I took the Strengths Finder assessment in the Introduction to Honors course during the leadership unit. In this unit, we discussed how there are many different types of leaders with different leadership styles. Some leaders are authoritative (controlling of their group), some are laissez faire (let group completely lead themselves), while others are democratic (lead group using their input). Each of these leaders, no matter what style, have their own strengths. We took the assessment to figure out what our personal strengths were. My top five leadership strengths were relatability, restoration, strategy, responsibility, and consistency. Having talent at being a relator means that I enjoy close relationships with others. This is obviously a relationship building strength. As someone who wants to work in human resources, I believe building close relationships is important in my future roles. Human resource professionals work closely with employees to ensure they are happy in the workplace and enjoy coming to work. By building relationships, happiness is achieved easier, and if not, support is available. This may explain why I desire to work in this field. Restoration talent means that I am adept at dealing with problems. This is an execution strength. Because I value strategy, I often create alternative ways to proceed. This is obviously a strategic thought strength. I think restoration and strategy go hand in hand, which explains why they are close to each other on my strengths list. I have always been a problem solver. I truly believe in the phrase “work smarter, not harder”, and I often am thinking of new, simpler ways of doing things, in my personal and work life. Having talent in responsibility means that I take psychological ownership of what I say I will do. This is another execution strength. If you were to ask my current and previous managers to name some of my qualities, I could guarantee that reliability would be included. When I am assigned a task and say that I will complete it, I mean it. I will always follow through on my responsibilities, and one can trust that if I am not able to, I will openly communicate that. My talent for consistency means that I am keenly aware of the need to treat people the same. This is another execution strength. This could provide an explanation as to why I have always been an advocate for clear rules and procedures. I know that I crave order in life, and consistency is the best way to obtain that.

              As can be seen from my top five strengths, I excel at execution. I think this is incredibly accurate, as I have always been known to get things done. However, it can also be noted that I do not have any strong talents in influencing others. I can understand my lack in this category. Influential people are often the showman or spokespeople for their group. While I do like to lead a group, I prefer to remain within the group. This is exactly why I like human resources, where I can have a hand in running the business without being on the forefront. With all these things in my mind, I believe I can begin to explain my leadership style. I am the leader who managers will trust to get a task completed compliantly and when I say I will. Even if problems occur along the way, I will do my best to come up with alternative routes. And by the end of the task, my group and I will have built relationships that ensure we can complete any more tasks to come.

              Now that I can identify my leadership style better, I can use it to my advantage. In the workplace, I know that I should accept opportunities to lead even if they have deadlines because I know that I am naturally talented at meeting deadlines. I know that I should continue to build relationships with my coworkers because it will improve my abilities as a leader. I can also learn from my weaknesses. Even though I do not have strong talent at influencing others, those strengths are still important in being a well-rounded leader. In the future, I will work on improving my skills in influence. For example, if my group is asked their opinions, I will speak up to make sure that everyone has a chance to be heard.