In StrengthsFinder we speak a lot about talents, and we often say that you can’t be anyone you want, but you can be more of who you already are. We also know that StrengthsFinder is mainly a developmental tool and not a selection tool. While people may find that there may be some correlation of certain talents with certain jobs, your talents alone may not be the best way to identify where to go.
One of the ways that can help us gain clarity is to consult our six honest serving men:
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
– Rudyard Kipling, The Elephant’s Child
Some time back, I attended a teamwork talk by Raj Mannar from the Navigators. The tagline on his card says “Connecting Talent, Passion and Purpose.” And during the talk he spoke of gifting (areas of talent and strength) and passion. And he mentioned that his people always jumped at the roles he gave then because it was their passion. Wherever your gifting meets your passion, something magical happens.
Why did I mention the six honest serving men?
Because I think that there is a way to think about the roles of our Talents and our Passions.
At the talk, Raj mentioned that the gifting tells us what you do, and your passion tells us where to do it. For example, your gifting may be in the area of singing, but the passion will tell you where to sing, perhaps at the prisons to inmates? Or to the elderly? Or on stage in front of a large audience?
This is a great insight, and I thought of taking it further. Here is where the six honest serving man comes in, and this is my attempt to put then all together:
I think that when we are able to answer the questions of Talent, Purpose and Passion, that will help us to really identify what drives us, and what we can do that will make us the most fulfilled.
What are your thoughts on how you would place the six honest serving men on the diagram? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments below and let’s see where that gets us.
