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Live strong.
- Dries Lombaard
www.africanmosaic.com
16 April 2013
Scribbles going viral!
TALENTmosaic Scribbles just clocked the 20'000 page-view mark last week!Thanks for your support and interest....
Live strong.
- Dries Lombaard
www.africanmosaic.com
Managing your Talents [11] - Context
According to Gallup, the essence of the talent theme of Context is the
following:
It is only by casting your mind back to
an earlier time, a time when the plans were being drawn up, that the present
regains its stability. The earlier time was a simpler time. It was a time of
blueprints. As you look back, you begin to see these blueprints emerge. You
realize what the initial intentions were. These blueprints or intentions have
since become so embellished that they are almost unrecognizable, but now this
Context theme reveals them again. This understanding brings you confidence. No
longer disoriented, you make better decisions because you sense the underlying
structure. You become a better partner because you understand how your
colleagues came to be who they are. And counter-intuitively you become wiser
about the future because you saw its seeds being sown in the past. Faced with
new people and new situations, it will take you a little time to orient
yourself, but you must give yourself this time. You must discipline yourself to
ask the questions and allow the blueprints to emerge because no matter what the
situation, if you haven’t seen the blueprints, you will have less confidence in
your decisions.
But a talent like this on itself is quite meaningless unless you develop and manage it. That is why we believe that "a well managed talent becomes a strength, but a mismanaged talent becomes a detriment".
How do you manage the talent of Context?
First, you must embrace the reality of your thinking, in that you need the past in order to make sense of the present and the future.The past, to you, is a compass. It is the indicator of where you should go, and how best you should engage the present and the future. It is like an essential rear view mirror that you need to navigate your decisions. You most probably love history, family trees, and to study the past. (Although this is not necessarily true for everyone with this talent).
Your Context talent forms your worldview. Be careful not to regard this as a bad thing in a "futuristic" world. This world needs your thinking, because without it they might miss crucial lessons from the past. Offer your talent as an important aspect in any environment.
Once you understand your thinking patterns in terms of using the past, you can fully embrace it in order to go forward. You take the past seriously for a reason. And you need to build on it.
How?
Your Context Talent Theme drives your thinking. It is the filter through which you view the world. If you understand this, you can be intentional about getting the "historic" context whenever you need to engage in something. This will ignite your thinking and your energy. Make sure you obtain the "reason behind the reasoning". This is a first step towards managing this talent well. You must understand your own reasoning.
With this, manage your context in a way where you use the kind of language that does not make others think or feel that you are holding them back. They will appreciate your contribution if they see the value-add in it. This goes especially for those with a Futuristic worldview, and those with a responsive (in the moment) worldview (Adaptability). Once they understand the fact that you complete the whole, they will love you for it. Explain this to them.
A second important aspect of managing Context, is to understand your need to create special moments in the present. If you understand it, you can command it. Most people under-estimate this truth, and then end up with a mismanaged talent that controls them.
Because your Context make you look back towards significant events and beacons, you need many of them. So, unknowingly and naturally, you might find yourself creating them. (remember that this aspect aligns with your personality and your other talents. A Context Talent can manifest relational and social, or very clinical and more towards research and interests. Understand your approach.)
You may find that you love to "capture the moment"... This might be with things like photography, or simply in you memory. You do this because you know or sense that a moment in the present pretty soon becomes a point of reference in the past. And you need that. Some people with high Context might love to keep a diary, exactly for this reason. This is a precious asset to have. But, you need to understand that this too needs management, as it has the potential to drive you towards being overly nostalgic and even sentimental.
How?
Understanding your behavior helps you to manage it well. When others understand it, it helps them celebrate you for it. Make sure people know where your nostalgia comes from. Most people will naturally appreciate it, as you are the creator of special memories that they will share in. But some might find it irritating simply because they do not understand your talent. Explain it to them.
Also, be sure not to try and create a nostalgic moment out of every single occurrence. Sometimes, things just need to happen naturally, and pass naturally. You will in any case hold on to it. You do not need to involve everyone to "pose for a picture" or to share their feelings surrounding it. Be wise. But, this said, do not hold back on your initiative, I have found that - although my Context is extremely low (number 33 out of 34), I do appreciate the fact that others created memories that I can share in. As long as they do not expect me to be part of every single moment (as I am an introvert). So, keep on creating those memories!!
A third characteristic of this talent, is their often extremely strong and vivid memory. This makes sense in terms of all of the above, not so? Your Context not only creates memories, it has a memory super-power! Most people with this talent remembers things in the past up to the finest detail. I have found that they do not, for instance, only remember that we spent time together years ago, but they will remember the exact time, place and detail like where we sat in a restaurant and what everyone ordered...and even the exact discussions! Sometimes that freaks me out a bit, to be honest, as with my high tendency to live only in the moment, I have trouble remembering this morning! This is an awesome natural ability of people with Context. But you also need to understand that others might find it threatening at times.... .
How?
As most people only remember very important occasions, or things that really needs to be remembered in their view, your ability to remember details might make others think that you have some kind of agenda with this. Even that you do not trust them. Why else would you remember a conversation up to the exact words? Again, manage this by describing your talent and skill surrounding this to them. Make them realize that you do not have an agenda, and that you can rather be a source of memory that they can rely on. When you refer to the past, do it in a non-threatening or accusing manner. Do not say "I remember exactly what you said, so don't come with other stories now!" Realize that you have a special ability, and their non-ability to remember does NOT mean that they disregard the facts, or that they try to twist it. It simply means they do not have your talent. Explain it often. Especially in a work or strong relational environment, make sure your colleagues or members of the team sees you for the strengths you add to them with this talent. Never accuse or judge others if they cannot do the same.
