Pairing and Expanding Your Strengths: Command

On this Theme Thursday Season 2 webcast, Jim Collison, Gallup's Director of Talent Sourcing, and Maika Leibbrandt, Gallup Advanced Learning and Development Consultant, discussed the theme of Command.

Command is the least common theme, and therefore, it can become a caricature of a strength because people don't interact with others with high Command as often as other themes. But once Command is understood, it easy strength to love. Command is about explosion and presence. It is never passive, but not aggressive either. Command is the kid on the playground that everyone else tends to follow. Command is the leader that pushes teams through barriers and beyond obstacles. Command has the presence, courage and ability to be clear and dispassionate in an influential way. People with Command are decisive, sometimes controlling and incredibly inspirational. They believe and operate in absolutes. People talented in the Command theme have no uncertainty.

Recently, Jim has received a lot of questions on how the terms "raw" and "basement" and "mature" and "balcony" relate to one another. He asked Maika to explain if those terms are interchangeable or not. Maika said, "While they are similar terms, they are not the same." Being in the balcony or basement of your strength is influenced by your well-being. Are you sick, hungry or tired? If you are, then you are more likely to operate in the basement of your strengths. She said, "Basements and balconies are like the force -- the basements are the dark side and balconies are the light side." On the other hand, the terms "raw" and "mature" express a person's development journey in their strengths. It is not about using your strengths for good or for bad; it is about understanding where you are in growing with your strengths.

To learn more about Command, watch the full video or listen to the audio above.