I - Input and Intellection

Tom Rath, Gallup's Global Practice Leader, is the #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author of Strengthfinders 2.0, as well as many other fantastic books.

I first heard Tom at a leadership conference and my interest was peaked as he talked about working in your strengths instead of working on improving your weaknesses.  His premise is that we're all good at something. Shouldn't we be working on trying to share what we're good at, making improvement in the areas we already shine, instead of working on things, that quite frankly, we'll probably never be good at no matter how much effort we put into trying to improve our weaknesses?  It was an interesting idea, certainly one that deemed further investigation.

Well, it didn't take long for me to get further into Mr. Rath's idea of working within your strengths. At work we were given the Strengthfinders 2.0 book and asked to take the online assessment (a code is included in the back of the book to access the test). As employees we took the assessment and then shared our results within our department, talking about whether our positions fit our strengths and how we could work our strengths into being more productive in our areas of responsibility.

I took the test and was amazed at the results! (Don't I sound like an infomercial! Heehee!)  The Strengthfinder's test nailed my personality and honestly, gave me confidence. I realized that my strengths could be leveraged for good at work and at home and that I could embrace the needs that I had to feed my strengths, significantly alone time.

Have you figured out two of my strengths? Input and Intellection.

Someone with the strength of Input:

• collects physical and/or virtual stuff they find interesting

(I have a paper problem!)

• enjoys information, words, facts or quotations, books or collectibles. 
• finds many things interesting (Have you visited my Pinterest?)
• Inquisitive

Someone with the strength of Intellection:

• enjoys solitude - in fact, needs it!
• introspective, likes to think
• mental hum is a constant part of life
• must schedule quiet time to "just think"
• thrives on mental activity (maybe that's why I try lots of crafts!)

I am a thinker. I love learning and collecting information. It makes me happy! 

Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about "I." :)

If you're interested in reading Strengthfinders 2.0 and taking the assessment, click here. (BTW, don't buy a used copy if you intend to use the online code in the back.You could pick up the book to peruse and make guesses as to your strengths, but you'll be tempted to take the test, I promise!)

If you take the assessment, please, share your strengths with me. I'd love to know what makes you unique!