Discovering Your Strengths

How Well Do We Really

Know Ourselves?

Discovering Your Strengths

Why do we fail to get to know

ourselves?

The Research: Which Puppet Would You Choose?

We Tend to Gravitate Towards People Who Are Just Like Us . . .

It Happens in the Workplace Too….

Why do we tend to gravitate towards people who are just like us?

Common Ground is Important……So is Diversity

Shared Values

Diverse Strengths

Do Values Really Matter?“We wanted to come up with

committable core valuesand by committable, meaning we're

actually willing to hire or fire people based on whether they're living up to

those values, completely independent of their actual job performance.“

-- Tony Hsieh, Zappos Founder

How can you find out what their values are?

Zappos Hiring Process

Map Your Strengths

Gallup Strengths Framework

Pair Share• Give each person the opportunity

to share their observations• What did you learn?• What really jumped out at you?• Does the report seem to accurately

describe you and your strengths?

A Word About Strengths• Is it just something that you’re good

at?• Is it different from a skill or ability?• Traditionally we would define a

talent in terms of the output• Strengths theory defines it in terms

of energy and engagement

Know Thyself

A leader needs to know his strengths as a carpenter knows his tools, or as a physician knows

the instruments at her disposal. What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows

his or her strengths – and can call on the right strength at the right time. This explains why there is no definitive list of characteristics that describes

all leaders.

- Dr. Donald O. Clifton

Leadership is the capacity to influence human

thought, emotion, and behavior starting with my

own.

How do I identify my strengths?• What is working well and how can I do

more of it?• What things energize me?• Do I feel a sense of yearning or

inevitability?• Would I do this even if I weren’t getting

paid?• VIA and SBL surveys

Compounding….Small, Intentional Tweaks

Change the Frame

Why Focus on Strengths….What About Weaknesses?

Building a High-Performing Team

Diverse Strengths & Shared Values

How Well Do You Know Your Team?

Why Should I Get to Know My Team?

• Can’t they just put their heads down and do their work?

• This is a fast-paced work environment. We focus on results. We don’t have time for personalities.

• I’m not your therapist. We have a job to do, so let’s do it.

Strengths and Motivation

What works for one employee may not work for another. The approach needs to be tailored to each team member.

A Tale of Two Staff

Executing

Relationship Building

Personalize

We’re all unique (no this is not photo shopped)

Build a Common Vocabulary

Strengths assessments are a doorway to a

conversation . . .

Focus on STRENGTHS

NOT weaknesses

How Do I Coach my Team?

Build a Common Vocabulary

Engagement – The Holy Grail of Organizational Success

Jack Welch Story

Hands

Head

Heart

How Engaged is a Pitcher in the Batter’s Box?

Are any of the members of your team playing out of position?

When can I get back on the mound?

Why did I swing at a sinker?

Please don’t miss!

Gallup 12 Keys to Engagement

• At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.

• In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.

• My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.

• There is someone at work who encourages my development.

• In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.

Bringing It All Together: Strengths in Teams• Individual Exercise

o Think of a team project that went really well. Why did your team succeed? What roles did different members of the team play?

o Think of a team project that went off the rails. Why did your team struggle? What roles did different members of the team play?

o What strengths are missing on your current team?

o Is there anyone who is currently playing out of position? Brainstorm other roles they may be able to play.

o Do you notice any strengths in overdrive, individually or collectively?

E-Bay: A Case Study“Jeff and I had very complementary skills,” Omidyar told us in our interviews. “I’d say I did more of the creative work developing the product and solving problems around the product, while Jeff was involved in the more analytical and practical side of things. He was the one who would listen to an idea of mine and then say, ‘OK, let’s figure out how to get this done.’ ”

Team Strengths in Overdrive• Case Study #1: Is too much Harmony a bad thing?• Case Study #2: Achievers collide . . .

Contact InfoDan Griffiths, CPA, CGMA is the Director of Strategic Planning at Tanner, LLC, a Salt Lake City-based professional services firm with 115 team members. Dan facilitates approximately 75 board and leadership team off-sites each year across a variety of industries. He currently serves as a member of the AICPA board of directors. Dan is an avid flyfisher, backpacker, and gardener. He and his wife Bibiana are the proud parents of four children.

Contact Dan at: dgriffiths@tannerco.comOr connect with him on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/dangriffithscpa