Monday, September 24, 2007

Top 5 Strengths!

I took a strengths test and it came out with my top 5 strengths.

#1 Woo
“Woo stands for winning others over. You enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like you. Strangers are rarely intimidating to you. On the contrary, strangers can be energizing. You are drawn to them. You want to learn their names, ask them questions, and find some area of common interest so that you can strike up a conversation and build rapport. Some people shy away from starting up conversations because they worry about running out of things to say. You don't. Not only are you rarely at a loss for words; you actually enjoy initiating with strangers because you derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection. Once that connection is made, you are quite happy to wrap it up and move on. There are new people to meet, new rooms to work, new crowds to mingle in. In your world there are no strangers, only friends you haven't met yet-lots of them.”

I think I am a Woo. I do well with talking with strangers. I mean, I go up to them about everyday and talk to them about God and why they need Him. Hopefully they see my Woo and are won over for the sake of Christ. I do like talking to people and learning about what they are life so I think this strength is accurate. What do you think?

#2 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. Instead, you focus on the differences between individuals. You instinctively observe each person's style, each person's motivation, how each thinks, and how each builds relationships. You hear the one-of-a-kind stories in each person's life. This theme explains why you pick your friends just the right birthday gift, why you know that one person prefers praise in public and another detests it, and why you tailor your teaching style to accommodate one person's need to be shown and another's desire to "figure it out as I go." Because you are such a keen observer of other people's strengths, you can draw out the best in each person. This Individualization theme also helps you build productive teams. While some search around for the perfect team "structure" or "process," you know instinctively that the secret to great teams is casting by individual strengths so that everyone can do a lot of what they do well.”

This is so true I think. I do not know about how well I do with building productive teams, but I sure can try. I am definitely interested in the individual person and getting to know how unique each person is. I suppose this will come in handy with social work. What do you think?

#3 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. Others may worry that "there are still some things we don't know," but this doesn't seem to slow you. If the decision has been made to go across town, you know that the fastest way to get there is to go stoplight to stoplight. You are not going to sit around waiting until all the lights have turned green. Besides, in your view, action and thinking are not opposites. In fact, guided by your Activator theme, you believe that action is the best device for learning. You make a decision, you take action, you look at the result, and you learn. This learning informs your next action and your next. How can you grow if you have nothing to react to? Well, you believe you can't. You must put yourself out there. You must take the next step. It is the only way to keep your thinking fresh and informed. 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.”

I am going to have to agree with this one as well. I am always like this. When ever someone says that they might want to do something someday, I am right on top of it planning to do it as soon as possible. If I see something that can get done, then why not just do it right now? I do not really think this applies in my life to the homework issue, but I guess once I start, I have to do it then and get it done. What do you think?

#4 Belief
“If you possess a strong Belief theme, you have certain core values that are enduring. These values vary from one person to another, but ordinarily your Belief theme causes you to be family-oriented, altruistic, even spiritual, and to value responsibility and high ethics-both in yourself and others. These core values affect your behavior in many ways. They give your life meaning and satisfaction; in your view, success is more than money and prestige. They provide you with direction, guiding you through the temptations and distractions of life toward a consistent set of priorities. This consistency is the foundation for all your relationships. Your friends call you dependable. "I know where you stand," they say. Your Belief makes you easy to trust. It also demands that you find work that meshes with your values. Your work must be meaningful; it must matter to you. And guided by your Belief theme it will matter only if it gives you a chance to live out your values.”

Um, yes. I do possess a strong Belief theme. He’s called God. You should get to know Him.

#5 Relator
“Relator describes your attitude toward your relationships. In simple terms, the Relator theme pulls you toward people you already know. You do not necessarily shy away from meeting new people-in fact, you may have other themes that cause you to enjoy the thrill of turning strangers into friends-but you do derive a great deal of pleasure and strength from being around your close friends. You are comfortable with intimacy. Once the initial connection has been made, you deliberately encourage a deepening of the relationship. You want to understand their feelings, their goals, their fears, and their dreams; and you want them to understand yours. You know that this kind of closeness implies a certain amount of risk-you might be taken advantage of-but you are willing to accept that risk. For you a relationship has value only if it is genuine. And the only way to know that is to entrust yourself to the other person. The more you share with each other, the more you risk together. The more you risk together, the more each of you proves your caring is genuine. These are your steps toward real friendship, and you take them willingly.”

This one goes along right with the first two and I am going to have to agree. I like people. I like relating to people and getting to know their hearts.

I think all of these are pretty accurate. Tell me what you think. Are these my strengths?

8 comments:

Amanda K said...

Woo...
I don't think is your strongest trait, but it's definitely in the mix of the top 5. You love on people. And it draws them to you.

Individualization...
YES!! You pay attention to each person. Notice I didnt' say "you pay attention to people." You give special credit to every one you meet, and it's apparent in the way they react.

Activator...
Yup, you again. You're not one for the sidelines or for waiting for something to happen. You want action, you want results, you want what you work for to be for SOMETHING. And that's what this does.

Belief...
Ha I shouldn't even comment on this one, there's no need to. I think this is your strongest one. It's your core conviction, and it's behind all that you do.

Relator...
You are intensely loyal to those who've proved themselves. I think sometimes the way you express your loyalty is difficult for other people o understand, because you're looking for what's best for them inthe long haul. Like telling a friend they are wrong because you want them to see the truth is long haul loyalty, while allowing the friend to be wrong for the time being is regular loyalty I guess. It's a valuable quality I think but be careful in how you exercise it. Which is true of any Strength I suppose, because they all have effects we may not realize.

Love you girl

Evan said...

Julie,

I can tell this test you took is not a religious test because they missed a lot of connections between these traits.

For example, the reason you are "Woo" is because of your "Belief." You strongly believe that everyone you see needs Jesus Christ and THIS is what drives you to talk to them. So in the assessment of who you are, I think they hit it. But in the assessment of WHY you are who you are, they missed.

I think it's no coincidence that you were given both Woo and Relator. These traits seems to mean "You like meeting new people" and "You like you're old friends." This ALSO connects perfectly with your Belief that you are to love everybody, not just those who love you back.

Jennie said...

You have such a wonderful personality! I don't know you very well, but I do know that you love people. You saught me out and talked to me.

Justine said...

these are soo perfect for social work! you love people but you also love that one person. we need more people like you around!

ElizabethMarie said...

You have been blessed by God with these gifts! It is because of the love of Christ displayed by you that people are compelled to be around you. Stay close to Him always. I believe He wants to use you in a great and powerful way.

Anonymous said...

Yay! I got WOO too! So I think this srength is so valuable. I can def see it in you even though we don't know eachother very well.

tgilbertson said...

Belief is a good strength to have, because I have it too! jk You are obviously a very strong willed person to have that though.

Unknown said...

wow, i think that these traits all go along and make you really strong. you have a lot of people qualities and also belief and i know that you are strong in your faith so you just keep doing what you are doing.