Intrigued by the unique qualities of each person
You are impatient with generalizations or “types” because you don’t want to obscure what is special and distinct about each person.
You instinctively observe each person’s style, each person’s motivation, how each thinks and how each builds relationships.
This theme explains why you pick your friends just the right birthday gift, why you know that one person prefers praise in public and another detests it, and why you tailor your teaching style to accommodate one person’s need to be shown and another’s desire to “figure it out as I go.” Because you are such a keen observer of other people’s strengths, you can draw out the best in each person. This Individualization theme also helps you build productive teams. While some search for the perfect team “structure” or “process,” you know instinctively that the secret to great teams is casting by individual strengths so that everyone can do a lot of what they do well.
When Individualization is mature it lends itself beautifully to great management. Those leaders with high Individualization understand that the secret to great teams is not replicating the same person over and over again, it is not replicating yourself, it is hiring by individual strengths so that everyone can do a lot more of what they do well. It can also be the gift of being a great gift giver. It is the ability to personalize and customize.
Individualization can be incredibly strategic and critical. It is about sensing what is different, special and unique about people, but it can also tell how others will work well together. People strong with Individualization are in-tuned to the variance and possibilities that anything can change when humans are thrown into the mix.
Help be that lens that helps others see everyone’s uniqueness as well. Study how you best personalize your approach to everybody so that you really can improve the depth of understanding that you have in relationships. Think not just about understanding what makes a person tick, but knowing what makes them connect.
Theme Thursday Podcast brings thought leaders to deep dive on each StrengthsFinder theme.
The time invested is worth it - learn about Individualization with a leader lens.
BALCONIES
When Individualization is soaring...
Sees the uniqueness in all individuals
Intuitively knows that “one size doesn't fit all"
Appreciates the differences in others
As a Leader with Individualization you can verbalize that need for patience and understanding. Help the rest of the team really value each other with not just what they bring to the table, but what they really need for their gifts to thrive.
BASEMENTS
When Individualization is on over-drive...
Unable to synthesize when it comes to people
Has difficulty placing group above individual
Difficulty in making people decisions
A leader with Individualization...
Builds trust by realizing you can very quickly start a relationship. That first initial brush will already be personalized, and so how can you go deeper?
Shows compassion by appreciating difference, and realizing that appreciating difference internally is not the same as understanding on a personal level. In order to build compassion you have to take that sense that you have and be able to show it to other people. Help others see the uniqueness surrounding them.
Build stability by making that curiosity that you have about other people a habit. A leader can inspire hope by expressing the business case for collaborative inclusiveness. Individualization appreciates that differences matter.
Shows hope by helping people understand the value of diversity and difference, but also the specificity of the difference in front of you. Help people see the value of not only others, but of themselves. Reflect back to them what their greatest talents are, and make it a habit to do so.
