Strengths

StrengthsFinder Video

When someone asks, what makes you unique? What are your strengths? It can be hard to answer. One of the things I lack in strengths, is confidence. That's probably why it is so challenging for me to talk about my strengths because I feel like it is related to bragging. Taking the StrengthsFinder test and doing the surveys during LEAD 201 has led me to be able to feel assured in my strengths.

Sometimes the things we think are our weaknesses, can be in our strengths as long as we think of them differently.

1. Discipline: When I first got this as one of my strengths, I thought wow that must mean that I am boring. I know realize that it shows how my world is best described by the order I create. I definitely set my life up in a routine, which allows me to feel comfortable and get more done. Being clean, orderly, and presentable has allowed me to do well in interviews that have led to jobs and positions on campus. I know when it is time to be serious, and when it is not and in the professional world that can go a long way.

2. Learner: It makes me feel good about myself to know that one of my strengths has to do with my love of learning. Every since I was a kid, I have always tried to grow in knowledge. I like being able to talk about many different topics with people and know about what's going on in the world around me. I want to continue on my education to get a Masters degree, and possibly a Doctorate because of my need for knowledge. This doesn't have to be academic, in many ways I am always looking to learn more about people I encounter as well because it allows me to better understand them, something that will be neccessary in my future career.

3. Focus: Without focus, would anyone get anything done? Probably not. Sometimes leaders get a bad reputation as someone who is a control freak. I think that at times, I do want control too often, but this mostly applies to something that is related to my own life. I set definite goals for myself and set up ways to get there. I do tend to be very realistic and focused on facts, which can sometimes allow me to be more level-headed in an emotional situation. Whatever I am focused on gets my undivided attention, for example with finals coming up, and that ensures that I will get it all done on time.

4. Human skill: Katz created the three-skill approach that we learned about in class. This skills inventory allowed me to learn about my proficiency in human skill. This means that I can work cooperatively and that I am sensitive to the needs of others. Whenever someone I work with needs a day off due to something that they are upset about, like a sickness in their family, I am the first one to help them through that. I like to listen to others and ensure that they feel heard, which relates to a big part of being a therapist one day.

5. Servant leadership: I like to think of this theory as people who are "silent leaders" meaning that they are not always at the front demanding attention but they are always there. I like to allow others to get what they need out of a project and put those needs before my own, to a reasonable point. If something is for the greater good of the organization in the future, I realize that it is ethical to allow it to move forward. For example, with my programming position in the Honors College, I am always asking for suggestions from other students about my commuter initiative although technically I am in charge of it. What I really want out of that initiative is to build a community, one of the ten characteristics of a servant leader.