Articulating Strengths
The American school would propose—especially in its recent emphasis on the appreciative perspective—that we reveal our strengths through movement of Quad Three material to Quad One so that these strengths might be effectively used in a specific interpersonal relationship or group. In Chapter Two I presented the Window of Strength and suggested that many of the strengths of which we are aware are not shared with other people. In seeking to be modest, we don’t tell other people what we know or what we can do.
In attempting to avoid accountability and responsibility, we fail to tell other people that we actually could be of some assistance in accomplishing a specific task. When we retain a large Quad Three and do not share its positive aspects, then according to the American school, these positive aspects are less likely to expand and are more likely to atrophy. When these strengths are disclosed and used, they are more likely to further mature and be extended into many different domains. This resides at the heart of the American school’s optimism about moving Quad Three material into Quad One.
Personal Learning
There is a second reason, according to the American school, for moving Quad Three material into Quad One. Disclosure allows us to test out reality and (even more importantly) our own personal assumptions about this reality. The person or group to whom we are disclosing can disagree with us or provide evidence to demonstrate that what we have to say is not accurate. They can also agree with us. In a safe and healthy setting (where honest disagreement is acceptable), this agreement can be of great value in helping us arrive at some sense of reality, independent of our own assumptions and social constructions (to which we will turn when considering the Continental school).
