmony Plagued My Career: Harmony Talent It took me years of practice to get to a place where I can wait before I respond to things that trip my emotional wires. When someone talks over me in a meeting, I no longer feel the need to talk louder to retake…

CliftonStrengths Ideation - Quote describing the StrengthsFinder talent of Ideation

The Undercover Force Behind Your Creativity – StrengthsFinder Talent of Ideation

Strengths Stories In Action – StrengthsFinder Talent of Ideation I am a storyteller. I see the world as a thousand, million different storylines. I get inspired by people on the street, the clothes they wear and the stories they might tell me if I stopped to ask them questions. I see a connection between people…

CliftonStrengths Input Careers

Getting the Most Output for Your Input: Finding the Essentials – StrengthsFinder Talent of Input

Strengths Stories In Action – StrengthsFinder Talent Theme: Input I flew to Ecuador for an eight day trip with a backpack full of books and a carry on bag holding my toiletries and 6 outfits. It took me a lot to get to that point. I packed and repacked my bags, trying to fit one…

CliftonStrengths Intellection Careers - Definition of the Intellection Strength

Do You See What I See (Probably Not): Intellection Talent

Strengths Stories In Action – StrengthsFinder Talent Theme: Intellection The story of the Little Prince begins when the narrator describes a drawing from when he was a child. The drawing is that of a hat… or, with a little imagination, is really a drawing of a boa constrictor who has swallowed an elephant. The tale…

CliftonStrengths Intellection Careers - Definition of the Intellection Strength

The Definition of The Intellection Strength is The Inner World

Strengths Stories In Action-StrengthsFinder Talent Theme: Intellection Forget the formal definition of the Intellection strength for a second. Let’s get a real story of how it shows up in life. As I am walking down the hall I am often asked, “Are you okay?” or “What’s wrong?” The inquiry initially sounds muffled and distant until…

CliftonStrengths Learner Careers

Being A Lifetime Learner Through Strengths

  Strengths Stories In Action – StrengthsFinder Talent Theme: Learner Some might say Wikipedia was my first love. The amount of information so readily available gave me butterflies in my stomach, excited at the thought that after one page I could know just enough about sea otters to write a one page essay.  I was about…

CliftonStrengths Positivity Careers

Warning: Positivity Is A Tough Choice, And Why You Should Do It Anyway – StrengthsFinder Talent of Positivity

Strengths Stories In Action – StrengthsFinder Talent Theme: Positivity From the ages of about 5-9, my dad was building the house that I grew up in. He’s an architect and engineer. He designed and built our entire two-story home, himself. We moved from the city out to the hill country on 5 acres outside of…

CliftonStrengths Relator Careers

Use The Relator Talent Theme To Build Deeper Bonds At Work

Strengths Stories In Action – Relator Talent Theme With eager anticipation, I reached out to fellow strengths coach Lisa Cummings. “Are you attending the first ever Gallup Strengths Summit?” I asked. Thankfully Lisa replied with a yes. “May I tag along with you for awhile?” I asked meekly. Graciously, Lisa agreed and I heaved a…

CliftonStrengths Significance Careers - StrengthsFinder Talent of Significance

The StrengthsFinder Talent Of Significance

Otherwise Known As The “I’m Awesome And You’re Awesome Too” Strength “Would you lead the Christmas parade this year?” Sure. “Would you be the emcee for the end-of-year banquet?” You bet. “Would you represent the business school at the event in Monterrey, Mexico?” Well of course I would. “Would you develop and deliver a leadership…