WELCOMEIntegrating and Celebrating Strengths

OVERVIEW: STRENGTHS

What are Strengths?• Talents• Skill and Knowledge

History of Strengths Five Clues of Talent The Truth About You

• SIGNS of Strength Building Strengths Signature Themes

• Theme Dynamics• Balconies/Basements

Engagement: Why Strengths? Sharing and Reflection

DO YOU PUT YOUR STRENGTHS TO WORK?

• Have you identified your strengths?

• Could you list one or two strengths, if asked?

• Can you call upon them at a moment’s notice, if required?

• Do those around you recognize your strengths?

• Are your strengths valued at home and work?

Group Discussion: Share a story when you were at your best.

GET SET!

“People Sort” Activity

• Think about the following questions. As you reflect on what gives you energy, sort yourself in a continuing line across the room based on your preferences.

• Enjoy the Discoveries

• Have Fun!

WHAT GIVES YOU ENERGY?

You are expected to attend a gathering. There will be 50 people there, and you won’t know anyone.

Your closet:

WHAT GIVES YOU ENERGY?

What energizes you most when serving on a team, planning a college-wide event?

Can we get together

I have an idea!

I will spread the word.

Let me get it done

WHAT GIVES YOU ENERGY?

What role energizes you most when attending a strategic planning meeting?

WHAT GIVES YOU ENERGY?

WRITING CHALLENGE

WHAT ARE STRENGTHS

⁺Talent

natural recurring patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior

that can be productively applied

Skill & Knowledge

time spent practicing,

developing yourskills, and building

your knowledge baseStrength

refining our dominated talent with skill and knowledge – the

ability to provide consistent, near-perfect performance

Copyright © 2010 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.Strengths are talents used productively

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: THE ROOT OF STRENGTHS

CLIFTON STRENGTHSFINDER™

MEASURING STRENGTHS

Web-based assessment, perspective of Positive Psychology

Presents 177 Items

Participants choose between the pair of statements

20 second intervals

Identifies “top five” signature themes

Measures the presence of talent in 34 themes

RELIABILITY/ VALIDITY

Over 9 million surveyed globally, 34 languages

Four decades of studying talent and success

Criterion-related, predictive validity study• 93.45% predictions confirmed• 70% accurate

Factor and reliability analysis

Score differences average under .04

Test-retest over a six month interval - .75

FIVE CLUES TO TALENT

Yearning Rapid Learning Flow Glimpses of Excellence Satisfaction

BUILDING STRENGTHS

THE TRUTH ABOUT YOU

The TRUTHS that allow you to play to your strengths most of the time:• As you grow, you become more of who you

already are.

• You are going to grow and develop the most in your area of strength.

• A good team member deliberately volunteers his/her strengths to the team most of the time.

THE FOUR SIGNS OF A STRENGTH

What does one of your strengths feel like to you?

S = SUCCEED• When you do it, you feel effective

I = INSTINCT• Before you do it, you actively

look forward to it

G = GROWTH• While you are doing it, you feel

inquisitive and focused

N = NEEDS

• After you have done it, you feel

fulfilled and authentic

(Buckingham, 2008)

SIGNATURE THEMES

TREASURE HUNT

Find 10 people whose Signature Themes are NOT in your top five

RecordPerson’s nameTheme nameOne benefit from this

theme

TREASURE HUNT QUESTIONS

SIGNATURE THEMES TREASURE HUNT QUESTIONS

What one discovery did you make while doing this exercise?

What did you learn about yourself?

Were there some participants who had themes that you know you could benefit from if you partnered with them?

Think about one of the themes that seems the least like you. Were you surprised by its benefit?

As you work with or develop deeper relationships with colleagues and employees, how can you continue to build a better understanding of unique talents?

EXPLORING MY SIGNATURE THEMES

DISCUSSION: What did you learn about people in general, about strengths, and about this discovery process?

SIGNATURE THEME TALENT PHRASES/DEFINITION OF THEME IN YOUR OWN WORDS

1. Competition I like to engage in activities.I am good at……I can win at………

2

3

4

5

MY SIGNATURE THEMES AND HOW I USE THE TALENTS IN THEM

THEME TALENT PHRASES/ DESCRIPTION OF THEME

WHY THIS THEME IS BENEFICIAL (What it enables me to do)

WHEN/WHERE I RECENTLY USED TALENTS IN THS THEME

1. Arranger Good at organizing things, events, family activities

Helps me maintain my sanity at work and help develop strategies for getting things done

Organized a Job Expo with a small group of PT staff and volunteers

2.

3.

4.

5.

THEME DYNAMICS

Themes do not work in isolation. Leaders need to understand that their themes, and the themes of those with whom they work, interact, creating unique individual strengths.

Two Themes How might you, with dominant talent in these themes, approach your role as a

leader?

How will these themes affect your relationships with

others?

1.

2.

1.

2.

1.

2.

YOUR ROLE AND YOUR SIGNATURE THEMES

What is your role? Signature Theme Critical Activities

1. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

4. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

5. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

BALCONIES AND BASEMENTS

BALCONIES AND BASEMENTS

THEME BASEMENT LABEL BALCONY LABEL

Command Bossy Confident and powerful advocate for others

Positivity Unrealistic Optimistic, uplifting

Achiever Workaholic Productive, an internal motivation, determination

Futuristic Dreamer The vision of what could be, possibilities

Self-Assurance Arrogance Trust your own instincts, confident

WAIT! WHAT ABOUT MY WEAKNESSES?

A weakness is anything that gets

in the way of excellent performance

I can’t ignore my weaknesses, so what do I do?Use your strengths to overcome a

weaknessDesign a support systemForm complementary partnershipsAdjust/Get betterOpen communication/Transparency

DRIVING ENGAGEMENT: FOCUSING ON STRENGTHS

(Copyright @ 2009, 2013 Gallup, Inc. All Rights Reserved)

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT – WHAT WE WANT

AccountabilityAlignmentApproachabilityAttitudeCandorConnectionMeritocracyPurpose

“This is about how we create the conditions in which employees offer more of their capability and potential.” – David MacLeod

TALENT COMMITMENT PLAN

SHARING YOUR STRENGTHS

WHAT DO YOU DO?The next time you are asked, “WHAT DO YOU DO?” rather than simply sharing your title, try and integrate

some of your signature themes into your answer.

BUILDING MY ALIGNMENT PLAN (MAP)

Plan Responses

Core Purpose/Mission

Learning Style

Values/Beliefs

Capabilities/Strengths

WRITING AND REFLECTION