People strong in the Self-assurance theme feel confident in their ability to manage their own lives. They possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their decisions are right.
You can tell a person strong in Self-assurance by these attributes (source: Dr. Hulme, APU):
- Self-confident
- Have faith in their strengths
- Able to take risks, meet challenges, deliver on promises
- Confident in own judgment and ability to manage their own life
- Resilient—bounce back from disappointments
- Not pressured by what others may think
More about Self-assurance:
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- Needs on a team: To be right
- As a Leader: Provide confidence
- In Conflict: Influence outcome
- Partner with: a strong Strategic, Deliberative, or Futuristic theme. This person can help you assess the goals to which you commit. You need this help because once you set your sights on a goal you are very likely to stay with it until it is achieved.
- Strategic, Deliberative, Futuristic
- In academics:
– loves to be right – very confident of themselves and their abilities without necessarily being arrogant – important for them to be in control of their grades and achievement, so will want a prof who uses grading rubrics or has clear expectations – enjoys getting to know the prof and understanding what is expected – enjoys challenging and stimulating classes
Where does Self-assurance Theme rank in the population?
- Overall, Self-assurance ranks 34th, occurring in less than 5% of the population’s Top Five (2.5% of Females and 6% of Males)
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Out of your Top 5 CliftonStrengths, it’s statistically:
- most likely to appear with Strategic and Achiever
- least likely to be found with Empathy or consistency
The genius of your self assurance talent begins with your confidence. You have a quality that is often called resilience. This means that you can “bounce back”. Accordingly, you have an attitude that no matter what happens to you; you will in fact “bounce back” and quite probably reach higher heights even If you momentarily fail. The genius here is that you not only have confidence, but an inner compass for deciding what you need to do and how you need to do it.
At your best (Balcony):
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self-confident, strong inner compass, risk-taker
At your worst (Basement):
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arrogant, self-righteous, over confident, stubborn
You might be a Strengthsfinder Self-assurance theme if…
- • You have a deep, unshakable faith in your strengths, abilities and judgments.
• You are able to take risks and meet challenges head-on to deliver results.
• You don’t mind guidance, but you don’t like being told what to think.
• You are not intimidated by your own authority, but instead prefer to make decisions.
• You are not easily swayed by others’ arguments, no matter how persuasive they may be.
• You may be a loud or a quiet person, but at the end of the day you are the solid keel guiding the ship.- Source: Let’s Talk Personality
A more detailed explanation from Gallup:
Self-Assurance is similar to self-confidence. In the deepest part of you, you have faith in your strengths. You know that you are able — able to take risks, able to meet new challenges, able to stake claims, and, most important, able to deliver. But Self-Assurance is more than just self-confidence. Blessed with the theme of Self-Assurance, you have confidence not only in your abilities but in your judgment. When you look at the world, you know that your perspective is unique and distinct. And because no one sees exactly what you see, you know that no one can make your decisions for you. No one can tell you what to think. They can guide. They can suggest. But you alone have the authority to form conclusions, make decisions, and act. This authority, this final accountability for the living of your life, does not intimidate you. On the contrary, it feels natural to you. No matter what the situation, you seem to know what the right decision is. This theme lends you an aura of certainty. Unlike many, you are not easily swayed by someone else’s arguments, no matter how persuasive they may be. This Self-Assurance may be quiet or loud, depending on your other themes, but it is solid. It is strong. Like the keel of a ship, it withstands many different pressures and keeps you on your course.
Action Items for This Theme
- Seek start-up situations for which no rulebook exists. You will be at your best when you are asked to make many decisions.
- Seek roles in which you are charged with persuading people to see your point of view.
- Your Self-Assurance (especially when combined with strong Command or Activator themes) can create an extremely persuasive combination. Therefore, leadership, sales, legal, or entrepreneurial roles might be appropriate.
- Appeal to your own internal guidance system to determine appropriate actions. Trust your instinct.
- Let your self-confidence show. It will be reinforcing to your colleagues.
