Analysis of My Strengths

1. What are your thoughts about the premise of StrengthsFinder as it relates to
   management and leadership in the business world?

According to StrengthsFinder, people who focus on improving their strengths instead of
working on their weaknesses tend to perform better and achieve more than people who focus
a lot of their time and energy on their weaknesses (Rath, 2007). Based on this fact, it is
important for people to find their strengths and then improve them in order to excel in their
jobs. I completely agree with this analysis. Using this fact, leaders and managers can improve
the performance of employees by identifying their strengths and then assigning them roles
and positions where they are likely to employ their strengths. When employees are provided
with work or roles that make use of their strengths, they are likely to record excellent
performance compared to those who are provided with work or roles that do not make use of
their strengths.

2. What strengths (5) were identified through the online analysis? Please provide a
   synopsis of those strengths based on the information in the book as well as your
   own interpretation and analysis of them.

The strengths that were identified through the online analysis that I took are deliberative,
strategic, command, relator, and empathy. A deliberative person evaluates different
alternatives carefully, analyzing the risk that each alternative carries before they make a
decision. Strategic people can figure out multiple paths to proceed in the performance of a
given task and then discard paths or ways that are unlikely to lead to the desired outcome
leaving them with a path is likely to lead to accomplishment of the stated goal. The third
strength, command, is a trait in which a person feels comfortable taking charge in any given

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situation without fear. The fourth strength, relator, describes a personality that is drawn to
people that one already knows well. Lastly, empathy describes a personality trait where a
person is able to feel other people’s emotions as if they are their own or to look at issues from
the perspective of other people (Rath, 2007).

3. Do you agree (or disagree) with the strengths identified in the test? Provide
   specific examples from your life to justify your statements.

I agree with the strengths that were identified in the test. I believe that they are an
accurate reflection of my strengths. For instance, with regards to my deliberative trait, I was
in a group where everyone was thrilled at the idea that a colleague had proposed. I was not as
excited as my colleagues. In my mind I could see many risks and obstacles that could make
the idea to fail. I pointed out to my colleagues all the risks that I anticipated in the
implementation of the idea. They were all in agreement with my assessment. Based on my
analysis of risks, we were able to modify the idea and put in place measures to address most
of the anticipated risks. I am also strongly empathetic as I remember once shedding tears
when one of my colleagues lost her daughter. Even though I did not know the daughter, I
somehow managed to feel the pain that my colleague was feeling.

4. How does this inform your leadership style?

The strengths identified will certainly impact my leadership style. A person’s leadership
style is mostly shaped by their personality. Having identified my personality traits that
constitute strengths, I will use a leadership that naturally fits my identified personality traits.
With traits such as command, deliberative, and strategic, I am likely to employ authoritative
style of leadership. In this leadership style, the leader establishes paths and sets goals or

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expectations for subordinates (Dharejo et al., 2021). They then guide and provide the support
that subordinates need to achieve the set goals.

5. How will this information impact your potential career path going forward?

The information will have a significant impact on my career. Chiefly, the information will
help me in choosing the positions or roles to hold in any organization. In order to excel, I will
focus on roles whose duties involve exercising my leadership strengths as identified in the
online test.

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References

Dharejo, S., Hussain, N., Farooq, S. M., Kalwar, M. S., & Mallah, W. R. (2021). Examining
The Effect of Authoritative and Laissez-Faire Leadership on Employee Involvement
and Performance. Technology (IJARET), 12(2), 557-567.

Rath, T. (2007). Strengths finder 2.0. Gallup Press: New York.