Strengths Discover Guide

DEIRDRE CAVENER

Your Top 5 Themes

Ideation
Maximizer
Strategic
Achiever
Learner

IDEATION

Shared Theme Description
People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.

Your Personalized Strengths Insights
What makes you stand out?

Driven by your talents, you ask questions. You ponder answers. You find the underlying causes of a situation, problem, system, mechanism, plan, regulation, or prohibition. Logical and ordered in your thinking, you study every detail, however small. You are determined to examine the facts. Instinctively, you thoroughly examine the idiosyncrasies, interests, talents, successes, fears, or dreams of each person you encounter. You contend that no two people are the same. You argue that the same individual reacts quite differently depending on the circumstances and the human beings present. People simply fascinate you. Chances are good that you enjoy spending time with possibility thinkers. This is often the case when they present intriguing ideas that no one else has considered. You enjoy exploring the fascinating frontiers of medicine, politics, fashion, renewable energy sources, humanitarian aid, or the arts. Because of your strengths, you see yourself as an inventor of unusual and innovative ways to do things. You grow weary and bored with activities when you are forced to perform them in a prescribed and traditional manner. Your frustration increases when you know there is a better method but no one is willing to consider the changes you suggest.

MAXIMIZER

Shared Theme Description

People who are especially talented in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.

Your Personalized Strengths Insights
What makes you stand out?

Instinctively, you notice the unique traits that differentiate one person from everyone else. You have little patience with people who stereotype others into general categories. You prefer to describe individuals with specific and vivid details. No two people and no two lives are exactly the same, you contend. Watching people gives you much pleasure. It also provides you with lots of information others miss. Because of your strengths, you make people aware of the high esteem in which you hold them. You believe in them. You often enable individuals to believe in themselves. By nature, you consciously invest time and energy in understanding how your talents, skills, and knowledge contribute to your overall success and well-being. You have discovered effective ways to remind yourself about the things you do best. It’s very likely that you recognize you are very attentive to the person who is speaking. You probably become annoyed with individuals who prevent you from hearing what is being said.

STRATEGIC

Shared Theme Description

People who are especially talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.

Your Personalized Strengths Insights
What makes you stand out?

Driven by your talents, you normally find just the right words at the right moment to express whatever you are thinking and feeling. Many people are likely to appreciate your fine speaking abilities. You can present your ideas in a reasonable, sequential, and methodical way. Moreover, you generate lots of options for others to consider. Chances are good that you can design innovative plans. You probably raise issues and identify recurring obstacles as you generate tactical options. Problems and possible solutions become apparent to you. Once you outline action steps, you quickly execute them one by one. You refuse to waste time questioning your ideas after everything has been set into motion. By nature, you generate innovative ideas. You offer unique perspectives on events, people, and proposals. You probably inspire people to start projects and launch initiatives. You tend to identify a goal, devise numerous ways of reaching it, then choose the best alternative. This explains why you see opportunities, trends, and solutions before your teammates, classmates, or peers see them. It’s very likely that you are innovative, inventive, original, and resourceful. Your mind allows you to venture beyond the commonplace, the familiar, or the obvious. You entertain ideas about the best ways to reach a goal, increase productivity, or solve a problem. First, you think of alternatives. Then you choose the best option.

ACHIEVER

Shared Theme Description

People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.

Your Personalized Strengths Insights
What makes you stand out?

Instinctively, you use your mental and physical energy for hours when the situation demands such effort. You generally persevere and push yourself to keep working on assignments until you finish them. You refuse to quit until you reach your goal. Chances are good that you commonly invest extra time and energy in causing people to realize you hold them in high regard. This probably is one way you help them recognize their value as human beings. Driven by your talents, you conduct yourself in a proper, ethical, legal, and upright manner to avoid feeling you have done something wrong. You truly regret making a mistake, violating a rule, breaking a trust, or producing poor results. You set high standards for yourself in various areas of your life. It’s very likely that you might expend more physical or mental energy doing your job or pursuing your studies than some of your peers do. Perhaps you need to make measurable progress toward one or two goals each day to feel successful as a human being.

LEARNER

Shared Theme Description

People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

Your Personalized Strengths Insights
What makes you stand out?

It’s very likely that you can block out distractions when you are working or studying. You are seldom pulled away from a task. You probably desire to understand ahead of time what needs to be done. You also expect to receive background briefings and/or a list of a project's criteria. Armed with this information, you move closer to your goal. With ease and certitude -- that is, having no doubts -- you determine what is and is not important to know about an activity, event, or project. Because of your strengths, you have little difficulty giving intense effort to projects, problems, or opportunities that capture and keep your attention. Instinctively, you concentrate for extended periods of time. This is one reason why you ultimately master skills and grasp concepts. Driven by your talents, you enjoy sharing your point of view with individuals who ask, "What do you think?" When you are familiar with the topic, problem, or people involved, you are quite comfortable expressing yourself. Otherwise, you set out to discover the facts and weigh them with care before speaking your mind -- that is, giving advice or openly stating your ideas.