This is part of a series of posts on the different types of strengths that each of us as individuals have. You can take a look at the ACHIEVER strength that I discussed in the first post in the series.
Everyone is born with talents. Talents are our natural way of thinking, feeling and behaving that can be productively applied. When we invest and develop our talents, they then become strengths. A strength is the ability to consistently do an activity to near perfection. It is about the WAY we achieve success, and all of us have a ‘way’.
There is an assessment called Strengths Finder, and it takes about 45 minutes to do online, answering various questions. Once you are done, it then sends you a strength report. There are 34 strengths in total, and the assessment calculates your most dominant strengths from number 1 to number 34 in sequence of their dominance. You choose whether you want the report of your full 34 or just your dominant first 5 strengths.
In this Issue we are going to look at the strength of ADAPTABILITY.
“You live in the moment. You don’t see the future as a fixed destination. Instead, you see it as a place that you create out of the choices that you make right now. And so you discover your future one choice at a time. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have plans. But this strength does enable you to respond willingly to the demands of the moment even if they pull you away from your plans. Unlike some, you don’t resent sudden requests or unforeseen detours. You expect them. You are, at heart, a very flexible person who can stay productive when the demands of work are pulling you in many different directions at once.“ Tom Rath, StrengthsFinder 2.0
My husband has Adaptability as his first dominant strength. Before I knew about strengths, his adaptability used to drive me crazy. We would literally decide on a course of action in the morning and by the afternoon he would have changed his mind. Now, bear in mind that one of my dominant strengths is Intellection, and I like to think things through. So if they keep changing, then it means I have to go through the deep reflection of it again! I used to wonder why he couldn’t just make up his mind.
Fast forward to an understanding of strengths, and now I know he isn’t trying to drive me crazy. He is just super flexible, and this is a great help in sudden times of change or difficulty. He is able to remain calm and accepting of the changes that need to be done whenever they happen. His work colleagues often call him when they have those ‘suddenlies’ and they are too shocked or frustrated to respond. No matter what he is doing he is able to adapt to their situations. I am now very appreciative of this, as he helps the family accept change, and in a country like Zimbabwe this is a daily necessity.
Joyce Mutangara is a wife, mother, pastor, legal adviser and strengths coach. She loves to give inspiring personal interaction, through authentic discussion, and exploration of talents that motivate people to achieve optimum performance through intentionally deploying their strengths. For more information or access to her work and to get personal strengths coaching, you can email her: joycemut@gmail.com or visit her blog Joyce’s Blog.
