It's been a while since I blogged, but I have been busy coaching and leveraging strengths (mine and others). I had the great fortune to facilitate my first Strengths-Based Leadership discussion. Here is the slide deck from my experience (courtesy of Lori Young, SPC):
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8HcSFO7UbBnM2YzZmEwZDItMzRiZC00MmNmLTg5YjQtYzUyYmFlZTQ0Mjlm&hl=en
Typically 90 minutes would be ideal to facilitate this session. I had one hour and I like to think that I made the most of it. The message about what followers want most from their leaders -- hope, trust, compassion, and stability -- resounded with many.
Til the next time!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Follow Up with Confirmation Candidates
Last month I assisted with the Living Your Strengths (LYS) session at the Confirmation candidates retreat. Many of the teens who attended had expressed interest in having some sort of follow up session to learn more about their Top 5. In discussing further with Carol Maline, there is an opportunity to help shape what this program may look like. I'm going to work with her to get this going, and Jake Bihari expressed an interest in helping with this as well. Looking forward to it!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
MARS Strengths Session 11/4/10
On November 4, 2010 I held a strengths overview session with a group of employees from our Monetary Affairs/Research (MARS) team. It was a small group of 8 individuals in total. We held the session in the Learning Center at work, which felt rather appropriate given we were all there to learn and grow individually and as a group.
One of the things I started to do is give each person something to remember their strengths and their strengths overview session with me. So I brought a picture frame with a print out of each person's name and their Top 5 signature themes to refer to during class and as a keepsake for their desk.
The group had some good questions and was able to make observations and connections to the strengths concepts. They seemed really interested in bringing the strengths-based philosophy to their individual development plans as well as how they work together as a team. Encouraging!
One of the things I started to do is give each person something to remember their strengths and their strengths overview session with me. So I brought a picture frame with a print out of each person's name and their Top 5 signature themes to refer to during class and as a keepsake for their desk.
The group had some good questions and was able to make observations and connections to the strengths concepts. They seemed really interested in bringing the strengths-based philosophy to their individual development plans as well as how they work together as a team. Encouraging!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Reg Reports Session on 10/20/10
On October 20, 2010 I held a strengths overview session with a group of employees from our Regulatory Reports team at work. This was a small group of 6 individuals in total. We didn't get the books in time, so with this group we began with a quick overview, had each participant take the assessment, and then finished the program with facilitated self-discovery and one-on-one discussions.
Picture frames with a print out of each person's name and their Top 5 signature themes to refer to were created about a week later and then slipped on their desk as a keepsake and hopefully a pleasant surprise!
Lots of good questions and observations though one individual had a few questions about the accuracy of his top two. Later that day they joined with the other teams in their department and got into a good dialogue about their strengths, so I'll take that as a positive sign!
Picture frames with a print out of each person's name and their Top 5 signature themes to refer to were created about a week later and then slipped on their desk as a keepsake and hopefully a pleasant surprise!
Lots of good questions and observations though one individual had a few questions about the accuracy of his top two. Later that day they joined with the other teams in their department and got into a good dialogue about their strengths, so I'll take that as a positive sign!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Confirmation Candidates Retreat 10/9/10
I know many of the teens in this year's Confirmation class at St. Ambrose this year. Carol Maline extended an invite to assist with facilitating a Living Your Strengths (LYS) segment of the retreat. There were about 35 teens in total who attended this voluntary session. Father Bob presided over the session and gave a phenomenal overview of LYS that was interactive and well received.
One of the things I did was help sign on all the computers and guide them through taking the online assessment. The rest of the time was spent helping facilitate as needed and answer questions that arose.
Carol gathered feedback from attendees which included a question asking if they would like to explore the strengths theme further. Almost everyone who turned in a feedback sheet answered yes to this question. A good and encouraging sign!!
One of the things I did was help sign on all the computers and guide them through taking the online assessment. The rest of the time was spent helping facilitate as needed and answer questions that arose.
Carol gathered feedback from attendees which included a question asking if they would like to explore the strengths theme further. Almost everyone who turned in a feedback sheet answered yes to this question. A good and encouraging sign!!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
One-on-one sessions @ work
It seems that word has spread a bit about the strengths philosophy. As part of a leadership mentoring group I facilitated this year, I incorporated the strengths assessment and found the members of the group were willing and interested to learn more. In addition to the "Now Discover Your Strengths" book and online self-assessment, we had a group discussion where we all shared our Top 5 and some observations in our work and home life where we observed our strengths in action.
One new thing I did with this group is had a follow-up session that was based on the Strengths-Based Leadership book. I love this book as it helps leaders focus their strengths in four areas that followers are looking for: stability, hope, trust, compassion. By focus, one of the things this book provides are tools and actions that each leader can take to foster hope, trust, compassion and stability by leverage your natural talents and strengths. This is an area I'd like to learn more about and extend the philosophy to our entire leadership team.....