Now go and offer this wonderful talent to the world!
You
look back. You look back because that is where the answers lie. You look back
to understand the present. From your vantage point the present is unstable, a
confusing clamor of competing voices.
But a talent like this on itself is quite meaningless unless you develop and manage it. That is why we believe that "a well managed talent becomes a strength, but a mismanaged talent becomes a detriment".
How do you manage the talent of Context?
First, you must embrace the reality of your thinking, in that you need the past in order to make sense of the present and the future.The past, to you, is a compass. It is the indicator of where you should go, and how best you should engage the present and the future. It is like an essential rear view mirror that you need to navigate your decisions. You most probably love history, family trees, and to study the past. (Although this is not necessarily true for everyone with this talent).
Your Context talent forms your worldview. Be careful not to regard this as a bad thing in a "futuristic" world. This world needs your thinking, because without it they might miss crucial lessons from the past. Offer your talent as an important aspect in any environment.
Once you understand your thinking patterns in terms of using the past, you can fully embrace it in order to go forward. You take the past seriously for a reason. And you need to build on it.
How?
Your Context Talent Theme drives your thinking. It is the filter through which you view the world. If you understand this, you can be intentional about getting the "historic" context whenever you need to engage in something. This will ignite your thinking and your energy. Make sure you obtain the "reason behind the reasoning". This is a first step towards managing this talent well. You must understand your own reasoning.
With this, manage your context in a way where you use the kind of language that does not make others think or feel that you are holding them back. They will appreciate your contribution if they see the value-add in it. This goes especially for those with a Futuristic worldview, and those with a responsive (in the moment) worldview (Adaptability). Once they understand the fact that you complete the whole, they will love you for it. Explain this to them.
A second important aspect of managing Context, is to understand your need to create special moments in the present. If you understand it, you can command it. Most people under-estimate this truth, and then end up with a mismanaged talent that controls them.
Because your Context make you look back towards significant events and beacons, you need many of them. So, unknowingly and naturally, you might find yourself creating them. (remember that this aspect aligns with your personality and your other talents. A Context Talent can manifest relational and social, or very clinical and more towards research and interests. Understand your approach.)
You may find that you love to "capture the moment"... This might be with things like photography, or simply in you memory. You do this because you know or sense that a moment in the present pretty soon becomes a point of reference in the past. And you need that. Some people with high Context might love to keep a diary, exactly for this reason. This is a precious asset to have. But, you need to understand that this too needs management, as it has the potential to drive you towards being overly nostalgic and even sentimental.
How?
Understanding your behavior helps you to manage it well. When others understand it, it helps them celebrate you for it. Make sure people know where your nostalgia comes from. Most people will naturally appreciate it, as you are the creator of special memories that they will share in. But some might find it irritating simply because they do not understand your talent. Explain it to them.
Also, be sure not to try and create a nostalgic moment out of every single occurrence. Sometimes, things just need to happen naturally, and pass naturally. You will in any case hold on to it. You do not need to involve everyone to "pose for a picture" or to share their feelings surrounding it. Be wise. But, this said, do not hold back on your initiative, I have found that - although my Context is extremely low (number 33 out of 34), I do appreciate the fact that others created memories that I can share in. As long as they do not expect me to be part of every single moment (as I am an introvert). So, keep on creating those memories!!
A third characteristic of this talent, is their often extremely strong and vivid memory. This makes sense in terms of all of the above, not so? Your Context not only creates memories, it has a memory super-power! Most people with this talent remembers things in the past up to the finest detail. I have found that they do not, for instance, only remember that we spent time together years ago, but they will remember the exact time, place and detail like where we sat in a restaurant and what everyone ordered...and even the exact discussions! Sometimes that freaks me out a bit, to be honest, as with my high tendency to live only in the moment, I have trouble remembering this morning! This is an awesome natural ability of people with Context. But you also need to understand that others might find it threatening at times.... .
How?
As most people only remember very important occasions, or things that really needs to be remembered in their view, your ability to remember details might make others think that you have some kind of agenda with this. Even that you do not trust them. Why else would you remember a conversation up to the exact words? Again, manage this by describing your talent and skill surrounding this to them. Make them realize that you do not have an agenda, and that you can rather be a source of memory that they can rely on. When you refer to the past, do it in a non-threatening or accusing manner. Do not say "I remember exactly what you said, so don't come with other stories now!" Realize that you have a special ability, and their non-ability to remember does NOT mean that they disregard the facts, or that they try to twist it. It simply means they do not have your talent. Explain it often. Especially in a work or strong relational environment, make sure your colleagues or members of the team sees you for the strengths you add to them with this talent. Never accuse or judge others if they cannot do the same.
Now go and offer this wonderful talent to the world!
- by Dries Lombaard, founder and owner of Africanmosaic and TALENTmosaic.
Important note when reading this: in this series, I simply focus on the specific talent in isolation. I do not take the crucial element of Talent Dynamics (two or more talent themes combining) into consideration. This is very important as any Coach should take that into consideration when coaching people in their talents. But you need to understand the challenges that the talent theme on its own might hold. Therefor the challenges in managing the talent as explained below might not be applicable to everyone, as the dynamics with some of their other talent themes might override the specific challenge and "make up for it". But, knowledge of the most common management challenges in every talent theme still is crucial in talent development and when turning the talent into a strength. All information is my own, acquired by years of Strengths Coaching experience, and not verified or scientifically tested by Gallup. The definition at the beginning is the intellectual property of Gallup, and well researched.
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