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 BELIEF.
“If you possess a strong Belief theme, you have certain core values that are enduring. These values vary from one person to another, but ordinarily your Belief theme causes you to be family-oriented, altruistic, even spiritual, and to value responsibility and high ethics – both in yourself and in others. These core values affect your behaviour in many ways. They give your life meaning and satisfaction; in your view success is more than money and prestige. They provide you with direction, guiding you through the temptation and distractions of life toward a consistent set of priorities. This consistency is the foundation for all your relationships. Your friends call you dependable. It is important that you find work that meshes with your values, so you can live them out and have the meaning you need.” Tom Rath, StrengthsFinder 2.0.
I have a friend with Belief in her top 5 strengths. She is highly ethical and gets very agitated when she senses things are not being done with integrity. Her spiritual life is solid and she is a natural evangelist in her approach to how she impacts people. Her family is very important to her and her highest priority. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, she had already started home schooling her children, because she wanted more influence on the values being instilled into the children.
She is involved in work that uplifts and supports women leaders. It is truly important for her to be involved in meaningful work. She believes she can help others live meaningful lives as well. Purpose is more important to her than money.
In the next Issue, we will look at the strength of Command.
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.
