Furthermore, it is difficult to acknowledge our abilities and how unique we are. Society will not tell you your strengths but will deter you from being confident or different and will encourage you to fit the mould.
In that event, Gallup Inc’s StrengthsFinder has defined 34 “themes of talents” to help an individual evaluate their strengths and styles. Though there is an infinite amount of strengths and personality traits, Marcus Buckingham noticed recurring patterns within Gallup Inc’s 34 themes of talents. He then combined those 34 themes of talents and hundreds of other measurable themes into 9 powerful “Strength Roles” that will help you distinguish your strengths and take advantage of your edge. Each Strength Role can be assimilated to a “certain “personality,” a way of engaging with the world.”.
Below, are the 9 StandOut Strength Roles identified by Marcus Buckingham:
Advisor. You are a practical, concrete thinker who is at your most powerful when reacting to and solving other people’s problems.
Connector. You are a catalyst. Your power lies in your craving to bring two people together to make something bigger and better than it is now.
Creator. You make sense of the world, pulling it apart, seeing a better configuration, and creating it.
Equalizer. You are a level-headed person whose power comes from keeping the world in balance, ethically and practically.
Influencer. You engage people directly and convince them to act. Your power is your persuasion.
Pioneer. You see the world as a friendly place where, around every corner, good things will happen. Your power comes from your optimism in the face of uncertainty.
Provider. You sense other people’s feelings, and you feel compelled to recognize these feelings, give them a voice, and act on them.
Stimulator. You are the host of other people’s emotions. You feel responsible for them, for turning them around, for elevating them.
Teacher. You are thrilled by the potential you see in each person. Your power comes from learning how to unleash it.
The StandOut assessment test, taken online and associated to this book, is designed to measure your propensity to a Strength Role, by posing a series of questions and analyzing your impulsive or instinctive responses. The test poses thirty-four questions that are mostly built around hypothetical stressful situations in the workplace, that are clocked and that require top of the mind responses among a set of possible good and defendable responses. Additionally, the questions are embedded with trigger words that will unknowingly stimulate you, captivate you and incite you towards a specific answer.
The analysis of your responses, ranking your 9 strengths roles in order of importance, is delivered in a report. Through the StandOut assessment test, you can discover and study which two top Strength Roles that you are naturally leaning towards.
Knowing your strengths, how to use them, where to use them, how to describe yourself, the impacts of your strengths on your career, your team and your leadership styles, how to look out for your pitfalls, will definitely give you an edge over everyone else in the workplace.
After identifying and understanding your strengths, it is necessary to improve them, to best translate them in order to properly employ them. It is necessary to build them. Marcus Buckingham lays down three lessons to do so:
- “Your genius is precise”. Stay in your strength zone and take advantage of it.
- “Remember who you are”. Remember your Strength Roles, apply them daily and hold on tight to them when people tell you otherwise or things don’t go your way.
- “Always sharpen your edge”. Better yourself within your strength zone.
Review
StandOut 2.0: assess your strengths, find your edge, win at work is a very instructive book. I vehemently suggest it to people who are looking to identify or fortify their strengths, to people who feel like they have taken the wrong career path and to people who are not yet blossoming in the career path they appreciate.
While reading StandOut 2.0, on account of me possessing a career advice blog, I believed that I related the most to the Strength Roles of Advisor and Creator. However, according to the Standout assessment test, I fit the two top Strength Roles of Pioneer and Equalizer. In disbelief, I committed myself to read the entire report, including the piece about the ideal career advice that I should follow.
Below are my strengths roles by order of importance:
It turns out that:
- the StandOut assessment test is surprisingly accurate. The test report perfectly described my major personality traits. Throughout my education, training and career, I’ve been the one to jump on novelty and innovative projects.
- the StandOut assessment test has provided me with a positive twist on what I thought where personality flaws.
- the StandOut assessment test suggested career paths that I have already taken and am currently positioned at. It has equally confirmed to me that I am in the right career path but I stayed in the wrong workplace for the longest, which I figured out a few months before taking this test.
In conclusion, the StandOut assessment test will surprise you not only by challenging the ideas you have of your strengths but also by the accuracy of the results.
Favorite quote(s)
the StandOut assessment calculates your two leading strength roles, pinpoints what you can do to channel them, and describes your particular power when these top-two roles combine.
We each have specific areas where we consistently stand out, where we can do things, see things, understand things, and learn things better and faster than ten thousand other people can. When we find ourselves in these areas—our strengths “zone,” if you will—we are magnificent. Self-assured and flushed with success, we imagine we can do just about anything that we turn our minds to.
When you take a job that you never should have taken, when your boss doesn’t understand you, when your company downsizes you, or when you start to question whether you have anything of value to offer, the memory of your strengths will hold you in place, reorient you, and show you the way forward.
Ratings 3,5/5
Author
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Awesome! I could identify with at least 6 out of the 9 StandOut Strength Roles
Tanyi Melvis Bechemnyo, that’s great! Now, you have to identify your main strengths and how to employ them using the StandOut assessment test!
