Strengths...Skills...?

Strengths:

- Harmony
- Individualization
- Deliberative
- Intellection
- Empathy

Last quarter...not really sure which one I employed to any great effect. 60% of my strengths don't make any sense; I think about things a lot (often times, too much), so that explains deliberative and intellection. But the other three are relationship things that I rarely find myself involved in. I have a sneaking suspicion that StrengthsQuest is just messing with me by pulling those last three characteristics out of a random generator. I want a redo.

If I had to pick one I would probably go with deliberative; off the top of my head, it's the only one I can remember a specific instance of using it. The big thing I was trying to make happen was to get some t-shirts made. I contacted a bunch of places and got some quotes and finally settled on one company. Everything was in place except funding; we'd collected only enough money to fund a third of our intended order. Obviously we couldn't use money we didn't have. There was also the time constraint of the project - if we didn't the order the shirts early enough, there would be no time for them to make an impact. It came down to either not purchasing the shirts, or purchasing a smaller batch. After thinking through the angles of the situation and collecting input and advice, the decision was made to forgo the shirts.

It was an effective decision because the point in time at which the order was to be placed, as well as the financial situation, would have resulted in an above-average possibility that the shirts would be more trouble than they were worth. Choosing not to purchase the shirts was both fiscally responsible and saved the team a potential headache (on top of our other headaches).

Thinking of skills always reminds me of Napoleon Dynamite. You've gotta have great skills.

My skills...Well. I'm pro at sleeping. Not in the typical places, mind you, like airplanes or school buses. I'm talking about in locations I can actually fit, i.e. stretch out, I'm good to go and not likely to wake up for anything short of a tornado. Eating. I finished the Thurmanator, you can ask my mom; and that was after four or five of Thurman's full-sized chicken wings. On the "Online Ferrari Community" (weird), someone clocked the Thurmanator at 3600 calories, 2100 of which were from fat. That leads me into my next thing, I don't know if I'd call it a "skill" so much as a "preference" or something, but I'm kind of a numbers guy. Also, logical. I tend toward thinking situations and actions through carefully, sometimes to an unnecessary extent. Oh well. I like to think, though, that I can consider the multiple points of view associated with a given situation. I do have opinions, some more firmly rooted than others, but I am open to considering other perspectives. Caveat (going along with my foundation in logic) - it needs to be a solid argument, and I have to understand the reasoning.

I realize that the previous paragraph was less a list of skills and more of an "about me" type-thing. I was hoping if I typed enough that things would just appear to answer the question, "What are my skills?", but I'm not sure that happened. I am my own worst critic, as they say. If anyone has observed any particular skills that I possess - like being tall, or having an uncommon (yet quite alluring) hair color - feel free to let me know.

As far as the "skills" are related to the challenge, these are my thoughts:  I recall the presentation at orientation about perfecting strengths as opposed to developing weaknesses; however, I think there are certain essential skills, let's call them competencies, that one must be at least proficient in to be successful. Learning and developing accompany experience.

I wouldn't call my relationship/interpersonal savvy "weak"; apparently neither would StrengthsQuest. Nonetheless, the thought I put into what I would like to do in planning this conference culminated in building relationships. An important part of this conference is the relationships we create with the community, the alumni, businesses, students, etc., so I see no shortage of need for the role of this kind of communicator.