Manifested confidence.
Leaders, and colleagues, need to position people on work project teams effectively and efficiently to ensure work gets done and people stay engaged. A lot of leaders often spend too much time trying to guess where to put people because they don't have a point of reference.
What follows is a "scouting report" for those with Self-Assurance® talents, as identified via the CliftonStrengths assessment.
If you are a leader or a colleague of someone with these talents, consider how you can best position them in the context of your team and your projects. You can also use this as a discussion piece to find out how they see and use their Self-Assurance® talents.
Each person with Self-Assurance® talents operates differently. Make sure you're not missing out on their unique contribution.
Disclaimer: The following insights represent the author's opinions based on their understanding of the CliftonStrengths® themes. These are not statements created by or formally endorsed by Gallup®.
Scouting Report
Position: Hold the Line / Defender
Supreme confidence in their abilities to "hold the line" gives the rest of the team confidence to take chances that can make the entire team successful.
Contribution
Ways in which this team member can make a direct and immediate impact. Use these insights to consider where you place them on the team or in an organization.
Certainty of Judgement. Those with Self-Assurance® talents possess a very unique sense of "the right thing to do." Their decisions are steeped in their distinct perspective of the world. Their other talents will inform what that perspective is and how it might change, but it is a very specific set of filters that informs their actions and interactions. If you lead someone with these talents, consider positioning them in ways or places where they can help teams make decisions faster.
I believe; Team believes. Team members who possess Self-Assurance® talents likely carry an aura of confidence. They know who they are at their core, what they believe, and what actions are best. When their confidence extends beyond themselves, their team(s) can start to take on that same confidence and act with more decisive clarity. When the team knows that those with Self-Assurance® have their back, it can unleash another level of performance. Consider positioning these talented individuals on teams that need a confidence boost and/or on teams where these talented individuals can accelerate action simply by providing a confident presence that is reassuring to others.
Tendencies
Ways in which people with this theme might "overplay" their talents.
Cocky. When taken too far, those with Self-Assurance® talents can come off as cocky, or "too important" to be bothered with what they perceive as the "unimportant." When this mentality is expressed for too long, these talents may start to fragment the team as no one will want to work with them...and they likely won't want to work with anyone else. If you lead someone with Self-Assurance® talents, help them see their positive contributions, and remind them that the team is more important than their ego.
Inflexible. Certainty can be good, but if those with Self-Assurance® talents are presented with new, legitimate contradictory information and they refuse to even reconsider, it can hamper a team's ability to move forward together. Like a keel of a ship, Self-Assurance® talents can help stabilize a team, but it should never get so big that it generates drag that prevents a team from moving forward.
Talent Combos / Position Modification
Strategic®: "The Forward Thinking Defender" - Those with Strategic® talents can identify the best path forward from among a multitude of options. Those with Self-Assurance® tend to possess a "clarity of action." Taken together, those with this Strategic® + Self-Assurance® talent combo can help teams by providing confident guidance (and action) on moving forward. On the soccer pitch, Abby Dalhkemper is known for her hearty defense and her propensity for making key, confident, "long ball" passes from the backline all the way to the forwards. In the workplace, these talented individuals may help you make "gutsy" plays that truly move your team closer to their goals.
Developer®: "The Mentoring Defender" - Those with Developer® talents are keen to help others grow. Those with Self-Assurance® talents tend to be confident in their decisions. Those with this unique (and rare) blend of Developer® + Self-Assurance® are likely to be confident in identifying the potential in others...and then investing in growing that potential through carefully considered methods.
Game Film
Check out these videos from Gallup to learn more
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