The following list is derived from the book Now, Discover Your Strengths. I have included results of the strength test as well as the specific traits that I feel best describe me. For each trait, I also picked out the points that best match my personality.
*This test was taken during my sophomore year of college I believe, so my top strengths might have changed a little.
Top 5 from Strength Finder Test
Ideation
- I am fascinated by ideas.
- I love to explain and discover why things are the way they are.
- I’m always looking for connections
- Others may label me as creative or original or conceptual or even smart.
Futuristic
- I love to peer over the horizon.
- The future fascinates me.
- I am always looking for ways to make a better product, a better team, a better life, or a better world.
- I am a dreamer who sees visions of what could be and who cherishes those visions.
Command
- Command leads me to take charge.
- I feel little discomfort with imposing my views on others.
- Once my opinion is formed, I tend to need to share it with others
- Once my goal is set, I can feel restless until I have aligned others with me, or at least got some agreement or a strong argument against my own.
- I am not frightened by confrontation; rather, I know that confrontation is the first step toward resolution.
- Whereas others may avoid facing up to life’s unpleasantness, I feel compelled to present the facts or the truth, no matter how unpleasant it may be.
- I need things to be clear between people and challenge them to be clear-eyed and honest. I push them to take risks. I may even intimidate them. And while some may resent this, labeling me opinionated, they often willingly hand me the reins.
Strategic
- I can sort through the clutter and find the best route.
- This perspective allows me to see patterns where others simply see complexity.
- Mindful of these patterns, I play out alternative scenarios, always asking, “What if this happened? Okay, well what if this happened?”
- I can evaluate accurately the potential obstacles.
Responsibility
- I take psychological ownership for anything I commit to, and whether large or small, I feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion.
- This conscientiousness, this near obsession for doing things right, and my impeccable ethics, combine to create my reputation: utterly dependable.
- When assigning new responsibilities, people will look to me first because they know it will get done.
9 other traits I feel are my strongest:
Activator
- I can be impatient for action
- I may concede that analysis has its uses or that debate and discussion can occasionally yield some valuable insights, but deep down I know that only action is real.
- Others may worry that there are still some things we don’t know, but this rarely slows me.
- I believe that action is the best device for learning. I make a decision, I take action, I look at the result and learn from it
Adaptability
- I live in the moment
- I am able to respond willingly to the demands of the moment even if they pull me away from my plans.
- I don’t resent sudden request or unforeseen detours
- I am a very flexible person who can stay productive when the demands of work are pulling me in many different directions at once.
Analytical
- I like to challenge people saying something like: Prove it. Show me why what you are claiming is true. In the face of this kind of questioning some will find that there brilliant theories wither and die.
- I want to understand how certain patterns affect one another. How do they combine? What is their outcome? Does this outcome fit with the theory being offered or the situation being confronted?
Arranger
- When faced with a complex situation involving many factors, I enjoy managing all of the variables, aligning and realigning them until I am sure I have arranged them in the most productive configuration possible.
- I try to figure out the best possible way to get things done
- From the mundane to the complex, I am always looking for the perfect configuration.
Focus
- I need a clear destination. Lacking one, my life and my work can quickly become frustrating.
- My focus is powerful because it forces me to filter; I instinctively evaluate whether or not a particular action will help me move toward your goal.
- Focus makes me more efficient, but also I can become impatient with delays, obstacles, and even tangents, no matter how intriguing they appear to be.
- When others start to wander down other avenues, I bring them back to the main road.
Intellection
- I like to think or have a lot of mental activity
- The need for mental activity may be focused though. For example, I may be trying to solve a problem or develop an idea or understand another persons feelings.
- I am the kind of person who enjoys my time alone because it is my time for musing and reflection.
Learner
- I love to learn
- I am energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence
- I can thrive in dynamic work environments where I am asked to take on short project assignments and expected to learn a lot about a new subject matter in a short period of time and then move on to the next one.
Restorative
- I love to solve problems
- I enjoy the challenge of analyzing the symptoms, identifying what is wrong and finding the solution.
- I may seek out specific kinds of problems that I have met many times before and that I am confident I can fix.
- I enjoy bringing things back to life.
Self Assurance
- I have faith in my strengths
- I know I am able to take risk, able to meet new challenges, able to stake claims, and, most important, able to deliver.
- I have confidences in both my abilities and my judgment.
- I know my perspective is unique and distinct
- No one can tell me what to think. They can guide. They can suggest. But I alone have the authority to form conclusions, make decisions, and act.
- No matter what the situation, I seem to know what the right decision is
- Unlike many, I am not easily swayed by someone else’s arguments, no matter how persuasive they may be.
5 Less Prevalent Traits That Also Apply
Deliberative
- I am a careful, vigilant, and a private person.
- I can be a fairly serious person who approaches life with a certain reserve. For example, I like to plan ahead so as to anticipate what might go wrong.
- I select my friends cautiously and keep my own counsel when the conversation turns to personal matters.
Harmony
- I look for areas of agreement as little is to be gained from conflict and friction.
- When I know that there are people around that hold different views, I try to find a common ground.
- I try to steer people away from confrontation and toward harmony.
Inclusiveness
- I want to try and include people to make them feel part of the group
- I hate the sight of someone on the outside looking in.
- I am an instinctively accepting person.
Input
- I am inquisitive
- I collect things (words, facts, books and information in general)
- I have the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting, and likes to try things just to see if I can
Significance
- I want to be significant in the eyes of others
- I want to be known and appreciated for the unique strengths I bring.
- I feel a need to be admired as credible, professional and successful and I tend to want to associate with others who are that way as well.