StandOut™

About the Author

Marcus Buckingham is a leading authority on strengths, performance, and engagement. He first gained prominence with his groundbreaking book First, Break All the Rules, and has since authored several bestsellers that have sold over 4 million copies. His work centers around helping individuals and organizations leverage their unique strengths to achieve outstanding performance. Buckingham spent nearly two decades at The Gallup Organization, studying what drives exceptional performance in the world's best managers, before founding his own training and development firm, TMBC. Through TMBC, he teaches managers how to turn their associates' strengths into peak performance.

Main Idea

StandOut is an innovative strengths assessment designed to help individuals identify and harness their unique competitive edge at work. Unlike other assessments that merely affirm one's strengths, StandOut provides practical advice and actions to leverage these strengths effectively. This book not only offers a comprehensive understanding of various strength roles but also equips readers with actionable insights to make the most of their inherent abilities. Buckingham's extensive research and expertise culminate in this tool, which is particularly beneficial for managers looking to maximize their team's potential.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Chapter 1: The StandOut Assessment
• Chapter 2: Understanding Your Strengths
• Chapter 3: The Nine Strength Roles
• Chapter 4: Advisor
• Chapter 5: Connector
• Chapter 6: Creator
• Chapter 7: Equalizer
• Chapter 8: Influencer
• Chapter 9: Pioneer
• Chapter 10: Provider
• Chapter 11: Stimulator
• Chapter 12: Teacher
• Chapter 13: Applying Your Strengths in Real Life
• Conclusion

Introduction

In StandOut, Marcus Buckingham invites readers on a journey to discover and activate their unique competitive advantages at work. This book builds on Buckingham's extensive research into strengths and performance, offering readers a robust framework to understand and utilize their strengths. The StandOut assessment, a key component of the book, provides a detailed analysis of nine possible strength roles, each with unique characteristics and practical applications.

Chapter 1: The StandOut Assessment

The StandOut strengths assessment is more than just a tool; it is an innovation delivery system designed to reveal your edge and feed you practical innovations, tips, and techniques to sharpen this edge and win at work. The assessment is the product of a decade-long research initiative, rigorous statistical analysis, and sophisticated psychometrics. It is tailored to provide insights that are not only affirming but also actionable, helping individuals and organizations achieve sustainable success.

The Purpose of the Assessment

The purpose of the StandOut assessment is to identify your top two strength roles out of the nine possible roles. This focus on the top two roles ensures that the insights provided are both memorable and actionable. According to Buckingham, "Current thinking about effectiveness advises us to be flexible, versatile quick studies, ready-willing-and-able to jump from one challenge to another. A close scrutiny of excellence, however, reveals that our edge—our particular genius—is quite precise."

The Nine Strength Roles

The StandOut assessment identifies nine distinct strength roles: Advisor, Connector, Creator, Equalizer, Influencer, Pioneer, Provider, Stimulator, and Teacher. Each role is a combination of various themes that define how an individual engages with the world. These roles are not rigid categories but fluid and dynamic profiles that can evolve over time.

Chapter 2: Understanding Your Strengths

Understanding your strengths is the first step towards leveraging them effectively. Buckingham emphasizes that strengths are often unconscious and instinctive, making them difficult to pinpoint. He notes, "Your strengths are a part of you whether you're conscious of them or not. And because they're so woven into the fabric of who you are, they can actually be quite difficult to pinpoint."

Challenges in Identifying Strengths

One of the main challenges in identifying strengths is that they come so naturally to us that we might not recognize them as unique. This unconscious competence can lead to underutilization of our strengths. Additionally, others might not recognize or appreciate our unique strengths, further complicating the process of leveraging them effectively.

The Importance of Conscious Application

For strengths to be truly effective, they need to be applied consciously. This involves recognizing and remembering your strengths and then finding ways to apply them in your daily work. Buckingham explains, "In a world that doesn't really care about you and your strengths, the responsibility falls to you to apply your strengths consciously every day."

Chapter 3: The Nine Strength Roles

The heart of the StandOut assessment lies in the nine strength roles. Each role is defined by a unique combination of themes that describe how an individual engages with the world. Understanding these roles can help individuals and organizations make the most of their unique strengths.