Tuesday, January 3, 2012

New year, new assessment

This past Christmas I took Marcus Buckingham's "Standout" assessment which out of 9 roles:
  • Advisor - You are a practical, concrete thinker who is at your most powerful when reacting to and solving other people's problems.
  • Connector - You are a catalyst. Your power lies in your craving to put two things together to make something bigger than it is now.
  • Creator - You make sense of the world, pulling it apart, seeing a better configuration, and creating it.
  • Equalizer - You are a level-headed person whose power comes from keeping the world in balance, ethically and practically.
  • Influencer - You engage people directly and convince them to act. Your power is your persuasion.
  • Pioneer - You see the world as a friendly place where, around every corner, good things will happen. Your distinctive power starts with your optimism in the face of uncertainty.
  • Provider - You sense other people's feelings and you feel compelled to recognize these feelings, give them a voice and act on them.
  • Stimulator - You are the host of other people's emotions. You feel responsible for them, for turning them around, for elevating them.
  • Teacher - You are thrilled by the potential you see in each person. Your
    power comes from learning how to unleash it.

My order of results:

PIONEER
TEACHER
CREATOR
ADVISOR
PROVIDER
INFLUENCER
EQUALIZER
CONNECTOR
STIMULATOR

In the results there was this bit about my ideal career:

You bet on talent. You are adventurous with people. "Throw them in the deep end," you think to yourself. Not that you are callous. It's more that you believe in action-learning. "Try it and see what you figure out." And if people fail, you give them another chance. You're the kind of person whose faith in others does not erode if they struggle. Rather, your faith in them persists, even grows, in the face of failure--the more they've failed, you think to yourself, the more experience they have, and so, since experience is the best teacher, the more valuable they are. Therefore, you will excel in any sort of training role, so long as you are out of the classroom--on-the-job training is what you will specialize in. If you are actually in the classroom teaching children, make sure you are in a school system that allows you to challenge your students with concepts, subjects and projects that are, technically, above their grade level; and one that allows you to tailor your style to the unique needs of each student. In medicine, you will be the specialist who teaches other specialists about new techniques. In research, you are the scientist who will want to share the import of new discoveries with your peers. Wherever you are, you will excel in a role where sharing knowledge is power.

I'm still digesting some of the other notes in my results but it is its own interesting lens to view myself. At the same time, I would like to be more precise about my genius.