Over the next several months, we will be doing a series of blogs on our team, our strengths, and our HR specialties.

Hopefully, over the years, as we gain more personal and professional experience, we become more self- aware, both of our strengths and even those traits that aren’t so strong. Knowing ourselves can help us be more engaged in work and our personal lives. Even as children, we get a feel for what we run to, because it comes naturally, and what we run from, because it seems like a struggle against nature. For the most part, I have sought out jobs that energized me, but occasionally, there were tasks within those jobs that drained me. In hindsight, this is very telling! Over time, we take various personality assessments in school or work, and these can be great launching pads to self-discovery. With each assessment, a little more is revealed about who we are, what makes us tick, and why we interact the way we do with coworkers, family, friends and strangers. Of all of the personality assessments, StrengthsFinder tops the list, in my opinion.  StrengthsFinder gives us an answer to that all too tricky interview question, “What are your strengths?”

My strengths according to Gallup are: Ideation, WOO (Winning Others Over), Includer, Communication, and Adaptability.

Early in my career, I worked as a recruiter in banking and advertising. Little did I know at the time that these roles would use all five of my top strengths, especially WOO, Includer and Communication. In the Detroit, LA, and New York ad communities, the best and brightest people were highly sought after and my WOO was a huge asset. I never feared calling someone directly and asking them to consider working for us. My Ideation enabled me to figure out who to call and how to reach them. My WOO made it easy for me to talk to people and for them to want to hear more. My Communication helped me persuade them that we were an awesome company and that Detroit was a pretty cool place, snow and all.  I used those same strengths and my Includer while working with internal employees, helping them with employee relations issues, making sure that there was internal pay equity with outside and internal candidates. Interviewing people whose resumes looked a little different but seemed viable.

It is my current role with Purple Ink that truly uses all five strengths and more! As a recruiter, I love the process of making a great match between the employer and candidate. As an HR Consultant, my Adaptability has allowed me to go to clients and work on-site in the role of HR Manager.  In this role, I pick up where a previous HR Manager left off, learn the company’s needs, systems, and immediate goals. I assess potential compliance issues and handle the daily tasks at hand while looking to the future. My Ideation initiates process improvement and my WOO helps me form relationships in a short time, which is essential when navigating my way in a new company. It is also my pleasure and passion to share StrengthsFinder with clients as a coach and facilitator. Helping people become more self-aware of their talents and learning how to best develop those talents into strengths is a privilege. We spend a lot of time at work and knowing how to use our strengths and appreciate others’ strengths is critical to engagement in our job. Engaged employees work harder, smarter and produce better results. It’s a win-win, and everyone likes to be on a winning team. I’m proud to use my strengths as a part of our winning team at Purple Ink.

Keep following our blog to meet the rest of our team!  Want to learn more about your strengths?  Contact Purple Ink or email me directly, peggy@purpleinkllc.com. Purple Ink is happy to help!