People with strong Context talents are at their best when they are enhancing quality by ensuring people don’t repeat mistakes.

Context®

A theme in the Strategic Thinking domain of CliftonStrengths

People exceptionally talented in the Context theme enjoy thinking about the past. They understand the present by researching its history.

 

Full Theme Description

You look back. You look back because that is where the answers lie. You look back to understand the present.

From your vantage point the present is unstable, a confusing clamour of competing voices. It is only by casting your mind back to an earlier time, a time when the plans were being drawn up, that the present regains its stability.

The earlier time was a simpler time. It was a time of blueprints. As you look back, you begin to see these blueprints emerge. You realise what the initial intentions were. These blueprints or intentions have since become so embellished that they are almost unrecognisable, but now this Context theme reveals them again. This understanding brings you confidence. No longer disoriented, you make better decisions because you sense the underlying structure.

You become a better partner because you understand how your colleagues came to be who they are. And counterintuitively, you become wiser about the future because you saw its seeds being sown in the past. Faced with new people and new situations, it will take you a little time to orient yourself, but you must give yourself this time.

You must discipline yourself to ask the questions and allow the blueprints to emerge because no matter what the situation, if you haven't seen the blueprints, you will have less confidence in your decisions.

 

This Theme’s Power and Edge

Checking the rearview mirror is essential for safe driving. It keeps drivers up to date with what’s happening behind them. In the same way, the genius of people with strong Context is their unique ability to understand the link between where they have come from and where they are going.

 

How People with Strong Context Talents Describe Themselves

  • "I am appreciative of my predecessors and prior events."

  • "I need relevant background for discussions and decisions."

  • "I love the retrospective."

  • "I hate when the past is forgotten."

  • "I bring accurate memories and valuable memorabilia."

 

Theme Contrast

Context “I naturally remember and revere what has been.”
Futuristic “I naturally anticipate and imagine what could or should be.”
Context “I can proceed when I understand the history.”
Focus “I can proceed when the goal is clear.”
 

Context Helps and Hinders

Helps

  • Because you look for cause and effect, in times of change you can help your team understand and appreciate the reasons for making changes.

  • You have the ability to focus on the past and learn from the past in order to succeed in the future. Having learned from past situations, you and your team will be equipped to avoid repeating mistakes.

  • In building team and organisational culture, you tend to be the keeper of enduring values — the best of what we have been is what we will continue to be.

  • Your natural tendency to look back in order to understand "why" can, when focused intentionally, result in collecting best practices that can be applied to your current situation and ensure future success.

Hinders

  • You might have a harder time than others when it comes to dealing with change. Avoid a "we've always done it that way" mentality, and instead look for ways to incorporate the best of what has been into the blueprint for future success.

  • You can be perceived as rigid or "stuck in the past." Sometimes you need a clear-eyed realism to recognise that the "good old days" might not have been so good.

  • Don't let your tendency to look for connections between past and present cause you to become blind to the opportunities that are in the here and now.

  • Longing and wishing for an earlier era to miraculously reappear is unrealistic and inhibiting. If you start feeling this way, remember that this is the time you have been given -- not some other era, but now.

 

If Context is a Dominant Theme for You, Take Action to Maximise Your Potential

  • Help your organisation strengthen its culture through its traditions. For example, collect symbols and stories that represent the best of the past or suggest naming an award after a person who embodied the best of the past.

  • Ask your colleagues to identify the actions and other factors that led to a problem or issue. Learning from the situation will help everyone make choices that lead to better outcomes in the future.

  • Find a mentor with a long history in your community or organization. Listening to their experiences can inspire your thought process and accelerate your learning.

  • Collect memories through photographs and written materials to motivate you.

  • Read historical novels, nonfiction or biographies to help you understand the present.

  • Partner with someone with strong Futuristic or Strategic talents. This person’s fascination with what could be will stop you from becoming stuck in the past, while your Context will stop them from ignoring the lessons of the past. Together, you are more likely to create something that lasts.

 

Potential Blind Spots to Watch Out for

  • Some people might think that you live in the past and are resistant to change. Consider explaining the value of understanding history and what has — and has not — worked in the past, but keep an open mind when new situations arise.

  • You are often fascinated by history and the lessons it reveals, but others may find this information boring or overwhelming. Keep this in mind as you share your perspectives, and look for signs that you’ve lost people’s attention or interest.

 

If Context Is a Lesser Theme for You

Many CliftonStrengths themes are based on the past, present or future. Lacking the intensity that comes from Context talents might mean that you are more inclined toward the present or future than the past.

  • Find those among your top themes that help you explore and better understand the situations and topics you face. You can use your Learner, Analytical or Communication talents to find a historical perspective in the same way Context talents do for others.

  • Turn to others to gain perspective. When you need to identify patterns or gain a historical perspective, interview experts or people who have a history with the situation.

  • Spend time with friends or colleagues who have powerful Adaptability, Context or Positivity talents. They can help ground you in the past and present.

  • Some people need to go backward before they go forward. When you propose a course of action that requires people to change the way they are doing things, remind them of the changes they have adapted to over time before guiding them into the future.

 
 

Source: Gallup®

 
 

“When I want to understand what is happening today or try to decide what will happen tomorrow, I look back.”

— Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.; writer, poet and politician