Finding Your Strengths

Here’s a list of strengths to get you started in thinking about what yours might be. These have been pulled from many sources, but can never be exhaustive, so keep your mind open to other possibilities when reflecting on yours. I have purposefully included some words/similar words written in different parts of speech as I find they can hit differently, which can be useful in exploration.

Jump to List

There are also many strength-based assessments out there. They provide a good jumping off point, but don’t disregard your intuition in accepting or rejecting their results, or in adding something that might not appear as a result.

1. The Conscious Leadership Group, Commitment #8: Zone of Genius exercises.
2. High 5 Strengths Test
3. Signature Strengths Questionnaire (SSQ-72)
4. Redbull Wingfinder (somewhat odd origination, but fun assessment!)

1. When are you most energized in your work?
2. What do you want people to remember you for?
3. If I asked your spouse/team/etc., what would they say they most admire about you?
4. Who do you see as a role-model, and why?
5. What feels effortless to you, but others remark/compliment you on?
6. What’s a common thread that runs through each of your jobs and/or careers?
7. (An experiment to try, if it feels right) After meeting with someone new-ish for an hour or two, ask them if they noticed any particular strengths they’d identify in you. (Or, what do you imagine they might say?)

Ability
Accurate
Achiever
Action-oriented
Activator
Adaptable
Adaption
Administration
Adventurous
Advising
Ambitious
Analytical
Appreciative
Arranger
Articulate
Artistic
Assertive
Athletic
Authentic
Awareness
Belief
Bookkeeping
Bravery
Budgeting
Calm
Candid
Capable
Caring
Charismatic
Charming
Checking
Clear-headed
Clever
Command
Common Sense
Communication
Communicative
Compassionate
Competitive
Compilation
Confident
Connectedness
Considerate
Consistency
Context
Cooperative
Coordination
Counseling
Courageous
Creative
Curious
Data analysis
Decisive
Dedicated
Delegation
Deliberate
Detail-oriented
Determined
Developer
Devoted
Diligent
Direction
Disciplined
Editing
Educated
Efficient
Empathetic
Empowerment
Energetic
Entertaining
Enthusiasm
Evaluation
Experienced
Explanation
Fairness
Fast
Finalization
Flexibility
Focus
Forgiveness
Formulation
Forthright
Frank
Friendly
Futuristic
Generous
Grateful

Gratitude
Guidance
Hard-working
Harmony
Helpful
Honest
Hopeful
Hosting
Humble
Humor
Idealistic
Ideation
Imaginative
Implementation
Includer
Independent
Individualization
Industrious
Influence
Ingenious
Initiation
Innovative
Input
Inquisitive
Insightful
Inspirational
Instruction
Intellection
Intelligence
Interviewing
Intuitive
Inventive
Involved
Judgment
Kind
Knowledgeable
Leader
Leadership
Learner
Learning
Listening
Lively
Logical
Love
Love of Learning
Lovely
Managing
Marketing
Mature
Maximizer
Merciful
Methodical
Meticulous
Modest
Moral
Motivated
Natural Leader
Navigation
Neat
Negotiation
Objective
Observant
Observation
Open-minded
Optimism
Optimistic
Orderly
Organization
Organized
Original
Outgoing
Outspoken
Oversight
Painstaking
Passionate
Patience
Patient
Peaceful
Perceptive
Perseverant
Persistence
Persistent
Persuasion
Persuasive
Planning
Polite
Positivity

Practical
Precise
Preparation
Presentation
Prioritization
Proactive
Problem-solving
Product development
Proofreading
Prudent
Punctual
Qualification
Questioning
Quick-witted
Realistic
Recording
Relator
Reliable
Reparation
Reporting
Research
Resolution
Resourceful
Respectful
Responsibility
Responsible
Responsive
Restorative
Reviewing
Sales
Scheduling
Seasoned
Self-assured
Self-confident
Self-Control
Self-directed
Self-disciplined
Sensible
Serious
Significance
Simplification
Sincere
Sociable
Social
Speech
Spiritual
Spirituality
Spontaneous
Straightforward
Strategic
Strategy
Succinct
Supervision
Support
Systematic
Tactful
Teaching
Team Player
Team-building
Team-oriented
Thorough
Thoughtful
Thrifty
Tolerant
Tracking
Training
Troubleshooting
Trustworthy
Understanding
Uniting
Updating
Upgrading
Verbalization
Verification
Versatile
Visionary
Volunteer
Warm
Welcoming
Well-rounded
Willing
Wisdom
Wise
Woo
Writing