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The first three articles in this series about writing Reports
focused on audience, layout and appearance, and wordsmithing.
Now let’s focus on . . .
Content
Many times people provide a limited description of themselves
in the Report. They lack awareness or acceptance of the full
scope of their Strengths and how those play out in their lives.
So they come across as one-dimensional, leaving out unique
or unusual Dependable Strengths. Often this limited description
focuses on work-related adjectives and leaves out the unusual,
interesting Dependable Strengths deemed “unimportant”
or “unacceptable.”
The “Full Hand” Description
Jean Haldane talks about our Dependable Strengths being like
a hand. The middle finger is our strongest Strength with two
fingers similar in size on either side being closely related
and supporting it. The little finger is not quite as developed,
but seems consistent with the other three, i.e. planning,
organizing, keeping to a schedule, and getting things done
on time.
Then, there is the thumb! Not sitting with other four—kind
of out in left field, standing on its own. It doesn’t
quite fit with the others, but is necessary for the hand to
function fully. It is actually our opposing thumb that is
uniquely characteristic of human beings and makes us master-manipulators
of tools.
Similarly, a person’s configuration of Dependable Strengths
often contains a “thumb”—a strength that
doesn’t seem to fit with the others, that seems out
of place or oddly different from the rest. But, it is just
such a Strength that makes the person unique, and rounds out
the picture. In helping others write their Descriptions you
must look for the “thumb,” the unique Dependable
Strength, to get a complete Description.
Here are some memorable examples from our workshops (with
the names changed):
Ethyl
Ethyl was a PhD candidate and a
high-level manager in the corporate world. She was very “together”
and professional. Her initial Dependable Strengths were fairly
predictable: researching, managing, writing, and organizing.
These made sense but did not make her unique. After digging
for some time for the “thumb,” Ethyl confessed
to being a closet comedienne. She even had a copy of her comedy
routine in her purse. After acknowledging this unusual Dependable
Strength (that didn’t fit her work image), she embraced
it, and she loosened up considerably in the workshop, and
periodically did some of her shtick for the group. She also
incorporated her unique Strength into her Report Description
to show a complete picture of her Pattern of Strengths. This
opened up the possibility of finding work that combined all
of her strengths in a pattern unique to her.
Arman
Arman was a highly effective Information Technology Manager
in a large organization. He demonstrated predictable Strengths
in logic, analysis, and problem solving. Toward the end of
the training, it came out that he was also a gifted song-and-dance
man. He performed in local community plays and was very good.
He was enticed by the group to perform, and did a song-and-dance
number from his latest role as the Scarecrow in the Wizard
of Oz. It was unexpected, and heartwarming, to see such an
intellectual dancing, and singing, "If I Only Had a Brain!"
Sally
As a professional manager, Sally described herself with the
usual coordinating, managing, communicating, and problem-solving
Strengths. After digging into her Experiences, it came out
that she loved driving heavy equipment, and she was very skilled
at it! Bulldozers, backhoes, and the like were her passion.
This acknowledgement allowed her to incorporate all parts
of herself into the Description and present a picture of a
unique individual.
Ahmad
Ahmad was a longtime educator. His initial Description was
all about his teaching and school-related Strengths. However,
outside of work, on his own, he had also pioneered one of
the first successful businesses on the Internet. He had tremendous
Strengths in technology and business, which along with Strengths
demonstrated in education, made him a uniquely gifted individual.
So, there you see examples of the “thumb”—that
Dependable Strength that doesn’t quite fit with the
others, but is vital to the uniqueness of the individual—the
one a person can easily deny or overlook, because it seems
out of place or unimportant. Often, you must lead someone
out of the restricted work mode to get to this.
However, when you do uncover a person’s “thumb,”
you will often find that person’s passion and energy.
They will light up talking about it. They will have Good Experiences
related to that Strength, but will somehow ignore them. When
they come to write the Description in their Report, they will
fall back into reporting on “What's acceptable?”
rather than “Who am I?”
So, when helping others write Report Descriptions, remember
the hand analogy, and look for the “thumb”!
Allen Boivin-Brown is President of the Center for Dependable
Strengths
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