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CREATING OUR BEST SELVESTHROUGH STRENGTHS ANDWELLBEINGA Strengths Essentials workshop to help employeesDiscover, Develop and Apply their Strengths

NAME TENTName you want to be called5 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 againPage 3

Line up by number years you haveworked in higher education

Share a story about a time you were atyour best Share as many details as you can

WRITING CHALLENGEPage 4

The Myths and The TruthsTRUTH: As you grow become more of who youalready areMYTH: As you grow you your personality changes

The Myths and The TruthsTRUTH: You will grow most in your areas of greateststrengthMYTH: You will grow most in your areas ofgreatest weakness

The Myths and The TruthsTRUTH: A good team member deliberately volunteerstheir strengths to the team most of the timeMYTH: A good team members does whatever ittakes to help the team

Positive Psychology:The Root of Strengths

Deficit BasedGrade and Progress ReportsPerformance Evaluations

Donald Cliftonthe“The father of Strengths-Based Psychology and the grandfatherof Positive Psychology“ -2003 American PsychologicalAssociation Two million interviews Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviors Over 400 talents ValidatedSuccess

CLARIFYING THELANGUAGETalentsThemesStrengths

YOUR GREATESTTALENTShttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v FQHPSRLt32k

Talents Behavior patterns that make you effectiveThought patterns that make you efficientBeliefs that empower you to succeedAttitudes that sustain your efforts towardachievement and excellenceMotivations that propel you to take action andmaintain the energy needed to achieveYou can not not do itTalents are potential strengths!

AchieverDeveloperEmpathyInputCompetitionSignature Themes

Identify Talent Underline or highlight the phrases in your strengths reportthat resonate with you Cross out those that don’t The highlighted are your talents

TalentsNatural ways ofthinking, feeling andbehaving XInvestmentTime spent developing yourtalents, skills andknowledgeStrengthsTalents usedproductively

NAME ITMake your Signature Themes your own.Identify what each theme means to you.AIM ITCLAIM ITFlex and leverage your talentstoward a specific goal, objectiveor desired outcome.Appreciate the unique powerand value of the talents youhave and bring to others.Page 23

Thrive“Despite the American myth, I cannot be or dowhatever I desire – a truism, to be sure, but atruism we often defy.Our created natures make us like organisms inan ecosystem: There are some roles andrelationships in which we thrive and others inwhich we wither and die.”Parker Palmer, Let Your Life SpeakPage 6

“Despite the American myth, I cannot beor do whatever I desire – a truism, to be sure,but a truism we often defy.Our created natures make uslike organisms in an ecosystem:There are some roles and relationshipsin which we thrive andothers in which we wither and die.”Parker Palmer,Let Your Life SpeakThrive!

My boss doesn’t care if I’mthriving, or energized by mywork she just wants the job done.

How do we THRIVE?EnergyOutcomesExpectations

What Gives You Energy?You're expected to attend a gatheringThere will be 50 people thereYou won't know anyoneReally?You want me to meet abunch of strangers?Wow! New friends!

What Gives You Energy?There is a place foreverything and I love toput everything is in itsplace!Why waste time puttingstuff away that I maynever need!

What Gives You Energy?Lets think aboutLets get it done

Strengths are the lens that energizes youInputSituationYour StrengthsLensYour Energy

Different Paths

Your Greatest TalentsWhat was your first reaction to your Clifton StrengthsFinder 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 wastheir reaction?Page 7

Treasure Hunt Talk to as many others in the room who have at least oneSignature Theme different than your own. Jot down the theme you discussed, and at least onebenefit of that theme.Page 9

WeaknessSomething that gets in your way orin the way of others success

Talk about Weaknesses Identify a weakness that you believe is currently gettingin your way of achieving excellence? Pair up with someone you don’t regularly work with anddescribe 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 elatorLearnerResponsibilityStrategic

NAME ITMake your Signature Themes your own.Identify what each theme means to you.AIM ITCLAIM ITFlex and leverage your talentstoward a specific goal, objectiveor desired outcome.Appreciate the unique powerand value of the talents youhave and bring to others.Page 23

http://www.youtube.com/watch?vFireworks and Space Shuttle

HOMEWORK: Model Your StrengthsCreate a message (picture, drawing, poem, song, etc.) thatrepresents you and your Signature Themes.Developer – Relator – AnalyticalRestorative – Harmony38

Strengths Reflections What is one of your themes you would like toknow more about? What is one theme, different from yours, that younow value more than you did before thisworkshop?Strengths Commitments What is one thing you will do, starting tomorrow,to develop your talents into strengths? What is one thing you will do, starting tomorrow,to better use your talents to build strongrelationships with others?Page 11

NAME ITMake your Signature Themes your own.Identify what each theme means to you.AIM ITCLAIM ITFlex and leverage your talentstoward a specific goal, objectiveor desired outcome.Appreciate the unique powerand value of the talents youhave and bring to others.

