Everybody has blind spots — places they cannot see when they’re driving. When we’re learning to drive, we’re taught how to maneuver these blind spots by looking through the rearview and side mirrors. Sometimes, we find ourselves moving our bodies or turning our heads slightly so we can see just a little better — anything to avoid missing something and wrecking, eh?
The StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment is a powerful tool that helps you determine your top talent themes. Based on your responses, your own personal patterns of behaviors, thoughts and feelings are revealed which tell a lot about where you are naturally gifted and where you will be most happy, productive and engaged in all areas of your life.
And when your strongest talents are revealed, so then are your lesser talents. These are the areas in which you are NOT naturally gifted, and to use them becomes an opportunity for struggle and frustration. You’re so low in these areas that you are not capable of even understanding these areas of low giftedness, except through the eyes of academics. You can learn about them, know how they operate, but you can never really have a clear experience of them working with excellence because they are just not a part of you.
We avoid blind spots when we’re driving.
Dominant Strengths are Your Windshield
It’s almost as if your dominant talents are like the front windshield of your car. Imagine, if you will, that your strongest talent themes are the tempered glass through which you look through when you drive as you are out and about throughout your day. You see clearly what’s in front of you and you can maneuver to where you want to go efficiently and safely.
Now consider that your lesser talents in relationship to your greater ones are like the rear view mirror in the vehicle. Through the rear view mirror, you can see what’s behind you to a great degree. But if you didn’t have that mirror in your car, you’d never be able to see behind you — it’s completely in your blind spot. In fact, you are so blind to what’s behind you, you even need side-view mirrors.
Side mirrors can help you see through blind spots.
Avoid Blind Spots
That rear view mirror can be likened to all the people you know who are different than you; who are talented in areas in which you are not. The only way to understand them is if they are sharing their perspective with you. In a sense, they become your rear view mirror. You can’t see them clearly, as you can looking through your windshield. You can only get an image of them through those who share their own unique perspective with you. Curiosity and questions are the path to seeing clearly and avoiding wrecking relationships!
What talents do you see through your windshield? And which ones do you need the help of the rearview mirror?
For more information about StrengthsFinder, visit the Gallup Strengths Center.
And join us in The Very Best YOU group on Facebook! We’re people like you learning to develop our talents into strengths!
Latest posts by Rhonda Knight Boyle (see all)
- Strengths Activation Show 60 – Guests Sakira Baez and Dr. Shauna T Sobers - April 5, 2019
- Develop Your Empathy Talent - November 23, 2018
- Develop Your Adaptability Talent - November 20, 2018