rotating strengths?
March 19th, 2008 @ 11:29 am
i have taken the strengths finder now 3 times (the 2.0 version this last time, today).
here have been my results:
In 2004:
Strategic
Connectedness
Ideation
Belief
Input
In 2006:
Strategic
Connectedness
Restorative
Intellection
Input
In 2008:
Connectedness
Empathy
Intellection
Belief
Input
so there are some clear themes that have stuck around through the ages. i am a little surprised strategy fell off the list entirely after being my signature strength for the last few years. connectedness always proved to be a close second, so having it as the signature strength now makes total sense.
if you want to see more about what those strengths mean, you can click here.
what about you? have you taken the strengths finder?
Leadership
Clayton Bell said,
March 19, 2008 at 12:29 pm
I have, and I can’t remember them for the life of me. I loathed this test. I was in such a bad mood after taking it. All of my strengths are not equal! What about if strength 6 was only 1 below 5? Should I not count that as a strength!?!? Sorry, still bitter.
I will say the two test like this that I’ve seen and gotten the most out of are from the book Personality Plus (I’m choleric melancholy)and Chazown by your boss. Those two books were the best for me. Chazown, in encouraging you to come up with your own strengths and not just take what a test gives you, really helped me clarify and look at myself honestly.
I also think that there should be some element of a personality/strengths test that involved your friends. You could think you’re awesome at something, and no one else thinks so! That’s what so great about spouses. There should be a test that your spouse takes FOR you.
Aaron said,
March 19, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Anne,
Yeah, our staff actually took this test last Fall, and it was great actually.
Mine were: Strategic, Connectedness, Belief, Input, Developer.
It’s been good and bad for us.
Good: it allowed us to focus on our strengths and not about how to “fix” our weaknesses. It helped us know other people’s strengths and how to get them to work more effectively and happier.
Bad: it CAN pigeonhole you into those specific strengths….where people think you can’t (or don’t like) to do other things that may or may not be your strengths.
I’m interested in taking it again in a year to see how they have changed though.
Liz said,
March 19, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I’ve taken it twice, and four of the five overlapped: Input, Intellection, Ideation, and Learner. The one change was from context to connectedness, and the definitions show that there is a lot of overlap between these two. (Then again, ALL of my strengths overlap greatly - which I’m sure says something about me!)
krysta said,
March 19, 2008 at 1:52 pm
it’s about time we found out that we are officially the perfect team! :)
oh, and as a certified strengths coach, i will tell you that your first time is always most accurate. strategic is still going to be in your top 8 … so don’t fret.
ready for mine?
futuristic
activator
self-assurance
woo
arranger
during my training at gallup, i got to see all 34. guess what my 34 is … empathy. yep. you’re TOTALLY more the feeling than i ;)
when i took it the second time activator rotated with achiever … kind of weird. if you want to be in an obsessive strengths culture, come to mosaic for a few weeks …
Chris Rogers said,
March 19, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I took the Strengths Finder 2.0 about 3 weeks ago, here are my five…Competition, Empathy, Relator, Significance, Analytical.
Anne Jackson said,
March 19, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Chris - so it’s like, “I am going to kick your @&#” and then after you do it, you feel really badly?
Mark Jaffrey said,
March 19, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Hi Anne,
We’ve got our staff team here going through this at the moment. I took the test back in the summer and came out as…
Connectedness
Adaptability
Input
Includer
Relator
It was a revelation moment for me when I read the report and realised that they all point towards my current niche in life - a Worship Pastor in a foreign land where everything is changing all the time.
tony said,
March 19, 2008 at 4:32 pm
you go Chris!!! i can relate to that combination - except the empathy part - hey, no one’s perfect!
Mark Lunsford said,
March 19, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I work with Aaron who commented above. I first took the test in 2001. I had three in common on my 2007 test. I was told that when you take it more than once, you will usually have three in common, and the others that show up were probably in your top 10 the last time.
My most recent results were: Maximizer, Learner, Responsibility, Relator, and Analytical.
Maximizer wasn’t on my list the first time and I think studying strengths brought that out in me. Do you think your recent trip may have caused your empathy theme to be more apparent?
I think it has really helped our staff understand one another a lot better. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Sarah said,
March 19, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Ideation
Input
Context
Adaptability
Woo
That order is not correct and I took it back in 2002.
tony sheng said,
March 19, 2008 at 9:26 pm
developer futuristic arranger positivity woo
we are making all of our student summer team leaders take it and then we will process it in working teams together.
DetzelPretzel said,
March 19, 2008 at 9:49 pm
We run a course called Excavation at our church where this strengths finder test is a portion.
My strengths are:
Empathy
Communication
Connectedness
Ideation
Strategic
This is a great test and in our experience it’s so much more accurate than most that are out there. Good schtuff.