One new thing I did with this group is had a follow-up session that was based on the Strengths-Based Leadership book. I love this book as it helps leaders focus their strengths in four areas that followers are looking for: stability, hope, trust, compassion. By focus, one of the things this book provides are tools and actions that each leader can take to foster hope, trust, compassion and stability by leverage your natural talents and strengths. This is an area I'd like to learn more about and extend the philosophy to our entire leadership team.....
Thursday, September 2, 2010
One-on-one sessions @ St. Ambrose
Since I've gotten my strengths coaching certification, there have not been many opportunities at St. Ambrose to do one-on-one coaching. I volunteered for all the opportunities that came up in the months since certification though the number has not been overwhelming. I was encouraged that a handful of people expressed an interest and actually set up one-on-one sessions. Each discussion is yet another opportunity to learn more about people and help them become more self-aware of their natural talents and strengths. Always a pleasure....
Monday, May 17, 2010
I'm Certified -- It's Official!!!
Today I opened up my inbox and found a note from Caroline at Gallup Consulting. She congratulated me and let me know that I officially a certified Strengths Performance Coach! Woo hoo!
If you are wondering how long it took, I completed the Strengths Performance Coaching class in mid-January 2010. In all, it took about 4 months. This included (1) completing all of the online learning sessions (2) conducting ten coaching sessions and (3) getting feedback on all 10 coaching sessions. The hardest part getting everyone to complete the survey to give feedback on how I did. The survey was only 5 questions, but it seemed like it was easy for many to put off so it took some persistence on my part to get to full completion. Though there were a good number who did fill out the survey within hours or just a day or two. Thanks to all for their feedback!
Overall, I am very appreciative of everyone who was willing to volunteer their time to allow me to conduct these strengths coaching sessions! Be your best self and live your strongest life!!!
If you are wondering how long it took, I completed the Strengths Performance Coaching class in mid-January 2010. In all, it took about 4 months. This included (1) completing all of the online learning sessions (2) conducting ten coaching sessions and (3) getting feedback on all 10 coaching sessions. The hardest part getting everyone to complete the survey to give feedback on how I did. The survey was only 5 questions, but it seemed like it was easy for many to put off so it took some persistence on my part to get to full completion. Though there were a good number who did fill out the survey within hours or just a day or two. Thanks to all for their feedback!
Overall, I am very appreciative of everyone who was willing to volunteer their time to allow me to conduct these strengths coaching sessions! Be your best self and live your strongest life!!!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
LYS II on 2/28/10
Today is night #2 of Living Your Strengths II. We had almost the same number of people at tonight's session as we did at night #1. That means that many are interested in learning more about the strengths philosophy and what this means for them now that they know their "top 5" signature themes.
Father Bob gave a great overview and several examples of understanding your natural talents as well as skills and knowledge that layer on top of your talents to form strengths. He also talked about the Power of 2 and why partnering is a good way to synergize your strengths with the natural talents and abilities of others. An example he used was how his "Activator" and "Ideator" strengths are complementary to Jake's "Achiever" strength and how he generates ideas and acts on them and Jake helps carry them through.
We discussed how we saw our own "top 5" being played out in our lives and per usual, the examples people gave provide unconscious but true insights as to their natural talents. One example was how Kathy began by saying that she read and collected a lot of info during the past week about the strengths, and she had "Learner" and "Input" in her top 5.
Then we had a small group discussion around the question on which of our top 5 do we think has been central in our relationship with God recently. This was an interesting chance to get participants thinking and talking about how they've used their strengths and how they have focused them in a Christ-like manner. This was another great exercise to get people to better understand who they are and how they are using their God-given talents.
Once partipants are fluent in the strengths philosophy, they should be able to see examples and patterns of how their strengths are at play not only in their own lives but in the lives of others. I constantly use the example of the Parade magazine which I love to read every week. The magazine always highlights a celebrity and talks about their life, priorities, work, etc. It is remarkable how you can start to pick out the strengths in others as they describe what they do, how they do it, and how they see their successes. When I got home this evening, I came up with a great idea on how I can incorporate this into future Supporting Your Strengths sessions! This is something we can really have fun with!
Father Bob gave a great overview and several examples of understanding your natural talents as well as skills and knowledge that layer on top of your talents to form strengths. He also talked about the Power of 2 and why partnering is a good way to synergize your strengths with the natural talents and abilities of others. An example he used was how his "Activator" and "Ideator" strengths are complementary to Jake's "Achiever" strength and how he generates ideas and acts on them and Jake helps carry them through.
