creating our best selves through strengths and...

CREATING OUR BEST SELVES

THROUGH STRENGTHS AND

WELLBEING

A Strengths Essentials workshop to help employees

Discover, Develop and Apply their Strengths

NAME TENTName you want to be called

5 Signature Themes

Think of a time when you were at your best

• Couldn’t wait to start

• Picked up the skill quickly

• Lost track of time

• Had a moment of unexpected excellence

• Could not wait to do it again

Line up by number years you have

worked in higher education

• Share as many details as you can

Share a story about a time you were at

your best …

WRITING CHALLENGE

Page 4

The Myths and The Truths

TRUTH: As you grow become more of who you

already are

MYTH: As you grow you your personality changes


TRUTH: You will grow most in your areas of greatest

strength

MYTH: You will grow most in your areas of

greatest weakness


TRUTH: A good team member deliberately volunteers

their strengths to the team most of the time

MYTH: A good team members does whatever it

takes to help the team

Positive Psychology:

The Root of Strengths

Deficit Based

Grade and Progress Reports

Performance Evaluations

Donald Clifton the

“The father of Strengths-Based Psychology and the grandfather

of Positive Psychology“ -2003 American Psychological

Association

• Two million interviews

• Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviors Success

• Over 400 talents

• Validated

CLARIFYING THE

LANGUAGE

Talents

Themes

Strengths

YOUR GREATEST

TALENTShttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQHPSRLt32k

Talents

▪ Behavior patterns that make you effective

▪ Thought patterns that make you efficient

▪ Beliefs that empower you to succeed

▪ Attitudes that sustain your efforts toward

achievement and excellence

▪ Motivations that propel you to take action and

maintain the energy needed to achieve

▪ You can not not do it

▪ Talents are potential strengths!

energy

Signature Themes

Co

mp

eti

tio

nDe

velo

per

Achiever

Em

path

y

Input

Identify Talent

• Underline or highlight the phrases in your strengths report

that resonate with you

• Cross out those that don’t

• The highlighted are your talents

TalentsNatural ways of

thinking, feeling and

behaving

InvestmentTime spent developing your

talents, skills and

knowledge

X

StrengthsTalents used

productively

=

NAME IT

Make your Signature Themes your own.

Identify what each theme means to you.

AIM IT

Flex and leverage your talents

toward a specific goal, objective

or desired outcome.

CLAIM IT

Appreciate the unique power

and value of the talents you

have and bring to others.

Page 23

Thrive

“Despite the American myth, I cannot be or do

whatever I desire – a truism, to be sure, but a

truism we often defy.

Our created natures make us like organisms in

an ecosystem: There are some roles and

relationships in which we thrive and others in

which we wither and die.” Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak

Page 6

“Despite the American myth, I cannot be

or do whatever I desire – a truism, to be sure,

but a truism we often defy.

Our created natures make us

like organisms in an ecosystem:

There are some roles and relationships

in which we thrive and

others in which we wither and die.”

Parker Palmer,

Let Your Life Speak

Thrive!

My boss doesn’t care if I’m

thriving, or energized by my

work…

she just wants the job done.

Energy

Expectations

Outcomes

How do we THRIVE?

What Gives You Energy?You're expected to attend a gathering

There will be 50 people there

You won't know anyone

Really??

You want me to meet a

bunch of strangers?

Wow! New friends!

What Gives You Energy?

There is a place for

everything and I love to

put everything is in its

place!

Why waste time putting

stuff away that I may

never need!

What Gives You Energy?

Lets think about

Lets get it done

Strengths are the lens that energizes you

Your EnergyYour Strengths LensInput-

Situation

Different Paths

Your Greatest Talents

What was your first reaction to your Clifton Strengths

Finder results?

What new discovery have you made about yourself?

What, if anything, surprised you about your results?

Have you shared your “Top 5” with anyone? What was

their reaction?

Page 7

Treasure Hunt

• Talk to as many others in the room who have at least one

Signature Theme different than your own.

• Jot down the theme you discussed, and at least one

benefit of that theme.

Page 9

Weakness

Something that gets in your way or

in the way of others success

Talk about Weaknesses

• Identify a weakness that you believe is currently getting

in your way of achieving excellence?

