Strengthsquest My Five Strengths English Language Essay

StrengthsQuest is an activity that people can do to find out the five major qualities that they posses. This process includes taking a test that requires you to answer questions like, “Would you rather…or…? And I am more likely to…than…” Answering these questions gives the StrengthsQuest program information to determine what a person’s top five themes are and also provides you with a description of each of the characteristics. Some possible “products” of finding out your strengths might include higher levels of engagement in the learning process, learning to take the perspective of others who are very different from oneself, higher levels of academic achievement, ability to make an informed career choice, or the development of leadership (Schreiner). I agree with Schreiner because once a person knows what their strengths are and what they could possibly do with the rest of their lives, they could really get started on a successful path. Another point that she mentioned was that by using this tool, it could help a person to make an informed career decision. This is a very good point because students with an undecided major may need just a little input about what would be right for them, and by doing the StrengthsQuest test they could find what they are really good at and what career pathway would work best for their personality. When I took this SrengthsQuest test, I was very pleased with the results that I received. My five themes turned out to be includer, restorative, communication, woo, and empathy. In the future, I want to become a dental hygienist and I believe that my five strengths are going to help me be very successful in my career choice.

Themes

Includer. By the definition of StrengthsQuest, being an includer means, “Stretch the circle wider.” This is the philosophy around which you orient your life. You want to include people and make them feel part of the group. In direct contrast to those who are drawn only to exclusive groups, you actively avoid those groups that exclude others. You want to expand the group so that as many people as possible can benefit from its support. You hate the sight of someone on the outside looking in, you want to draw them in so that they can feel the warmth of the group. You are an instinctively accepting person. Regardless of race or sex or nationality or personality or faith, you cast few judgments. Judgments can hurt a person’s feelings. Why do that if you don’t have to? Your accepting nature does not necessarily rest on a belief that each of us is different and that one should respect these differences. Rather, it rests on your conviction that fundamentally we are all the same. We are all equally important. Thus, no one should be ignored. Each of us should be included (StrenthsQuest). This description of an includer sounds like the kind of person I am. I am always willing to let other people in on what is going on in my life and I feel like this is an important attribute for being a dental hygienist. Dental hygienists need to have an interest in working with people and working as a member of a team (alis.alberta.ca, 2007). For example, if you find that there is something seriously wrong with a child’s tooth or mouth when you are working on them, it is important for the dental hygienist to be able to include the guardian of the child and your boss with what is going on. The best option is to include the people around you to find out what is best to do in a situation like this. If you are a person who does not like to include people with what is going on around you, and would rather try to fix it yourself, you could get yourself into trouble by not attempting the right procedure to fix the problem with the child’s mouth. This could cost you your job, so you need to include your boss to receive a second opinion. Being an includer as helped me in the past by always bringing in new faces to my group of friends. By doing this, I have always had a new perspective on what people think or feel. This has helped me bring new ideas to the table, which has made me realize what I really stand for. This has also helped me make sure I am doing the right thing by getting other people’s advice to see what I should do in a serious situation, like I will in my career pathway. If something is needing to be done that is serious enough to hurt my patient’s health, or my career, I will always ask the patient, patient’s guardian, or my boss. I feel like I recieved my includer trait from my mother. She always told me to never leave anyone out, and in the long run it is paying off.

Restorative. This was my second result from StrengthsQuest. According to StrenghtsQuest restorative means, you love to solve problems. Whereas some are dismayed when they ecounter yet another breakdown, you can be energized by it. You enjoy the challenge of analyzing the symptoms, identifying what is wrong, and finding the solution. You may prefer practical problems or conceptual ones or personal ones. You may seek out specific kinds of problems that you have met many times before and that you are confident you can fix. Or you may feel the greatest push when faced with complex and unfamiliar problems. Your exact preferences are determined by your other themes and experiences. But what is certain is that you enjoy bringing things back to life. It is a wonderful feeling to identify the undermining factors, eradicate them, and restore something to its true glory. Intuitively, you know that without your intervention, this machine, this technique, this person, this company-might have ceased to function. You fixed it, resuscitated it, rekindled its vitality. Phrasing it the way you might, you saved it (StrengthsQuest). I would consider myself a restorative because I have never enjoyed conflict. Whenever I see someone or a group of friends fighting, I always love to resolve the problem by talking it out with both sides of the situation. Dental hygienists also need to have the ability to work with people (mhcc.edu, 2010). With my ability to work with people and solve their problems, I can resolve problems in the office. If a fellow employee is discussing some issues that they are having with someone in the office, I will feel like it is my duty to resolve the problems that they are having. I know that other people may think that it is none of my business, but I like to resolve problems. I will feel like I have to solve the issue in order to work in a peaceful working environment. Being a restorative has helped me in the past by almost never having conflict in my group of friends and making my life more positive. I remember I was always being the one to resolve the problems, and I feel like this has helped me out in my past by always having a positive feeling around me so I could concentrate on what I really wanted to achieve. The source for me being a restorative would be myself. I have always felt the need to never have negativity around me so I would always make the initiative to resolve problems.

