Typically with Theme Thursday we start out with a little bit of the overture of the
theme and I want to take just a minute
to give you a little bit of insight into
the Focus theme for those of you who have studied this theme.
Some of the things that you know about Focus is it has a single-mindedness to it.
It has that goal orientation to it. When I think about Focus I think about a
light at the end of the tunnel and the ability to follow those tracks toward
that goal and even if you might get pulled off occasionally it's the ability
to get back on track quickly and continue the pursuit of the goal. As we
defined Focus through the Clifton StrengthsFinder, people exceptionally
talented in the Focus theme are people who take direction, follow through and
make the necessary corrections to stay on track.
They're excellent at prioritization,
but it's not just prioritizing, it's also taking that action. So, I'm excited for us
to hear Jim help us explore that today. People with Focus think about goals
being their compass. That compass helps them figure out what ought be my
priorities and and if I need to make an alteration to that set of goals, I'll
do so to stay the course.
Focus becomes powerful for individuals because it allows them to
filter, to sort, to mentally organize perhaps. And I think about people with
Focus having kind of that instinctual ability to evaluate everything that
they do. To say, "Gosh, if I do this, does it take me one step
closer to my goal or not?"
and I might choose what I do accordingly. In the end, people with Focus
tend to be efficient because that ability to prioritize makes sure we're
doing what's efficient and effective. I love having people with Focus on my team,
because that single-mindedness enables people to kind of
speed up what they do and the
quality of performance and helps keep us all on track. So when you think about the
power and edge to Focus, if people are starting to go down different paths or,
you know, taking different approaches, the Focus can get people back to the main
road. They help the rest of us avoid time-consuming distractions that might
not really be of value in the long run. So when you see Focus in action, those
with Focus around us they're the people that take that direction,
follow-through, correct and stay on track, they prioritize then act. They set goals
that help them be effective and efficient. There's perseverance sometimes with
Focus. It's that ability to stay with something for a long period of time and
sometimes maybe even lose yourself in timelessness while pursuing a goal. And
people with Focus also tend to instinctively have that ability to honor
timelines and commitments so they're well aware of the due date or, you know,
the goal date and pursue that as they make their way through.
I oftentimes think about people with Focus describe themselves as being very
intent, intensely and intentionally single-minded so it's,
"I'm going to pursue this and that's going to be my goal and I'm not going
to let other things take
me off track." They will persevere until the goal's reached.
They bring to the team a sense of clarity because of their concentration
and their focus on direction and they need a
goal in order to establish their
priorities. Focus will claim to love starting with the end in mind so the
Focus person is better off when they know where we're headed in the long run
before I start taking my first steps in the journey.
If you want to drive your Focus
friends a little bit crazy try just going off on tangents. That will get them
fired up. And and oftentimes your friends with Focus will be the people that you
describe as being "in a zone." They get in a zone and they come to love their time
when they're in their zone. So Harter, I'm curious to hear some of your zone
moments. I always feel compelled that we have to share a little bit about the
barrier labels so when I think about the barrier labels that people with Focus
oftentimes will report. They talk about sometimes I can be
that person who's, you know, intense. Sometimes people view me from the
outside as stressed out because of my Focus.
Think I have a tough time relaxing or I'm rude in what I'm doing.
One client this morning mentioned to me that she really has put this
on her mirror, you know, in a couple of places where she frequents to remind
her that the destination, my focus on the destination may limit my enjoyment in
the moment or the enjoyment of the journey. And I think that maybe for some
people with Focus there's such intentionality and intensity around the
goal that at times we aren't in the present and really relishing that moment.
But I always think about with Focus one of the things that a person with Focus
might say is "I have a goal" where a person with Futuristic might say "hey, I
had a dream." And Focus will usually say, "I
have a goal I plan to reach." A person
with Discipline says, "I have a plan to reach my goal." So, when I think about
Focus, I have it myself. Jim Harter, you lead with Focus in your
top five. It's number two for you. When we think about the themes and the
combinations of themes what shows up most frequently, least frequently;
it was interesting to me as I studied your 34 themes
sequence, you have Achiever at number one which is the most likely theme we find
pairs with Focus so you're very typical and normal so, just to reassure you in case
you weren't feeling normal today. Least likely
to pair with Focus
is the talent theme of Connectedness.
Also pretty unlikely would be Adaptability, Belief or Context and a
couple of those are lower down on your list, so just always
interesting to see I'm always looking for that person that might have one of
those least likely along with you know the Focus to find someone who has
Connectedness and Focus together would be fascinating to those of us who coach
strengths but
with that I think gosh that's a little bit about Focus.