Book Review: Now, Discover Your Strengths:

Buckingham and Clifton, in conjunction with the Gallup Organization, have published a book accompanied by an assessment, called The StrengthsFinder® Profile that a select number of us coaches who know of it, think is the single best theory and assessment out there for finding who are you are and the work you were meant to do. It also shows you how to get along with and manage others through understand their innate talents.

The theory is roughly that we come to focus on our strengths, not our weaknesses. We are pushed in this direction by well-meaning but harmful parents, advisors, managers, bosses, teaches and psychologists. In this way, the studious child whose innate talents are Focus and Analytical is thought by his parents to be deficient, and forced into drama, Cub Scouts and sports in order to “make him well-rounded.” In this way, the born counselor, whose talents are Relator, Communication and Connectedness, is sent to time management seminars and given an organizer.

Buckingham Clifton propose instead that you find our what your innate talents are (those you’re born with and will die with) and focus on those instead of trying to become well-rounded.

When you take the StrengthsFinder® profile, you’ll be given your top 5 strengths, in descending order. As you can tell already these are deeply unique and innate ways of thinking and feeling about the world. Some of them are Deliberativeness, Ideation, Intellection, Strategic and Arranger. Someone with Strategic can naturally strategize, a skill the authors considered unlearnable. So if you’re looking for a Strategist for your organization, or a Strategist for a coach, you might inquire about this, and if you have a Strategist for a life partner, use this strength in your relationship.

The authors tell us how we can identify innate talents and how to combine them with expertise, education and knowledge to turn them into strengths. They maintain that only when we’re focused on our strengths, and working within them, can we reach a near-constant level of excellence without being exhausted.

The book contains extensive descriptions of each talent, and then a section on how to “manage” someone with these talents, an invaluable resource for managers, coaches, partners, and everyone.

The StrengthsFinder® Profile was normed on 2,000,000 people, an incredible sample size that I think accounts for the astounding accuracy of the profile. My clients have loved the results, and its enabled me to coach them better. Check it out.