Finding Your Strengths: Understanding the Importance of Personal Strengths

The Power of Understanding Personal Strengths

Assignment: Finding Your Strengths Consider the following scenario: You are sitting in a room, at a long table, with four people sitting across from you. Each person has a writing utensil, a notepad, and a copy of your resume in front of them. Next to your resume, they each have a stack of paper, at least an inch thick: presumably the resumes of other candidates. One person asks you, “What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?” Photo Credit: Getty Images/Caiaimage You may have considerable practice with this interview question, either as an interviewer or interviewee.

There are numerous websites that offer insight as to the best way to respond to this question and just as many websites encouraging interviewers to remove this question from their repertoire. Despite its use in hiring, understanding personal strengths and capitalizing on them is a predictor of success (Shaff & Hoyt, 2017). Marilyn Vos Savant once offered the following wisdom to the parents of a 14-year-old boy who struggled with math: “If I were you, I’d forget about the math and concentrate on what your son can do well.

Success is achieved by development of our strengths, not by elimination of our weaknesses” (Savant, 2014). Understanding strengths provides professionals an opportunity to clarify their goals, proactively identify how to spend their time and effort, and may help to enhance the ability to work with others (Shaff & Hoyt, 2017). As part of this Week’s Assignment, you will complete Gallup’s StrengthsFinder assessment.

The StrengthsFinder assessment will identify your personal strengths, which have been shown to improve motivation, engagement, and academic self-confidence. Through this assessment, you will discover your top five themes, which you can reflect upon and use to leverage your talents for optimal success. After you take the assessment, you will apply the results to your potential future profession and to your doctoral study in a written assignment. You will also describe how you already use the strengths in your professional life. References Shaff, C., & Hoyt, E. (2017). The CliftonStrengths: Focusing on strengths as a predictor of success.

Strengths Finder 2.0 - with Access Code Purchase the access code from the Walden bookstore. Then follow the instructions in the document "How to Access the Strengths Finder 2.0." Document: How to Access Strengths Finder 2.0 (PDF) To Prepare for this Assignment: Take the Strengths Finder Assessment. This will take you approximately 30 minutes to complete. See the "How to Access Strengths Finder 2.0 document for guidance. Download the Strengths Finder Response Template found in the Learning Resources. The Assignment: Signature Theme Report and Completed Strengths Finder Assessment Report Template Within the Strengths Finder Response template, you will address the following: Explain your reaction to the results.

Discuss any results that you found surprising or disappointing. Discuss whether you already maximize these strengths and, if not, how you might do so. Predict how the results will help you in your doctoral program. Explain how you can use the results in your future role as a public health leader. By Day 7 of Week 3 Submit your Assignment, which consists of two documents (Signature Theme Report and a completed Strengths Finder Response Template).