Can Gallup's StrengthFinder Test Really Discover My Strengths?

(Photo by ePi Longo)

Do you know your strengths? Are you utilizing your strengths to the max? Is your business performance in the top rank thanks to your strengths?

These are the questions the Gallup Organization ask through their series of books about StrengthFinder. I recently took this online test and find the result quite interesting, so here is my sharing.

If you want to take the test, you need the access code that comes with their book. I have Discover Your Sales Strengths: How the World’s Greatest Salespeople Develop Winning Careers. It describes the 34 themes and explains how the strengths of each theme can be used in sales. Or you can get StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths to take the new version of the test. I scanned through this book and it looked good – the description of the themes are the same, but come with suggestions how to use it to its advantage. I took the 1.0 test, and have no idea how 2.0 is different.

Why I didn’t take the test earlier even though I supported their perspective

I’ve heard about the best selling book Now, Discover Your Strengths and even flipped through it at the bookstore years ago. I totally agreed with the points the book made: Find your strengths and utilize them to the maximum. Don’t worry too much about weaknesses. Wow, this is exactly what I insisted (and got me into trouble often with my parents, teachers, and bosses . . .) I thought: If I work on my weaknesses (in school days, these were physics and athletic activities), with discipline I might get to the level of “good,” but there would be tons of people who can do it far better than I can. Why waste my time? (Note: I did understand the benefits of bringing all scores to the passing level.) Why not capitalize on my strengths that make me special?

I also agreed with their view that most people are clueless about their own strengths. I see that happen all the time. Then why didn’t I take the test earlier? The very reason can be found in my StrengthFinder result . . .

StrengthFinder finds your five strongest themes.

A theme is a group of talents that takes certain character. My themes are, in this order:

• Strategic
• Maximizer
• Activator
• Individualization
• Significance

With Individualization, I’m an exception to the rule. I can see my and other people’s strengths clearly. And this is exactly why I didn’t buy the book earlier. I didn’t feel I needed it.

If you are curious why, then, I finally took the test . . . well,

1. I had to (still do) improve my sales and was willing to try anything that might help me achieve this goal.
2. I thought this kind of knowledge would help me become a better coach.

Did I really know my strengths? Am I utilizing them both as a person and as an entrepreneur?

The result was more about confirming what I knew rather than discovering new strengths — for me, an Individualization theme person.

Here is a quick view of my five signature themes with quotes from my book and what I think about them:

Strategic

The strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route. It is not a skill that can be taught. It is a distinct way of thinking, a special perspective on the world at large.

Oh, this is what I’ve been calling my “system” oriented thinking. I like handling things by system as I wrote in How To Improve Customer Service By Spending Far Less Time. They also say Strategic person is strong in new ventures – as a new entrepreneur, I really hope so.

Maximizer

Excellence, not average, is your measure. . . Strength, whether yours or someone else’s, fascinate you.

Sure, as I wrote already, I am strengths (gifts) oriented. This is one of my focal points in coaching, too.

Activator

“When can we start?” This is a recurring question in your life. You are impatient for action. . . you believe that action is the best device for learning.

I know I am good at starting things. And I must learn hands-on. I actually fell asleep in one of the corporate training class in which the instructor just read the textbook. (In this case, my contempt at such a poorly planned training may have played a role, too. I am a Maximizer.) And this is why I love blogging – I learn as I write and see how it lands among my readers.

Individualization

Your Individualization theme leads you to be intrigued by the unique qualities of each person. You are impatient with generalizations or “types” because you don’t want to obscure what is special and distinct about each person.

I really like pointing out someone else’s uniqueness. I often send notes to my new friends describing what specifically I find wonderful about them. As a coach, this is my best gift.

Significance

You want to be very significant in the eyes of other people. . . In particular, you want to be known and appreciated for the unique strengths you bring.

So this is why I care (or worry) about what other people think of me. Generic positive review sounds almost negative to me. My fondest memory in corporate America was when I was working for a bank and my clients referred their friends to me saying, “Akemi knows, and will get the best package for you.” I guess this theme gives me strong motivation.

What about my other strengths like communication?

I guess Communication is my sixth theme. I relate to the description very well.

Any strength can backfire when over-relied. . .

As much as I believe in the benefits of focusing and utilizing the strengths, I also see a potential problem of over-relying on strengths. (I can see this thanks to my Strategic theme, I guess) When you over-rely on a few strengths, you run a risk of losing balance and missing something that is so obvious otherwise. For example, if I start too many projects as Activator, pretty soon I will be so exhausted that I just won’t be able to keep up with everything. I run a risk of being called a quitter. I’m learning this the hard way . . . I don’t know how many projects I have started with great excitement, only to get bored later. (I get bored if I don’t get the admiration I yearn for as Significance themed person. . .) Now I am very choosy what to start.

Realizing one’s strengths is a good starting point in becoming aware of one’s life purpose.

This is because your strengths are the gift the Universe has bestowed on you so that you can live toward your purpose effectively. If I may use my case as an example, I think the result supports my choice to help others through coaching. Individualization is truly a gift for life coaches. Strategic and Maximizer themes are great, too, especially when I coach aspiring entrepreneurs.

StrengthFinder is a useful tool if you want to check your strengths objectively.

So, my readers,
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know me to some extent. What do you think about my StrengthFinder test result? Do they describe me well?
And what do you consider to be your best strengths?