Why am I, the way I am?
I’ve recently taken a personality and strengths test thanks to the help of one of our ex-colleagues turned entrepreneur (woohoo!), and gotten my results from it.
This has actually given me very clear insights as to Why I am the way I am, and I’ll use the Top 5 strengths to explain further.
Philomath aka Learner
Brief definition from High5:
Philomaths love learning. They explore many interests, follow new paths and acquire as much knowledge as possible. They don’t enjoy the company of so-called 'know-it-alls’, people with little curiosity and no desire to explore new ideas.
What this actually means to me:
This actually gave me so much colour as to why and how I’ve been functioning, but in and out of work. Lifelong learning and curiosity have driven me to take in whatever’s been presented to me especially at work, leading to a diverse portfolio that I currently hold (and love!). This also presents an interesting path ahead for me as I continue to learn and venture into unknown spaces to acquire more knowledge, and ultimately be an all-rounded generalist in the future.
However, I personally do think that this is a double-edged sword - having too much curiosity in me will also result in a lack of focus, and this holds very true! Hence, being able to ultimately be selective about curiosity spaces will help aid the seemingly schizophrenic me 🙂
This also led me to one conclusion:
Stop. Doing. Everything. At. Once.
This may sound conflicting to the strength, but what I’ve gathered is that learning only comes when you’re not being pulled into multiple directions all at once. What this strength presents is an opportunity to plan a smart and efficient way to continuously open new paths and knowledge streams, but drowning in information all at once will not result in any positive outcomes. Hence, planning a more systemic approach to this should help expand my 10x growth even further, without having to compromise on time and quality of output.
Catalyst aka Kickstarter
Brief definition from High5:
Catalysts love to get things started and are great at creating momentum in stagnant environments. They have a hard time waiting and so-called ‘wasting time’ when they know they could be moving forward and getting things off the ground.
What this actually means to me:
“No wonder!” was literally the first phrase that came to mind when I saw this strength. As an individual, I always hate waiting on things to get done, and have always done my best to push things forward and make it work, regardless of what it takes.. Now I know why. This is extremely helpful in situations where there are gaps to fill without clear ownership of the situation. My strength is to pull people together, and figure out how to move forward from there.
Initiating new ideas and activities has been some sort of my forte, and while that is a great skill that I personally enjoy, I also acknowledge the fact that being a catalyst also presents an issue of following through to the end of the project. This means that ulitmately, for the project or idea to come to fruition, additional support and ownership is commonly needed to see it through, thanks to the philomath instinct of mine…
Coach aka Mentor 💚
Brief definition from High5:
Coaches love discovering the potential in people and supporting others’ personal growth. It’s hard for them to accept when this potential is being wasted.
What this actually means to me:
This comes as no surprise to me given my remit for the past few years, but one interesting thing about this strength is also to identify and acknowledge that you will not be able to help everyone. A mistake I made earlier in my initial stages of being a manager was that I held all responsibilities upon myself. If a team member decided to move on from the company, I took it upon myself and beat myself up for not living up to their expectations of a manager.
What I’ve now learned over the years, is that coaching is a 2-way street. While we can equip ourselves with the skills and mindset to help a person grow and develop, in turn, the person needs to also adopt the same mindset to share, be open, transparent and supportive in the journey. Only then will the efforts really come to life with focused plans, potential paths, new learning opportunities and more.
That being said, I’m on ADPlist for any reachouts! :)
Chameleon aka Adaptability
Brief definition from High5:
Chameleons love working ‘on the fly’ and draw excitement from surprises, changing environments and unexpected detours. They get bored to tears with routine and predictability.
What this actually means to me:
That’s why I’m in Circles haha! Being in a startup environment requires a level of tenacity that is different from a basic company (yes I mean basic). You never truly know what challenges you will face week on week, the level of unpredictability is real and that is what being in a startup feels like. It’s definitely not for everybody, but in Circles, several of the employees possess the same trait that will make you succeed - Adaptability.
Coming into this environment, you should not expect the highest level of structure, or rigour in strict processes. Over the years, we have matured from almost zilch to where we are today, but as an evolving, maturing startup, we definitely have a long way to go. But hey, routines are indeed boring, so why not ;)
Strategist..is having a strategist mindset
Brief definition from High5:
Strategists look at the big picture, which enables them to easily find the best way out of the clutter. Because connecting the dots comes naturally to them, they may get impatient with people who make slower decisions.
What this actually means to me:
I’d hope to call this more of a visionary role with a purpose to deliver, but that is probably 10 levels above where I am right now. What I’d interpret from this, is that looking at the big picture requires certain choices to be made in order to progress. Part of this is having a good overview and clarity around the Why, which will then lead to the actions we choose to take based on the Why. And part of this is also ensuring that others can see the big picture as well, and is aligned to where we’re all heading towards for the business.
This may sound high level, but in fact, I can see this applying across all domains and levels. If you know your end goal or end outcome, you are then able to plan a roadmap and factor in attributes to get closer to your end goal. That might mean saying no to certain things, or putting your hand up for another. The journey towards an end goal is the strategy 🙂
This has been a great time of reflection and learning about myself, and hopefully sharing these learnings will also give some light into how personal choices can be made based on who are you, and what you love!