“Every now and then a man’s mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation, and never shrinks back to its former dimensions.”                                                              ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., American author and poet

StrengthsFinder is a tool that has helped over ten million people stretch their minds in an effort to better their quality of life.

But here’s the catch.

You have to be committed to the efforts that will yield the greatest opportunities for success. I’ve personally met dozens of individuals who have been asking themselves the question “Why?”

Why do I do this well but not that, why do I love this but hate that, and why does this or that person act in a manner contrary to myself?

StrengthsFinder 2.0 and the accompanying assessment is powerful enough to answer all of these questions plus a hundred more. But the power lies in ones desire to buy into the concept of Strengths-based development, and work hard every day to aim their talents in a direction that will boost productivity, positivity and effectiveness.

Your talents give you leverage to achieving your vision of success.

If this tool was nothing but hogwash hocus-pocus with a dash of pixie dust, I would have never invested both time and money pursuing a goal of becoming a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach. I chose this path of massive resistance because I knew without a doubt that, just like it did for me, StrengthsFinder would provide those lost in the murky waters of life with a new found sense of direction.

The 34 Themes provide the user with a vocabulary of terms that can be used to describe why they love, hate, need, want and desire certain things in life. This need can be a physical or emotional pull toward a desired outcome.

For example, I need the spotlight! I want people to acknowledge what I have to say, and use that information to make smart choices and educated decisions. I hate being ignored, or viewed as a simple cog in the machine that runs their daily grind. My supportive theme SIGNIFICANCE gets shifted into turbo-drive during board meetings. I know that I have something to say that will affect the outcome of our discussion, and want nothing more than to be heard and listened to by all in attendance. Others may perceive this desire as an unquenchable need for power, but it has nothing to do with power. It has everything to do with acknowledgement! I want to be perceived as a professional who brings a tremendous amount of insight to a conversation.

My COMMUNICATION theme is jump-started when the conversation requires me to explain myself in terms that are easily understood. The clearer my ideas are distributed, the easier it is for others to grab them up, and run them in the direction of implementation.

Those who understand how Strengths-based development works, understand that in order for me to be massively effective at problem solving, I will require the stage and time to share my ideas. And if they wish to see me at my worst, all they have to do is leave me out of the loop and stifle any chances I have to speak my mind.

Imagine what you could do within your organization if you knew that by not allowing someone five minutes of your time to simply share their ideas it would result in a total loss of engagement and reduced productivity? Not only that, but as an additional negative result, they would become disgruntled if their needs were ignored long term. That’s a huge one! Our employees or team members are often our largest group of ambassadors. And if they lose the urge to promote your business as a great place to work, the conversation that will start to surface with be one filled with negativity and distaste.

Is that something you want to happen?

You can avoid all of these less than desirable outcomes if you simply choose to focus on building their strengths rather than trying to aggressively correct their weaknesses.

StrengthsFinder is the most insightful and individualized tool ever created! I’m proud to say that I am aware of my Strengths, and have a group of supportive co-workers who are willing to be equally aware of their own. This acknowledgement allows us to communicate as a single unit focused on a common goal. We are insanely effective at achieving amazing results, and we are able to do it in half the time!

My charge to you, is to ignite a passion for learning everything you can about your dominant themes. Before you can increase your quality of life, you have to appreciate the variety, value and intricacy these talents bring to the world.

Only then will you become unstoppable!~Andy Sokolovich

P.S. If you want to hear more about StrengthsFinder, or to schedule a free 30 minute coaching session, please fill out the form at the top right corner of this page. I’ll be sure to reply to your message within 24 hours or less! Thanks 🙂

photo credit: Giulio Magnifico via photopin cc