Curt Liesveld - Expanding Your Strengths

Gallup scientists and strengths coaches have known for decades that the more you understand your talents, the more intentionally you can use them. But your talents dont exist in isolation. You are not just one thing or just five things. Defining yourself or someone else using a single talent theme is not accurate or complete because the talents in that theme are just part of who someone is. No one is Strategic all the time. No one is always a Relator. You use various talents to respond to different situations, and you frequently use several themes at once, whether you know it or not.

Your talent themes are constantly interacting and combining as you react to different circumstances. Further, your themes of talent interact and combine with other peoples talent themes. This is what Gallup calls theme dynamics . Think of theme dynamics as the chemistry of themes. Like the elements of the periodic table, each theme has its own properties. But when different themes or elements interact, they create something brand new and more powerful than either theme alone.

Watch Curt Liesveld, Gallup Advanced Learning & Development Consultant, explain theme dynamics in the video What is Theme Dynamics?

Sometimes talent themes enhance and magnify each other, such as the influencing power of Activator and Command or the social ease of Woo and Communication. Other times, themes modify each other; Empathy can monitor the emotional effects of Command, and Command can support Empathy when actions create bad feelings. And fortunately, they can also regulate each other. People with, say, Focus in their top five themes can find it very helpful to summon their Adaptability when they need to be more spontaneous.

The more you examine theme dynamics in your life, the more you will understand how your talents make you who you are. That process can be a lot of fun, but its also valuable. As you start to see how your themes work together, you can make the most of your unique talents and start turning them into strengths. But dont stop there. Think about how your talents can work with other peoples talents how they might enhance, modify or regulate each other. Consider how you can use theme dynamics to form powerful and productive partnerships.

Listen to Curt Liesveld, Gallup Advanced Learning & Development Consultant, discuss theme combinations, using examples that can help you understand your own theme dynamics and facilitate collaboration with others in the video Putting Your Themes Together.