Have you thought about how using social media can help you to enhance the strengths you already have?

Neither had I, until I started reading StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. According to him, there are 34 strengths, sometimes called themes, each of which he describes in detail. When you purchase the book, you are assigned a code that gives you access to an online assessment. Once you complete the assessment, you can access your “Strengths Insight and Action-Planning Guide.” This guide elaborates on your top five strengths and gives you ideas for how you can further develop them.

 

Joyce’s Top Five Strengths*

• Winning Others Over (WOO): People with this strength love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person.
• Positivity: People with this strength have an enthusiasm that is contagious. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do.
• Communication: People with this strength generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters.
• Maximizer: People with this strength focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.
• Connectedness: People with this strength have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.

*According to Rath’s “Strengths Insight and Action-Planning Guide.”

 

How Social Media Connects to My Strengths

As I considered the accuracy and relevance of the list of my top five strengths, I could easily see how my own involvement with social media and my tutoring of others in this area are supported by my strengths.

• Winning Others Over: Ever since I first got involved with Facebook and LinkedIn, I have been fascinated by the possibility they offer of meeting new people. Clearly my WOO strength has helped me to create and nurture the numerous connections I have formed with a wide variety of people from all over the world. These folks have become wonderful sources of new information, and some have also become friends.
• Positivity: Before social media, we were unlikely to know about the challenges and down times of someone we didn’t see regularly or at least chat with frequently by phone. Now, if someone posts on a site like Facebook that he or she is feeling sad or is struggling with something, I can send them a supportive note – either in a comment on their post or via a private message.
• Communication: The combination of blogging and access to sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, and the like, I have found new avenues in which to express myself through the written word. This gives me added outlets for my own creativity, while also allowing me to provide tips and assistance to more people than I could before.
• Maximizer: This initially appeared to be a strength I would be more likely to use during a tutoring session – which might be conducted in person, on the phone, or via the GoToMeeting platform. However, while thinking about it for this blog, I realized that as I follow up with my clients via our shared social media sites, I am able to offer further assistance as needed. I can also observe the blossoming of their use of the tools I have helped them to master, and then use my maximizer strengths to cheer them on to greater success.
• Connectedness: The more I am part of social media networks, the more I feel a sense of cosmic connectedness with everyone. Simply seeing a post from someone, whether I “like” it or comment on it or not, gives me a feeling of being in closer contact with them. In the same vein, many of the individuals who come to me for tutoring do so because they want to use social media to become and remain more closely connected to the people they care about.

 

How About You?

Whether you use an assessment tool such as the one provided in StrengthsFinder 2.0, to pinpoint them, or you’re are already aware of your own top strengths, see if you can find a link between those strengths and your experience in social media. Please share your insights on this topic.

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 50 and up, to become more comfortable using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter.

She works with business owners, nonprofit organizations, retired people, consultants, and many others. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.