“My gosh, that girl is just is never satisfied with doing it the way we’ve always done it! Change, change, change! That’s all she talks about!”
“That manager down in marketing has some pretty wild ideas! I don’t know why he can’t give us the data we need to get it done. He just wants us to jump right in and change things without any research? That’ll never fly!”
“My daughter is like a squirrel, darting from job to job. She can’t seem to stay in one place long enough — she gets bored, I guess. I wonder if she’ll ever settle down?”
Ideation: Never Without a New Idea
Strengths: Creative and Innovative
Have you got someone in your life who drives you crazy with their wild ideas coming out of nowhere? Maybe they just won’t leave well enough alone and are always disrupting the status quo? Or maybe they never can stick to the plan or the pattern or follow the steps exactly because they come up with some cockamamy scheme to do it differently. Or it could be they just toss out suggestions that are too outlandish to even consider — too risky, too costly, too challenging to the current operation. You may have stumbled upon someone with the StrengthsFinder talent theme of Ideation.
Ideation: Change Maker
Those strong in the talent theme of Ideation think outside of the box. In fact, they may be so far outside of the box that you wonder if they even know what’s important to the project. Their brains are popping out new ideas like popcorn overflowing from the movie theater popper. They dream about new possibilities, new improvements, new horizons. They pursue fresh, new ideas and often get a ZING and a THRILL when they connect the dots in ways that no one’s ever done before. They have no fear of the unknown. They are innovative and pioneering. Change does not scare them — in fact, they want change. They adapt and grow when they run into new things that they can sharpen into something a little brighter, a little bigger, a little better. They turn things around to look at them from every angle, bouncing from side to side to see if there’s anything new. Variety is like a spice that they sprinkle over their entire world.
Ideation: Great at Brainstorming.
It Needs to be Free-Flowing
My friend, Steven, is strong in the talent theme of Ideation. Nearly every night — right about the time he’s about to fall asleep — he has an idea pop into his mind. His eyes fly open and his brain fairly sizzles with a surge of energy. He might think for a few seconds about that and it may lead him to discover another connection, and then another. And soon, an hour has gone by and he hasn’t slept a wink.
Love Your Ideation Think Tank
The next time someone with the talent theme of Ideation bounces into your life with a great new idea, recognize that while THAT one may seem outrageous, they will likely be able to produce a couple of good ones if given the freedom to explore, free-flowing, without limitation. They have wonderful imaginations that are good in a brainstorming session or a mastermind group. Their bursts of create energy can stimulate a team into finding unique solutions that blow past existing paradigms. Let them share their ideas, crazy as they may seem. If they can talk them out, they often walk them out. Then, they either discard it quickly as irrelevant to the situation, or zigzag their way into another dozen that might bring about a solution.Regardless, they have a bunch of ideas that — with the right team supporting them — may just lead to something bigger or better than anyone else would have designed.
When working with someone with the Strength of Ideation, consider this: Where could you use a fresh look, a change or solution to an old problem?
Find all your Strengthsfinder resources at http://gallupstrengthscenter.com.
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