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A Look at Self-Assurance

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People exceptionally talented in the Self-Assurance theme feel confident in their ability to manage their own lives. They possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their decisions are right.    
CliftonStrengths

This week, our guest blogger is Connie Gildersleeve. Connie is the Program Coordinator for TeamMates of Holt County and has been mentoring since 2014. Connie is also a tremendous strengths advocate, being a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach and an Entrepreneur with Connie Lea Creative. Her top 5 are Futuristic, Positivity, Maximizer, Strategic, and Self-Assurance. Here’s what Self-Assurance looks like for Connie:



“With my dominant Talent Themes, I get excited & dream up big ideas on a regular basis.  My Self-Assurance doesn’t allow time for doubting IF these things are possible, because my other dominant themes are already trying to MAKE them possible!” 

We are all so use to just living our lives the best way we know how and it's easy to forget that other people don't think the same way we do. I am so grateful for Clifton Strengths which now gives me a language to explain and further understand my own behaviors.   Out of all my dominant themes (and I claim my Top 10 as all being pretty equal in my day-to-day life) I believe Self-Assurance is the hardest to put into words. 
My  Futuristic, Positivity, Maximizer, Strategic, Ideation, Activator, Adaptability and Woo are very visible and can easily be tied to specific actions throughout my day.   However, my Self-Assurance and Belief themes are more like internal guidance systems that lead me without  consciously thinking about them.

When taking a deeper dive into understanding my own strengths, I was almost embarrassed to discover in my research that others might view one of my dominant themes as “arrogant”.   Being naturally wired with Self-Assurance, I am very independent, I do like to make my own decisions and I don’t spend a lot of time wondering what others think about those decisions because my gut has already told me if it’s “right for me”.  I don’t mean for this to be disrespectful to anyone and I certainly don’t want to be seen as arrogant, this is just my natural way of moving forward.  This does not mean that decision making is always easy for those with Self-Assurance.  When faced with very difficult decisions to make, my Futuristic and Strategic kick in with a good old-fashioned Pros & Cons chart on poster board.  Sometimes this visual aid helps me to better SEE the future I want, which brings clarity to the decision making process.


One of the most valuable benefits of discovering strengths, is when you understand everyone else has their own view of the world shaped by their own dominant talent themes.  I’ve experienced my Self-Assurance being confused with Competition which is #21 for me.  If I have a different opinion than someone else, I don’t need to “win” the debate, I’m just very comfortable with my personal position on the subject. 

I believe my Self-Assurance paired with my Futuristic and/or Positivity draws me to confident people.  I love spending time with people who like to share their ideas, spread happiness and exude confidence that they can put things into action.  As a Program Coordinator for TeamMates, I am fortunate to work with a board of directors that have a positive vision for our chapter and a desire to make things happen. 

As a TeamMates mentor with Futuristic & Self-Assurance matched with a “Future Thinker” mentee with “Confidence” we have an absolute blast together imagining all the possibilities that lie ahead for us.  I know with all my heart we will be life-long friends and I can’t wait to see the places this young girl will go.   As a Program Coordinator, it makes me wonder if taking the Clifton Strengths assessment were part of the application process if it would make the matching process a bit more magical.  But my Self-Assurance is already saying no, as sometimes we need the polar opposites in our lives to help us see the world in the realistic complexity that it is. 
-Connie

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