Recruiting new employees through Strengths
What if you could know your recruits - how they think, feel and behave - before you employ them?
This is me in Paris. I absolutely love travel, experiencing new cultures, places, foods and interests, especially if I’m travelling with my family.
Yet what I enjoy doing in my spare time is little indication of:
How well I work, how I work, and what I would do every day by choice, even if it went unpaid, because it's what I was absolutely born to do.
If I had to add to this, my curriculum vitae, informing you of my previous work experience, you would have no idea whether I have enjoyed these past positions, unless I was honest enough to tell. This CV would be merely an indication of my work history. I may have studied towards a particular vocation, but this degree could simply be something I worked towards, because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do as a young adult. If I went on to find work in this area, I could now be competent and experienced in this line of work, but positively hate it.
Why?
Because unless you add “passion and natural talent” to “skills and knowledge” you simply have a person who competently knows how to do a particular job – but their 'heart' simply isn't in it.
We’ve all worked with people like this. You may well relate to this yourself? You may even work with people who are incompetent and unhappy.
Strengths = skills and knowledge + passion and talent
How would it be if you could read a person’s *Strength Assessment Report before you made a decision to employ them, to get an idea of who they really are, measured by how they think, feel and behave innately? Add to this their skills and knowledge and now we’re talking.
Below is my report. Would you employ someone based on what you read here if you knew this is how they naturally are? When we are working to our top Strengths we are our happiest, energised and motivated.
Maybe you could give some thought to the ideal positions for a person with these Strengths below. I'd welcome your comments.
“Statistically you are 87% more likely to belong to a high performing team if everyone knows their Strengths.”
*Gallup have their own measurement tool, specifically for recruitment purposes. I am not in anyway suggesting here one uses Gallup’s ‘individual report’ for recruitment purposes, as this is not Gallup’s intention. It is stated in this article for hypothetic purposes only.
My Top 5 Talent Themes: 1. Futuristic 2. Strategic 3. Activator 4. Communication 5. Ideation
Futuristic SHARED THEME DESCRIPTION People who are especially talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.
PERSONALIZED STRENGTHS INSIGHTS: What makes you stand out? Chances are good that you frequently share your vision about the coming years or decades with other forward-looking thinkers. You cannot refrain from talking about all the things human beings can create or accomplish in the future. By nature, you intentionally take steps to be the mastermind of your own future. You refuse to leave your destiny to chance. You probably resist placing it in someone else’s hands. You trust your own intelligence and imagination when setting a direction for your life. Driven by your talents, you are energized by your plans for the coming months, years, or decades. Bringing your ideas to life is an exciting proposition for you. You sense you have the power to transform whatever you think is possible into tangible outcomes. Because of your strengths, you routinely create vivid mental images of what you plan to accomplish in the coming weeks, months, or years. You delight in sharing your dreams and goals with others. Formal and informal discussions usually capture your interest and keep your attention. You welcome opportunities to refine your thinking about what is possible. Instinctively, you channel your mental and physical energies toward what you can accomplish in the months, years, or decades ahead. The question you must answer is this: “How far into the future can I think before my ideas start becoming vague or uninspiring?”
Strategic SHARED THEME DESCRIPTION
People who are especially talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.
PERSONALIZED STRENGTHS INSIGHTS: What makes you stand out? Because of your strengths, you demonstrate an ease with language. You effortlessly verbalize your thoughts. You relish the opportunity to share your insights. You derive pleasure from actively participating in conversations when group members propose ideas, seek solutions, or debate issues. Instinctively, you easily enter into dialogue with others. When you have an idea, the right words, stories, or examples quickly come to mind. The animated give-and-take of debates stimulates your thinking. Often you gain the advantage by emphasizing irrefutable — that is, cannot be disproved — facts to support your key arguments. Victory for you means having the final word. By nature, you select the right combination of words to convey your ideas or feelings. In the middle of discussions, your vocabulary provides you with precise phrases and terminology. You probably express yourself with ease and grace. Driven by your talents, you customarily pinpoint the core problems and identify the best solutions. You artfully and skillfully eliminate distractions. This helps people gain a clear understanding of what is happening and why it is happening. You frequently identify ways to transform an obstacle into an opportunity. It’s very likely that you generate innovative ideas. You offer unique perspectives on events, people, and proposals. You probably inspire people to start projects and launch initiatives. You tend to identify a goal, devise numerous ways of reaching it, then choose the best alternative. This explains why you see opportunities, trends, and solutions before your teammates, classmates, or peers see them.
