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Columbia Bible College

"Strength Assessment and Integration"

A Reflection Paper

Alicia Kear
Sustainability
Jeremy Walker
November 11, 2015

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Psychologist Kurt Lewin is quoted saying "there is nothing more practical than a
good theory". While I have discovered this to be true in many contexts, from swimming
to sailing to teaching to communicating (and the list goes on), it is for the first time this
semester that I have considered so intentionally examining my own behaviours,
functions, and preferences in a way that I might be able to theorize about myself and in
turn apply those theories to produce results. The results would be that I am healthy in all
senses of the word, and that I might thrive in sustaining good leadership. I have examined
the results of three self assessments, the Strength Finders 2.0, the Birkman Assessment
and the Myers Briggs Type Assessment, and used them each as a lens in which to
examine my life through. By doing this, I have identified some themes and trends and
theorised some ways that I might act to promote my future sustainability in leadership. In
My discoveries include my preference and need for activity in direct connection with
things that I am talented at, which draw me towards people. As I do what I am good at, I
have a strong need for affirmation of my strengths and plenty of time and support for
reflection and processing.
When I first received my Birkman Assessment, I could not help but be drawn to
the areas that scored either quite high or quite low on the scale. Each score, no matter the
number, is significant and tells it's own story, but my highest and lowest scoring
categories were the first categories that I examined, with particularly insightful "aha"
moments coming from my observation of the "Activity" category. I scored a 93 of 100.
(Birkman). Broadly this explains my desire to pursue things like being active in the
freedom of the outdoors, my need for lots of physical activity and exercise, and my desire
to work in the action packed atmosphere of the busier of the two pools that I am

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employed at, during the busiest times of day. Before speaking to how my high activity
score connects to my workplace, I would like to draw some connections to how being
active in the outdoors can fuel me in a way meets some other needs that have surfaced in
my self analysis. Also in my Birkman assessment, my score for "Acceptance", which is
describing how I generally relate to people in groups, is extremely high, at 92. This
means that I find myself socially at ease in large groups of people (Birkman). My Myers
Briggs preference indicator supports this, calling me "Extroverted", meaning I focus more
on the "outer world of people, and things" (Kirby). Interestingly, although this is true, my
"Acceptance" scale assessment of my needs reveals that I need far more one on one and
individual reflection time than I might typically give myself (Birkman). Supporting this is
my Strengths Finder assessment, which has called "Relator" as one of my top five
strengths. In it's description it highlights my need and desire for individual close
relationships with people (Rath). These reports have given me the data that supports
suspicions of my needs that I began to address more directly last spring. I was able to
combine my need for activity with my need for reflection and for close relationship. I
borrowed a canoe for the season from a friend, and went paddling weekly, inviting one
other person at a time, giving me a chance to simultaneously meet my needs of activity,
processing and reflection, and building relationship. This semester I have been meeting
each of these needs in different ways, but I have been less disciplined at spending
intentional time outside. I have now made a commitment to myself to do something
simple yet active outside at least once a week, and when this heavily school focused
semester is over, I be able to adopt my practice of one on one adventures once again.
Looking further down the road, I might need to again adjust my approach to meeting

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these needs, but my awareness of my needs and what it feels like when they are being
met will mean that I can create some effective solutions.
As mentioned, my high activity score has also explained my desire to work at the
busier of the two pools. My high acceptance score explains the ease in which I find
myself working with the larger amounts of staff. These tendencies combined with some
of my other themes are worth examining, as they provide me with great life and also have
related dangers to avoid in order for me to remain healthy and sustainable. My Strengths
Finder 2.0 assessment claims my number one strength is a "maximizer." A "maximizer"
strives to promote excellence by uncovering and utilizing the strengths of those around
them, using their optimism and enthusiasm to excite people to move into action (Rath).
My Myers Briggs describes my type as "action oriented and strategic". And my Birkman
report has some insights under the "Challenge" section that talk about how I view myself,
speaking to the fact that my positive self image allows me to be at ease and charming
with people. These three elements all compliment each other well. As I gravitate towards
environments with more people, there is greater opportunity to influence others, which is
where my "Maximizer" talent can be utilized easily. This "Maximizer" strength is
leveraged well because of my ability to be at ease with others. My orientation towards
strategy and action means that I will work to create the means to propel myself and others
to the level of excellence that my "Maximizer" believes that is possible (Kirby). With
these strengths there are dangers that I must be aware of if I want these traits to continue
to reveal themselves as strengths. My ability to be at ease and charming with people,
according to Birkman's assessment of my needs, depends on the amount of time that I am
able to invest into things that I am good at. If I do not give myself that time, my positive

