Clifton Strength of the Month: Activator
“When can we start?" Activators are always ready to take action. Activator is in the influencing domain because it comes with energy that is often contagious.
A Mature Activator:
Pushes intentionally, urgently & relevantly
Feels when there is opportunity to take action
Helps people begin
Anticipants
A Raw Activator might:
Push impulsively, impatiently & indiscriminately
Act impulsively
Fail to finish
React
What I see as a coach
As a coach I deeply understand my clients who have Activator because I also have Activator in my top five. People with Activator can make things happen because they turn thoughts into actions. They are great at getting things started and often thrive on the front end of any project.
Sometimes Activators can struggle with finishing projects which is why it can be advantageous to partner with someone with strong Focus. It can also be helpful to work with folks who have strong Strategic or Analytical so they can help you anticipant obstacles. Just be sure to have open, kind conversations with each other so you aren’t building resentment (“that’s not the way I would do it”…).
My own Activator has helped me in my career often. I am quick to raise my hand and can easily bring energy to new projects. As a business owner who is constantly working with new clients this is a great asset. However, I haven’t always worked for myself. I’d like to share a personal story about how my Activator has gotten me into complicated workplace situations.
My Raw Activator Story
Early in my career I worked in higher education. I LOVED this work, it was so fulfilling and I was truly passionate about helping students be their best. Before I was a director of a career center, I was a career coach. While I’d like to believe I was a dream employee, in hindsight, I know this wasn’t the case. If you asked my former supervisor I am sure she’d have plenty to say about me and most of it would probably be true! Here’s my self-evaluation: my Activator (in partnership with my Woo and Communication-all in the influencing domain) made me an idea menace. We’d be sitting in a meeting, either myself or someone else would have an idea that I thought was amazing, and before anyone knew what had happened I convinced everyone that this was the best idea ever and here’s how’d we do it and LET’S GET STARTED NOW! My influencing themes would go to work and everyone would start running to implement this new idea, well, everyone except my supervisor who was much more thoughtful and considerate when making decisions. At the time, I was so confused, “This is a good idea!” I’d say totally convinced that my boss had more of an issue with me than the idea. Which maybe she did because I was constantly highjacking meetings with my high energy and, unknowingly, convincing everyone else to follow me. I am sure sometimes the ideas were good. I am also sure sometimes the ideas were NOT good. My Activator was very raw back then. I was impulsive and impatient. I wanted to run into the fire without ever considering if I’d get burned.
It’s been eight years since I worked in that office. Since then I’ve lead a career center as the director, started my own business, gotten married, and had three children. I’ve also spent the past eight years digging deeper into Clifton Strengths and learning how they show up for people. Being a coach often leads to self-reflection and, hopefully, personal growth too. I still have to be careful to not let my Activator run me into fire, but I’ve learned how to say, “let’s think on it for a day” and “I’ll get back to you”. By making it a habit to use these key phrases, I control my Activator allowing my other strengths to also weigh in on the decision making process. Can you remember a time when your raw Activator led you down an undesirable path? What did you do to correct course on future decisions? Comment on this post!