Individualization

Your Individualization theme leads you to be intrigued by the unique qualities of each person. You are impatient with generalizations or “types” because you don’t want to obscure what is special and distinct about each person. Instead, you focus on the differences between individuals. You instinctively observe each person’s style, each person’s motivation, how each thinks, and how each builds relationships. You hear the one-of-a-kind stories in each person’s life. This theme explains why you pick your friends just the right birthday gift, why you know that one person prefers praise in public and another detests it, and why you tailor your teaching style to accommodate one person’s need to be shown and another’s desire to “figure it out as I go.” Because you are such a keen observer of other people’s strengths, you can draw out the best in each person. This Individualization theme also helps you build productive teams. While some search around for the perfect team “structure” or “process,” you know instinctively that the secret to great teams is casting by individual strengths so that everyone can do a lot of what they do well.

The genius of your Individualization talent is that you see each and every person and a one of a kind, distinct individual. But more than that, you see the particular factors, qualities, characteristics, thoughts, and perception that make each person distinct. You see each person as a mosaic of highly individual factors each of which contribute to a person’s distinctiveness. This includes both personal qualities and past events that have formed the person. You are curious about their individual characteristics and you find yourself thinking and asking questions about what makes each person so distinct. This results in people feeling special and prized by your attention. But all of this simply lays a foundation for the genius of your Individualization. Your genius is that armed with all of this thinking and question-asking, you attempt to interact with each person based on their individual qualities. This leads to meaningful and very helpful relationships.