• Pair up with someone you don’t regularly work with and

describe the weakness and how it impedes you

• Switch and repeat

Define the Weakness

• lack of skill or knowledge

• non-strength

• overused strength

• underused strength

Mitigate the Weakness

• Open communication/transparency

• Leverage other talents

• Use support systems

• Form complementary partnerships

• Adjust/Change role

Overall StrengthsQuest Database

1,656,272 1,524,351 1,519,142

1,494,103 1,223,431

1,074,795 955,653

913,730 865,487 857,759

776,452 764,738

746,418 731,315

707,074 696,649 695,123

645,838 628,325 627,649

600,349 597,736 590,316

574,575 570,479 562,524

531,325 520,855 514,919

443,066 334,369

313,940 311,754

261,594

Achiever

Relator

Learner

Responsibility

Strategic

Input

Harmony

Maximizer

Adaptability

Empathy

Arranger

Restorative

Positivity

Developer

Ideation

Woo

Focus

Communication

Individualization

Connectedness

Intellection

Analytical

Includer

Belief

Competition

Activator

Deliberative

Consistency

Futuristic

Context

Significance

Discipline

Self-Assurance

Command

35

1. Achiever

2. Relator

3. Learner

4. Responsibility

5. Strategic

NAME IT



AIM IT



or desired outcome.

CLAIM IT




Page 23

Fireworks and Space Shuttle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v

HOMEWORK: Model Your Strengths

Create a message (picture, drawing, poem, song, etc.) that

represents you and your Signature Themes.

Developer – Relator – Analytical

Restorative – Harmony

38

Strengths Reflections

• What is one of your themes you would like to

know more about?

• What is one theme, different from yours, that you

now value more than you did before this

workshop?

Strengths Commitments

• What is one thing you will do, starting tomorrow,

to develop your talents into strengths?


to better use your talents to build strong

relationships with others?Page 11

NAME IT



AIM IT



or desired outcome.

CLAIM IT




Live Your

Strengths…Every Day!

➢ Know your Top 5

➢ Be proud of your Top 5

➢ Post your Top 5

➢ Donate your Top 5

See you in Session 2

SESSION 2



NAME TENTName you want to be called

5 Signature Themes

HOMEWORK: Model Your Strengths

Share with others at your table the message you created that

represents your Signature Themes.

Developer – Relator – Analytical

Restorative – Harmony

45

The Truths

TRUTH: As you grow you become more of who

you already are

TRUTH: You will grow most in your areas of

greatest strength

TRUTH: A good team member deliberately

volunteers their strengths to the team

Page 2 46

TalentsNatural ways of

thinking, feeling and

behaving

InvestmentTime spent developing your

talents, skills and

knowledge

X

StrengthsTalents used

productively

=

NAME IT



AIM IT



or desired outcome.

CLAIM IT




Strengths Awareness

Confidence

Hope

Motivation to excel

Engagement - an emotional commitment

Long Legs Long Lashes

Why do Conversations about

Strengths Matter?

http://strengths.ning.com/video/long-legs-long-lashes

Employee Engagement

•12% in customer ratings

•16% in profitability

•18% in productivity

•37% in absenteeism

•31% in turnover

•49% in safety incidents

•27% in shrinkage50

Why Strengths Are Important

18%

40%

22%

1%

51%

57%

33%

38%

31%

2%

45%

61%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

All Ignored Weakness Strengths

Engaged

Not Engaged

Actively Disengaged

Are You One Of The

2 Out Of 10?

Active Disengagement

Students in strength development

programs are more likely to :

• have higher feelings of hope

• be more engaged

• have higher GPA’s

• complete more credits

• have more persistence

• have higher completion rates

than students who are not.

Applying your Strengths

What about your role at South Mountain Community College

energizes you?

Think of a goal or project you have been working on recently

at work.

• Identify one of your strengths or themes that you used in the past 10

days to assist you in reaching this goal?

• Did you partner with anyone with a complementary strength to assist you

in reaching this goal? What was the complementary strength you

partnered with?

Turn to someone at your table and share a discussion on

your responses to these questions.

Page 4

Talent ConnectionTheme What this allows me to do When / Where I recently used this theme

RestorativeI listen well and can provide

suggestions that help solve problems.

A co-worker was having a hard time finding

a solution for a problem a student was

having. I was able to understand the

situation and offer the input on how the

situation could be solved.

Page 5

Meet with a student one on one

My Themes

______________________

______________________

______________________

______________________

______________________

Critical Activities

Adaptability

Individualization

Empathy

Responsibility

Consistency

Answer phone questions

Organize student records

Critical Tasks

Page 6

Developing Talents into Strengths

Life Situation Theme Action to Develop Talent into a Strength

I interact and

have

relationships

with co-workers

LearnerI will have a conversation with others in my

department to learn more about them.

