Introduction
According to the results of the Strengths Finder test, my main talents are Believing (score 100), Potential Cultivator (score 96), Understand Others (score 96), Student (score 93), and Equalizer (score 93). The result in the scale of Believing shows that I have strong core values and beliefs that help to make choices with less hesitation and reliance on the personal ethical paradigm. The test also suggests that such talent is quite important for preserving integrity in the working environment.
Another revealed strength for me was the talent of Potential Cultivator, which has significance in working with other people and assisting them in improving their skills. In other words, it is a talent-focused on cultivating the potential of other people. Also, it forms a tandem with the talent of Understanding Others, which is important for the emotional environment.
Given the fact that any team or organization has its atmosphere, the talent of Understanding Others is required for sustaining a stable and friendly emotional atmosphere and reconciling other people with their emotions. In my opinion, it is important to point out that although this trait can sometimes be overlooked it often plays a meaningful part in ensuring that a group of people works as a team, and each person is focused on the task rather than distracted with their emotions. Therefore, such a trait is, in many ways, related to the emotional leadership.
The talent of Students refers to the ability of continuous improvement. In my experience, the overall desire for self-improvement has always been one of my main motivations in life. According to the Strengths Finder, the process of learning and solving problems is one of the key features that give energy to people with the talent of students.
Finally, the fifth of my strong points was the talent of Equalizer, which refers to the ability to be fair and just with the other people and the impartiality in decision-making. To my mind, the neutrality and fairness are rather useful in many situations related both to the interpersonal relations and to the managerial experiences.
Strengths Finder talents and primary planning, organizing, leading and controlling activities
Engaging in management presupposes a lot of activities connected to the planning and organizing the work process of the team and the separate individuals, leading the direction of the projects by keeping the team and all the individual tasks integrated, as well as monitoring how each member of the team is coping with the given task.
Therefore, it means that such managerial activities require a certain level of multitasking and the ability to distribute the parts of the bigger task equally. In my opinion, my strong point of the Equalizer potential would be helpful for the fair distribution of work inside the team, which would ensure that the work is organized orderly. It is also important to point out that the Equalizer talent can be required for consistent and deliberate planning.
Furthermore, the Understand Others and Believing are the key talents for keeping the integrity of the team and, therefore, ensuring the leadership. Strong core values and confident decision-making enhance the beliefs of the other team members in the objectives of a certain project and help them to see the bigger whole. Moreover, with the help of the Understand Others and Potential Cultivator Talents, it would be more effective to explain to each of the team members the significance of their contribution to the work, which will also allow monitoring them and controlling the fact that they put their strengths in the right direction.
Overall, such a style of managing people would correspond to the more liberal style of leadership, but such components of a good leader as decision-making, communication, and group motivation would be accounted for (Hogan, Curphy, & Hogan, 1994).
Strengths Finder talents and the needs of a multicultural workplace
The talent of Understand Others predetermines a certain level of empathy towards the other people. In my experience, it is relatively easy for me to understand the perspective of the other person, which appears to be a helpful tool in communication with people of different backgrounds. Due to the skill of sensing other people’s emotions, it is easier to understand what is a more comfortable position or task for a certain person, considering their background. Overall, it helps to ensure that no one in the multicultural workplace feels stressed or uncomfortable, which enhances the general productivity.
Strengths Finder talents that are supportive and conducive to management
One of the talents that are of crucial importance for the managers is to be able to develop one’s vision and mission out of the consideration for objectives and values. Based on the personal vision, the manager aims to develop a strategy and then set goals and objectives (Carpenter, Bauer, & Erdogan, 2010).
In my opinion, the talent of Believing can be a valuable asset in formulating my vision and mission in terms of certain projects. I can be able to formulate my opinion on the issue very quickly based on my principles and ethical beliefs and not change it without a very strong counterargument. Moreover, Student talent helps me admit it if my opinion was wrong and consider it a learning experience.
Strengths Finder talents that might be a hindrance or barrier to management
Depending on the situation, the Understand Others talent can be either strength or weakness. If it is used for balancing the relationships in a multicultural environment or trying to understand the perspective of a customer or partner to conduct more efficient negotiations, it is a valuable asset. However, in the context of some other situations, surpassing empathy can be a hindrance to a successful manager since personal emotional connection makes a manager less demanding to the employees.
Similarly, the Potential Cultivator talent enhances the ability to recognize and develop the skills in other people. Nevertheless, in the situation that requires a more authoritative management style and formal leadership instead of emotional leadership, such talent could turn out to be a barrier.
Strengths Finder talents I would you focus personal development activities on
In conclusion, I assume that although all the strengths can be significant assets in different situations, it would be reasonable for me to focus on the Potential Cultivator talent a little bit more. Firstly, if this talent is not properly developed, it could also be a barrier whereas the second reason is that in the managerial career, the ability to distinguish skills in other people is a primary value for creating a strong team and being able to manage it.
References
Carpenter, M., Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2010). Principles of management. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. Web.
Hogan, R., Curphy, G. J., & Hogan, J. (1994). What we know about leadership: Effectiveness and personality. American Psychologist, 49(1), 493–504. Web.