Pairin Results
What is your greatest strength and how do you know?
My biggest strengths are my organization and time management skills. This is where my "Objective-Analytical" and "Specialist" qualities come into play. In the last few years, I've supported a large caseload of teachers and students, and I was able to organize meetings, keep track of all their goals, follow up with resources and supports for each individual student, on top of my own administrative duties and completing my Master's Degree. I frequently received positive feedback about being "on it", and I followed through on everything that I was responsible for, through simple tools like checklists and backwards planning. I personally love organizing and finding efficiencies in what I'm doing, whether it's cooking, completing chores around the house, or going grocery shopping. It's almost like a game to me to figure out the best way to do things.
How do you work best?
Working best totally depends on the project that I'm doing. If it's a solo project that is requiring a lot of new skills, I work best in a quiet environment where I'm free from distractions. If I'm working with a group, however, I like to be the facilitator and set the stage for someone to explore leadership roles. This resonates with my "People Developer" results. Before my last job, I was frequently the one stepping forward and was a very outspoken leader. In the last five years, I've taken a much more subtle approach because I think creating that space allows for others to step forward and explore those opportunities rather than me dominating (which is what I felt would happen sometimes in the past). In the long run, I also think that creating space for others builds trust, teamwork, collaboration and sustainability among the team. I would like to find a happy medium between the two where I am supporting others in their journeys but also practicing my own explicit leadership skills where my voice is heard.
What is your greatest area of improvement?
My greatest area of improvement would be finding a balance between setting the stage for others and pushing myself back into the spotlight sometimes, as mentioned in the previous question. I found the value of radical listening in the last few years and supporting others behind the scenes through coaching sessions, which is great, but I also want to make sure my voice is being heard when in meetings or group activities. In certain groups that are fast-paced and more dynamic in participation, I would like to work on being assertive and inserting myself and taking up more space. I also want to bring in more creativity and imagination. In my previous workplace, I was wearing many, many hats, and the mental workload took up so much space that I felt like I didn't have capacity left for creativity. Now that I'm able to focus on just one thing -- software development and being the best programmer I can be -- I can bring in creativity into my work, whether that's through superficially creating beautiful colors and layouts or the more practical problem solving of finding and squashing bugs. I want to bring the spunk an imagination of my perosonality back into my work.
How do you hope to maximize your strengths for your new career in software development?
As a woman in software development, I feel a moral obligation to seek out opportunities and leadership. I think that with this added responsibility, I will be more explicit in pursuing my goals to, essentially, step forward more in projects, meetings, and discussions. I also think it is important to remember what I've learned and bring in the radical listening and supporting other people in the process to create an atmosphere of collaboration and teamwork. As mentioned previously, I also think I have a fun, enthusiastic, and creative side that fits in well with software development that I am excited to bring forward.
How might knowing about your strengths and working preferences benefit you as a software developer?
Taking this assessment reinforces some things that I already knew about myself and has me reflecting on the things I want to set as goals for myself. I know that my strengths like organization and supporting teammates will be crucial for this work. Thinking about self-fulfilling prophecy, knowing that these things are strong qualities, I can lean into them when they can be useful to myself and others. Working preferences will also be helpful for recognizing when I need a certain environment or certain variables to accomplish my goals.
I loved reading through these responses @trishalanglois. Your voice radiates confidence and competence throughout these responses. I encourage you to follow through on the goals you're setting for yourself as a thought leader and a creative. Turing is about as inclusive as anywhere I've ever been, and we want you to feel comfortable stepping up in group situations to share your unique perspective. Whether that's during a tough conversation about privilege, or working through a complex technical implementation, we want you to feel empowered to use your voice. The organizational skills you mention above will come in handy considering the workload, and I certainly have every confidence that you will be able to thrive considering the experiences you describe above. Some expectation setting: In the earlier mods, there will be more structure and rigidity to lay the foundation for your creative palette to shine in the later mods. I'm excited for you to progress through the program.