We discussed how we saw our own "top 5" being played out in our lives and per usual, the examples people gave provide unconscious but true insights as to their natural talents. One example was how Kathy began by saying that she read and collected a lot of info during the past week about the strengths, and she had "Learner" and "Input" in her top 5.
Then we had a small group discussion around the question on which of our top 5 do we think has been central in our relationship with God recently. This was an interesting chance to get participants thinking and talking about how they've used their strengths and how they have focused them in a Christ-like manner. This was another great exercise to get people to better understand who they are and how they are using their God-given talents.
Once partipants are fluent in the strengths philosophy, they should be able to see examples and patterns of how their strengths are at play not only in their own lives but in the lives of others. I constantly use the example of the Parade magazine which I love to read every week. The magazine always highlights a celebrity and talks about their life, priorities, work, etc. It is remarkable how you can start to pick out the strengths in others as they describe what they do, how they do it, and how they see their successes. When I got home this evening, I came up with a great idea on how I can incorporate this into future Supporting Your Strengths sessions! This is something we can really have fun with!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
LYS II Session 2/21/10
I'm so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with people to discover their Top 5 Signature Themes! Today I participated in the first of three sessions as a follow-up to the Living Your Strengths initial overview and assessment. The way we do it at St. Ambrose is to offer three sessions of orientation which includes an overview, online assessment completion, and debriefing. This is called the Living Your Strengths (LYS) Program. Then we have LYS II which is a series of three sessions (1.5 hours each) to continue the dialogue and self-discovery process.
Tonight I attended the first session of LYS II which was held in the Lehner Center. There were about 17 participants which represented over 50% of the approximately 30 people who attended the three sessions of LYS. Father Bob gave his usual great overview of LYS and the strengths philosophy. Then we had group discussions to engage participants in self-discovery and dialogue to learn how they and others are activating and applying their strengths.
The stories and "a-ha" moments are always amazing to hear. As an example, one person with Empathy as her top theme told a story this past week about caring for her aging father who is losing control of basic bodily care and functioning. As she began to tell the story, she teared up and the tears started to flow. A clear sign as someone with high Empathy:) Then, the person in our group with Harmony (the peacemaker theme) as one of her Top 5 signature themes jumped right in to acknowledge the unsettling situation and to offer numerous options and assistance group ideas to help her deal with her father's declining condition. See how these things work!
In all, I am learning and growing as a Strengths Performance Coach by participating in these sessions. I am trying to work through my list of 10 coachees to get them to complete the online assessment, schedule and complete the coaching session, and then complete the feedback survey. It's been slow. Though I have identified 10 people, 7 have completed the online assessment, 6 have had coaching sessions, and only 3 have completed the survey. Since I need to obtain 10 completed surveys, I still have a long way to go in order to achieve my certificate. Being a results-oriented person, this can be a frustrating thing which I acknowledge and anticipated going into this. On the other hand, I am still learning, growing and continuing to improve my knowledge and application of the strengths philosophy (Learner) and may need to arrange some flexible alternatives (Arranger) to achieve maximum results (a proficient, certified coach).
Tonight I attended the first session of LYS II which was held in the Lehner Center. There were about 17 participants which represented over 50% of the approximately 30 people who attended the three sessions of LYS. Father Bob gave his usual great overview of LYS and the strengths philosophy. Then we had group discussions to engage participants in self-discovery and dialogue to learn how they and others are activating and applying their strengths.
The stories and "a-ha" moments are always amazing to hear. As an example, one person with Empathy as her top theme told a story this past week about caring for her aging father who is losing control of basic bodily care and functioning. As she began to tell the story, she teared up and the tears started to flow. A clear sign as someone with high Empathy:) Then, the person in our group with Harmony (the peacemaker theme) as one of her Top 5 signature themes jumped right in to acknowledge the unsettling situation and to offer numerous options and assistance group ideas to help her deal with her father's declining condition. See how these things work!
In all, I am learning and growing as a Strengths Performance Coach by participating in these sessions. I am trying to work through my list of 10 coachees to get them to complete the online assessment, schedule and complete the coaching session, and then complete the feedback survey. It's been slow. Though I have identified 10 people, 7 have completed the online assessment, 6 have had coaching sessions, and only 3 have completed the survey. Since I need to obtain 10 completed surveys, I still have a long way to go in order to achieve my certificate. Being a results-oriented person, this can be a frustrating thing which I acknowledge and anticipated going into this. On the other hand, I am still learning, growing and continuing to improve my knowledge and application of the strengths philosophy (Learner) and may need to arrange some flexible alternatives (Arranger) to achieve maximum results (a proficient, certified coach).