Amy Paul said,
March 19, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I did the strengths finder about 4 or 5 years ago and it was one of the greatest things I ever did. I learned so much about myself (and the team I was working with at the time). It has continued to help me understand the way I operate and how I like to be led. My top 5 were: Belief, Achiever, Maximizer, Input, Focus.
I’d love to take it again. How do you take the 2.0 version? Do you have to buy another copy of the book ?
Anne Jackson said,
March 19, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Amy Paul, there is a 2.0 book out - it’s smaller than the first one…but you do have to get another code. I have THREE copies of the first book and now one copy of the second…sad… :) He has made his money on me!
Christina said,
March 19, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Achiever
Learner
Responsibility
Belief
Positivity :-)
My favorite is the last one. ;-)
Nancy said,
March 20, 2008 at 9:06 am
Mine are:
Intellection - Strategic - Learner - Connectedness - Responsibility
Intrestingly, my husband’s were completely different:
Adapability - Empathy - Futuristic - Includer - Ideation
D Rho said,
March 20, 2008 at 10:06 am
I took 2.0 a few months back. Cool test.
I got:
Strategic
Restorative
Ideation
Learner
Futuristic
It was fun doing this in our leadership group. We went around the room and tried to guess each other’s strengths before the big reveals! I had this thought, like: Wow, I have these folks fooled into thinking I’m a nice, laid-back, empathetic, communicator, who loves being around people…
AnnieLaurie said,
March 20, 2008 at 2:33 pm
I Love strengths finder.
In 2004 I was:
Connectedness
Empathy
Woo
Input
Activator
In 2008 I am:
Communications
Connectedness
Activator
Positivity
Input
I wish they would show you what you #6 -10 strengths are….
Tom said,
March 20, 2008 at 4:46 pm
How do you find out what your rotating strengths are?
Anne Jackson said,
March 20, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Sorry, Tom…I just meant my strengths had rotated. I guess you take the test every few years and see what stays on and falls off!
Helen said,
March 21, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I took this one a couple of years ago:
Input
Communication
Intellection
Harmony
Woo
The top 3 explain why I do a lot of studying and thinking and talking about what I study and think about but then have trouble actually putting cool things I think about doing into action - LOL! It shows up in my writing, too. I like to work a scene to death in my head before I ever write it down on paper. For some reason once it leaves my head and goes to the paper it loses something for me. I dunno - it’s weird!
Chad Reelfs said,
March 21, 2008 at 11:12 pm
I was wondering how you were doing and checked out your site. I have had the awesome opportunity to take 150 people through Clifton StrengthsFinder with Intuit over the last three years and I love it. My top five are Woo, Activator, Maximizer, Communication, and Positivity. I was disappointed that developer wasn’t in my top 5 and then I did some training through Gallup. I received my 34 in sequence and the next three were arranger, futuristic, and developer. I tell people to read through the themes and guess what their 6th and 7th are and take them. You know yourself better than an assessment. I took it three years later and significance (top 10 before) was in my top 5 and communication dropped out and the others were the same. I’m sure my Woo is off the charts. I remind people that these are just your strength themes. The way to figure out your strengths is to think about what activities energy you and what activities drain you. You may be good at something but if it drains you then it’s a weakness. When you are playing to your strengths you are innovative, creative, more focused, you lose track of time and really love what you’re doing. We just need to remember that God has given us these strengths and make sure we don’t rely on them more than the spirit. I’ve heard Marcus Buckingham speak twice and his video series is really awesome. If you get a chance to hear him live do it. http://www.simplystrengths.com I’m really encouraged to hear that a lot of churches are using StrengthsFinder, someday I would love to help bring the Strengths Revolution to the church. I don’t think this was a coincidence so stay connected. Tell Chris he is the man!
Paul said,
March 24, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Hi Anne, just came across your site for the first time today. I did the strengths finder assessment in the fall and finally posted a Strengths Finder 2.0 book review on my blog today.
My top strength is analytical, so it’s probably no surprise that I am a bit of a skeptic that the online questionaire would be able to accurately assess each person’s strengths. I was curious as to whether someone’s strengths would come out the same each time they did it. Based on your post and the comment here, it sounds like it’s pretty common for 1 or 2 strengths to be different each time you take the test.
I agree with Chad’s comment above that if they rotate or you think other strengths should be in your top 5, that those others strenghths are probably 6-10.
My wife and I are meeting with a strengths coach tomorro and Wednesday and then we’re going to do a couples strength training session together. Pretty cool, IMO.
Heady said,
August 8, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Well, I have this book but haven’t taken the test. I think you have sparked my interest and I’m going to do it. Thanks Anne.