MGT601 Leadership | Gallup’s Strengths Finder Test Analysis

Complete the Gallup Strengths Finder and submit a brief report on the results and their implications for your development as a leader.

Answer:

Gallup’s strengths finder test analysis

Leadership has always been an important element of my personality. Throughout my life, I have had several leadership opportunities which have shaped this aspect of my life. Gallup’s strength finder is a reflection tool that has helped me in identifying my strengths as a leader and become self -aware (Arriaza, 2015).

I also went and undertook MBTI test, which is another introspective self- report questionnaire and helps to understand how people perceive the world around them and take their decision (Caldwell & Hayes, 2016). My personality finder here has been ENTJ, which puts me in the category of born leader or the commander. Commander is my strength in the Gallup test as well; hence I can say that the sync in the result of the two tests just reflects that I took the test seriously to become self- aware which would help me in becoming a better leader in future.

The first strength of mine as identified by the test is being deliberative. This suggests that I am careful and critical. I try to identify the risks before proceeding a project and accept them. I completely agree with this analysis because even in my personal life I tend to work upon identifying what might go wrong. Being able to identify risks associated with a project is an essential aspect of being a good leader (Mendoza et. al., 2016). Hence I believe this strength will help me lead my team better.

The second strength was being an achiever. This theme helped me in identifying my drive to achieve. I do feel this constant need for achievement. I could entirely relate with this as I continue to feel the need to achieve on an everyday basis. A leader must lead by example (Shamir & Eilam-Shamir, 2018). Therefore I hope as a leader I would be able to instil the same drive in my team and motivate them to the best of my abilities.

The third strength identified was that I am an activator. I believe this strength of mine would be most useful in my endeavours as a leader. This suggests that I am impatient for action. I need to keep things moving and understand how and when the work needs to be done. I try to focus on what can be done now. I certainly hope to ensure that I can channelize this strength in the right way within a team. As a leader it is important to take responsibility and be an activator.

The fourth strength is command. This suggests that I tend to take charge and I feel no discomfort in imposing my views on others. I agree with this to the extent that I notice this even in my personal life. Once I form an opinion I definitely feel the need to share it with others. One of the most important roles of a leader is to motivate others (Matthews, 2015). This attribute of mine would help me in motivating my team towards taking risks and putting their best foot forward.

The last but not the least strength as identified by the test was that I am strategic in nature. This attribute of my personality focuses on my thought process which is rather distinct. I try to analyze the situation to the best of my ability and find the best route. Leaders must be strategic in their thought process so that their team can take a calculated risk (Antonakis & Day, 2017). Hence, I believe this ability of mine like rest others will help me in my leadership journey.

References

Antonakis, J., & Day, D. V. (Eds.). (2017). The nature of leadership. Sage publications. United States.

Matthews, J. B. (2015). Leadership Traits: Are People Born to Lead?. In Leadership in Surgery (pp. 59-66). Springer, Cham. United Kingdom.

Mendoza, L. R., Orea-Amador, L., & Kendall, M. R. (2016). Mixed Method Study of the Evolution of Leadership Traits during a Leadership Experience. In Proceedings of the 2016 ASEE Annual Conference and Exhibition.

Shamir, B., & Eilam-Shamir, G. (2018). “What’s your story?” A life-stories approach to authentic leadership development. In Leadership Now: Reflections on the Legacy of Boas Shamir(pp. 51-76). Emerald Publishing Limited.

Arriaza, G. (2015). Critical Discourse Analysis and Leadership. Educational Leadership and Administration: Teaching and Program Development, 26, 1-3.

Caldwell, C., & Hayes, L. A. (2016). Self-efficacy and self-awareness: moral insights to increased leader effectiveness. Journal of Management Development, 35(9), 1163-1173