Communication. My number three strength is communication. According to strengthsquest, this is what it means. You like to explain, to describe, to host, to speak in public, and to write. This is your communication theme at work. Ideas are a dry beginning. Events are static. You feel a need to bring them to life, to energize them, to make them exciting and vivid. And so you turn events into stories and practice telling them you take the dry idea and enliven it with images and examples and metaphors. You believe that most people have a very short attention span. They are bombarded by information, but very little of it survives. You want your information-whether an idea, an event, a product’s features and benefits, a discovery, or a lesson-to survive. You want to divert their attention toward you and then capture it, lock it in. this is what drives your hunt for the perfect phrase. This is what draws you toward dramatic words and powerful word combinations. This is why people like to listen to you. Your word pictures pique their interest, sharpen their world, and inspire them to act (StrengthsQuest). Communication has always been the key in my life. I have always believed that the best way to work things out is to talk it out. Communication is going to be a positive attribute when I am a dental hygienist. Excellent verbal and non-verbal communication skills are required for being a dental hygienist (alis.alberta.ca). I am going to need to be able to talk to my boss, co-workers, and my patients. Not only am I going to have to talk to them, but I am going to need to be on their level of communication, and my strength in communication will make me very successful in this category. As a dental hygienist, you should possess strong interpersonal skills because you will be working with patients on a consistent basis (dhschools.com). Communication has helped me get through every aspect in my life. Through my good communication skills, I could always ask people questions if I didn’t know the correct one, I could get on a person’s level and become better friends with them, and I always got along with my parents because I would always tell them what was really going on in my head. Like being an includer, my mom also has also always taught me to communicate with the people around me so there is less unknown and more known. Communication will be my key to success in my dental hygiene career.

Woo. Woo is my fourth outcome of my StrengthsQuest test. Woo stands for winning others over. You enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like you. Strangers are rarely intimidating to you. On the contrary, strangers can be energizing. You are drawn to them. You want to learn their names, ask them questions, and find some area of common interest so that you can strike up a conversation and build rapport. Not only are you rarely at a loss for words; you actually enjoy initiating with strangers because you derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection. Once that connection is made, you are quite happy to wrap it up and move on. There are new people to meet, new rooms to work, new crowds to mingle in. in your world there are no strangers, only friends you haven’t meet yet-lots of them (StrengthsQuest). Woo is an important attribute to posses in a field that I chose. It is important to make sure that people like you at your job, from your boss to your patients. If you are rude to the people you are around at your job, you could bring down the business of the place because people do not like to be around rude people. Wanting to be liked is a very good quality to have if you desire to become a dental hygienist. With the attribute of wanting to get to know people and more about them, you could really create great relationships with your patients. By doing this, your patients could tell their friends or family about how friendly and comfortable you have made them, and that could bring more business to the office. I have always enjoyed meeting new people and getting them to like me, and I feel this will be a very positive trait for me to have for my future.

Empathy. My last result is empathy. Empathy is…you can sense the emotions of those around you. You can feel what they are feeling as though their feelings are your own. Intuitively, you are able to see the world through their eyes and share their perspective. You do not necessarily agree with each person’s perspective. You do not necessarily condone the choices each person makes, but you do understand. This instinctive ability to understand is powerful. You hear the unvoiced questions. You anticipate the need. Where others grapple for words, you seem to find the right words and the right tone. You help people find the right phrases to express their feelings-to themselves as well to others. You help them give voice to their emotional life. For all these reasons, other people are drawn to you (StrengthsQuest). Empathy is a positive characteristic to have when dealing with patients who might be nervous or scared about coming to the dentist. A dental hygienist should also be caring and compassionate, as well as hard working (dhschools.com). By being able to put yourself in their shoes, you can understand why your patient might be scared, and try to make them understand the process. This might make them less afraid. I consider myself to be very caring and understanding when people talk to me about their problems, and when this happens in my career I feel like I can be successful in making my patients feel more comfortable with going to the dentist office.

Conclusion

StrenghtsQuest is a great way for people to find out what their strengths are. Sometimes people do not realize what strong qualities that they possess, so just pointing them out can have a great affect on them. Some positive outcomes include higher levels of engagement in the learning process, learning to take the perspective of others who are very different from oneself, higher levels of academic achievement, ability to make an informed career choice, or the development of leadership (Schreiner). Strengthsquest has narrowed my top five strengths to be includer, restorative, communication, woo, and empathy. All of these characteristics have helped me in a positive way throughout my life so far and I believe that all of these attributes will have a positive influence on my career as being a dental hygienist, also.