Friday, February 19, 2010
A Sibling Coaching Session 2/19/10
Finally had a chance to catch up with my brother John for his Strengths Coaching session. Realizing that he and I have three signature themes in common (Achiever, Learner and Responsibility), it was interesting to see the similarities we share. He thought the Top 5 Signature Themes fit him fairly well. We chatted through the coaching discussion questions and specific situations in which he applied his strengths and got positive feedback about such. We talked a lot about frustrations especially those he is experiencing in his current job. It seems the next opportunity he is vying for at work would allow him to really apply his natural talents. So I'm pulling for him that this opportunity comes his way soon!
At the end of our session, I pulled out the flash cards that provide highlights of each signature theme. Based on our discussion, I quickly ran through the highlights of each theme and asked if it sounded like him. Given all the things we talked about, it felt like we hit the nail on the head for each of his Top 5. Both with the strengths as well as with the frustrations. Amazing!
At the end of our session, I pulled out the flash cards that provide highlights of each signature theme. Based on our discussion, I quickly ran through the highlights of each theme and asked if it sounded like him. Given all the things we talked about, it felt like we hit the nail on the head for each of his Top 5. Both with the strengths as well as with the frustrations. Amazing!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Living Your Strengths 2/17/10
The Living Your Strengths series (winter session) was held again at St. Ambrose in February. There were three sessions in total and I was able to assist in the third session held on Feb. 17th at Lehner Center. My husband Alan was able to participate in the class this time! He had already taken the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment and had a coaching session with me. But it was nice to have him attend and learn even more about the Strengths philosophy, his natural talents and Top 5 signature themes.
There were about 20 participants in this session led by Marie and Carol. My role was to assist as needed and more importantly, get the computers ready for the students to take the online assessment. This was easier said than done! The computers in the school library are Apple/Macs which I don't typically use. Also, when I turned them on almost all had to be configured to get rid of an "extra" version of Firefox that was running since the previous users did not exit properly.
Anyway, we got past the computer issues without any undue angst and the participants completed their assessments and reviewed their results. One of my favorite parts of Strengths Coaching is to see the initial reaction when people get there results. Oftentimes it is a time of great realization and "a-ha" moments as they are able to put into words what they have naturally just "done" over the years. I love this part!
The rest of the evening was spent debriefing and working in small groups.
There are three follow-up sessions of Supporting Your Strengths that take place on Feb. 21st, Feb. 28th, and Mar. 7th from 7-8:30pm. This overlaps with FIAT but I will try to participate!
There were about 20 participants in this session led by Marie and Carol. My role was to assist as needed and more importantly, get the computers ready for the students to take the online assessment. This was easier said than done! The computers in the school library are Apple/Macs which I don't typically use. Also, when I turned them on almost all had to be configured to get rid of an "extra" version of Firefox that was running since the previous users did not exit properly.
Anyway, we got past the computer issues without any undue angst and the participants completed their assessments and reviewed their results. One of my favorite parts of Strengths Coaching is to see the initial reaction when people get there results. Oftentimes it is a time of great realization and "a-ha" moments as they are able to put into words what they have naturally just "done" over the years. I love this part!
The rest of the evening was spent debriefing and working in small groups.
There are three follow-up sessions of Supporting Your Strengths that take place on Feb. 21st, Feb. 28th, and Mar. 7th from 7-8:30pm. This overlaps with FIAT but I will try to participate!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
The Strength of Our Youth is the Strength of Our Future!! Invest Wisely!!
Yesterday at St. Ambrose the Confirmation candidates had a day-long retreat at Lehner Center, and the primary focus was the Clifton StrengthsFinder!! There must have been 80 or so teenagers involved in this session. Wow!
The day started at 11am with Father Bob giving his traditional overview of CSF. Then the group headed over to the St. Ambrose Library to log on and take the StrengthsFinder assessment. Little did they know that they would be answering 180 questions to determine their Top 5 Signature Themes! Then it was back to Lehner Center for lunch, debriefing, and various exercises based on their CSF results.
I arrived at 3pm to assist with the final two activities (I was otherwise pre-committed with youth basketball coaching responsibilities earlier in the day). First, they were engaged in a group activity centered around the concept of "Does this statement sound like you?" This was a great way to get the kids up and moving after what must have started to feel like a long day for all involved. Then, we split the group in half and had a self-reflection exercise. The purpose was to allow each student to reflect on their Top 5 and put in their own words what each strength meant to them. There were a couple other questions focused on their interpretation of various passages from scripture relating to God-given gifts. This session allowed me and other facilitators to move from one small group to another to help the students better understand their strengths, what they mean, and how they may be applying them in their life.
We wrapped up this session at about 4:20pm as everyone then started to head over to church for 4:30pm mass. What a great way to get involved with the parish youth!
