Hi All!
My top 5 themes are:
1.
Empathy
2.
Developer
3.
Responsibility
4.
Harmony
5.
Arranger
Having empathy as
my number 1 theme resonates with me in a big way. As I mentioned, I believe I
am a feeler with a capital F. Before I started in my current role, I worked in
the field of gender based violence prevention for many years and have been
certified as a rape crisis counselor two times. I've been an advocate for
survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and stalking, and have
spent countless hours helping survivors process their trauma and work towards
healing. I love to work in a profession where I am helping others and where I
can practice empathy and compassion. I often try to put myself in the shoes of
others and figure out what they might be feeling and how a situation may be
impacting them. I often recite Brené Brown's quote "everyone is
fighting a battle you know nothing about" which helps me to remember that
we all have a lot going on behind the scenes that impacts the way we exist in
the world and how we interact with others. The flip side of being such a feeler
means that I sometimes struggle with things like giving negative feedback and
dealing with conflict because I want so much for everyone to be happy and taken
care of. I can also find it hard to allow people the space to fail - hence my
giving numerous reminders about assignments in our class - but sometimes that
means that I don't give people the opportunity to grow that failing can
provide.
My second theme, Developer,
speaks to how I see potential in others and how I approach working with
students. Part of the description states, "When you interact with others,
your goal is to help them experience success. You look for ways to challenge
them. You devise interesting experiences that can stretch them and help them
grow." Kind of sounds like ELP a little bit, right? I get a lot of
satisfaction and enjoyment out of watching students grow, develop, and find
their passion throughout their college years. I want to help and encourage them
along the way as much as possible in whatever way I can, whether it is in class
or through informal conversations, providing a meaningful retreat experience,
or just passing along resources. Perhaps one of the reasons I get so much from
this is that I did not have that type of support or mentorship as a college
student and I had to find my way on my own. As a result, I took a lot of
missteps that I feel like I can help my students avoid. One of my favorite
things is hearing from my students months and years after they graduate and
knowing that I had a small part in helping them figure out their journey. This
part of the Developer description really rings true for me: Signs of growth
in others are your fuel. They bring you strength and satisfaction. Over time many
will seek you out for help and encouragement because on some level they know
that your helpfulness is both genuine and fulfilling to you.
I believe my other 3
themes also fit me well. They each provide me with guideposts for how I live my
life and include challenging tendencies that I need to be mindful of. I know
that some of you didn't agree with your Strengths Quest results and some of you
felt that the assessment itself was not a useful tool. I will argue that,
whether you like or agree with it, self awareness and mindfulness of your
strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvements are a very important skills
for a good leader to have.
For this next blog,
please answer the following:
What are your top 5 themes? Do
you believe that your Strengths Quest results accurately describe you? If so,
what themes resonate strongly with you? If not, what do you think the
assessment got wrong? Does your Strengths Quest result change the way you
see yourself as a leader or as a person? How can you utilize your top 5 themes to be a better leader or group member?
