creating our best selves - south mountain...

CREATING OUR BEST SELVES THROUGH STRENGTHS AND WELLBEING

Discover Your Strengths

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

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Share as many details as you can

Share a story about a time you were at

your best …

WRITING CHALLENGE

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StrengthsQuest™ Mission

HELPING STUDENTS, STAFF, AND FACULTY ACHIEVE

ACADEMIC, CAREER, AND PERSONAL SUCCESS.

The Truth

About You

Marcus

Buckingham

The Truths

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

areas of strength

• What your team needs of you most of all is for you to

bring your strengths deliberately

Positive Psychology:

The Root of Strengths

Deficit Based

Grade and Progress Reports

Performance Evaluations

A story of a rabbit and a duck

The Rabbit

and

the Duck

Donald Clifton

Gallup Organization

• Two million interviews

• Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviors Success

• Over 400 talents

• Validated

Clarifying the Language

Talent (a natural way of

thinking, feeling, or

behaving)

X = Investment

(time spent practicing,

developing your

skills, and building your

knowledge base)

Strengths

Copyright © 2010 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

talents used

productively

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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!

Themes

Co

mp

eti

tio

n D

ev

elo

pe

r

Achiever

Em

pa

thy

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.

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 and won't know anyone

What Gives You Energy?

Your closet:

Strengths are the lens that energizes you

22

Your Energy Your Strengths Lens Input-

Situation

Different Paths

What energizes you most when attending

a “brainstorming” session.

I will make a to-do

list with deadlines

I will facilitate the session!

I have an idea!

I like working in a group of people!

What energizes you most when ask to serve on a

team responsible for designing a college wide

event I want to help plan

I want to show why

this is important

Events are about

people

Slow down a little

What Makes You Unique?

With a partner…

• 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?

Treasure Hunt

• Talk to other co-workers 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.

I can’t ignore my weaknesses, so what can I

do?

A weakness is something that gets in your way or in the

way of others.

1. Open communication/transparency

2. Get the RIGHT training

3. Leverage other talents

4. Use support systems

5. Form complementary partnerships

6. 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

29

1. Achiever

2. Relator

3. Learner

4. Responsibility

5. Strategic

Strengths Development Framework

30

Relationship

Can see a clear

connection between

their themes and past

and present behavior.

Can link strengths to

successes.

Has a clear understanding of their

uniqueness and sees others

strengths. Has a relationship(s) that is

encouraging their strength’s

development.

Apply/Application

Understands, can define

and verbalize their

themes.

Has a basic

understanding of their

themes.

Discover/Awareness

Can utilize the

knowledge of their five

themes to plan,

strategize, analyze and

direct their behavior.

Develop/Integrate

Fireworks and Space Shuttle

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrk4Td-hfp4

The Truth

About You

Marcus

Buckingham

What part of a person can you

change?

http://strengths.southmountaincc.edu

http://strengths.southmountaincc.edu/


Develop and Apply Your Strengths

Why are strengths important?

18%

40%

22% 1%

49%

57%

33%

38%

33%

2%

45%

61%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2009 Poll Ignored Weakness Strengths

Engaged

Not Engaged

Actively Disengaged

What “Active Disengagement” Looks Like…


Strengths Awareness

Confidence

Self Efficacy

Hope

Motivation to excel

Engagement

Long Legs Long Lashes

How can today help you?

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

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

The Truth

About You

Marcus

Buckingham

Where does passion fit in?

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

Restorative I 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.

Critical Activities

My Themes

______________________

______________________

______________________

______________________

______________________

Adaptability

Individualization

Empathy

Responsibility

Consistency

Answer phone questions

Organize student records

Meet with a student one on one

Critical Tasks

The Truth

About You

Marcus

Buckingham

How do you talk about your

strengths?

Different Paths to the Same

Destination

How I can use my talents to be a positive part of South Mountain CC


Building Relationships through Strengths

SEEING OTHERS DIFFERENTLY

When I was 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years” -Mark Twain

Learning to value others through

strengths

Valuing

Judging

Understanding

Respecting

Appreciating

The Truth

About You

Marcus

Buckingham

How do I deal with People who

Weaken me?

Seeing Others Differently

Strengths Matrix

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

Execute Influence Relate Think

Achiever 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

Different Paths to the Same

Destination

How can you help a new team member

be successful?

