I’ve taken the StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment twice, first in August 2015 and second in January 2017. Surprisingly, there are two new strengths in my Top 5 and the rest have been shuffled around a bit.
August 2015 Results:
- Harmony
- Discipline
- Consistency
- Relator
- Learner
January 2017 Results:
- Achiever
- Discipline
- Learner
- Responsibility
- Harmony
Because I had taken the assessment before, I was expecting the results to be accurate, but not this accurate. Let me explain.
Achiever
This didn’t surprise me at all. I’m the type of person who loves to be busy. This is so silly, but I love lists. I have a list for everything: groceries, errands, chores around the house, daily/weekly tasks, places I want to visit, books I need to read. I probably make at least three lists per day. Crossing out all the items on a list makes me feel accomplished. The StrengthsFinder 2.0 book perfectly describes how I feel on a daily basis.
“No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied.”
Basically, I need to do something productive every day or else I feel unfulfilled. I have a chronic feeling of never doing enough.
Discipline
I love having a routine; it makes life easier. Monday-Friday I leave for school by 8:35 a.m., parked my car by 9 a.m., and at my first class by 9:07 a.m. Like clockwork, every day. Not only do I need an organized schedule, I need an organized space. I’ve always been a neat and organized person. My desk needs to be orderly before I can even think about getting any work done. I’ve gone to the extreme of color-coordinating my closet. It’s ridiculous, I know. But it stresses me out when things aren’t in their assigned place.
“Your world needs to be predictable. It needs to be ordered and planned. So you instinctively impose structure on your world. You set up routines. You focus on timelines and deadlines.”
Having structure makes my life easier and makes me feel like I have some control.
Learner
I was the kid who always loved school, and to this day I still do. Luckily, most of my classes are project heavy instead of exam heavy. I enjoy the process of starting a project and seeing it through to the end and celebrating the work I’ve completed. Finishing an exam or project is always fulfilling, but the process of getting there is most exciting. The book describes learners:
“You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence.”
B.B. King said, “The beautiful thing about learning is no one can take it away from you.” I firmly believe and stand by this saying and others similar to it. Knowledge is one of the most valuable things a person can acquire, and it should be a lifelong pursuit.
Responsibility
You know how I said I was the kid who loved school? Yeah, I was also the kid who took control on group projects and did most, if not all, of the work. There are always multiple ways to accomplish something, but for me to be totally and completely proud of it I need to do it myself.
This strength can often cause me to bite off more than I can chew, but it also means I’m dependable. Dependability is something I look for in a person, so I want to be dependable for other people. I want others to know they can always count on me.
Harmony
When I saw harmony pop up in my Top 5, I was surprised. I was expecting the other four strengths, but not this one. After reading the description in the book, it made more sense to me. It tells me that I’m the kind of person who seeks agreement among others and hates confrontation and disagreements. The part I agree with most and think is most like me is:
“You can’t quite believe how much time is wasted by people trying to impose their views on others.”
One thing I absolutely despise is when people try to force their views upon me. I’m all for having a conversation and discussing why I believe and feel one way and another person feels differently. But please, do not try to force me to believe, think, feel like you do. It’s more productive to find some consensus instead of butting heads and attacking each other. Opinions should be shared and understood, not forced.
If anyone is curious about their strengths, I highly recommend taking the assessment. It tells you a lot about who you are as a person, how to utilize your strengths, and how to improve the negative effects of your strengths.
*All quotes are from StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath.
Nicole Hilder 
Nicole,
I was also blown away by the accuracy of my Strengthsfinder results! It is almost scary how well this test (and the Myers Briggs personality test) described who I am as a person. I also thought it was cool that we had no common strengths, which kind of leads me to think we could potentially work well together, as we would make up for what the other lacks! My strengths were:
Belief
Input
Positivity
Woo
Developer
The only thing I was really surprised by on my results was the lack of the strength Empathy, as it used to be one of my top 5. Was there a particular strength you had expected to see on your list and then didn’t? I would love to hear about that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was surprised Consistency and Arranger weren’t in my top 5. I’ve had Consistency in past results, but not in the most recent. When I read the description of Arranger I was shocked that it’s never appeared in my top 5. The description basically says you enjoy managing all variables of a situation and aligning them in the most productive way possible, which is essentially me. If I paid to see the entire list, I’m assuming Arranger would be close to the top. The only strength of yours that I know is near or at the bottom of my list is Woo. I would say (and hope) Positivity and Developer are somewhere near the top. And I agree, I think we could potentially work well together!
LikeLike