Strengths-Finder Assessment - Has Anyone Taken It?

I’m sure it is just as fascinating as a lot of other tests that don’t require you to buy a $35 book. They don’t even sell access codes to the test for people who might acquire a used book. It’s a racket.

Thanks for the response. I wouldn’t call it a racket, but a business. I have taken many other self-assessments and find this one the most enlightening. Just my humble opinion.

I can always guess my strengths and interests, and weaknesses and lack-of-interests by some introspection.

@gailcalled: That’s good to hear, as that is how it should be. Most people seem to get caught up in confusing what they are good at (Talent) with what they thoroughly enjoy doing (Strength).

Gee, you think there’s a Fluther bias against these “type” questions?

I took it, but the results are at home. Will post later.

@kevbo Maybe, but that’s okay. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on Fluther, as long as it adheres to the rules. Looking forward to your post about your Top 5.

No I have not used it but…wait, I have to pay for it? Sorry. no.

@Pied_Pfeffer , @kevbo , I am not so much interested in your top five strengths so much as whether they come as a surprise to you. I looked at the Amazon reviews for the book and there were at least two people who said they took both the old and new versions of the test and got 4 out of five different strengths the second time. This would seem to be a good cause for skepticism.

Good question. I’ve taken it twice myself, and the answers slightly varied. The reason I took it a 2nd time, despite the urging by Gallup not to do so, was that I was at 2 different points in my life and didn’t fully grasp the results of the 1st assessment. They were taken about 6 months to a year apart.

According to Gallup’s research, there are 34 Strengths, and the general test only gives you the Top 5. Their thought is that you should concentrate on what strengthens you and not on focusing on what weakens you. (Note: what weakens you is not the same as your weaknesses.)

In my first report, I was privy to the full 34 in ranking order. The 2nd report had 2 different Strengths, both of which were in the top 9 of the full report.

And to answer the question…yes, #1 came as a surprise, and it took awhile to recognize it in myself. After talking to many other co-workers who took the assessment, they felt the same way about their Top Strength. Once there was a name for it though, we learned to see it in our thinking. It was through the sharing of our results with each other and talking about it that we learned to recognize our #1 for what it was. Thus the post.

1. Ideation- fascination with ideas and making connections

2. Woo- enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like you

3. Communication- like to explain, describe, host, speak in public and write

4. Restorative- solving problems, saving things or situations

5. Significance- want to be significant/admired in the eyes of other people

I’m not surprised by the results, nor do I remember being initially, and assuming the results are unique to me (i.e. it’s not giving me universal truisms so that I can project the rest from my own biases), they certainly fit. My plague is inaction and a deficient sense of agency, so I generally have trouble following through with a deliberate plan of action and frequently settle for stumbling into situations where these strengths are useful, but not necessarily up to my potential.

I think these assessments (and many other “characteristic describing exercises” are useful as a sounding board and to articulate potentials, especially for those who lack awareness of their own talents and abilities be it for lack of self knowledge or lack of context in which to actualize them.

Hi kevbo. Thanks so much for posting your results.

You are absolutely right in that the information is valuable for people to learn a bit more about their own personality, but only if they answer truthfully. Many of these are self-assessments, including this one, so it depends on how they answer. And it is a shame when others use your results as a label for why you aren’t better at something or more like them.

As for your “Ideation”, it is in my Top 5. We are labeled as having our head in the clouds. We take 2 separate conceptions and come up with a new idea, yet often get shot down. I’ve learned to call on someone who is Strategic to ask for their help in thinking it through. They seem to always be able to tell me if the goal is viable or not, and help me map out the process to bring it to fruition.

Mine are Ideation, Communication, Relator, Strategic, and Context.

We use it at work to assemble project groups. I’m not labeled as having my “head in the clouds.” They often drag me into projects that are stuck to provide a different perspective, because there is no one right answer to most problems. There is a best answer, and the lowest cost/impact. Ideation is different than problem-solving.

We also did Colors, and I’m heavily green, which is intellectualization. I have no orange or gold to speak of. It shows up in how I work. I thrive on analysis, research and understanding, with little regard for order or following the rules. I don’t have to be right, I just have to be intellectually stimulated.

and, because I am what I am, I have a collection of white papers on the validity of Strengths Finder on my computer at work. If I can find the links from at home, I will post them.