This is part of a series of articles 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 CONSISTENCY.
“Balance is important to you. You are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same, no matter what their station in life, so you do not want to see the scales tipped too far in any one person’s favour. In your view this leads to selfishness and individualism. It leads to a world where some people gain an unfair advantage because of their connections or their background or their greasing of the wheels. This is truly offensive to you. You see yourself as a guardian against it. In direct contrast to this world of special favours, you believe that people function best in a consistent environment where the rules are clear and are applied to everyone equally. This is an environment where people know what is expected. It is predictable and even-handed. It is fair. Here each person has an even chance to show his or her worth.” Tom Rath, StrengthsFinder 2.0.
Kudzai is an Operations Director, and has Consistency in her top 5. She feels it’s only right that everyone is treated the same way, and under the same rules. From the gardener to the CEO. She instinctively works out a system she can follow and work by. Every week being predictable and dependable. The standard of quality and delivery will remain fairly the same. There will have to be extenuating circumstances for her to change the rules. She believes this is the best way to be fair to everyone, and her hard work.
She therefore can design and implement systems and procedures that can work across the board. And she expects others to respect those boundaries. She will be discouraged if she witnesses too many disparities in how people are treated. However, this can be helped by clear and factual communication on why that is so. Remember, she wants what is best and fair for everyone. Something she will work hard to ensure. And that is the positivity of Consistency.
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.
