Here is the description of the Maximizer Theme from the Gallup Business Journal:
“Excellence, not average, is your measure. Taking something from below average to slightly above average takes a great deal of effort and in your opinion is not very rewarding. Transforming something strong into something superb takes just as much effort but is much more thrilling. Strengths, whether yours or someone else’s, fascinate you. Like a diver after pearls, you search them out, watching for the telltale signs of a strength. A glimpse of untutored excellence, rapid learning, a skill mastered without recourse to steps — all these are clues that a strength may be in play. And having found a strength, you feel compelled to nurture it, refine it, and stretch it toward excellence. You polish the pearl until it shines. This natural sorting of strengths means that others see you as discriminating. You choose to spend time with people who appreciate your particular strengths. Likewise, you are attracted to others who seem to have found and cultivated their own strengths. You tend to avoid those who want to fix you and make you well rounded. You don’t want to spend your life bemoaning what you lack. Rather, you want to capitalize on the gifts with which you are blessed. It’s more fun. It’s more productive. And, counterintuitively, it is more demanding.”
The Maximizer Theme is characterised by Excellence, and can oftentimes be seen as perfectionism. They naturally set high standards (that may keep moving higher), which can sometimes frustrate other people.
They often gravitate towards what’s good to make things better. From their perspective, it may appear that they are seeing all the problems, or – in other words – all the areas that aren’t good enough. In this regard, they may feel that they are fixing weaknesses instead of building strengths. However, an alternative perspective that might be helpful is that they are refining strengths that have not been developed to their full potential. Indeed, third parties often highlight how Maximizers are able to identify what is good and make it excellent, although somewhat obsessively at times.
If you are a Maximizer, you may find yourself working excessively on a single task, making it as good as it can possibly be.
To prevent this from being a source of stress, one thing you may consider doing is to define the benchmark, i.e. what is “Good Enough”, so that you will know when you can stop working on something and move on to something else. This will also help you to manage your tendency toward perfectionism, which can be an obstacle in some contexts.
When you are working with people, be aware of your language and how you communicate. You may at times take strengths (yours or that of others) for granted. Learn to articulate what strengths you see, and explain how you see them becoming great. Be conscious not to send the message to others that they are “not good enough”; instead, encourage them by telling them how great their strengths are, and how much greater they can and will be! (Ok, that’s partially my Developer Theme speaking as well, but I believe that’s true for Maximizers!)
