A Look at Achiever

People exceptionally talented in the Achiever theme work hard and possess a great deal of stamina. They take immense satisfaction in being busy and productive.

CliftonStrengths

This week, our guest blogger is Mallory Gregory. Mallory is the co-coordinator for the TeamMates program in Waverly, Nebraska. Her top 5 Strengths are Achiever, Relator, Learner, Responsibility, and Belief. Here is what Achiever looks like for Mallory: 

"Mrs. Gregory, if you were an animal, what would you be?"  What a fun question to think about.  A senior student of mine asked me this exact question at the start of this school year.  I replied and said, "Well, I would love to be an eagle because it would be so cool to soar and see the beauty of our country from above."  My student immediately replied, "Well that's an interesting thought but I think you would be a golden retriever.  You talk a lot, your loud with a lot of excitement...a lot like a loud yippy golden retriever.  Oh, and you are very caring like the heart of golden retrievers, too."  I chuckle every time I think of that conversation because without even being aware of it, I was being strengths-spotted (at least I hope he meant to view them as strengths and not as insults!) by a teenager within the first week of school.  

After leaving that conversation and pondering it on my drive home, all I really knew about a golden retriever was that they do indeed bark very loudly (our neighbor use to have one so loud is somewhat of an understatement), are high energy, and can be good hunting dogs.  So, after reliving that conversation over and over in my head I decided I needed to learn a little bit more about the breed if in fact my student was right and I would be a golden retriever in another life.  

The Wikipedia definition of a golden retriever: "The Golden Retriever is popular as a disability assistance dog...In addition, they are trained to be a hunting dog, a detection dog, and a search and rescue participant. The breed's friendly, gentle temperament means it is unsuited to being a professional guard dog, but its temperament has also made it the third-most popular family dog breed." 

After learning the basics, I was having a hard time paralleling a golden retriever to my #1 strength of Achiever.  From Wikipedia's definition, a golden retriever seemed to be more strongly connected with a few of my other strengths of Responsibility (obedient/disciplined), Learner (teachable), Relator (popular family dog breed), and Belief (gentle temperament and loyal).  Achiever just wasn't standing out to me with the golden retriever.  An eagle on the other hand, now that just shouts out Achiever wouldn't you agree?  An eagle, just like an Achiever in many people's eyes, soars, is majestic, full of strength, and is a prominent, leading figure for others.  So, I was going to just dismiss the idea of using this entire story with the golden retriever conversation for this blog until a thought popped in my head when I was reflecting on how Achiever looks in my life now and did in my past.

Achiever in my past was something that did indeed come naturally to me.  It bothered me to get less than an A in class or miss out on a club or competition.  But, Achiever in my past didn't show the majestic strength like that of an eagle.  In fact, Achiever in my past was often labeled as over-achiever, brown nos-er, too good, etc. etc.  Growing up, I was blessed to have family, friends, and teachers that encouraged my strength of Achiever and provided me with opportunities to continue to grow in this area.  There were many times growing up that the negative labels that come with Achiever would lead me to second guess myself and the work I was involved with.  Jumping ahead to Achiever in my present life, I find myself not thinking about the negative labels that can come with Achiever, but using Achiever to serve my family, my work, and my community.  Without a cause or a core value, I wouldn't have something noble and worthwhile to use my strength of Achiever towards.  I am blessed to have, day in and day out, a cause and value that burns deep in my heart that does give me something to contribute towards.

The more I think about Achiever and a golden retriever versus an eagle, the more I see a deeper connection with Achiever and a golden retriever (and it's not just because they rhyme!).  In my life, I am coming to learn my #1 strength of Achiever is a result of my other four strengths (Relator, Belief, Responsibility, Learner).  A golden retriever's obedience, compassion, teachability, and gentle temperament allows it to serve others better than almost any other breed of dogs.  Through a golden retriever's service to it's owner, it is contributing to that person's success and quality of life.  When I allow my empathy, values, commitment, and curiosity lead the way, my strength of Achiever is supported and thrives to it's highest potential.  

So, the next time you are working with or around someone with the strength of Achiever, I challenge you to find the compassion and values of love and equality in that Achiever's heart.  I challenge you to see how their strength of Achiever is a result of their selfless desire to help and serve others.  I challenge you to label them as a golden retriever and not an eagle.  I can't believe I am saying this but a golden retriever-that is what I hope my strength of Achiever parallels and models each and every day for my family, my work, and my community.  The strength of Achiever does not stand alone.  It is a result of His love.  I am blessed God used one of my students to help teach me about my gift of Achiever He created in me.   

-Mallory