StrengthsFinder Assessment Results 

The top five themes revealed from the StrengthsFinder assessments are as follows: command, achiever, strategic, relator and belief. The first theme presented is command. The command theme talks about having a strong presence, being bold, assertive, and self-reliant. The second theme is achiever. The achiever theme discusses my drive, need to achieve, and stamina to power through projects. The third theme is strategic which explains my appreciation for straightforward, candid, concise conversations, and the ability to find multiple solutions or angles to a problem. The fourth theme is relator which describes my attitudes toward relationships. The relator theme speaks about appreciating small, intimate, genuine relationships with lots of depth. Lastly, the fifth theme is belief reveals that I operate off my core values; family oriented, altruistic, spiritual, and ethical. 

Core Values 

Two core beliefs that I operate and live by is God/family first and honesty second. God and family is my center and foundation My spiritual beliefs and family keep me grounded and remind me that my life is not just mine, humankind is all part of one big picture, and in some way all the decisions we make as individuals affect one another. Secondly, having integrity is important. According to (2020) integrity is the foundation of leadership, a crucial characteristic of a nurse leader, and needed to sustain lasting organizational value extending beyond bottom-line success. Being honest with myself and others is my catalyst for change, provides opportunities for growth for myself and others, and allows me to be transparent about my needs and the needs of others. The theme belief is fully accurate and representative of who I am and how I function in life, and I work to strengthen those values daily. 

Strengths  

The strengths I possess, authenticity and solution oriented, I believe derive from my relator, achiever, and believer theme. I am genuinely me every day. I do not pretend to be anyone else but myself. I love who I am and what I offer to the world. I genuinely try to get to know people and understand what is important to them and support their dreams. Secondly, I am solution oriented. Every obstacle, problem or issue has a solution, you just need to find it, and I am dedicated to finding that solution. It is a pet peeve of mine that people complain but do not try to think of solutions. According to Broome and Marshall (2022) transformational leaders look at old problems in new ways by being fearless and taking risks to find solutions (p. 17). I would like to strengthen these two strengths because when you have authentic relationships with people, you care about them, and it is easier to create solutions with people when you understand who they are and their intentions. 

Characteristics 

Being assertive and caring are characteristics that I possess that are a double edge sword. I am assertive with needed especially when setting boundaries and resolving conflicts. However, people admire my assertiveness when it is beneficial to them. On the other hand, people can perceive my assertiveness as being mean or bossy. In research from Hu et al. (2019) reveals that extraversion, a broad trait encompassing dominance, assertiveness, warmth, and outspokenness, has been identified as the strongest and most consistent antecedent of leadership emergence among leadership development and team effectiveness in the absence of formal leadership. So, strengthening my command theme is finding a way to continue to be assertive in a way that is not perceived as being confrontational or dismissive. Caring for people is also a double-edged sword. I naturally care about most people and want to be of assistance to help them reach their dreams. However, people can take my kindness as a weakness and get used by people that are not genuine. I would like to better discern when to intervene and when to be a cheerleader on the side lines. 

References 

Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2020). Transformational Leadership in Nursing: From Expert Clinician to Influential Leader (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.  

Hu, J., Zhang, Z., Jiang, K., & Chen, W. (2019). Getting ahead, getting along, and getting prosocial: Examining extraversion facets, peer reactions, and leadership emergence. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(11), 13691386.  

Hughes, V. (2018). Authentic Leadership. Journal of Christian Nursing, 35(2), E28E31.