
You’ve probably heard that statement dozens of times, applied to just as many concepts. But have you considered how it applies to strengths?
Perhaps you’ve heard of or facilitated a strengths activity
called “Balconies and Basements.” This is a perception activity. Several years
ago, I was facilitating a session with a group of leaders about “barrier
labels” -- the negative perceptions people have of individual themes that prevent
us from experiencing their full potential. Examples of this might include
Futuristic being labeled as “head in the clouds” or Deliberative being labeled
as a “wet blanket.” I wanted to drive home the point that talents, patterns of
thoughts, feelings or behaviors, are neither positive nor negative. Rather, our
perceptions of them in others and our application of our own strengths make
them positive or negative. So, I asked a simple question after I’d asked folks
to brainstorm the positive and negative labels: “Which one of these lists is
reality?”
Predictably, the answer was, “Both.” This, of course, is
exactly right. Needing a way to anchor the concept and make it memorable, I
introduced the notion that our viewpoint can be either from the basement or
from the balcony. Obviously, the balcony has a much better view. Critically, we
choose how we see the strengths of others. If they are not like us or we fail
to understand their talent, we might, consciously or unconsciously, view their
talent negatively -- from the basement. Conversely, if we elect to see that
talent as unique, even when it does things we don’t understand or anticipate, we
choose to see the value it adds -- the balcony view.
We can choose how we perceive others. But perception is not
the only lesson of “Balconies and Basements.” We must also consider how we
manage our own themes, and the potential ways others may understand them. We do
this by wielding those strengths well. This starts by understanding the value
of our themes, as well as their potential vulnerabilities. For example, Responsibility
tends to be follow-through oriented, but this might feel overbearing to some. To
ensure that high Responsibility is not perceived as micromanaging, those who
have it can be proactive and explain their desire to be kept in the loop,
initiating a conversation about how often check-ins should happen and making it
clear that they trust others to complete the work. Individuals with high
Intellection can explain that if they do not contribute to a discussion in a
meeting, it is not because they are disinterested, but because they prefer not
to speak without having thought carefully about an issue first. They can
prepare others for the possibility that their best ideas and perspectives might
come in the hours or days after the meeting, not during it.
So why is all of this important? Too many times, we allow
StrengthsFinder results to be weakness-finding in disguise. Knowing the basement
of a theme is not useful so that we can call it out in others. Instead,
understanding and appreciating the basements of our themes can help us do six
critical things:
- examine our own
perceptions of the talents of others
- reveal our potential
biases
- enable us to choose a
strengths-based focus
- broaden and deepen our
conversations with others about how they wield their talents and how we
perceive them
- understand how our
strengths might be perceived by others
- enact proactive strategies to manage others’ perceptions

Stosh's top five strengths are: Responsibility, Belief, Achiever, Input and Learner.
4 comments :
Hi Stosh, great blog! Thanks so much for sharing with extreme clarity the benefits of carefully monitoring our perceptions! Well done!
Love the final quote - worth adding to my slide decks: "Themes are neutral; perceptions are not. Therefore, perceptions must be identified and managed proactively, whether we are perceiving or being perceived."
I just came upon this again. This is an excellent description of the value of talking "Balconies and Basements." Brings it back to the practical. Great point about "weakness fixing in disguise."
Excellent insightful post Stosh! Thanks for mentioning it on FB again Jim Collison.
I also think our intentions matter because others perceive our intentions (at least sometimes). When we consider how we are impacting others and aim for positive intent, we will more likely act in ways that will be perceived positively by others. When we shape our perceptions of others through positive intent - through the lens of talent themes - we are more likely to perceive them positively (as this blog eloquently describes.)
Post a Comment