"Taking the assessment and realizing that four of my top five were all in that
relationship building category. I had a real aha moment. I recognized oh that's
why I've been the way that I have been most of my life it's the way; it's the
reason probably that I'm usually the last person at an event to leave because I've
been talking to everybody. When I took the strengths assessment I started
thinking about myself as not only an associate dean and I started thinking about
the ways that I work with students and with my faculty colleagues and
also who I am in the classroom, but I also started thinking about who I am as a
scholar and as a researcher. And one of the things because I am such an
extrovert and I am such a people oriented person I will admit that the kinds of
isolated work and discipline that is required to sit and to write was often very
difficult for me and I realized it wasn't because I didn't necessarily like to write,
but I think that for me I was trying to fit myself into the mold of what I thought a
writer should look like or even what an academic how that person should fulfill
that research component of her or his life.
Being isolated in a room by myself for hours trying to write I realized was really
difficult and I wasn't really comfortable doing it, and when I started thinking
about who I am as a researcher within the strengths context I started realizing
and paying attention to when I was my most productive and when I am my most
productive I am alone, but I'm in the company of other people that I don't know.
And I started really analyzing that and I realized it's because I am a relationship
building person I don't like that kind of isolation for long periods of time, but I
know that I need to be alone to do the work and I finally stopped trying to fit
myself in somebody else's mold and I get my work done in a way that works for
my strengths."
Crystal Lucky, PhD
English (United States)