- Help others find the positives in your certainty. For example, when you have decided what you are going to do, they can trust that you will do it.
Be ready to:
- Realize that sometimes you will find it hard to put your certainty or intuition into words, possibly leading others to see you as self-righteous. Explain that your certainty does not mean that they should withhold their opinions. It might not seem like it to them, but you do want to hear their views. Your certainty at the moment doesn’t mean that you are unwilling to accommodate their views.
- Partner with someone with a strong Strategic, Deliberative, or Futuristic theme. This person can help you assess the goals to which you commit. You need this help because once you set your sights on a goal you are very likely to stay with it until it is achieved.
- The Clifton StrengthsFinder and the 34 Clifton StrengthsFinder theme names are protected by copyright of Gallup Inc., 2000. All rights reserved.
A fantastic website with insightful discussion of Self-Assurance, including
- Building your brand through this strengths
- Strengthening your performance at work
- Tips for managing someone with this strengths
- Partnering with someone with this strength
Self-assurance Power and Edge takes an interesting approach highlight not just what the strength is and how it shows up if you have it in your top five, but also how to navigate the world when this strengths is one of your lesser ones.
More ideas on going deeper:
- Gallup on How You Can Productively Aim Your Self-Assurance Talents
- Many universities use the StrengthsQuest Workbook to help you build relationships, more effectively study and find meaning in what you do.
- South Mountain Community College offers up ideas on Applying your Talents in Career Discovery and Applying your Talents in Academics
- Western Texas tells us about Using your Strengths In the Job Search, Interview and New Position
- Weber State University has posted action plan worksheets for each of Gallup’s 34 strengthsfinder talents.
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THEME INSIGHTS:
- I am (Being) ———-> internally confident in the midst of external uncertainty
- I will (Doing) ———-> seek to exert influence rather than be influenced
- I Bring (Contribution) ———-> a willingness to take necessary risks
- I need (Requirement) ———-> freedom to act unilaterally and independently
- I love (Value) —————> being in control of my own destiny
- I Hate (Value) —————> others telling me what to do
- Metaphor/Image ———-> internal compass, marches to beat of different drum
- Barrier Label ———-> arrogant, over-confident, self-sufficient
THEME CONTRAST:
- Self-Assurance: Anticipates risk so that it can be engaged and overcome.
- Deliberative: Anticipates risk so that it can be avoided and minimized————————————————————————————————–
- Self-Assurance: Certainty
- Learner: Curiosity
Season 1:
- Season 2:
- Theme Dynamics
- Highly recommended: Utilize the Called to Coach worksheet for Self-assurance as you listen.
- Comparing and Contrasting
- Season 3:
- Season 4:
- Season 5:
- Season 6:
Pressence by Amy Cuddy
More books:
- Theme addicts is a series created by UnleashStrengths to highlight the massive impact the StrengthsFinder assessment through interviews and discussions.
- Lead through your strengths features many interesting guests and Career Q and A about leverage your strengths at work.
- Maximize Your Strengths features interviews and discussion on developing your strengths. She really drills into each of the themes by interviewing real people on how a specific theme shows up in their lives.
- Called to Coach is a webcast resource for those who want to help others discover and use their strengths. We have Gallup experts and independent strengths coaches share tactics, insights and strategies to help coaches maximize the talent of individuals, teams and organizations around the world.
- ISOGO TV promises a lot: So dramatically increase your energy and decrease your frustration at work, that you cannot help but take the Strengths paradigm home to your family. Fueling life-changing stories.
- The True Strength Podcast by Ian Pettigrew (Kingfisher Coaching) features inspiring true stories of how people succeed through applying their strengths and being resilient. It often includes a Gallup StrengthsFinder profile.
- If you are looking to identify and develop your strengths and talents, take calculated risks and make decisions, The Strengths Revolution with Steve Morgan will help your personal development, as well as helping you support your clients, employees, teams and wider organisations. Knowing your strengths will also support positive risk-taking and decision making as part of good risk management.
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