STRENGTHSQUEST

Achiever
Select jobs in which you have the leeway to work as hard as you want, and in which you are encouraged to measure your own productivity. You will feel stretched and alive in these environments. You do not require much motivation from your supervisor. Take advantage of your self-motivation by setting challenging goals. Set a more stretching goal every time you finish a project. Own the fact that you might work longer hours than most people, and that you might not need as much sleep as many other people do. Choose to work with other hard workers. Share your goals with them so they can help you. Accept that you might be discontented even when you achieve. Take a moment to appreciate your successes. You can look ahead tomorrow. Today, celebrate. Partner with someone with a strong Discipline or Focus theme. This person can help you use your energy as efficiently as possible. Count personal achievements in your scoring “system.” This will help you direct your Achiever theme toward family as well as work. Learner
Seek roles that require some form of technical competence. You will enjoy the process of acquiring and maintaining this competence. As far as possible, shift your career toward a field with constantly changing technologies or regulations. You will be energized by the challenge of keeping up. Because you are not threatened by unfamiliar information, you might excel in a consulting role (either internal or external), in which you are paid to go into new situations and pick up new competencies or languages very quickly. Refine how you learn. For example, you might learn best by teaching; if so, seek out opportunities to present to others. You might learn best through quiet reflection; if so, carve out this quiet time. Find ways to track the progress of your learning. If there are distinct levels or stages of learning within the discipline or skill, take a moment to celebrate your progression from one level to the next. If no such levels exist, create them for yourself (e.g., reading five books on the subject, or making three presentations on the subject). Honor your desire to learn. If you can’t fulfill this need at work, take advantage of the adult educational opportunities in your community. Discipline yourself to sign up for at least one new academic or adult learning course each year. Be a catalyst for change. Others might be intimidated by new rules, new skills, or new circumstances. Your willingness to soak up this “newness” can calm their fears and spur them to engage. Take this responsibility seriously. Responsibility
Emphasize your sense of Responsibility when job hunting. During interviews, describe your desire to be held fully accountable for the success or failure of projects, your intense dislike of unfinished work, and your need to “make it right” if a commitment is not met. Keep volunteering for more responsibility than your experience seems to warrant. You thrive on Responsibility and can deal with it very effectively. Align yourself with others who share your sense of Responsibility. You will thrive on the feeling of being surrounded by hands as strong as your own. Tell your manager that you work best when given the independence and freedom to follow through on your commitments. Tell your manager that you don’t need to check in during a project, just at the end. You can be trusted to get it done. Take time to enjoy the completion of your commitments. Responsibility is a source of motivation for you. Push yourself to say “no.” Because you are instinctively responsible, it might sometimes be very difficult to refuse opportunities. For this reason you must be selective. Ask for more responsibility in only the areas that matter most to you. Partner with someone with a strong Discipline or Focus theme. This person can help you stay on track and prevent you from becoming overloaded. Focus
Stretch your goal-setting beyond work. If you find yourself becoming too focused on work goals, set goals regarding your personal life as well. These goals will give weight to your personal priorities and thereby help restore balance in your life. Allow others to think, act, and talk less efficiently than you do. Sometimes their “detours” will lead to discoveries and delights. Take the time to write down your goals and refer to them often. You will feel more in control of your life this way. Be sure to tell your manager your mid-term and short-term goals. This might well give your manager the confidence to give you the room you need. Your greatest worth as a team member might be to help others set goals. At the end of each meeting, take responsibility for summarizing what was decided, for defining when these decisions will be acted upon, and for setting a date when the group will reconvene. Identify your role models. Write down in detail why you want to focus your career toward similar kinds of achievement. Seek roles in which you are asked to function independently. With your strong Focus theme you will be able to stay on track with little supervision. When you set goals, discipline yourself to attach timelines and measurements. These will provide regular proof that you are indeed making progress. Arranger
Seek complex, dynamic work environments in which there are few routines. Make lists of suggestions for how to improve your work environment. Develop successful strategies for getting things done. Push yourself to keep adding new wrinkles. Learn the goals of the people with whom you work. Let them know that you are aware of their goals. Take on the organization of a big event, a convention perhaps, or a company celebration. Explain that your flexibility doesn’t mean that your priorities are constantly changing. Tell others that your priorities remain the same, but that you are simply looking for better ways to implement them. Give people time to understand your new way of doing things when you present it to them. Your mental juggling is instinctive, but others might find it difficult to break with the existing procedures. Take the time to clearly explain why your new way is more effective.