What a concept Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath has! Let’s change our way of thinking, the American way of thinking, into something more productive and less degrading. Let’s focus on maximizing our natural strengths rather than devoting hours/days/weeks of our lives trying to improve our weaknesses. I read this book and took this test as a team building exercise at work but I highly recommend this book for everyone in the world, not just the work world. Use this knowledge to help build relationships with your significant other and coworkers, even parents and children (if they can understand the questions).
This book helps you understand what makes you and those around you “tick.” In a short 30 minutes you can find your top five strengths, then learn how to maximize them, and how to work with others with different strengths. After the test you will look at the description of your strengths and think “wow, how can they know me so well?!” You can purchase an e-book and access code for $15 at this link. It is a quick easy read, I finished it over my lunch break and took the test the next morning, and the results are quite literally life changing.
This may not seem like the most natural North Coast Mamas post, but I believe it would be wildly beneficial to parents supporting their children’s natural growth. Imagine what your child could achieve if you nurtured their strengths sooner than later, rather than trying to improve their weaknesses? Of course you want a well balanced set of skills, but if you could focus in on five things that you were naturally good at, and you knew these at a young age, why couldn’t you be a significant influence on your world? I see no reason why not. My only regret in adding this to my reading list is not finding this resource sooner in my life!
Highly recommended, 5 stars! I feel this book would be exceptionally beneficial for those feeling stuck at work, unsure about where to look for a job after college, where to focus in school, where to focus your child’s curiosity, or if you just can’t grasp why your spouse responds to things the way they do.
Important to note: This may not be appropriate for young children that have not developed a vocabulary wide enough to understand the questions (I would recommend no earlier than middle school) and there are only 20 seconds to answer each question (so that you answer with what first comes to mind, or what feels right for you, rather than trying to answer with what you think would render you the best results, which would defeat the point of the exercise) so it would be very challenging to try to translate into simpler language for children. HOWEVER, I have suggested developing a children’s version of the test to the writer.
I love this book! I took the test as part of a team building exercise at work and it has definitely helped me in all facets of life. My strengths are Communication, WOO, Adaptability, Positivity, and Activator. WOO definitely explains why I want to meet everyone and make them my friends! And knowing that I’m an activator has taught me that starting is easy for me, but it means I really need to focus on the end game.