Hey bloggers,
I have asked many close family members, friends and confidants a bunch of questions in order understand what others think of me. Knowing people's perception helps one understand what reality is. I truly appreciated hearing the honest responses from these important people in my life. Some of the most in depth and honest responses came from the following: my brother, both my parents, my grandparents, my two best friends, and my future sister-in-law.
Although all of the responses where unique and different many of them had a lot of commonalities and overlap. When my family and friends were prompted to describe me, many of them talked about my self-confidence, maturity, great memory, ability to create and nurture relationships, motivation, sensitivity towards others and their feelings, and finally approachable and friendly demeanor.
Strengths:
Several of the responses talked about my determination and results driven capabilities. My family and friends discussed my ability to not let obstacles restrict me from achieving the results I desire. This strength allows me to accurately assess, analyze, articulate and act appropriately for the task at hand. My father noted that I most likely observed and embraced this strength from my mother and grandmother. He joked that I am a third generation recipient of this capability.
Another strength that was elicited from the responses was my EQ (emotional quotient). Which is a person's intelligence in regard to theirs or other people's emotions. This is the ability to control and monitor what they or other people are feeling. This allows me to be sensitive to how others are feeling and act accordingly. One response stated that this is the strength that makes me the most unique since it is far more rare and valuable than smarts and hard work.
The last strength that majority of the responses noted was my personable and mature demeanor. Many of the responses spoke about how this extended past my peers but into professionals, educators, and even strangers. I am able to understand the value of relationships, as well as maintain and nurture them. This is a characteristic I share with my brother and we both have received frequent compliments about this trait by numerous people.
Weaknesses:
Although one does not love hearing about their flaws, I did find it incredibly valuable to hear where I need improvements. No one is perfect, but everyone can strive to better themselves in one way or another, and hearing about one's weaknesses allows them to change them for the future.
Numerous of the responses noted that I take a little too much comfort in the camaraderie of groups. Sometimes my desire to join or fit into a specific "group" outweighs what I would normally find happiness in. In addition, I am not one to take a "solo route" despite my desire to be viewed as independent. Although this is one of my biggest downfalls, I was reassured in the responses that this is something that
everyone struggles with, especially people that are into their own. My older brother, who I look up to, even admitted in his reply that he has struggled with this, even as of recent. I personally have noticed that this weakness has become more apparent while studying abroad. Being thrown into a different country with a large group of strangers has been a little tough for me. I have been working hard to find a group of people that works for me, but I can see that there have been times that my attempts to join a group has hampered where I would normally find happiness in this once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
The last negative characteristic I possess identified by my family and friends is that I am too self-critical. This is characteristic that I am very much aware of and would really like to change about myself. This weakness becomes very evident when I am in new and unfamiliar situations. When my comfort level is disturbed this causes me to become hyper-focused on my actions and relationships. Although it is good to be critical of one's self in order to improve over the years, being too critical can be destructive. One of the recent events that made this weakness apparent to me was when I interviewed with Illinois Business Consulting. After each round of interviewing I would over analyze everything I did throughout the interview. This causes me to psych myself out and make me think negatively about my own abilities and actions.
Overall, I found it incredibly fascinating to hearing all the responses from my friends and family. It has given me a better insight to myself.
Best,
Jennifer
Every product and every person has a "feature-benefit" that offers an identifiable and distinguishable benefit for their customer or client. There is always one dominant feature that sets one apart from everyone else. While I may depend on people and camaraderie too much, am too self-critical at times, and narrow my focus too much when in "accomplishment mode," these weakness never overshine my determination and ability to be sensitive to how others are feeling. With the combination of these two attributes I am very effective and successful in groups and at all tasks at hand. If one is placed on a team with me, desirable results will be achieved and all group members will be heard and able to deliver their strengths to the group. I invest a great deal of my energy in others and will always stay true to my brand when facing new obstacles. The brand I have created over the past 20 years has its flaws, but it will deliver organized and high quality results while always keeping in mind my team members and my client. The client's desired outcome and success is always at the top of my priorities.