I am so impressed that St. Ambrose has taken the proactive step to provide the CSF assessment to youth in the parish. The Strength of Our Youth is the Strength of Our Future!! Invest Wisely!!
The day started at 11am with Father Bob giving his traditional overview of CSF. Then the group headed over to the St. Ambrose Library to log on and take the StrengthsFinder assessment. Little did they know that they would be answering 180 questions to determine their Top 5 Signature Themes! Then it was back to Lehner Center for lunch, debriefing, and various exercises based on their CSF results.
I arrived at 3pm to assist with the final two activities (I was otherwise pre-committed with youth basketball coaching responsibilities earlier in the day). First, they were engaged in a group activity centered around the concept of "Does this statement sound like you?" This was a great way to get the kids up and moving after what must have started to feel like a long day for all involved. Then, we split the group in half and had a self-reflection exercise. The purpose was to allow each student to reflect on their Top 5 and put in their own words what each strength meant to them. There were a couple other questions focused on their interpretation of various passages from scripture relating to God-given gifts. This session allowed me and other facilitators to move from one small group to another to help the students better understand their strengths, what they mean, and how they may be applying them in their life.
We wrapped up this session at about 4:20pm as everyone then started to head over to church for 4:30pm mass. What a great way to get involved with the parish youth!
I am so impressed that St. Ambrose has taken the proactive step to provide the CSF assessment to youth in the parish. The Strength of Our Youth is the Strength of Our Future!! Invest Wisely!!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Late Night Coaching and First Teenager Coaching Sessions
At about 12:45am this morning, my sister Paula noticed I was still on line thanks to Facebook. She gave me a call to ask if I had time to go over her StrengthsFinder assessment. Why not!
Paula felt as though the Top 5 strengths for her were about 95% accurate in her view. It was actually kind of funny reviewing her strengths with her. A lot of what we were trying to do is help discover situations where she applies her strengths. As we were talking, there were a couple situations that came up where she had to handle things right away, figuring out the best way to proceed in a short amount of time. It turns out these were great examples of her Adaptability theme at work. What a great way to reinforce the strengths concepts, catching people "in action" as they do things!
I also set aside some time to coach my nephew Anthony this afternoon at 2pm. I realize that it is a bit more difficult to coach a student since they may not have as many work-related examples of using their strengths. It turns out that Anthony did have a lot of great examples during our discussion, and he felt the Top 5 described him pretty well. Being very adaptable, we found that he flourished better in a more fluid and less strict environment, which was a predominant theme at school. He gets positive feedback on his inclusiveness and realized that people come to him for social advice and input on computer problems which is indicative of his Includer, Empathy, and Restorative themes.
I really appreciated working with Anthony. He was amazingly responsive and eager to learn. I think this was indicative of his Positivity theme:)
I tried to connect up with Johnny, Tracy, and mom, but we'll try again for another day later this week.
Still working with Terry, Paul, and Jessica to complete their assessments.
All good stuff!!
Paula felt as though the Top 5 strengths for her were about 95% accurate in her view. It was actually kind of funny reviewing her strengths with her. A lot of what we were trying to do is help discover situations where she applies her strengths. As we were talking, there were a couple situations that came up where she had to handle things right away, figuring out the best way to proceed in a short amount of time. It turns out these were great examples of her Adaptability theme at work. What a great way to reinforce the strengths concepts, catching people "in action" as they do things!
I also set aside some time to coach my nephew Anthony this afternoon at 2pm. I realize that it is a bit more difficult to coach a student since they may not have as many work-related examples of using their strengths. It turns out that Anthony did have a lot of great examples during our discussion, and he felt the Top 5 described him pretty well. Being very adaptable, we found that he flourished better in a more fluid and less strict environment, which was a predominant theme at school. He gets positive feedback on his inclusiveness and realized that people come to him for social advice and input on computer problems which is indicative of his Includer, Empathy, and Restorative themes.
I really appreciated working with Anthony. He was amazingly responsive and eager to learn. I think this was indicative of his Positivity theme:)
I tried to connect up with Johnny, Tracy, and mom, but we'll try again for another day later this week.
Still working with Terry, Paul, and Jessica to complete their assessments.
All good stuff!!
Friday, February 5, 2010
More Strengths Finder Assessments Completed
On Sunday and Monday, I was able to work with three more people to complete the Clifton Strengths Finder! First, I got the results from Tracy, my brother's girlfriend as well as Alan, my husband. Then I was thinking about asking my sister Terry to take the assessment and go through a coaching session when she recommended her daughter Jessica. This made me think of my nephew Anthony, so I texted him about it and he was glad to take the assessment. In about an hour I had his results, which I thought was pretty impressive for an 18-year old high school senior!!
