Focus™
People especially talented in the Focus theme can take a direction, follow through, and make the corrections necessary to stay on track. They prioritize, then act.
Score Distribution
Shows scores for this strength across all staff.
Users with Focus strength
In their TOP FIVE strengths:
Theme Description
Where am I headed?" you ask yourself. You ask this question every day. Guided by this theme of Focus, you need a clear destination. Lacking one, your life and your work can quickly become frustrating. And so each year, each month, and even each week you set goals. These goals then serve as your compass, helping you determine priorities and make the necessary corrections to get back on course. Your Focus is powerful because it forces you to filter; you instinctively evaluate whether or not a particular action will help you move toward your goal. Those that don't are ignored. In the end, then, your Focus forces you to be efficient. Naturally, the flip side of this is that it causes you to become impatient with delays, obstacles, and even tangents, no matter how intriguing they appear to be. This makes you an extremely valuable team member. When others start to wander down other avenues, you bring them back to the main road. Your Focus reminds everyone that if something is not helping you move toward your destination, then it is not important. And if it is not important, then it is not worth your time. You keep everyone on point.
Action Items
- When you set goals, discipline yourself to attach timelines and measurements. These will provide regular proof that you are indeed making progress.
- Take the time to write down your goals and refer to them often. You will feel more in control of your life this way.
- Seek roles in which you are asked to function independently. With your strong Focus theme you will be able to stay on track with little supervision.
- Be sure to tell your manager your mid-term and short-term goals. This might well give your manager the confidence to give you the room you need.
- Your greatest worth as a team member might be to help others set goals. At the end of each meeting, take responsibility for summarizing what was decided, for defining when these decisions will be acted upon, and for setting a date when the group will reconvene.
- Identify your role models. Write down in detail why you want to focus your career toward similar kinds of achievement.
- Allow others to think, act, and talk less efficiently than you do. Sometimes their "detours" will lead to discoveries and delights.
- Stretch your goal-setting beyond work. If you find yourself becoming too focused on work goals, set goals regarding your personal life as well. These goals will give weight to your personal priorities and thereby help restore balance in your life.
How to Manage a Person Especially Talented in the Focus Theme
- Set goals with timelines and then let this person figure out how to achieve them. He will work best in an environment where he can control his work events.
- Check in with him on a regular basis, as often as he indicates would be helpful. He will thrive on these regular check-ins because he likes talking about goals and his progress toward them. Ask him how often you should meet to discuss goals and objectives.
- Do not always expect him to be sensitive to the feelings of others because getting his work done often takes priority over feelings. If he also possesses Empathy, this effect will obviously be lessened. Nonetheless, always be aware of the possibility that he may trample on feelings as he marches toward his goal.
- He does not revel in situations of constant change. To manage this, use language that he can understand when describing the change. For example, talk about change in terms of "new goals" and "new measures of success." Terms like this give the change trajectory and purpose. This is the way he naturally thinks.
- When there are projects with critical deadlines, ask him to get involved. He instinctively honors deadlines. As soon as he comes to own a project with a deadline, he will concentrate all his energies on it until it is completed.
- Arrange for him to attend a time management seminar. He may not naturally excel at this, but because his Focus theme pushes him to move toward his goals as fast as possible, he will appreciate the greater efficiency that time management brings.
- Be aware that unstructured meetings will bother him, so when he is in a meeting, try to follow the agenda.