Activator SHARED THEME DESCRIPTION:
People who are especially talented in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.
PERSONALIZED STRENGTHS INSIGHTS: What makes you stand out? Driven by your talents, you probably stimulate individuals to be more enthusiastic about what they are doing. How? You repeatedly remind them that you truly value their contributions, talents, experience, and expertise. Because of your strengths, you motivate your friends with your passion for moving ideas from the talking stage to the action stage. Your dedication to various projects rallies numerous individuals to work alongside you. Chances are good that you may be an independent performer who needs to be busy. You usually want to start working as soon as you have concluded what to do and how to do it. You probably are frustrated by delays caused by people or circumstances. By nature, you typically are described as a “what you see is what you get” person. There is very little mystery about who you are. You usually make a point of talking with strangers. You are apt to tell them about yourself without their having to ask you any questions. Your forthright approach encourages many individuals to be as open with you as you are with them. It’s very likely that you inspire enthusiasm in people with your words and deeds. You envision yourself being in charge of an important group one day. You are eager to set directions, make decisions, and assume responsibilities. You look forward to the benefits and privileges of rank.
Communication SHARED THEME DESCRIPTION:
People who are especially talented in the Communication theme generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters.
PERSONALIZED STRENGTHS INSIGHTS: What makes you stand out? Driven by your talents, you love to talk with others, especially when you are in a group exchanging information, ideas, opinions, stories, or jokes. You can spontaneously share your thoughts and feelings with people. Instinctively, you derive much personal pleasure from reading. Because you continually fill your mind with fresh ideas, you probably can enliven formal discussions or season casual conversations with many interesting facts or stories. Because of your strengths, you often can be found reading books, publications, or Internet sites. Because you continually satisfy your hunger for information, you typically have facts to share or stories to tell. Undoubtedly, individuals tend to rely on you to enliven conversations. Why? You are likely to be knowledgeable about things they neither know nor understand. By nature, you freely share your ideas or feelings with others. Being tongue-tied — that is, unable to speak freely — is rarely a problem for you. Words quickly come to mind when you are with people. Your ease with language enables you to meet, greet, and treat strangers as if they already were your friends. It’s very likely that you readily initiate conversations. Your talkative nature compels you to say whatever is on your mind. You have an ability to talk informally and persuasively. You are completely at ease with an audience. Seldom do you find yourself speechless.
Ideation SHARED THEME DESCRIPTION: People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.
PERSONALIZED STRENGTHS INSIGHTS: What makes you stand out? Driven by your talents, you normally imagine numerous ways of doing something when you know your results, scores, or performances are being compared to everyone else’s. Your desire to be the champion probably stimulates your creative thinking. It’s very likely that you automatically think of new and different ways to do things. Your mind is brimming with ideas. You probably are eager to share them with whoever will listen. Because of your strengths, you genuinely like to work on things by yourself. Whenever you can concentrate on your own tasks, assignments, or projects, you are likely to conceive original and innovative ways to approach your work or studies. Instinctively, you usually find novel and fresh ways to do things. People turn to you when they find themselves struggling to generate ideas. By nature, you are highly knowledgeable about special topics and activities. This explains your natural inclination to invent innovative and unusual ways of performing tasks. You grow bored when forced to follow the same series of steps day after day. Your boredom is likely to become frustration when your suggestions for change are dismissed without further consideration.
Who am I?
I'm a Certified Strengths Strategy Coach. I see the future of your hidden potential. It's important to me that you know yourself and discover the work you were born to do. I'm a change agent. I want to see the world as a better place, where people are inherently happy. I have a vision of proactive Strength based Schools, where our children understand themselves through their own unique Strengths, wearing positive labels of what they are naturally great at, so that they have a clear direction and sense of self.
"See a person for who they really are, and they will become what you see"
This creates confidence, self esteem and must surely go a long way to creating a world where people are employed for all the right reasons. I have a picture of a world where people can stand up and say "I'm confident in who I am, I'm confident in who you are, and I'm comfortable with both" - pure interdependence where we are working together for all the right reasons, each person bringing their Strengths. Remember, one person's weaknesses is another person's Strengths.
"There is a one in 33 Million chance of anyone having the same top 5 Strengths in sequence as you"
Now isn't that enough to tell you how absolutely unique you are?