Here are there Top 5 Signature Themes listed below.
Tracy's Top 5: Woo, Empathy, Communication, Activator, Developer
Alan's Top 5: Ideation, Connectedness, Individualization, Responsibility, Intellection
Anthony's Top 5: Adaptability, Restorative, Empathy, Positivity, Includer
So far, I have only been able to have the follow-up coaching session with Alan. It was a good discussion and he felt the strengths described him pretty well. He was also able to complete his online survey to provide anonymous feedback on how well I did in coaching him on the assessment and what it means. Once I do this 9 more times, I will be eligible for my Strengths Coaching certificate if my scores are respectable!
I was also lucky enough to get feedback from Candice on my coaching. This is not only helpful but nice to have, since she was the coachee in my first "real-life" coaching session!
Here are there Top 5 Signature Themes listed below.
Tracy's Top 5: Woo, Empathy, Communication, Activator, Developer
Alan's Top 5: Ideation, Connectedness, Individualization, Responsibility, Intellection
Anthony's Top 5: Adaptability, Restorative, Empathy, Positivity, Includer
So far, I have only been able to have the follow-up coaching session with Alan. It was a good discussion and he felt the strengths described him pretty well. He was also able to complete his online survey to provide anonymous feedback on how well I did in coaching him on the assessment and what it means. Once I do this 9 more times, I will be eligible for my Strengths Coaching certificate if my scores are respectable!
I was also lucky enough to get feedback from Candice on my coaching. This is not only helpful but nice to have, since she was the coachee in my first "real-life" coaching session!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Strengths Coaching for Family Members....
Last night my sister Paula called and wanted some help printing out some loan pre-approval documents. As we talked, she thought it might be better if she just came over and I could help her that way. She then proceeded to call other family members - mom, dad, brother, sister - to also come over. I shared that while they were here, I could work with them to help them learn their Top 5 Strengths and then do Strengths Performance Coaching. The plan was set.
Today all family members but my one sister were able to come over. Three completed their Strengths Finder assessment and it was very interesting to see their results. The funniest thing is that Paula's Top Strength was "includer." I pointed out to her and the others that the reason everyone was her today was because of Paula using her top strength!
Paula's Top 5: Includer, Strategic, Adaptability, Relator, Belief
Johnny's Top 5: Achiever, Restorative, Learner, Responsibility, Developer
Mom's Top 5: Consistency, Adaptability, Deliberative, Learner, Includer
Today all family members but my one sister were able to come over. Three completed their Strengths Finder assessment and it was very interesting to see their results. The funniest thing is that Paula's Top Strength was "includer." I pointed out to her and the others that the reason everyone was her today was because of Paula using her top strength!
Paula's Top 5: Includer, Strategic, Adaptability, Relator, Belief
Johnny's Top 5: Achiever, Restorative, Learner, Responsibility, Developer
Mom's Top 5: Consistency, Adaptability, Deliberative, Learner, Includer
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
First Strengths Coaching Session!
Today I held my first official strengths coaching session! It was with Candice who is a college student and an intern at work (and a fellow blogger!). It was great to get practice in using the coaching booklet and to talk about the different dimensions of the Strengths Finder themes to promote greater awareness and understanding. Working with Candice was so easy perhaps cuz I've gotten to know her pretty well, but more importantly I think she really does live her strengths (in my opinion!!). Just before our coaching session, she told a story to our group at lunch that was a perfect example of actions she took at school that were consistent with her "includer" and "responsibility" strengths. This session was a great one to get started, and I could only hope that all future coaching sessions are so easy and productive!
Candice's Top 5: Responsibility, Includer, Achiever, Futurist, Strategic
Candice's Top 5: Responsibility, Includer, Achiever, Futurist, Strategic
Monday, January 25, 2010
Supporting Your Strengths Session 1/25/2010: "Go Put Your Strengths To Work"
Tonight was an amazingly energizing night as I facilitating this month's Supporting Your Strengths (SYS) session at St. Ambrose. At last month's session, I had recommended we have a "book club" discussion about the book "Go Put Your Strengths To Work" after participating in a similar book club discussion at work. The SYS group was interested in the idea and a session was born!
The key materials I had to leverage were (1) survey questions and results from national and best practice organizations to serve as comparisons to our responses and (2) the book!
We had a little techincal troubles getting started -- my laptop was not easily compatible with the parish projector. Thank goodness we had Rudy in the audience who saved the day with his technical expertise and troubleshooting!
Below are the slides I prepared for our discussion. I'd be happy to the Powerpoint version upon request.