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self image decreases, and therefore will no longer be positively contributing to my ability
to function as a "Maximizer". The cool part of this discovery is that if I am, indeed, good
at maximizing people's strengths, and am able to measure the progress that is made
because of this influence, I will be fuelled by seeing my direct hand in doing something
I'm good at, which will then in turn continue to fuel a trait that allows the job to be done
better. And so the measurement of a person's progress is the key factor in being able to
practice this theory. I must create ways to measure progress in how people are moving
towards excellence. My "learner" strength suggestions for action include the idea to
create learning milestones for myself and others to track progress (Rath). And so the
practice of recording progress will not only serve to filling my "Challenge" need, but will
help utilize my strengths as both "Maximizer" and "Learner". Because of the life that I
derive from practicing these strengths, which is amplified by my deep desire to help
people know and realize their value, it will be extremely important that I situate myself in
a context that really allows me to use these strengths freely moving forward, or I will be
on track to burn out very quickly.
My Myers Briggs preferences fully support the idea that without a place for me to
practice my gifts and talents, or if I am in an environment where they are not appreciated,
there is negative result, which comes in the form of becoming critical and abrasive
(Kirby). I have discovered that I most typically project this criticism onto myself. The
assessment also states that in stress, which could be triggered when I'm unsupported, I
withdraw and might not able to properly express my emotions. While I usually don't have
a problem identifying emotions, it is certainly true that my tendency is to try to figure
myself out alone, or hope that with enough time in my own head the need to address

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emotions with others will just disappear. There is an interesting connection between this
and the "empathy" scale of my Birkman Assessment, which scored a 92 in my needs
category. This means that although I have a balanced involvement between emotions and
facts in output, I have en extremely high need for others to be sensitive to my feelings,
and need to have room to work out my emotional response (Birkman). So if I feel
unsupported, I'll withdraw and become self critical. Considering my extremely high need
for emotional support, I need to build some intentional methods into my like to address
this need for emotional processing, in order to remain sustainable. Ideally I will be able to
avoid being critical of myself in the first place. If I can quickly identify the circumstances
in which I feel unsupported or stifled, I will be able to re-direct my thoughts to be lifegiving and opportunity focused. This is something that I have been practicing with
Anna's coaching in our Emerging Leadership class. By reading my own energy and being
more intentionally in tune with my responses to situations and circumstance, I will be
able to identify when I am wrongfully leaning into critical thought patterns and instead
lean into God, who is the one I need to give power over my identity (rather than giving
the power to my abilities). If I continue with my daily practice, this change is very likely
to become a sustained habit. Historically, I have waited until I feel like I am drowning
emotionally before getting someone to help me process properly. My desire to "figure it
out alone" is strong. What I am now realizing is that as soon as I hear my mind say "you
can figure this out; this will disappear" is when I need to look outward for emotional
processing support. As I consider who I will look to, and what that will look like, I find
myself wondering what the return on investment would be if I sought out this support
regularly regardless of what is happening for me emotionally. Or, is my sustainability

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still uncompromised if I am able to fine tune my attentiveness to my needs and respond
by seeking support only when I recognize these warning thoughts?
With "Learner" as one of the strengths that my Strengths Finder 2.0 identified,
describing me as someone with "a great desire to learn and want to continuously
improve", it has made sense that this semester has been extremely rewarding and
energizing to be so stimulated with so much material that I am interested in, especially
when it comes to learning about myself. Although the discoveries that I have discussed
are not totally foreign, (self discovery is something that I have always approached with
intentionality), it has been with great joy that I have been able to make more concise
connections and discoveries. I have discovered pointedly that in order to contribute to my
sustainability I must perform at a high activity level while exercising my strengths freely
in a setting where I will receive recognition for my strengths. If I do not give myself time
to process and reflect well in the midst of my activity, especially when my needs are not
met, I will be headed down a road that leads to a place called "burnout". By identifying
risks and then practicing the methods prevention that I have theorised to work to promote
personal sustainability, I will be more likely to find myself skipping down the path that
leads to a better health than I have ever had before.

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Works Cited
Birkman, R. W., Elizondo, F., Lee, L. G., Wadlington, P. L., & Zamzow, M. W. The
Birkman Method Manual. Houston, TX: Birkman International, Inc., 2008.
Kirby, Linda K., and Nancy J. Barger. MBTI: Practitioner's Field Guide. Mountain
View, CA: CPP, 2011. N. pag. Print.
Rath, Tom. Strengths Finder 2.0. New York, NY: Gallup Press, 2007.