StandOut (5 page)

CREATOR

EQUALIZER

INFLUENCER

PIONEER

PROVIDER

STIMULATOR

TEACHER

ADVISOR

The Definition

You begin by asking,
“What is the best thing to do?”
and your thrill comes from knowing that you are the person others turn to for the answer. You don’t necessarily want to be the person who actually makes the changes happen. Rather, being valued by others for your insight and your judgment is what excites you. Since you love to be the expert, you are constantly on the lookout for information that will help people make better decisions. When you look out at the world, you pay attention to fine shadings of detail because these details will ensure that you give better advice. You know that the best advice is never general, but rather is tailored to the unique characteristics of the person’s situation.

You can be demanding and opinionated, but above all you are discriminating: “good enough” is never good enough for you. There is always a better way, a better arrangement, a better solution, and you come alive when you are called upon to find it. And when you do, you don’t question your decision. The reason people seek your advice is precisely because you are so assured, so confident in your intuition. Instinctively you know this, and you’re proud of it.

You, at Your Most Powerful

• You are connected to someone else through the advice you are giving. In fact, your advice is how you connect with other people.

• You are a practical, concrete thinker. You think in terms of “steps” and “modules.” The language you use is: “Here are the steps I recommend.” “Write down these tips.” “Here are the materials I’ve developed.”

• You are a problem solver. You are not fazed by complex situations, because when faced with a challenge, you break it down into its component parts. You are a sequential thinker, someone who excels at “delayering” problems, “unstacking” them.

• You ask lots of questions because the answer can be found in the details of the situation. You are intrigued by the detail of other people’s plans, problems, lives. You are not voyeuristic—voyeurism is too passive. But you can be nosy.

• You like distinctions between two things that seem quite similar. These distinctions help you know how to choose which path to take—“Take this one, not that one.”

• You are very respectful of other experts. Experts are able to see fine distinctions, and you respect distinctions.

• You are not intrigued by the future or by novelty merely for the sake of it (unless your second strengths Role is Pioneer). Nonetheless you can be innovative, because your question is always “What is the best thing to do?” or “What will work?” and sometimes this leads you to solutions that haven’t been tried before. As such, you are not tied down to existing ways of doing things.

• When you write something you feel compelled to think about the person on the receiving end of what you are writing. You think not in terms of “Here is an idea I’d like to present,” but rather in terms of “
You
should do this . . .” You like being seen as the expert. You like being needed in this way. When people say, “You have such great insight. You give me such a useful perspective on my situation,” this is the highest of praise.

• You are never stumped. You always think you have a solution, a way forward. Other people are drawn to you because they see someone (in you) who is supremely capable.

• Your “time suck” is people asking you out for lunch all the time. “What should I do about this and that?” they ask, and you can’t help yourself. Off you go to lunch. Consequently you run the risk of not taking a stand for yourself. You are so busy offering advice that you don’t stop to take your own. You can be a pushover when you are cornered and asked, “Please tell me what to do!” Your time is not your own.

How to Describe Yourself (in Interviews, Performance Reviews)

• “People say I have a lot of common sense. They come to me whenever they want advice on the best thing to do.”

• “I’m at my best when pulling apart complex problems and figuring out what’s actually going on.”

• “I love helping people sort through what’s confusing them to get to the best course of action.”

• “I’m a very practical thinker. The most important thing for me is always to ask, ‘What is really going to work?’ ”

• “I’m not tied to a set way of doing things. So long as what we are about to do is really going to work, I have no problem breaking new ground.”

• “I’ve found that I’m the teammate people turn to when they’re stuck. I help them get unstuck.”