Dirty Little Secrets

I learned some  . . . things . . . about myself. Important things. Things you should know if you have to work with me.  Things that might explain some of my quirks.  Things that make me vulnerable. And valuable.

What about you?  Do you know about yourself? Do people around you know about you and your dirty little secrets?  Your secrets could make you the happiest and best at what you do.  Don’t believe me? 

How I Learned

About two years ago, I bought Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath.  I took the test because I wanted to know why I hated my job.  I came to believe that strengths and likes are not necessarily the same things.  Strengths are things that make us better when we do them. Likes are stuff we just like doing.  Or something we think we like doing.

Either way, I wanted to find out.  So I took the test. (Here’s where you’d expect to see the results.  Not yet.)

How I Re-learned

A couple of weeks ago, I was feeling odd.  I’ve been on a treadmill for a year, professionally speaking. No progress.  In fact, I feel like I might have lost ground. 

Sure, there’s been great moments. I’ve met some fascinating people and been part of projects that will change the world someday soon.  But I haven’t really grown so much.

At the same time, though, I’ve embarked on a new mission outside of work. In this mission, I’ve had a hand in creating a tribe of millions of people.  It’s made national news almost every day for more than a year.  I’ve appeared on national television programs and been published in huge national newspapers.  Next week, I’ll be featured in a Playboy article.

So retook the test.  I wanted to see if my out-of-work experience had altered my strengths.

Guess what.  No change.  Not even a change within sub-category scores.

So, while my life has changed significantly in the past two years, the things I excel in have not budged.

Why are Strengths Important?

Skeptical? So was I. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have retaken the test, right? By retaking, I was validating.  That’s doubt. 

I was also moved by learning that one of world’s leaders in positive psychology, Shawn Achor, is pushing the idea of knowing one’s strengths.  Here’s what he says about strengths:

Employees who have the opportunity to use their top strengths at work every day report greater job satisfaction and 38% higher productivity levels (Gallup, 2005).

And that’s not all:

Students who use their signature strengths have higher GPAs and fewer absences (Harter, 1998).

Would you like to be 38 percent more satisfied at work?  Would work with people who are more productive, too?

How about happier?  Do you get more pleasure from working with happy people or depressed people?

My Scores

I promised to reveal dirty little secrets about myself. Here goes. 

My top 5 strengths, in order, are:

1. Activator: I can make things happen by turning thoughts into action.  I am impatient.
2. Strategic:  I create alternative ways to proceed.  Faced with any given scenario, I can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.
3. Ideation: I am fascinated by ideas. I am able to find connection between seemingly disparate phenomena.
4. Futuristic:  I am inspired by the future and what could be.  I inspire others with visions of the future.
5. Input:  I crave to know more. I often like to collect and archive all kinds of information.

That’s it.  Those strengths have not changed in two years.  I don’t expect they’ll change anytime soon. It explains why I got such a jolt out of helping to launch a movement.  It’s why I love plotting out a destiny for that movement. It’s why think more about tomorrow than about today or yesterday. It’s who I am.

Your Scores

So what are you, and who knows? 

Those are important questions.  As Achor points out, first you need to identify your strengths. Fortunately, you can do that right here for free.   Or you could buy the book I used. 

Next, you’ll want to find ways to use your strengths in your daily tasks.  At work and at home.  This will take creative thinking for some, but the payoff is worth it.  You’ll be more productive, faster, and happier.  You’ll enjoy your work more. 

Also, you need to let your boss and co-workers know about your strength.  Sure, they might not care. But you owe it to yourself and to them to tell them valuable information that will, if used  properly, make everyone involved more effective.  For example, if you’re an Activator like me but some analytical type is always assigned the job of launching projects or tasks, you might want to work out a trade. 

And think about this:  would you ask Albert Pujols to become a reliever? Why not?  Relief pitching is a weakness of his.  Exactly.  Who cares about his weakness when he has such amazing strengths. Well you have amazing strengths, too. If you play to those strengths and mitigate (not fix) your weaknesses, you can become the Albert Pujols of your chosen field.  Seriously. That’s how powerful strengths are.

Now, take the test. And please let us know what you learned in the comments section below.