I read this book "Now, Discover Your Strengths: How to
Develop Your Talents and Those of the People You Manage" by Marcus
Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, then I took the test, and so here's
the result of it. My five most dominant themes of talent, my top 5
Signature Themes. Each of them is a recurring pattern of thought,
feeling, or behavior--the promise of a strength in me.
I
totally agree with the result, for it amazingly shows me who I trully
am. I recomend you to read this book and take the test as well to define
your Signature Themes, in order to know or reveal your strengths. If
you already have read the book and taken the test, please share your
result with me and others here. Thanks for sharing, friends.
December 23rd, 2013
xoxo,
Anggi Pradesa
My Top 5 Signature Themes:
1. Context
You
look back. You look back because that is where the answers lie. You
look back to understand the present. From your vantage point the present
is unstable, a confusing clamor of competing voices. It is only by
casting your mind back to an earlier time, a time when the plans were
being drawn up, that the present regains its stability. The earlier time
was a simpler time. It was a time of blueprints. As you look back, you
begin to see these blueprints emerge. You realize what the initial
intentions were. These blueprints or intentions have since become so
embellished that they are almost unrecognizable, but now this Context
theme reveals them again. This understanding brings you confidence. No
longer disoriented, you make better decisions because you sense the
underlying structure. You become a better partner because you understand
how your colleagues came to be who they are. And counterintuitively
you become wiser about the future because you saw its seeds being sown
in the past. Faced with new people and new situations, it will take you
a little time to orient yourself, but you must give yourself this
time. You must discipline yourself to ask the questions and allow the
blueprints to emerge because no matter what the situation, if you
haven’t seen the blueprints, you will have less confidence in your
decisions.
2. Intellection
You
like to think. You like mental activity. You like exercising the
“muscles” of your brain, stretching them in multiple directions. This
need for mental activity may be focused; for example, you may be trying
to solve a problem or develop an idea or understand another person’s
feelings. The exact focus will depend on your other strengths. On the
other hand, this mental activity may very well lack focus. The theme of
Intellection does not dictate what you are thinking about; it simply
describes that you like to think. You are the kind of person who enjoys
your time alone because it is your time for musing and reflection. You
are introspective. In a sense you are your own best companion, as you
pose yourself questions and try out answers on yourself to see how they
sound. This introspection may lead you to a slight sense of discontent
as you compare what you are actually doing with all the thoughts and
ideas that your mind conceives. Or this introspection may tend toward
more pragmatic matters such as the events of the day or a conversation
that you plan to have later. Wherever it leads you, this mental hum is
one of the constants of your life.
3. Connectedness
Things
happen for a reason. You are sure of it. You are sure of it because in
your soul you know that we are all connected. Yes, we are individuals,
responsible for our own judgments and in possession of our own free
will, but nonetheless we are part of something larger. Some may call it
the collective unconscious. Others may label it spirit or life force.
But whatever your word of choice, you gain confidence from knowing that
we are not isolated from one another or from the earth and the life on
it. This feeling of Connectedness implies certain responsibilities. If
we are all part of a larger picture, then we must not harm others
because we will be harming ourselves. We must not exploit because we
will be exploiting ourselves. Your awareness of these responsibilities
creates your value system. You are considerate, caring, and accepting.
Certain of the unity of humankind, you are a bridge builder for people
of different cultures. Sensitive to the invisible hand, you can give
others comfort that there is a purpose beyond our humdrum lives. The
exact articles of your faith will depend on your upbringing and your
culture, but your faith is strong. It sustains you and your close
friends in the face of life’s mysteries.
4. Input
You
are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect
information—words, facts, books, and quotations—or you might collect
tangible objects such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls,
or sepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it
interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things
interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinite
variety and complexity. If you read a great deal, it is not necessarily
to refine your theories but, rather, to add more information to your
archives. If you like to travel, it is because each new location offers
novel artifacts and facts. These can be acquired and then stored away.
Why are they worth storing? At the time of storing it is often hard to
say exactly when or why you might need them, but who knows when they
might become useful? With all those possible uses in mind, you really
don’t feel comfortable throwing anything away. So you keep acquiring and
compiling and filing stuff away. It’s interesting. It keeps your mind
fresh. And perhaps one day some of it will prove valuable.
5. Learner
You
love to learn. The subject matter that interests you most will be
determined by your other themes and experiences, but whatever the
subject, you will always be drawn to the process of learning. The
process, more than the content or the result, is especially exciting for
you. You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from
ignorance to competence. The thrill of the first few facts, the early
efforts to recite or practice what you have learned, the growing
confidence of a skill mastered—this is the process that entices you.
Your excitement leads you to engage in adult learning experiences—yoga
or piano lessons or graduate classes. It enables you to thrive in
dynamic work environments where you are asked to take on short project
assignments and are expected to learn a lot about the new subject matter
in a short period of time and then move on to the next one. This
Learner theme does not necessarily mean that you seek to become the
subject matter expert, or that you are striving for the respect that
accompanies a professional or academic credential. The outcome of the
learning is less significant than the “getting there.”
