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As a connector, you have a talent for creating meaning and purpose. You can create clarity out of chaos by staying curious and connecting people and events in a way that makes sense. You connect people with each other, opportunities and themselves. You bring others together to achieve extraordinary results.
Because you exude a genuine, receptive, and caring nature, others open up to you with ease. You are a great listener who hears beyond words, connecting ideas, people and opportunities. Your exceptional empathy gives you an intuitive understanding of what others are feeling and what they need, which makes you an excellent confidante, a great source of encouragement, and a trusted problem-solver.
You are an asset to your team because you naturally bring people together. You build consensus between people. You are passionate about listening openly to everyone’s point of view and finding the common themes that link them. Your harmonious nature soothes conflict and your excellent communication skills inspire those around you. You ask questions that others do not think to ask, imagining something better and driving your team toward creative solutions. As a problem solver, you see beyond the obvious and can help others discover the deeper needs they might not be aware of.
You are invested in the collective good and feel a deep responsibility to find solutions to problems. You prefer to ask big and bold questions, inspiring those around you to consider how much better things could be. Your relationships are valuable to you, and you have a deep desire to make those around you happy.
You believe everything happens for a reason. You believe in people and their ability to unite behind a common purpose.
You fear abandonment, being disliked by others, and not being worthy of the people in your life. Fear is a healthy emotion that alerts us when it is time to get prepared. Fear alerts us to the fact that something needs assessing. When you live in the space of fear it can become paralyzing and confusing. The feelings of anxiety and overwhelm can present themselves as guarded and tense. The opportunity is to embrace the fear as your friend. Shift the shallow breath to a deep breath and ask yourself, “Is this fear justified?” If so, “What do you need to prepare for?” It is also an opportunity to shift your story. Are you telling the story of collaboration vs codependence, being your authentic self vs people pleasing, or doing what is best vs doing what is comfortable?
So, before you read the shadow side, I invite you to see this as an opportunity for growth. Feedback is often not your friend as disharmony can make you uncomfortable. Your intentions are pure, yet they can create discord in your collaboration.
Your deep desire for harmony within your relationships is part of what draws people to you, but you may find that focusing too much on keeping the peace can lead you to dim yourself for the sake of others. You can get caught in a cycle of people-pleasing. While your desire to make others happy is admirable, it can leave you exhausted and unable to access the full potential of your special gifts. Because you have an exceptional capacity for empathy, you expend a lot of energy helping others, and it is important to take time for yourself so that you do not burn out.
Your inquisitive nature leads you to look beyond what is apparent in a search for what else could be possible. This can produce a wealth of innovative solutions, but constant questioning without actionable steps to follow can leave your more action-oriented peers frustrated by a lack of tangible progress. It can be helpful for you to collaborate with others whose strengths involve making dreams an achievable reality so that you can move past the stage of wondering and bring your exciting ideas to life.
In the same way that you spread yourself too thin in your desire to make people feel better, you can end up overcommitting to projects in the workplace. You work hard to make things easier for everyone around you, but every battery runs low eventually. Constantly putting your own needs aside in favor of being helpful, despite your good intentions, is not sustainable. You will eventually reach a point where you will be forced to step back and let yourself recharge, so it is better to consider if a project may be asking too much of you before signing on.
Connectors make good teammates, counselors, diplomats, HR directors, life coaches, and designers.
Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games
Princess Anna in Frozen
