"Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are."

- Malcolm Forbes

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

- Aristotle

StrengthsQuest is an online assessment that lends a deeper understanding of one's self. I found it highly helpful. It lists one's top 5 strengths, which is an asset when building teams.

My Strengths

Achiever- explains my drive. Basically everyday starts at 0.

                   -Weakness: I can sometimes push myself too hard, setting the bar too high on some occasions.

Focused- 'where am I headed?'... this is an everyday question, keeps me keeping on.

                -Weakness: I sometimes get irritated at distractions or when my concentration is broken. Also, sometimes I can become "too close" to a project.

Futuristic- I'm a dreamer, the future keeps pulling me towards tomorrow. I have the ability to 'paint' this for others as well, if I hone those skills.

                -Weakness: Occasionally it can be hard to stay in the here and now when you're trying to paint such a picture for the future and can see it so clearly. 

Restorative- It's very satisfying bringing something back to life. To know that you helped a life, to be better, to lift it up is incredible.

                -Weakness: Sometimes I'll want to over invest into a project or a person, trying to help lift them or it up. It needs to be a good balance of a project or person being able to stand on          their own, instead of me doing all the work. I've gotten better at this weakness side; at balancing and being able to set limits. 

Responsible- psychological ownership; it could be sweeping the floor, it would be a spotless floor. It's my good name and I'll get the job done.

                -Weakness: This ties into the Achiever and Focused strength. Sometimes I can be a little too OCD or particular on a project that may not need that much attention; leading to slightly inefficient. It will be a beautiful end product however. 

Team Selection

Knowledge of your strengths and others is highly important when formulating and selecting team mates. It could mean the difference between a good, and a great team. Efficiency is increased when team mates are paired with their strengths and weaknesses being a complimenting factor. Fortune 500 companies employ these tactics. For example, let's say I'm working on crafting a company's strategic area's for 5 years out. It would be a good idea to find a fellow associate that was excellent at staying in the here and now. To make sure the strategy got formulated on time and to correlate with the company's values. It's a balance, complimentary, a ying and yang if you will.

The same example could be used for the President in selecting his cabinet. He should select the top professionals in their industries, particularly the areas that he knows nothing about.  

The same is similar in personal relationships, the best fit is to find one's that have the same strong foundation and values as you, but has complimentary strengths to your weaknesses. 

Type of Learner

It's important to know what type of learner you are and what others are as well. I'm a multi-type learner:

Auditory-hearing information

Visual-seeing it, reading it, or physically writing it down 

Kinesthetic-trying it myself, taking notes, applying procedures

Click the attachment below to find out what type learner you are.