I’m a Leo. I was born in the Year of the Ram. I’m an ENFJ. Despite any suggestions to the contrary, I belong in Ravenclaw (the hat’s opinion may differ at first, but my intent would be taken into consideration, dammit).
There are a lot of fun labels for me and the way I am. I seek them out. I mean, I don’t submit myself to every one of those surveys that get posted on Facebook, but once in a while the results are amusing and can serve as good smalltalk fodder or, honestly, something to post to my timeline as “proof of life”.
When I took the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment, though, it identified a quality in me with which I’ve started to associate most over the last couple of years. And despite that assessment’s results being just as much of a simplification of a human being as any of the less… sober analyses, it relates specifically and accurately to the way I work. The way I like to work. The way in which I feel most fulfilled while working. And that’s why I’ve been inclined to take it more seriously.
According to the good people at Gallup, first and foremost, I am an Ideator.
Okay, technically my top strength is Ideation. But seeing as Arranger and Learner are also among my top strengths (and not “Arranging” or “Learning”), I’m calling myself an Ideator. And I’m not just saying that for the sake of a headline that makes me feel cool while referencing a movie from the 80’s that made a significant impression on me. It’s part of a trend of me thinking about the names I call myself. It’s a surprising pivot from the way I was thinking when I wrote this last year. But lately, yeah, I’ve had lots of reasons to continue thinking about titles.
Now, my being an Ideator may not come as a surprise to anyone who knows me well, but until I’d taken that assessment I didn’t really know it was a thing for which there was a word. It was as though a vapour or haze had descended, revealing a lattice of laser beams that had been there all along. And, much like the ideation process itself, there was suddenly a series of intricate connections where none had previously been identified. Clarity as a result of fog. That analogy seems more fitting the more I think about it.
So, that’s the Ideator part of the title sorted. The Flight? Well…
On the morning of January 11th, 2017, I had a job.
On the morning of January 12th, 2017, I didn’t.
We’ll start there next time.