Trump is a decisive figure. Whether you agree or disagree with his political standpoint, I find it interesting to dissect his position/approach as a leader who has managed to win over enough of people to become re-elected as the President of the US. So what are his leadership strengths?
I’m a great advocate for Strengths Finder and love using the instrument with teams of leaders and staff in schools to increase their self-awareness and better understand what they contribute to their teams. Earlier in the year I was working with the Metro Aspiring Leaders program in Brisbane and the participants challenged me to ‘guess’ what Trump’s strengths would be, if he completed the Strengths Finder instrument.
I recently shared Simon Sinek’s strengths. You can read the article here.
So here is my ‘guess’ as to what I think Trump’s strengths would probably be if he completed the Strengths Finder instrument.
SIGNIFICANCE – People with this strength want to be very important in others’ eyes. They are independent and want to be recognised.
COMPETITION – People with this strength measure their progress against the performance of others. They thrive to win first place and revel in contests.
SELF – ASSURANCE – People with this strength feel confident in their ability to manage their own lives. They possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their decisions are right.
COMMAND – People with the Command strength have presence. They can take control of a situation and make decisions.
STRATEGIC – People with this strength create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.
So there is my educated guess as to what Trump’s strengths are.
How did I go? Do they resonate?
The Strength Finder instrument identifies your top 5 strengths and highlights which domain they are from. Whilst it is tempting as an individual to want to cover all four domains, individuals with a number of strengths in one domain might not have coverage of all four domains. This is where our colleagues complement us by bringing other strengths to the table.
The 34 strengths fit under four domains.
EXECUTING – getting things done. Taking an idea and making it happen.
INFLUENCING – communicating on behalf of the team. This includes advocating for the team, both inside the school and outside as well.
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING – the people skills necessary to connect with people and build relationships based on trust.
STRATEGIC THINKING – being future focused and seeing where improvements can be made.
It is interesting to note for my guess on Trump’s strengths is that the first four strengths (Significance, Competition, Self-Assurance and Command) all fall under the domain of INFLUENCE. Perhaps that’s why such a divisive figure has managed to get the majority of voting Americans to re-elect him.
People with the strength to INFLUENCE help their team reach a much broader audience. They are always selling the team’s ideas inside and outside the organisation. When you need someone to take charge, speak up and make sure your group is heard, look to someone with the strength to influence.
In every School Leadership team that I have worked with, their blind side (the domain with the fewest strengths on the team) is INFLUENCE. Is it the same with your leadership team?
What Strengths does your Leadership Team have?
What are the Strengths that you bring to the team?
Get in touch if you’d like me to work with your leadership team in 2025.