Rex's Top 5 CliftonStrengths
By Ren Chang, SOO
"I'm going for fearsome here, but I just don't feel it!"
He said it while practising his roar in the mirror. Again. Teeth bared. Arms up. Trying to be the dinosaur he was designed to be.
The plastic T-Rex who looks terrifying but wouldn't hurt a fly.
Who overthinks everything.
Who sees potential in everyone except himself.
What if your biggest obstacle isn't your ability - but your belief in it?🦖 Rex's Top 5 Strengths
Learner (Strategic Thinking)
Rex is always trying to improve. He practises his roar. He studies video game strategy obsessively - and becomes genuinely skilled. The process of learning excites him more than the outcome. He's energised by the journey from ignorance to competence.
Workplace: The one who's always upskilling. The one who reads the manual, takes the course, and asks for feedback.
Deliberative (Executing)
"What if Andy gets another dinosaur? A mean one?" Rex anticipates obstacles before they arrive. He's careful, vigilant, and serious about risk. He identifies dangers, weighs their impact, and places his feet deliberately.
Workplace: The one who spots what could go wrong. The one who asks the hard questions before the project starts.
Empathy (Relationship Building)
Rex feels what others feel. He's sensitive to group dynamics, quick to notice when someone is struggling. He doesn't just observe emotions - he absorbs them. His gentleness comes from genuine care.
Workplace: The one who senses the mood of the room. The one who checks in when something feels off.
Harmony (Relationship Building)
"I don't like confrontations!" Rex avoids conflict at all costs. When the toys turned against Woody, Rex was "reluctant on whether or not to place the blame" - he didn't want to take sides. He seeks common ground, not battlegrounds. He'd rather everyone just get along.
Workplace: The one who smooths tensions before they escalate. The one who asks "can't we all just agree?" when others are drawing lines.
Includer (Relationship Building)
Rex immediately takes a shine to every new toy. Buzz arrives? Rex is fascinated, not threatened. He wants everyone to feel part of the group. His childlike demeanour means he accepts others without judgement - he just wants to expand the circle.
Workplace: The one who welcomes the new hire. The one who makes sure no one's eating lunch alone.
🎢 The Emotional Arc
Rex was designed to be fearsome. He's a Tyrannosaurus rex - the most terrifying dinosaur in history.
But he doesn't feel fearsome. He feels anxious. He worries about being replaced, about confrontation, about not being enough. "I don't like confrontations!" isn't just a line - it's his whole operating system.
And yet.
In Toy Story 2,
he accidentally knocks a TV onto the Prospector - saving the day without meaning to.
His video game obsession? It made him the one who could defeat Zurg.
His overthinking? It means he's thought through scenarios others haven't considered.
The toys don't keep Rex around despite his anxiety. They keep him because of what he brings - his care, his thoughtfulness, his ability to see what others miss.
Rex's problem was never his ability. It was his belief in it.
⚠️ Strengths in Shadow
Learner becomes "never good enough." He keeps improving because he can't accept where he is.
Deliberative becomes paralysis. He anticipates so many obstacles that he can't move forward.
Empathy becomes anxiety. He feels everyone's fear - including his own.
Harmony becomes avoidance. He's so conflict-averse that he won't stand up for what's right, even when he knows it.
Includer becomes gullibility. He's so accepting that he can't see when someone doesn't belong - like believing the impostor "shrunken Buzz" in Small Fry.
Rex's strengths are real. His self-perception is the problem.
✨ The Leadership Lesson
Your anxiety doesn't cancel your ability.
It just makes it harder to see.
Rex's journey wasn't about becoming more confident. It was about being seen by others who could name what he couldn't name in himself.
I've been Rex.
The one who kept learning because I didn't feel ready.
The one who saw every risk before I saw any opportunity.
The one who needed someone else to say, "You're already enough."
🔍 Audit Yourself
So ask yourself:
What strengths do others see in you that you can't see in yourself?
Is your learning driven by growth, or by fear of not being enough?
When did you last act on an insight instead of overthinking it?
Who in your life names your potential when you can't?
You don't have to feel fearsome to be valuable.
Sometimes, the anxious one is exactly who the team needs. 🦖
Which of Rex's strengths do you relate to most?
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