Analysis Of My Five Personal Strengths
According to Rath (2007), and using the Clifton Strength Finder, the five strengths I identify with are restorative, deliberative, context, developer and connectedness. These are ranked in descending order of my strengths.
Restorative strength enables people to be skillful at solving problems by evaluating their root causes and finding proper solutions. Restorative strength also makes people good listeners. I have stated previously in another discussion that I cannot say with confidence that I am good at solving problems. I am however a listener, though not by choice. As the eldest child, I was raised by my parents to be a good listener. However, I do see the correlation between being a good listener and finding the root cause of a problem. Being a good listener helps to look at issues not from a black and white perspective but with an open mind, both at work and everyday life.
My second strength is deliberative. The world is full of risks to people with deliberative strength, so they take caution in their choices and it includes their interaction with other people. They also are cautious with what they say, even the compliments they give (Rath, 2007). Again, this goes back to how I was raised by my parents. It is something that I carried over as an adult. At work, when I come across something, whether it is a routine treatment or order, I sometimes am unsure. I do not care how silly I may look to the seasoned nurses, but I ask as many of them as I can, to double-check the order. Then I form my decisions from the information I have gathered. I am pretty reserved with my opinions mainly because I grew up in an East Asian culture, where being upfront with your opinions and views in my observation is not mainstream.
My third strength is context. Past experiences are a good source for information regarding present occurrences and future events for people who identify with context strength. When I admit my patients I like to chat with them for a bit and ask them what they were doing and why they chose to do certain activities before they decided to go to the hospital. I find it useful in helping the doctors to build an insight into how well a patient may adhere to the treatment. Also, most of the time this helps me establish a good rapport with my patients.
My fourth strength is developer. Seeing and encouraging the potential in others and accepting their own individual uniqueness is the main qualities of people with deliberative strength. Again, this goes back to how I was raised by my parents not to be judgmental, despite a person’s background, educational level and so on. This has prepared me in my interaction with patients and family members when I assess their understanding of their disease process, the treatments and realistic expected outcomes. Another example is when a patient is difficult with treatments I am not quick to be dismissive of them. I always try to keep in mind that they may be going through some hardships in life that the staff is not aware of. So, instead of being dismissive, I give them encouragements when I see them trying to be more compliant with their treatments.
My last strength is connectedness. People with connectedness strength believe in the importance of teams and team building. I do believe in working effectively in teams, especially in the nursing and healthcare profession. Everyone’s input matters, no one’s point of view is more highly regarded. Also, I believe the chances of missing critical and important matters are reduced if there is a group effort behind the care, instead of just an individual.
After reviewing my five strength themes, I am strongest at executing as evidenced by my restorative and deliberative strength. I would be most helpful to the group in solving problems and being thorough with the work at hand. On the other hand, I did not gain any strength in the influencing area which I look forward to improve on.