Our session went from 7-8:30pm. About half of the group stayed and chatted for another hour after the session! We have had a core group of people who took the original Living Your Strengths class and who have come to nearly every session of SYS. We are really starting to see the benefits of ongoing dialogues to enhance people's understanding of their God-giving talent. To see faces light up and light bulbs go off absolutely made this a worthwhile and energizing session. Can't wait til next session!
Til next time....
We had a little techincal troubles getting started -- my laptop was not easily compatible with the parish projector. Thank goodness we had Rudy in the audience who saved the day with his technical expertise and troubleshooting!
Below are the slides I prepared for our discussion. I'd be happy to the Powerpoint version upon request.
Our session went from 7-8:30pm. About half of the group stayed and chatted for another hour after the session! We have had a core group of people who took the original Living Your Strengths class and who have come to nearly every session of SYS. We are really starting to see the benefits of ongoing dialogues to enhance people's understanding of their God-giving talent. To see faces light up and light bulbs go off absolutely made this a worthwhile and energizing session. Can't wait til next session!
Til next time....
Sunday, January 24, 2010
What I Bring to Strengths Performance Coaching Sessions
At the Strengths Performance Coaching program I recently attended, we went through a great exercise that I wanted to share. We analyzed our top 5 signature themes and identified our capabilities (or most helpful talents) as well as potential barriers (or most hurtful traits). I thought it would be useful to capture this information for future reference as well as any insights, input, or guidance that others may provide.
1. Achiever, 2. Learner, 3. Responsibility, 4. Arranger, 5. Relator
Capabilities:
1. Setting the pace, getting things done, bringing a high intensity, having great stamina and a strong work ethic
2. Curiousity, wanting to learn more, provider of applicable tools and resources
3. Keeping things on track, keeping promises and commitments, holding people accountable
4. Comfortable with change and ambiguity, comfortable working through others
5. Genuine, authentic, interactive, able to form strong one-on-one relationships
Potential Barriers:
1. Putting the project before the person, just wanting to get the work done
2. Too curious, feeling of irrelevance or unproductivity
3. Frustration if it isn't done or done in a certain way
4. Difficult to follow, not clear or easy to follow, too many ideas or options
5. Becoming too close or being viewed as providing preferential treatment to some
The best part about the StrengthsFinder is that it provides an outstanding tool and many supporting resources to increase self-awareness. Armed with this self-awareness, people now have the option to learn more and more importantly, take actions based on what they naturally do best. However, even our best strengths can be viewed by some as weaknesses if they are overdone or "overplayed."
So, to increase self-awareness, it is nice to know the capabilities of your strengths and perhaps even more important to understand potential barriers or barrier labels. I'm glad we went through this exercise! I'm looking forward to scheduling some practice coaching sessions so I can learn more about how my strengths play out while helping others learn and apply their naturally best talents.
1. Achiever, 2. Learner, 3. Responsibility, 4. Arranger, 5. Relator
Capabilities:
1. Setting the pace, getting things done, bringing a high intensity, having great stamina and a strong work ethic
2. Curiousity, wanting to learn more, provider of applicable tools and resources
3. Keeping things on track, keeping promises and commitments, holding people accountable
4. Comfortable with change and ambiguity, comfortable working through others
5. Genuine, authentic, interactive, able to form strong one-on-one relationships
Potential Barriers:
1. Putting the project before the person, just wanting to get the work done
2. Too curious, feeling of irrelevance or unproductivity
3. Frustration if it isn't done or done in a certain way
4. Difficult to follow, not clear or easy to follow, too many ideas or options
5. Becoming too close or being viewed as providing preferential treatment to some
The best part about the StrengthsFinder is that it provides an outstanding tool and many supporting resources to increase self-awareness. Armed with this self-awareness, people now have the option to learn more and more importantly, take actions based on what they naturally do best. However, even our best strengths can be viewed by some as weaknesses if they are overdone or "overplayed."
So, to increase self-awareness, it is nice to know the capabilities of your strengths and perhaps even more important to understand potential barriers or barrier labels. I'm glad we went through this exercise! I'm looking forward to scheduling some practice coaching sessions so I can learn more about how my strengths play out while helping others learn and apply their naturally best talents.
My Theme Sequence - Clifton StrengthsFinder
As part of the Strengths Performance Coaching program, I received my theme sequence report. This report presents the 34 themes of talent, in rank order revealed by my responses to the StrengthsFinder.
