CEO's the world over are fond of pointing to their workforce and saying "Our people are our greatest asset." And yet today, only two out of ten people think their personal assets are being well used at work. 

 

But what if my manger knew what wakes me up at night and what gets me running fast in the morning, We all want the chance to express the very best of ourselves and to be challenged to keep reaching for more. Our time at work affords us this chance--not the only chance, to be sure, but, given that most of us are there forty or more hours a week, it's one of the best.

 

The book “Strengths Finder 2” by Tom Rath which is the upgraded edition of “Now, Discover Your Strengths” by Marcus Buckingham, proposes that in order to be effective and happy we should spend more time focusing on enhancing people's strengths rather than eliminating their weaknesses. Following up on Marcus’s popular previous book, First, Break All the Rules, it fully describes 34 positive personality themes and explains how to build a "strengths-based organization" by capitalizing on the fact that such traits are already present among those within it.

 

Most potentially revealing is a Web-based interactive component that allows readers to complete a questionnaire developed by the Gallup Organization and instantly discover their own top-five inborn talents. This device provides a personalized window into the authors' management philosophy which, coupled with subsequent advice, places their suggestions into the kind of practical context that's missing from most similar tomes. "You can't lead a strengths revolution if you don't know how to find, name and develop your own," write Buckingham and Clifton. Their book encourages such introspection while providing knowledgeable guidance for applying its lessons.

 

( Note ) 

 

You must get a new copy of the book in order to get an unused code for taking the online assessment. Do not read the book before taking the online assessment. Just go to page 31 for directions to get the code and the website address and then take the assessment. You can read the book afterwards to better understand the results.

 

The 34 Unique Strengths are:

 

Achiever             Activator             Adaptability             Analytical                     

 

 

Arranger             Belief                 Command                Communication             

 

 

Competition        Connectedness   Consistency            Context                        

 

 

Deliberative         Developer            Discipline                Empathy                      

 

 

Focus                 Futuristic             Harmony                Ideation                        

 

 

Includer               Individualization    Input                      Intellection                    

 

 

Learner                Maximizer           Positivity                Relator                         

 

 

Responsibility       Restorative          Self-Assurance      Significance                  

 

 

Strategic               Woo