The Thinking Cluster refers to those Talent Themes that functions on a cognitive or thinking level. It is "mind-related". Thinking Themes are active and energized on different levels of thinking activity. If your top Talents are mostly sorted within this cluster, you will find that you basically "live inside your head". You love to think, reason, strategy or learn. Your worldview are formed by your thoughts. You think, therefor you are.
Each Theme in this cluster has a different function. Some might think that "thinking is thinking. Not so....
- Ideation: Basically it is all about ideas. Ideation is a creative and innovative way of thinking. You love new ideas. You love to dream. You love to innovate. To an Ideator, the idea is the point. The idea is as good as the product. If you had the idea, you are satisfied.
- Input: A good explanation for this theme: specialized interest. Inquisitive. Very often a collector of sorts - but within a specialized area of interest. Also, you "input" in order to "output". You love to share your stories, data or knowledge. That is why you gathered it.
- Intellection: You truly live inside your head! You muse, ponder, think deep. You talk to yourself and others in your head. You process deeply, and thoroughly.
- Learner: Being in the process of learning energizes you. It can be formal learning like studies, or informal learning like reading or watching documentaries or something of interest. Thing is, it is that "feeling that I am learning something" that gives you a kick.
- Strategic: You strategise and see options. You can make decisions and process detail. You love to disentangle problems and find solutions.
- Analytical: Facts and Data colors your world. You analyze and love the world of research, statistics and data. That you can work with.
- Context: You most probably love history. You take the past seriously. You might even be labeled as a sentimentalist. The past explains today to you.
- Futuristic: You look forward. You love to plan. You love to dream. But it is mostly planning and dreaming about things yet to come.
Thinking Themes that combine can be especially strong. They tend to "pull" you into a world of thoughts, facts, stories, data, puzzles, history, philosophy, or whatever your passion may be.
Treasure it. It is what makes you strong.
This concludes our 4 part series on the four Talent Clusters. There is a very easy way to summarize the four clusters with a few words:
- Executing - you lead by doing.
- Influencing - you lead by showing / telling.
- Relational - you lead by connecting.
- Thinking - you lead by planning / explaining.
Dear Dries, you noted that thinking themes that combine are very strong, since they pull in the same direction. You encourage people to treasure it.
ReplyDeleteHow can others appreciate this thinking theme? In my experience this can only happen when the thinkers have a safe enough environment (or create that environment) in which they can open up themselves to share their thinking with others. Only when they find ways to lay out their thoughts to others in ways that link to their experience, that are compelling and that challenge their thinking, will they be able to benefit from them.
Appropriate communication is key for the thinking cluster people. In today's mediatised world with a plethora of media channels available to individuals, everyone should be able to find a suitable way of expressing their thoughts to others, be it through text, audio, video or even graphics.
As one shares the world of thoughts with others, these thoughts will be enriched through the thinking processes of others, and people will be enriched by experiencing a thought world that might be quite different from their everyday experience.
Let's keep thinking, and sharing ...