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 last 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 post we are going to look at the strength of ACTIVATOR.
“When can we start? This is a recurring question in your life. You are impatient for action. You may concede that analysis has its uses or that debate and discussion can occasionally yield some valuable insights, but deep down you know that only action is real. Only action can make things happen. Only action leads to performance. Once a decision is made, you cannot not act. You believe that action is the best device for learning. The bottom line is this: You know you will be judged not by what you say, not by what you think, but by what you get done. This does not frighten you. It pleases you.” Tom Rath, StrengthsFinder 2.0
Tendai has Activator in her dominant strengths. She has a forceful and vibrant personality that jolts people to action. If you are not down with the program, she is very happy to do it alone. By the time you have made up your mind to travel to China, she is already on the plane back. I guess you can say, she feels that talk is cheap.
She is in the Parents Support Group committee at her children’s school because she wants to be part of the action. She is happy to start plenty of initiatives, but can quickly become bored when the novelty has worn off, and the process is monotonous. She is great in situations where quick decisions are needed, and it’s probably why even though she doesn’t know you very well, she will invite you and your whole family for parties.
So don’t bore her with long discussions. Bring her in when decisions are needed to be made, and she is part of the implementation. And don’t interpret her impatience as disrespect, she just needs ACTION. This makes her a valuable asset in getting a lagging team going, and propelling organisations into new territories, physically or procedural. You can count on Tendai to make things happen.
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.
