Which Themes of Strength Influence Your Communication Style? (Podcast)

Welcome to the next installment of the Leadership Vision Podcast, where we share our expertise in the discovery, practice, and implementation of StrengthsFinder.

Today on the podcast, we’re doing something a little different. This is a mini-episode where we give you one Strengths-Based question to ponder over the week ahead. It’s something new we’re experimenting with so leave us some feedback and tell us what you think. The idea is to present one Strengths-Based question or challenge and see what you do with that in the next week. We want these mini-episodes to be very practical and give you one thing to focus on as you practice developing your awareness of how your Themes of Strength operate.

This Week’s Question

So here is our first Strengths-Based Question:

Which of your Themes of Strength do you see influencing your communication style?

I’m not talking about someone who has the StrengthsFinder Theme of Communication. That’s another conversation! All of us need to communicate in our jobs, at home, and with friends. In virtually all situations and settings in life, we’re communicating something. We know our Strengths play a role in how we give and receive information, so how might your Strengths be influencing your communication style?

Examples

By way of example, we were recently working with a client and one team member talked about how he doesn’t speak up until he has a well-formed thought or idea in his head. He also thought this is the way everyone should communicate. I’ll let you guess which specific Strengths he had, but all of them were in the Thinking domain. This doesn’t mean everyone with a lot of Thinking Strengths are this way, but for this individual’s Strengths, they worked in such a way that he did a lot of internal thinking and processing before communicating those things externally. His team members appreciated knowing this about him because they previously thought he wasn’t interested in the topics at hand if he didn’t speak up.

I’ll use myself as another example. In some ways, I’m the exact opposite of the person I just mentioned. I, too, want the messages I’m communicating to be clear and articulate, but the way I get there is through practice. My Ideation and Adaptability work together to continually refine my messages, either in written form, verbally, or other methods. This podcast, for example, is scripted out and I read it out loud several times before recording it. If I don’t do this, if I try to wing it, my Ideation throws everything off because I have too many ideas and ways I could say something. Once I’ve heard it in a near-final form, I may re-record or re-edit something to make sure it’s just right. These are classic behavioral examples of someone with the StrengthsFinder Theme of Maximizer, like me, and how it applies to the way I communicate.

Reflection

So what about you? Which of your themes of Strength do you see influencing your communication style? Think of a few examples, jot them down, and then share them with a friend or colleague. Ask for feedback and see if they agree or disagree. As a bonus, ask them to answer the same question, then compare and find similarities and differences you both share. It may help both of you sharpen and refine the way you communicate with others.

About The Leadership Vision Podcast

The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in the discovery, practice, and implementation of StrengthsFinder. Leadership Vision uses StrengthsFinder to work with People, Teams, and Culture. We believe that knowing your Top 5 Strengths is only the beginning. In fact, our highest potential exists in the ongoing exploration of our talents. Subscribe to the Leadership Vision Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

Please contact us if you have ANY questions about anything you heard in this episode, or if you’d like to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.