Strength Finder {Kim Explained}

Have you ever taken some sort of personality test.  Like Myers Brigs, Strength Finders, etc?  I feel like I take one every year.  Its almost always related to the job I am in or the ministry I am doing.  At first, I dread them and think... "Really? Another label?"  but then i get the results and I'm blown away every time by how well it describes me and how well it explains the things I am passionate about.  Sometimes the things I thought were weird Quorkes are explained as gifts.  

Last week, my boss had us do a strength finders quiz. I've done them before but this time the results were a little different AND I took more time to pay attention to what it said. We, as a staff, went around and read each other's top 5.  It was amazing how on point they were with our staff.  There were tears even, because of how well they explained that particular staff member.  

I remember thinking "Oh that's why he is the way he is" and feeling a little more grace for the thing that seemed to make me the most aggravated.  

I was last to go and I really thought we'd skim over mine since by then we were all over the explanations, but apparently not and boy was I thankful.  I hadn't really read them until then.  

I will list them in their original definition at the end of this post.  I want to sit though my top strength, "Restorative" for a few minutes. 

My boss' counselor had told him that this one was rare and often the potential not realized.  As we talked this one out, some of the questions my staff had for me made me see deeper the meaning behind this strength.  

Restorative 

You love to solve problems. Whereas some are dismayed when they encounter yet another breakdown, you can be energized by it. You enjoy the challenge of analyzing the symptoms, identifying what is wrong, and finding the solution. You may prefer practical problems or conceptual ones or personal ones. You may seek out specific kinds of problems that you have met many times before and that you are confident you can fix. Or you may feel the greatest push when faced with complex and unfamiliar problems. Your exact preferences are determined by your other themes and experiences. But what is certain is that you enjoy bringing things back to life. It is a wonderful feeling to identify the undermining factor(s), eradicate them, and restore something to its true glory. Intuitively, you know that without your intervention, this thing—this machine, this technique, this person, this company—might have ceased to function. You fixed it, resuscitated it, rekindled its vitality. Phrasing it the way you might, you saved it.

Now, I struggle with really understanding some of this but for alot of it I really do see myself in them.  

Turning this a little more inward, I see this more practically in the little things, like my love of re-purposing.  I think if I had the money, resources and the space, I would turn everything into something different or I'd tear it all down just to figure out how it works.  You can see this in some of my most recent projects and the ones to come... 

Relationally, I do find this to be true as well.  I think its been more drawn out in the last few years due to the relationships I have or am a part of.  I agree, though, that this strength in me is definitely under utilized, mostly because 1) I didn't see it as a strength 2) I didn't know what to do with the qualities and attitudes that make up this strength. I still really don't.  I think the grace and wisdom of the Lord is what will have to make these strengths reach their full potential. I look forward to figuring them out.

Below are some of the other ones.   I have highlighted the areas that I think are pretty on point.  

Relator 

Relator describes your attitude toward your relationships. In simple terms, the Relator theme pulls you toward people you already know. You do not necessarily shy away from meeting new people—in fact, you may have other themes that cause you to enjoy the thrill of turning strangers into friends—but you do derive a great deal of pleasure and strength from being around your close friends. You are comfortable with intimacy. Once the initial connection has been made, you deliberately encourage a deepening of the relationship. You want to understand their feelings, their goals, their fears, and their dreams; and you want them to understand yours. You know that this kind of closeness implies a certain amount of risk—you might be taken advantage of—but you are willing to accept that risk. For you a relationship has value only if it is genuine{unfortunately true}. And the only way to know that is to entrust yourself to the other person. The more you share with each other, the more you risk together. The more you risk together, the more each of you proves your caring is genuine. These are your steps toward real friendship, and you take them willingly.

Responsibility 

Your Responsibility theme forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to, and whether large or small, you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion. Your good name depends on it. If for some reason you cannot deliver, you automatically start to look for ways to make it up to the other person {Can anyone attest to that?}. Apologies are not enough. Excuses and rationalizations are totally unacceptable. You will not quite be able to live with yourself until you have made restitution. This conscientiousness, this near obsession for doing things right, and your impeccable ethics, combine to create your reputation: utterly dependable. When assigning new responsibilities, people will look to you first because they know it will get done. When people come to you for help—and they soon will—you must be selective. Your willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead you to take on more than you should.{UMPH}

Empathy 

You can sense the emotions of those around you.{to a fault} You can feel what they are feeling as though their feelings are your own. Intuitively, you are able to see the world through their eyes and share their perspective. You do not necessarily agree with each person’s perspective. You do not necessarily feel pity for each person’s predicament—this would be sympathy, not Empathy. You do not necessarily condone the choices each person makes, but you do understand {Been saying this for years just not so elegantly}. This instinctive ability to understand is powerful. You hear the unvoiced questions. You anticipate the need. Where others grapple for words, you seem to find the right words and the right tone. You help people find the right phrases to express their feelings—to themselves as well as to others. You help them give voice to their emotional life. For all these reasons other people are drawn to you.{somewhat true}

Developer 

You see the potential in others. Very often, in fact, potential is all you see. In your view no individual is fully formed {Yes but don't most people see it that way?}. On the contrary, each individual is a work in progress, alive with possibilities. And you are drawn toward people for this very reason. When you interact with others, your goal is to help them experience success. You look for ways to challenge them. You devise interesting experiences that can stretch them and help them grow. And all the while you are on the lookout for the signs of growth—a new behavior learned or modified, a slight improvement in a skill, a glimpse of excellence or of “flow” where previously there were only halting steps. For you these small increments—invisible to some—are clear signs of potential being realized. These signs of growth in others are your fuel. They bring you strength and satisfaction. Over time many will seek you out for help and encouragement because on some level they know that your helpfulness is both genuine and fulfilling to you.

One thing that I think comes out in all of this, explains why I write posts like these.  I too am a work in progress. I think we all are and I think we all should never stop learning, growing, achieving, etc.  The second we stop doing those things is the second we've stopped living.  I believe life is a process and especially life with Christ.  A life that is constantly growing and learning and drawing closer to wholeness and completion in Him.  We will never have it all figured out but we should all strive to somehow figure it all out, at least in our own lives.

Thanks everyone for stopping by!

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