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 ARRANGER.
“You are a conductor. When faced with a complex situation involving many factors, you enjoy managing all of the variables, aligning and realigning them until you are sure you have arranged them in the most productive configuration possible. You are a shining example of effective flexibility. You don’t mind jumping into confusion, devise new options, hunting for new paths of least resistance, and figuring out new partnerships – because, after all, there might just be a better way.” Tom Rath, StrengthsFinder 2.0.
One of my church elders has Arranger as his top strength. He always questions whether things are being done in the most efficient way. He enjoys the exploration of doing things in different ways and likes to keep things simple.
He is comfortable supervising different activities and doesn’t tolerate actions that waste resources. He is occasionally accused of being too forthright but he prefers getting to the point. Suffice to say, sparing people’s feelings is not at the top of his agenda. He is a natural at organising events and programs.
He is also good at spotting the talents of other people, and plugging them in the right areas. He intentionally seeks to disciple people. He struggles with things that are too laborious, because that may be an indication that it’s not being done efficiently. He expects to be trusted with resources, and excels when given the room to manoeuvre unencumbered. Trust is very important to him.
In the next Issue, we will look at the strength of Belief.
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.