Live YourStrengths Every Day! Know your Top 5 Be proud of your Top 5 Post your Top 5 Donate your Top 5See you in Session 2

SESSION 2A Strengths Essentials workshop to help employeesDiscover, Develop and Apply their Strengths

NAME TENTName you want to be called5 Signature Themes

HOMEWORK: Model Your StrengthsShare with others at your table the message you created thatrepresents your Signature Themes.Developer – Relator – AnalyticalRestorative – Harmony45

The TruthsTRUTH: As you grow you become more of whoyou already areTRUTH: You will grow most in your areas ofgreatest strengthTRUTH: A good team member deliberatelyvolunteers their strengths to the teamPage 246

TalentsNatural ways ofthinking, feeling andbehaving XInvestmentTime spent developing yourtalents, skills andknowledgeStrengthsTalents usedproductively

NAME ITMake your Signature Themes your own.Identify what each theme means to you.AIM ITCLAIM ITFlex and leverage your talentstoward a specific goal, objectiveor desired outcome.Appreciate the unique powerand value of the talents youhave and bring to others.

Why do Conversations aboutStrengths Matter?Strengths AwarenessConfidenceHopeMotivation to excelEngagement - an emotional commitmentLong 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 Important2%100%80%31%45%61%57%60%40%EngagedNot EngagedActively ess Strengths

Are You One Of The2 Out Of 10?

Active Disengagement

Students in strength developmentprograms 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 ratesthan students who are not.

Applying your StrengthsWhat about your role at South Mountain Community Collegeenergizes you?Think of a goal or project you have been working on recentlyat work. Identify one of your strengths or themes that you used in the past 10days to assist you in reaching this goal? Did you partner with anyone with a complementary strength to assist youin reaching this goal? What was the complementary strength youpartnered with?Turn to someone at your table and share a discussion onyour responses to these questions.Page 4

Talent ConnectionThemeRestorativePage 5What this allows me to doWhen / Where I recently used this themeI listen well and can providesuggestions that help solve problems.A co-worker was having a hard time findinga solution for a problem a student washaving. I was able to understand thesituation and offer the input on how thesituation could be solved.

Critical ActivitiesMy ThemesAdaptabilityCritical TasksAnswer phone questionsIndividualizationEmpathyOrganize student recordsResponsibilityConsistencyPage 6Meet with a student one on one

Developing Talents into StrengthsLife SituationThemeI interact andhaverelationshipswith co-workersLearnerPage 7Action to Develop Talent into a StrengthI will have a conversation with others in mydepartment to learn more about them.

Weaving your ThemesSelect two of your Signature Themes. Write a description of how the two themes you selectedare best described when woven together.Page 8Theme ATheme BDescribe themes woven togetherLearnerIndividualizationI love to learn about what makes people tick.FocusMaximizerI need to focus on projects that I can help make excellent.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPSTHROUGH STRENGTHSA Strengths Essentials workshop to help employeesDiscover, Develop and Apply their Strengths

Learning To Value Others Through gJudgingPage 9

BasementsBalconiesPage 10

Complementary Partnerships“make up” for a lesser talent.“take over” where one personleaves off.“enhance” what one personalready possesses.Tenzing Norgay and EdmundHillaryPage 11

Complementary PartnershipsPartner with someone in the groupEach of you pick one of your Signature Themes Write a description of how the two themes selected could complementeach other in a project.Theme ATheme BCommandHarmonyStrategicIdeationPage 11Describe themes woven togetherWe find just the right balance when communicating withothers in difficult situations.Together we create unique solutions and action steps toimplement them.64

Form Complementary PartnershipsDo you havesomeone in your lifewho can gentlyremind you whenyou are not usingyour talentproductively?

Strengths-Based TeamsTeam Members: Share a mission and purpose. Understand the work of the team and have a clear andcompelling performance goal or challenge. Understand and appreciates that he or she is great atsome things and not very good at others. Are aware of each other’s talents.Page 1266

What Energizes You Most?Brainstorming SessionI like working with people!I like making to-dolists with deadlinesI have an idea!I would love to facilitate the session!

What Energizes You Most?A team planning a college wide eventI like to planI like to show otherswhy it is importantI always remember theevent is about peopleI would like us to slow down just a little and be careful

The TruthsWhat your team needs most is for you to bring yourstrengths deliberatelyPeople need not be well-rounded butteams do!

Strengths atorRath & Conchie. (2008). Strengths Based Leadership. New York, NY: GallupPress.Page 13

Strengths Team MatrixWhat are the strengths and weaknesses of this team? Page 14What 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?71