Standout through your strengths

Provided By KW Blog

“Which do you think will help you be most successful? Strengths or Mistakes?” asked best-selling author and Mega Leadership Keynote Speaker, Marcus Buckingham.

With everyone in the audience holding a copy of his new book Standout, Buckingham explained that we spend more time fixing ours and others weaknesses than we do building strengths. Which is exactly why he wrote Standout, and created an assessment, similar to Strengths Finder, to help leaders find the personal edge that will help them win at work.

“The series of questions and the results that follow will help you identify where you’ll have an unfair advantage. The focus this time is on performance. We’re helping you ask and answer the question ‘How Do I Win?’”

Buckingham then described the nine leadership categories that people typically fall into, noting that, “you probably all have a lot of these, yet there are two that characterize your leadership style more strongly than the others.”

1. Adviser: This person asks “What is the best thing to do?” They are energized by other people’s problems and often feel excited and empowered by having an answer.

2. Connector: This person asks “Who/What can I connect?” They see the best in people and find others to connect them with to make everyone better.

3. Creator: This person asks “What do I understand?” Buckingham joked, “these people are in the audience thinking about how this book was written, what research they provided and are already noodling over how much their going to noodle over it!”

4. Equalizer: This person asks “What is the right thing to do?” These individuals want restitution, process and predictability. People like them because they are reliable and the relationship is predictable.

5. Influencer: “How can I move you to act?” This individual’s world is made up of momentum and in persuading someone to do something.

6. Pioneer: “What’s New?” These people think the world is a friendly place with opportunity, are very entrepreneurial and embrace ambiguity.

7. Provider: These people asks “Are you OK?” Emotionally they want to know where you are at.

8. Stimulator: These people ask “How Do I Raise the Energy?”

9. Teacher: These individuals ask “What can I/she/he learn?” They believe no one is ever completely developed and can always learn more.

“You may surprised at your results. This isn’t necessarily how you see yourself – this is how others see you,” Buckingham noted. And if you’re wondering whether there is a perfect profile? For salespeople an ideal profile is Influencer, Connector, Equalizer and Teacher.

“If there’s anything I want you to get out of this today is that if you know and play to your strengths maybe tomorrow will be a slightly stronger day. And then you’ll be able to make everyday after a better one than the day before.”