On today’s podcast, I answer a great question from Paul on the different types of personality tests and tools, and what I think is best. I also explain the importance of StrengthsFinder and working in your strengths.
Stay focused on your strengths! If you can get to a place where all you do is work in your strengths, you’ll be so much happier. Life is too short to be working in your weaknesses.
To discover what your strengths are, I’d recommend digging into StrengthsFinder 2.0, as well as how to communicate in your personality style!
Chris,
Great post, Hope this is finding you well… Keep up the great work..
Hey Chris! I often get push-back when I talk about DiSC. People think that they are all the same and that it’s a gimmick. However, I agree with you that it seems to be the simplest to understand and most beneficial.
I actually just convinced four of my co-workers to take their profiles last week. We reviewed them just yesterday and it was pretty awesome. I wish you could have been there to hear the discussion! Can’t wait to get your video and share it with my co-workers…
P.S. Did you know that William Moulton Marston (inventor of DiSC) invented the polygraph? He also created Wonder Woman? I thought that was pretty cool too! 😉
I read this book last year. It was fantastic at helping me understand who I was and what my strengths were. Its always more powerful to work in the areas I have strengths! My top 3 themes were Belief, Strategic and Command.
Nice podcast, Chris! Love the short format and coffee reviews
With instruments like DiSC, as much as we say each style is valuable, people tend to feel like D and I are better than C and S.
What I love about Strengthsfinder is that because there are 30+ “strengths”, rather than just 4 “styles”, individual results are more unique and much more easily recognized as positive.
That said, it’s definitely not either/or. I’m a big fan of BOTH DiSC AND Strengthsfinder. Any of these tools give you some really helpful insight into yourself and others.
Just for me Chris, could you rename this Oatmeal and English Tea with Chris? Had to ask.
I discovered my strengths the way I discovered so much about myself: Feedback, Failure, and Success.
I never knew I could I be successful with Facebook/LinkedIn advertising until I tried it. I was successful. That is a strength.
I never knew I was a great encourager until I got tons of feedback saying the same thing. One team member put it, “I’ve never felt more valued and rewarded by any manager before Matt. He has a way of making me feel like my work matters.” Granted, I sucked as a leader at the time, but that one piece of feedback gave me hope to cling to. I played to that strength while working on my weaknesses.
An equally important part of finding strengths is failure. It tends to highlight what we should focus on. The more weaknesses I identify, the less I worry about those and focus in on my strengths.
If you’re working in an area that feeds one of your high DISC traits, but squashes your other(s), what’s the best way to find a better work dynamic? Strengths Finder?
Love Strength Finders. I use it a lot. I just used “The 8 Dimensions of Leadership” by Sugerman, Scullard, Eilhem. They tie their assessment into DISC which I liked. I also liked Strength Based Leadership by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie.