FOCUS

Focus
Theme Description
“Where am I headed?” you ask yourself. You ask this question every day. Guided by this theme of Focus, you need a clear destination. Lacking one, your life and your work can quickly become frustrating. And so each year, each month, and even each week you set goals. These goals then serve as your compass, helping you determine priorities and make the necessary corrections to get back on course. Your Focus is powerful because it forces you to filter; you instinctively evaluate whether or not a particular action will help you move toward your goal. Those that don’t are ignored. In the end, then, your Focus forces you to be efficient. Naturally, the flip side of this is that it causes you to become impatient with delays, obstacles, and even tangents, no matter how intriguing they appear to be. This makes you an extremely valuable team member. When others start to wander down other avenues, you bring them back to the main road. Your Focus reminds everyone that if something is not helping you move toward your destination, then it is not important. And if it is not important, then it is not worth your time. You keep everyone on point.
Action Items
You can take a direction, follow through, and make the necessary corrections to stay on track.



You prioritize your life and tasks, and then take action.



You set goals that keep you effective and efficient.



You become frustrated when you when a group you are a part of doesn’t have clear goals or direction. Likewise, your life and work become frustrating when your goals are unclear.



Some of your greatest contribution as a team member might come as you help others set goals. When you work on group projects, take responsibility for summarizing what was decided, defining when these decisions will be acted upon, and setting a date when the group will reconvene.



Take the time to write down your goals and post them where you can refer to them often. You will feel more grounded and in control of your life when you keep your eye on the target.



Your powerful goal orientation could at times supersede your people orientation. Make sure the people you care about understand that you appreciate an opportunity for intense focus, but also that you are always happy to hear them knock on your door.



Partner with Ideation or Strategic talents before honing in on a goal, so you can gain confidence that your Focus talents are aimed in the most effective direction.



When given assignments, clarify timelines and expectations in advance. You become discontent with what you see as “busy work.”



You can spend long periods of time concentrating on one thing. This allows you to be highly productive, but can lead to even greater excellence if you set aside those periods of time intentionally and let others know why you’re doing that.



Use your focus to link class-related assignments to the knowledge and self-management skills you’ll need to be successful in your future career.



Use your focus to help groups stay on track in classroom discussions or meetings.



If you feel an assignment has no practical value to you, develop one that better fits your goals, and request permission from your professor to use it. Explain the potential benefits.



When working with others in a small group, help them see how the pieces of a project fit together to accomplish the overall objective.



Before studying, list everything you’ll attempt to learn during that time period.



Before writing a paper, outline the main points you plan to address.



Although you can concentrate for long periods of time, regulate yourself to avoid working to exhaustion.



Schedule your work in a way that allows you to focus your full attention on one assignment or project at a time.



Talk to two or three experienced people you admire. Determine some specific strengths they possess, and ask them about their greatest talents and the knowledge and skills they acquired through the years to create these strengths.



Choose to associate with successful people. Ask what they focused on to become successful.



Identify an alumnus who’s in a career that interests you, and spend time with that person to determine how he or she benefited from the college experience.



Select classes that will help you fulfill your long-term goals.



Select classes that have defined direction and objectives.



Choose professors who are known for staying on track.



Look for an internship in an area related to your career goals.



Select class-related and extra-curricular activities related to your career goals.



To build on your Focus talents and not “spread yourself too thin,” be selective in the range of activities you are involved in.



Set specific goals for your career planning. What do you want to achieve by the time you graduate? This attention to your destination and how you will get there will be very engaging and will provide great benefits.



Spend some dedicated time reading about careers that interest you and following up with internet searches. Your ability to concentrate on a task will stand you in good stead as you research career possibilities.



Although your Focus talents can reveal themselves through highly proactive goal setting, you might sometimes need to have a target identified for you.



You are capable of prolonged concentration and persistence, which flourishes in environments with few interruptions and little need to multi-task.



Structured environments that are predictable, detail-oriented, and reward your dependability and follow-through are likely to bring out your best.



You might be most satisfied in roles that have identifiable goals, purposes, and objectives, and that provide opportunities to meet your own longer-term goals.