According to Gallup, the essence of the talent theme of Command is the following:
"Command
leads you to take charge. Unlike some people, you feel no discomfort with
imposing your views on others. On the contrary, once your opinion is formed,
you need to share it with others. Once your goal is set, you feel restless
until you have aligned others with you. You are not frightened by
confrontation; rather, you know that confrontation is the first step toward
resolution. Whereas others may avoid facing up to life’s unpleasantness, you
feel compelled to present the facts or the truth, no matter how unpleasant it
may be. You need things to be clear between people and challenge them to be
clear-eyed and honest. You push them to take risks. You may even intimidate
them. And while some may resent this, labeling you opinionated, they often
willingly hand you the reins. People are drawn toward those who take a stance
and ask them to move in a certain direction. Therefore, people will be drawn to
you. You have presence. You have Command."
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 Command?
Command is a pattern of thought, feeling and behavior which comes so natural to you, that you do not realize when it offends someone.
Command in a mismanaged form really comes over very strong. To you, it is nothing...it is simply the way you express yourself and get things done. But you should realize that Command as a talent is one of those "loud" talents. The "default volume" of your Command may really be too "loud" for other talents. You need to learn how to control your "Command volume".
How?
"Command
leads you to take charge. Unlike some people, you feel no discomfort with
imposing your views on others. On the contrary, once your opinion is formed,
you need to share it with others. Once your goal is set, you feel restless
until you have aligned others with you. You are not frightened by
confrontation; rather, you know that confrontation is the first step toward
resolution. Whereas others may avoid facing up to life’s unpleasantness, you
feel compelled to present the facts or the truth, no matter how unpleasant it
may be. You need things to be clear between people and challenge them to be
clear-eyed and honest. You push them to take risks. You may even intimidate
them. And while some may resent this, labeling you opinionated, they often
willingly hand you the reins. People are drawn toward those who take a stance
and ask them to move in a certain direction. Therefore, people will be drawn to
you. You have presence. You have Command."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 Command?
Command is a pattern of thought, feeling and behavior which comes so natural to you, that you do not realize when it offends someone.
Command in a mismanaged form really comes over very strong. To you, it is nothing...it is simply the way you express yourself and get things done. But you should realize that Command as a talent is one of those "loud" talents. The "default volume" of your Command may really be too "loud" for other talents. You need to learn how to control your "Command volume".
How?
If ever you feel the need to get a point across, get someone moving, or to differ from someone, consciously focus on your voice, mannerisms, expressions and body language. You already have presence - you need not create more. The way your Command derives energy from confrontation is very unique to this specific talent. Most people will never understand that. So you need to apply emotional and social intelligence when you feel this talent flowing. Realize that you will need to compromise at times in order to win others over. Not every situation warrants confrontation. The best way for you to manage this is to always as yourself: "Am I reacting, or responding?" Command is quite a reactive talent. Think your response through first. And then, be gentle. You do not have to worry that you will become "soft". Even you in a gentle state will be perceived as commanding by most. Just be aware of it. And turn down your volume.
Command has a strong need to control. This can very easily become over-controlling...even micro managing.
The talent of Command is comfortable with the reigns. This is the strongest quality of this talent. When the going gets tough, the Command talent gets going. Your absolute comfort with taking and holding control could hijack your "senses" in terms of the effect it has on those you control or command. They could find it extremely intimidating and even offensive - and you will most probably be quite oblivious to those feelings. You need to manage this tendency to over control and "take over" very wisely, to prevent it turning into a detriment.
How?
Remember that your understanding and perception of control and even conflict is in another galaxy to most others - especially if they have "softer" talents like Harmony and Empathy. You also need to understand that your need to hold the reigns and call the shots is matched by other talents but for very different reasons. And, very significantly, you should embrace the idea that you are not always the best person to lead a team or manage a project. People and projects have stages, and each talent can play a very precious and practical role within the process if they understand when to step forward and when to step back.
You will find that your Command talent is much more challenging to be managed in its NEED than it is in its CONTRIBUTION. Be sure to have an awareness towards the drive from this need.
Important Note:
If you have this talent of Command or not, you need to know that this Strength is one of the most misunderstood talents by those who do not have it, and also a very challenging talent to manage for those who do have it.
The bottom line: have grace with the Command talent. It is an awesome Strength if used and perceived with wisdom.
- by Dries Lombaard, founder and owner of Africanmosaic and Director at Strengths Institute SA.
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.