Expanding Your Strengths: The Next Level

Theme pairing is one of my favorite exercises when coaching clients who have taken Clifton StrengthsFinder or StrengthsFinder 2.0, and are ready to up their level of understanding to turn their talents into strengths. Doing theme pairing has also given me greater insight into answering my 5 key questions: What do I do? How do I do it? Why do I do it? What makes me unique? and What are my needs?

This summary is excerpts from the Kindle book Expanding Your Strengths by Curt Liesveld, “Your talents do not exist in isolation. You are not just one thing or five things. You use various talents to respond to different situations, and you frequently use several themes at once, whether you know it or not. The more you examine theme dynamics in your life, the more you will understand how your talents make you who you are.”

Theme pairing takes the top 5 talents from StrengthsFinder (if you have your expanded top 34 report you can choose as many as you like) and pairs them together. For the purpose of demonstration, I am using the top 5 talents sequence to walk you through the pairing steps.

Steps:

1. Talent #1 pair with #2, #3, #4, #5.
2. Talent #2 pair with #3, #4, #5
3. Talent #3 pair with #4, #5
4. Talent #4 pair with #5.

In addition to enhancing your own insights, theme pairing helps you examine how your talents can work with other people’s talents to form powerful and productive partnerships.

Expanding Your Strengths introduces you to theme dynamics and includes an interactive Web App which allows you to select theme pairings. If you are ready to take your knowledge to the next level, I highly recommend the Kindle version of Expanding Your Strengths that gives you a unique access code to the Web application. For more information click here: Expanding Your Strengths Amazon Link

My top 5 Talents are Strategic, Maximizer, Responsibility, Futuristic and Positivity. Here is what the pairing for these themes reveals:

1. Strategic + Maximizer = When considering future possibilities, I eliminate the bad to find the good and then sort through the good to find the best.
2. Strategic + Responsibility = Creatively conscientious, I am often aware of the multiplicity of ways in which I can provide service or help.
3. Strategic + Futuristic = My mind’s eye sees clear images of a better future and detects the best paths leading to future dreams.
4. Strategic + Positivity = I prefer to imagine and anticipate all the possibilities because it energizes me and clarifies what I do.
5.  Maximizer + Responsibility = I feel compelled to honor the commitments I make to others and to meet the standards of excellence I set for myself.
6. Maximizer + Futuristic = When I dream about my future, it usually includes me getting better at what I do well and doing more of what I do best.
7.  Maximizer + Positivity = I choose to focus on good rather than evil and on strength rather than weakness, and when I do, it creates energy and hope.
8.  Responsibility + Futuristic = I will make a serious commitment to someone today if it will help my vision become a reality tomorrow.
9.  Responsibility + Positivity = I am serious about the commitments I make to others, not from dutiful obligation, but as a joyful servant.
10. Futuristic + Positivity = My vision has a better chance of becoming reality if I use my emotional energy and enthusiasm while forming it.

Theme pairing is powerful and the more you examine your theme dynamics in your life, the more you will understand how to turn your talents into strengths to make greater sense of who you are.

“The key to intentionally using your talents to achieve higher performance, happiness, fulfillment and success is to turn talents into strengths.” – Beckie Jorgensen

Thinking about hiring a coach? Haven’t taken StrengthsFinder yet and would like too? I would love to chat with you. Go to www.beckiejorgensen.com and you can either fill out the Contact form or complete the pop-up window (if your pop up blocker is on, click Define Your Purpose on the top Menu Bar) for my special BONUS to purchase a StrengthsFinder Code and receive a complimentary 45 minute Strategy Session with me!