I believe everyone has their strength – they just have to figure out what it is 🙂 I definitely want to check out this book.
Thanks Robin Rue, I appreciate it!
This sounds like a cool test. I need to take it to find out my strong points
Hi momknowsbest15, the StandOut assessment test identifies your strengths and gives career advice accordingly. You should definitively try it! Thank you for commenting!
I would love to take the StandOut assessment test to find out about my personal strengths! I recently left my job to be a stay at home mom, but will eventually go back to the workforce and need to be prepared.
Being a stay at home mom has certainly equiped you with a new perspective and new strengths. Taking the StandOut assessment test is a great idea to identify them and know where you will fit in!
Thank you beckybestbites for commenting!
Finding out your strengths is a great way to be successful. This would be interesting to do.
Absolutely! finding your strengths helps in being more confident in every day life!
The assessment test is quick and easy! Thank you Stephanie Pass for commenting!
This post makes me so glad I don’t work in a corporate environment. This looks like a lot of effort. Fair play to those that do it
There are a lot of factors in place when working corporate. Some are natural at taking those factors into account, some aren’t and other are not made for corporate. That is why it is necessary to assess certain information about yourself and identify your strengths and weaknesses.
Otherwise, corporate is brutal!
Thank you curiousclaire16 for commenting!
Everyone of us has its own strength and weaknesses. It is our choice to either unlesh those strengths of just stay cool and lazy and not do anything.
Every single person on earth has their natural and unique strengths. Not pursuing the knowledge of your strengths is equivalent to not pursuing your purpose. Thank you Blair Villanueva for commenting!
Thanks for this post. Now I need to know what are my strengths and at the same time weaknesses. Will definitely try this test.
I’m glad to hear that! Thank you Anosa Malanga VA!
At first glance, I feel I am a combination of more than one strength role, specifically adviser, equalizer and influencer. I look forward to taking the test and learning more!
Hi Marcie, everyone is a combination of the 9 strength roles defined in StandOut 2.0. The assessment test suggests that you focus on your two strongest roles. I look forward to hearing your results!
Very interesting! I’m going to try this test and see where my strengths lie. I kind of just wing it as I go along, lol!
Sometimes, if you are intuitive and are able to assess your own abilities, you are already using your strengths to their fullest, by simply winging it! Thank you Elizabeth for commenting!
I have actually heard about this book. My upline in my business has suggested it as a read and it sounds really helpful.
It is really helpful, to understand who you are as a professional and if you have already assessed your strengths, it serves as a confidence booster. I’m encouraging you to take the test and I thank you for commenting!
This is such an awesome and motivating post! I love books like this, and I would definitely enjoy reading something like this!
Thank you jasminekeclipse! I appreciate the comment and encourage you to own a copy of StandOut!
I enjoy reading about and exploring things like this. By taking an assessment test and learning more about the strength roles, you can definitely discover aspects about yourself that you wouldn’t normally recognize or be able to pinpoint.
You are definitely a learner! I believe that we can never stop learning about ourselves and improving our strengths!
Thanks for this post!!! Identifying your strengths is extremely important, especially if you want to make a positive impact at your place of employment! I could not figure out how to take the test, but I suspect my results would reflect Pioneer or Provider.
Than, I guess you are good at innovating, starting businesses and taking care of clients!
Thanks for commenting!
Neat. I could identify with a few of them. Very interesting post. It was nice to read I do have strengths. But I guess we all do in some form.
We all were born with talents. It is our duty to fortify them, to transform them into strengths and to apply them in our every day lives! I hope that this post encouraged you to search for your strengths. Thank you Tammy A for commenting!
This is a great way to assess yourself and know your strengths. I think it’s awesome to be able to do this especially if you’re aiming towards a promotion.
Assessing your strengths is a great way to know whether or not you are able to handle a job promotion. Thank you Marceline Dementori for commenting!
These are the so strong points and they are really helpful to keep us strong and motivated. Love the post.
Thanks Shirley Warren, I appreciate it!
I work in a bookstore and this one is constantly requested. We are ordering it all the time because we can’t keep it stocked. It’s very build for team building and personal growth individuals. Nice choice for a review!
Thanks celticpixie22! I chose this book partly because at the end of the assessment test, people tend to remember their strength roles and then they start valuing them.
Looks like an interesting assessment test. It’s always good to learn more about your strengths and weaknesses.
Absolutely! Instead of limiting yourself to a comfort zone, assessing your strengths and weaknesses will allow you to stretch yourself and take more risks! Thank you for commenting!
I agree…finding your strengths leads you to a job that suits you better and that you love. It’s why I’ve been doing what I’m doing for over 30 years.
You are a living example of how finding your strengths (and weaknesses) lead to career success! Thank you Michelle Snow for commenting!
Very interesting. Since I’m a teacher and I do love my job I am curios if I would come out a teacher on this analysis.
Interesting! I wonder how accurate the test would be. Take the test and let me know!
Thank you for sharing this! Very motivational.
Thanks, I appreciate it!