My third top skill as determined by Clifton Strengths is Strategic, which they describe as the following:
People with strong Strategic talents can sort through the clutter to find the best route. You can’t teach this skill. It is a distinct way of thinking — a unique perspective on the world at large. This outlook allows them to see patterns where others see complexity. Mindful of these patterns, they envision alternative scenarios, always asking, “What if this happened?” This recurring question helps them see, plan and prepare for future situations. They see a way when others assume there is no way. Armed with this strategy, they move forward.
My personalized insights that make my Strategic unique are the following:
Instinctively, I am inclined to prepare for the worst — not necessarily because I think the worst will happen, but because it is the sensible thing to do.
I can design innovative plans, raise issues, and identify recurring obstacles as I generate tactical options. Problems and possible solutions become apparent to me, and once I outline action steps, I quickly execute them one by one, refusing to waste time questioning my ideas after everything has been set into motion.
Regularly make contingency plans for different consequences. These plans give me the confidence to move forward in a world of uncertainty.
By nature, I customarily pinpoint the core problems and identify the best solutions. I artfully and skillfully eliminate distractions. This helps people gain a clear understanding of what is happening and why it is happening. I also frequently identify ways to transform an obstacle into an opportunity.
In my life, whenever I approach a problem and situation, I find myself trying to determine a logical plan in order to achieve the best or most optimal outcome, while also planning for any roadblocks that may occur along the way. I think this skill is most evident in my love for chess. I naturally tend to spot patterns quite quickly and I was originally drawn to chess as its complexity as a puzzle, only to find out its one that is way to difficult for any human, or even any computer, to completely solve. Nevertheless, being able to calculate ahead, determine whether you are in a losing or winning position, and form a plan of either attack or defense is crucial in chess, and my skill of "strategic" undoubtedly helps me here.
A downside of this skill though is seen in one of the unique insights, that being that once I execute this plan, I refuse to waste time questioning the idea, which can occasionally be a problem if the plan itself has faults. If there is something I or the team may have missed in developing the plan, it may be overlooked when problems start to occur. Keeping this in mind though, when problems arrive in various situations and projects, I work to not be blinded for my bias of my "perfect plan"