Personality tests are my thing, so I was super excited when I got this prompt. Some of my favorites include the MBTI (ESTJ over here), the 5 Love Languages, and of course, the Clifton StrengthsFinder.
I took the StrengthsFinder assessment when I took BUS 0020 during the fall of my sophomore year. It has been nearly two years, and as much as I believe my results are extremely accurate, I have changed and grown as a person since then so I would be curious to see if/how my strengths changed.
Without further ado, my top five strengths are:
- Deliberative
- Restorative
- Consistency
- Analytical
- Focus
These attributes are very on brand for me, and for any MBTI geeks like me out there, you can see the similarities in the traits of ESTJs and those who share my strengths. Taken together, my strengths in Deliberation and Restoration reveal that I am a sound decision maker and problem solver. Consistency, Analytical, and Focus play off and enhance these top two.
To put my themes in context for the trip, I was able to use Deliberation in my planning for the trip. I was sure to plan what to pack far in advance and ensure I was fully prepared for any given situation.
For Restoration, positive traits include problem solving, troubleshooting, and finding improvements and solutions; it is not always appropriate to do these things while being led on a trip because I may come off as negative and critical.
Consistency is defined as “one who is keenly aware of the need to treat people the same by setting up clear rules and adhering to them.” I feel as though I treat each of the 20 students on the trip with kindness; I believe everyone should feel empowered and included.
For Analytical, I search for reasons and causes and consider all the factors that might affect a situation. Despite this strength being #4, I believe it is actually one of my most significant themes. Some weaknesses of this strength are that Analyticals are never satisfied with the answer or they ask too many questions. I see these more as positives rather than negatives, because they allow for more information to be sought out and learned. On the downside, being so analytical makes it so that I sometimes tend to overthink things.
Last but not least, Focus is the strength characterized by following through to make the corrections necessary to stay on track by prioritizing then acting. With my work at home and abroad, I am a big fan of making lists to schedule and prioritize my tasks in order to stay organized.
Another day in Ireland, and everything was exciting as ever. Highlights included my favorite talk so far with Ellie Doyle from TalentHub, second lunch at Noshington, and Pad Thai (at last) for dinner. See you tomorrow!!!
