Strengths Misunderstandings and What to do About Them (podcast)
Welcome to the Leadership Vision Podcast where we share our expertise in the discovery, practice, and implementation of a strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture.
Today on the Leadership Vision Podcast, Steph Wahlund and I are talking about some of the ways our Strengths can be misunderstood. Specifically, the Themes of Analytical, Deliberative, Maximizer, Competition, Achiever, and Activator. Our original intent was to talk about the ways all Strengths have been misunderstood and answer some of the common questions we get about them. We also hoped to explain the finer points of how certain Themes of Strengths manifest in general ways that everyone can understand. As you’ll hear, Steph and I started talking more about the way our own Strengths show up and are misunderstood. We talked through a few of the highs and lows of working with someone who has a Strength that is misunderstood and what to do about that. We also veer into the lane of our Team Engagement series. It’s a really helpful conversation that I think anyone listening can take something away from as it relates to working with others on a team.
Steph describes the episode this way:
There are just certain strengths that we often get questions about. Like, “how are these {two Strengths} different?” or “I’m so convinced that I have this Strength
Steph Wahlund…. Even just to begin to address some of those Strengths that people ask questions about like, “how are Analytical and Deliberative different?”
As you’ll hear, we quickly got went too deep on just a few Strengths, so stay tuned for future episodes exploring more Strengths misunderstandings!
Misunderstanding My Strengths
I have the Strength of Ideation (as has been mentioned many times on this blog). One of the biggest ways this Strength gets misunderstood (at least for me), is that people think I want to execute on all of my ideas. Sure, sometimes that’s true, but the way I process and take in the world around me is through expressing my ideas. I also have the Strength of Communication, so when you experience the way I make decisions or think about things, it’s often through the lens of talking (or writing) about my ideas in order to figure out if they are valid. It’s sort of like when you go to the paint store to look at paint swatches. You might grab 50 different colors, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to paint ALL of those colors.
What are the things that people misunderstand about the way your Strengths show up? Name them below and then help us better understand your Themes.
Strengths Mentioned
In this episode, we specifically discuss some of the misunderstandings and misperceptions about six Strengths. Rather than describe them all here, you can click on each of their names below to go to other resources we’ve written about on those Strengths in the past.
About The Leadership Vision Podcast
The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in the discovery, practice, and implementation of a strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. We believe that knowing your Strengths is only the beginning. 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.
