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# Book review: Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0

Courtesy review by Sara Gorham

**Editor's Note: March is National Reading Month. Everyday reading increases knowledge and develops personal and professional skills. Throughout the month, DLA Disposition Services Pathways to Career Excellence program participants are sharing insights from books* they recently finished. **

****No official Defense Department endorsement implied*.**                book cover 3                            Book cover 3                            book cover 3            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: jeff landenbergerVIRIN: 240226-D-DO441-0003

For National Reading Month, I recommend Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0 from Gallup. This book provided insight into my top personal strengths, helping me to become more aware of how I approach my daily work and interact with those around me both professionally and personally.

Often, we are tasked with improving our weaknesses, which can be defeating and overwhelming to consistently hear criticism over praise. The approach from StrengthsFinder is refreshing as it looks to our strengths and helps us to further develop what comes easily to us, building confidence that encourages growth and development. 

After taking an assessment, you discover your Top 5 strengths and then read the chapters associated with those strengths to learn more about your personalized strengths, how to lean into them in your daily work, what types of professions those strengths lend themselves to, and how to become more aware of interactions with others who do not have the same strengths you possess. You can also read chapters associated with your lowest ranking aptitudes, providing additional insight into others you will find yourself interacting with.

Taking it a step further, the book also provides Ideas for Action, giving you examples of how you can leverage your strengths to improve engagement in your current role and enhance your personal life through volunteer service.

What I enjoyed from the start was that the personality quiz was not as obvious as most in my experience, which I attribute to the broader scope of 34 strengths in comparison to the 16 Myers-Briggs type indicators that inform many tests. The questions are varied and numerous, so I was not able to predict my results as I have become accustomed to. The results were also more robust. Typically, when taking a personality or aptitude survey, there is a singular result. StrengthsFinder provides your Top 5 strengths. A lover of lifelong learning, it was not surprising to discover that my top strength was “Learner.” I was, however, surprised by my subsequent strengths: Adaptability, Developer, Individualization, and Input.

The assessment is online, taking approximately one hour, and the book is easy to consume in one sitting. Even though taking the assessment and reading the book did not require a large investment of time, I find myself referencing my top strengths years after my first reading and recommending it to anyone who will listen. Everyone can benefit from taking the assessment and reading into their strengths, from students who are unsure of what field to study, people looking to find a more rewarding position, to leaders at the culmination of their career. Working from our strengths instead of focusing solely on our weaknesses helps us to fully engage and give our best to the mission.

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