Exploring the StrengthsFinder Theme of Includer®
When in a group setting, who are the people asking, “Who else should be here?” Or, “Wow, this is great, I wish everyone could’ve made it! Next time, who should we invite?” Those people might have the Strength of Includer®.
Definition of the StrengthsFinder Theme of Includer®
People with the StrengthsFinder Theme of Includer® are very accepting people, they want to include people and make them feel a part of the group. To them, everything is about making the circle wider, there is always room for another chair at the table.
The Strength of Includer® explains why people are drawn to those who are on the margins of society, or the individuals who seem to be left out. These are the ones that people with Includer® are drawn to. Includers® have the highest capacity to build relational connections with people on the margins.
Instinctively, people with the Strength of Includer® are generous and accepting – they don’t make judgments based on sex, race, nationality, faith or beliefs… because Includers believe we are all one people and should be included together as one people.
People with the Strength of Includer® can sense when people are being excluded, whether intentionally or not. Once they have discovered who is on the margins, they are seeking ways to bring the outsider in.
One of the more effective ways a person with Includer® thinks is by embracing the perspective of the outsider. From that perspective, they connect with what it feels like to be on the outside, and in so doing, can specifically speak on behalf of, and in the voice of those on the margins.
- No one is ignored and no one is overlooked.
- Includers® are willing to wait for those who missed out on the first try.
- They are unifiers for effectiveness.
Often times their motivation is misunderstood because although they are insiders, they can look and sound like outsiders.
How Includer® is Generative
The StrengthsFinder Theme of Includer® is generative because it takes action to bring people into the group. Many times this action can be toward a larger group of people, or directly to individuals. No matter how one is including, this action is distinct and deliberative.
The Strength of Includer® is also generative in that this person has the ability to be a friend to almost anyone. They just have a unique way of building connections and relationships with those people who might feel that they do not belong.
Examples of Includer®
One of our favorite examples is a woman we know with the Strength of Includer®. She pays attention to the murmuring outside the circle, she pays attention to the cues beyond “the cool kids”, and works to create environments of belonging wherever she goes.
She knows how to invite people to participate in a non-threatening, no-judgment kind of way. Someone running late to a session stepped into the room expecting to feel bad because he was late. He was ready to apologize, when the leader, the woman with the Strength of Includer®, smiled and greeted him. To the whole group, she remarked, “Now we are all here. We can start.”
One man with the Strength of Includer® helped volunteers transition into new cultures. He was thrilled to meet new people, to understand where they were coming from and what they needed to find belonging in their new environment. He was most alive when a new group arrived—just more people to bring into the circle.
Your Includer®
Do you have the StrengthsFinder Theme of Includer®? How does it help you invite others in?
