1. The 3 behaviors that resonate with me are number 8- Say, "I don't know.", number 11- Take responsibility for your mistakes, and number 16- Absorb massive criticism with ease. Both number 8 and number 11 are big ones for me because they embody the idea of focusing on your locus of contorl. Having worked in education, this is something I have been working on for years. Identifying what I have control over and what I know compared to what I can't control or what I don't know, is important for me in terms of where I am expending my energy and how efficiently I accomplish work. Knowing when to ask for help and how to handle my mistakes, has allowed me to have the greatest impact and I plan to continue applying these behaviors to my work as a developer. The third one that resonated with me is number 16. This is a behavior that doesn't come easy for me, but one that I continue to practice. I love feedback, but at times I do find myself taking things personally. Recognizing this tendency has allowed me to conciously reflect on and move forward productively with criticism.
2. I have always been a list person and this article was very helpful in articulating why I do it. I now realize I make list to store information I don't want to store in my brain. Lists make it so I don't waste time trying to remember every step or all I have to do. They then provide a reference to check the accuracy of what I needed to do. As a student lists will be essential for organizing what will be a lot of new ideas, procedures, systems, and information. As a developer, I can see lists being critical to maintaining the integrity of the code being worked on as well as protecting the quality of the work.
3. Strengths-based development seems like a productive way to capitalize on talent and engagement. If you have people doing what they enjoy doing, the level of productivity and quality will increase. I really like the idea of leveraging someone's strengths instead of harping on their weaknesses. My question would be how to balance growth-mindset and strengths-based development. Just because person A is better at something compared to person B, doesn't mean that person B can't gain knowledge in order to develop a new skill or work on their weaknesses. My strengths are in my growth mindset, problem-solving, and empathy. I believe I (and others) can learn to do just about anything if I am willing to put the work in. I hope to develop my problem-solving skills as a software developer. I would like to enhance the sophistication in how I approach complex problems. The article about lists has already got me thinking about how I can use my love of lists as a way to simplifying complex and new information.