The 5 C’s of Strengths Based

Relationships • Connect

• Communicate

• Collaborate

• Control

• Cultivate

Connect

Social relationships at work

personal well-being

increased employee

engagement and job satisfaction

Without a friend, work is a lonely place -Tom Rath

Communicate

Communication is inevitable

Communication is irreversible

Communicate

•

•

•

IF YA CAN’T SAY SOMETHIN’

NICE DON’T SAY NOTHIN’ AT

ALL! -Thumper

Collaborate

Partnerships help:

• To “make up” for a lesser talent.

• To “take over” where one person

leaves off.

• To “enhance” what one person

already possesses.

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay

Complementary Strengths

Activator

YOU

Control

Control conflict by using your talent productively and

mitigating you weaknesses.

Define weakness in an effective way

A weakness is something that gets in your way or in the

way of others.

• Is there a talent or lack of talent that is currently getting in your way

or in the way of others?

• Is there something that you aren’t very good at that isn’t a

weakness? Is it a non-strength?

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Six Ways to Mitigate Weakness

1. Open communication/transparency

2. Get the RIGHT training

3. Leverage other talents

4. Use support systems

5. Form complementary partnerships

6. Adjust/Change role


The Truth

About You

Marcus

Buckingham

How do I talk about my

Weaknesses without Whining?

Identify and Communicate Weakness

• Pair up

• Identify a weakness that you believe is currently getting

in your way or in the way of others from achieving

excellence?

• Describe the weakness to your partner and how

Cultivate

Gallup research has found if you have a best friend at work, you are significantly more likely to:

Engage your team

Get more done in less time

Have fun on the job

Have a safe workplace

Innovate and share new ideas

Feel informed and know that your opinions count

Have the opportunity to focus on your strengths each day

Form Complementary Partnerships

Do you have someone in

your life who can gently

remind you when you are

living in weakness or not

using your talent

productively?

Vital Friends

• Builder

• Champion

• Collaborator

• Companion

•Connector

•Energizer

•Mind Opener

•Navigator

Vital Friends

• Family Ties

• Water Cooler Effect

• Plugging In

Strength Based Teams

Productive teams have a

variety of strengths

represented and a balance

of strengths and

weaknesses.

68

People need not be well-rounded,

What Strong Teams Have in Common

• Conflict doesn’t destroy strong teams because strong teams focus on results

• Strong teams prioritize what’s best for the organization and then move forward

• Members of strong teams are as committed to their personal lives as they are to their work

• Strong teams embrace diversity

• Strong teams manage for talent

Strengths Matrix

Execute Influence Relate Think Achiever 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.

Team Talent Profile:

Executing Influencing Relationship Building Strategic Thinking

Ach

iever

Arr

an

ge

r

Beli

ef

Co

ns

iste

nc

y

Deli

be

rati

ve

Dis

cip

lin

e

Fo

cu

s

Resp

on

sib

ilit

y

Resto

rati

ve

Acti

vato

r

Co

mm

an

d

Co

mm

un

icati

on

Co

mp

eti

tio

n

Maxim

izer

Self

-Assu

ran

ce

Sig

nif

ican

ce

Wo

o

Ad

ap

tab

ilit

y

Develo

pe

r

Co

nn

ecte

dn

ess

Em

pa

thy

Harm

on

y

Inc

lud

er

Ind

ivid

ua

lizati

on

Po

sit

ivit

y

Rela

tor

An

aly

tic

al

Co

nte

xt

Fu

turi

sti

c

Ide

ati

on

Inp

ut

Inte

llecti

on

Le

arn

er

Str

ate

gic

Lorna 3 4 1 2 5

Wanda 5 2 3 4 1

Dee 1 5 2 3 4

Stephanie 4 1 3 5 2

Brian 5 2 3 1 4

Mark 4 3 5 1 2

Dan 2 1 4 3 5

Mary Ellen 3 4 1 5 2

Team Talent Profile:

IDEAS FOR MAXIMIZING

TEAM TALENT

YOUR QUESTIONS?

How can I get a code

for someone else?

GallupStrengthsCenter.com

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Live your strengths!

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! Donate them

every day!

Strengths Commitments What is one signature theme I want to learn more

about, develop and consciously apply more often?

What is one thing you will do starting today to get on

and stay on your strengths path?

What is one thing you will do starting tomorrow, to

help those who you work with get on and stay on their

strengths path?

In a word or phrase, what will you remember about

today’s seminar?

creating our best selves - south mountain...

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