Page 7

Weaving your Themes

Select two of your Signature Themes.

• Write a description of how the two themes you selected are best described when woven together.

Theme A Theme B Describe themes woven together

Learner Individualization I love to learn about what makes people tick.

Focus MaximizerI need to focus on projects that I can help make excellent.

Page 8

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

THROUGH STRENGTHS



Learning To Value Others Through Strengths

Valuing

Judging

Understanding

Respecting

Appreciating

Page 9

Basements

Balconies

Page 10

“make up” for a lesser talent.

“take over” where one person

leaves off.

“enhance” what one person

already possesses.

Tenzing Norgay and Edmund

Hillary

Complementary Partnerships

Page 11

Complementary Partnerships

Partner with someone in the group

Each of you pick one of your Signature Themes• Write a description of how the two themes selected could complement

each other in a project.

Theme A Theme B Describe themes woven together

Command HarmonyWe find just the right balance when communicating with

others in difficult situations.

Strategic IdeationTogether we create unique solutions and action steps to

implement them.

64Page 11

Form Complementary Partnerships

Do you have

someone in your life

who can gently

remind you when

you are not using

your talent

productively?

Strengths-Based Teams

Team Members:

• Share a mission and purpose.

• Understand the work of the team and have a clear and

compelling performance goal or challenge.

• Understand and appreciates that he or she is great at

some things and not very good at others.

• Are aware of each other’s talents.

66Page 12

What Energizes You Most? Brainstorming Session

I like making to-do

lists with deadlines

I would love to facilitate the session!

I have an idea!

I like working with people!

I like to plan

I like to show others

why it is important

I always remember the

event is about people

I would like us to slow down just a little and be careful

What Energizes You Most? A team planning a college wide event

The TruthsWhat your team needs most is for you to bring your

strengths deliberately

People need not be well-rounded but

teams do!

Strengths Matrix

Execute Influence Relate ThinkAchiever Activator Adaptability Analytical

Arranger Command Developer Context

Belief Communication Connectedness Futuristic

Consistency Competition Empathy Ideation

Deliberative Maximizer Harmony Input

Discipline Self-Assurance Includer Intellection

Focus Significance Individualization Learner

Responsibility Woo Positivity Strategic

Restorative Relator

Rath & Conchie. (2008). Strengths Based Leadership. New York, NY: Gallup

Press.

Page 13

Strengths Team Matrix

What are the strengths and weaknesses of this team?

• What does this Team’s Matrix say about this team?

• Is one of the domains dominant?

o What does that tell you about the team’s ability to perform?

• Is one of the dominants underrepresented?

• Does the matrix expose any blind spots or gaps?

• Do any of the individual themes stand alone or are in dominance?

o How could this impact the Team’s dynamics and ability to communicate?

• How could this team use its knowledge of Strengths and Talents to achieve it goals?

71Page 14

Strengths Team Matrix

What are the strengths and weaknesses of this team?

• What does this Team’s Matrix say about this team?

• Is one of the domains dominant?

o What does that tell you about the team’s ability to

perform?

• Is one of the domains underrepresented?

• Does the matrix expose any blind spots or gaps?

• Do any of the individual themes stand alone or are in

dominance?

o How could this impact the Team’s dynamics and ability

to communicate?

• How could this team use its knowledge of Strengths and

Talents to achieve it goals?Page 15

How to Get a Code for Someone Else

GallupStrengthsCenter.com

73

NAME IT



AIM IT



or desired outcome.

CLAIM IT




Live Your Strengths…Every Day!

➢ Know your Top 5

➢ Be proud of your Top 5

➢ Post your Top 5

➢ Develop your Top 5

➢ Build a relationship with your Top 5

➢ Donate your Top 5

Page 16

STRENGTHS

COMMITMENTS

76

Example Strengths Matrix

Build a Table Team Matrix

What are the strengths and weaknesses of this new team?

How To Get a Code for Someone Else

GallupStrengthsCenter.com

Strengths Reflections

• What is one of your themes you would like to

know more about?

• What is one theme, different from yours, that you

now value more than you did before this

workshop?

Strengths Commitments


to develop your talents into strengths?


to better use your talents to build strong

relationships with others?

Live Your Strengths Every Day!

➢ Know your top 5

➢ Be proud of your top 5

➢ Post your top 5

➢ Develop your top 5

➢ Build a relationship with your top 5

➢ Donate your top 5

Gateway Strengths Database

85

1. Learner

2. Achiever

3. Responsibility

4. Relator

5. Input

creating our best selves through strengths and...

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