1. Achiever
2. Learner
3. Responsibility
4. Arranger
5. Relator
6. Positivity
7. Context
8. Connectedness
9. Includer
10. Significance
11. Ideation
12. Woo
13. Activator
14. Input
15. Self-Assurance
16. Belief
17. Focus
18. Maximizer
19. Intellection
20. Developer
21. Futuristic
22. Analytical
23. Empathy
24. Command
25. Communication
26. Deliberative
27. Harmony
28. Restorative
29. Competition
30. Discipline
31. Adaptability
32. Consistency
33. Strategic
34. Individulization
Any surprises? Questions? Curious about your thoughts:)
1. Achiever
2. Learner
3. Responsibility
4. Arranger
5. Relator
6. Positivity
7. Context
8. Connectedness
9. Includer
10. Significance
11. Ideation
12. Woo
13. Activator
14. Input
15. Self-Assurance
16. Belief
17. Focus
18. Maximizer
19. Intellection
20. Developer
21. Futuristic
22. Analytical
23. Empathy
24. Command
25. Communication
26. Deliberative
27. Harmony
28. Restorative
29. Competition
30. Discipline
31. Adaptability
32. Consistency
33. Strategic
34. Individulization
Any surprises? Questions? Curious about your thoughts:)
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Gallup Strengths Performance Coaching Training
I was fortunate to get an opportunity to participate in a two-day Strengths Performance Coaching program on January 14-15. What a great experience! The first day of the program was more repetitive in a way as it focused on the 34 Signature Themes, what they mean, and how they are applied. The second day gave us plenty of opportunities to continue this dialogue and to incorporate coaching techniques ending with a practice coaching session.
Next steps include conducting 10 practice sessions and to get individual feedback from each session. A certificate can be earned once these sessions are complete and the feedback is at a level of 4.0 or higher. I'm looking forward to these next steps!
Next steps include conducting 10 practice sessions and to get individual feedback from each session. A certificate can be earned once these sessions are complete and the feedback is at a level of 4.0 or higher. I'm looking forward to these next steps!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Paperwork Submitted
Just a bit of paperwork needed to be completed in order to register for the Jan 14-15 Strengths Coaching session. Since the paperwork is due Dec. 31st, and I'm out of town then, I made it a priority to complete everything today. I was able to get everything completed and send it off to the contact at Gallup University. Receipt confirmed, so I am all set!
Monday, December 21, 2009
It's Official! Strengths Coaching
Today I received an email from Michelle Bouwens at Gallup University. It includes time-sensitive materials for the Faith Strengths Performance Coach Level I Program! This program is coming to Saint Ambrose in mid-January and includes those who will receive training to a strengths coach for the parish. I'm really looking forward to it!
The next Living Your Strengths program is scheduled to begin Feb. 2, 2010. With this mid-January training program, I should be ready to go for the February session!
The next Living Your Strengths program is scheduled to begin Feb. 2, 2010. With this mid-January training program, I should be ready to go for the February session!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Living Your Strengths II - Follow-up Session
Today I attended my first follow-up session to the Saint Ambrose Living Your Strengths Program. Called LYS II, this session allowed for continued discussion about our Top 5 Strengths. There are somewhere between 9-12 participants in this session. There were a few discussion questions about examples of our strengths in action; when we weren't operating from a strengths perspective; etc. From a discussion I had with one of the facilitators a few days earlier, she had me share about the Go Put Your Strengths to Work book and other activities we could do to enhance our understanding of our Top 5 and how we can activate them in the work we do. Our next session will be scheduled possible in mid-January. Looking forward to it!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Now Discover Your Strengths
Got a chance to facilitate a group session for Clifton StrengthsFinder at work this Wednesday, 8 people in total. Made personal frames of each of their Top 5 Signature Themes as a keepsake and brought homemade chocolate treats too! With this session, I was able to add some national and best-practice-company comparative data which made the session even more interesting! The group got to see how they scored compared to both these averages as well as senior leadership at the bank where I work. They also are interested in the Go Put Your Strengths to Work follow-up exercise, perhaps reading and discussing one chapter per month. Looking forward to it!!
Two other group sessions will be coming up in early 2010.
Two other group sessions will be coming up in early 2010.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thanks Father Bob....
During Mass on Thanksgiving day, Father Bob taught us a new word that his nephew created: Tha-Your-Come! This new word is a combination of "Thank You" and "Your Welcome" which for a young boy learning so many new words, his interpretation of these was "thayourcome":) Father Bob wove this nicely into his homily about gratitude/thanks and accepting of gifts etc.
Father Bob also took a moment to publicly recognize and thank a few parishoners for volunteering in the many activities going on at St. Ambrose. I was sitting closer to the front on this day, so I was one of the ones he pointed out. He noted my involvement in the Living Your Strengths program and jumping right in to get involved.
I also learned that the next new class for Living Your Strengths will begin in February, and our ongoing Support Group meets on December 14th. I'm really looking forward to them both! Here is a link to LYS details if you are interested in learning more!
http://www.stambrose.us/lys.htm
Father Bob also took a moment to publicly recognize and thank a few parishoners for volunteering in the many activities going on at St. Ambrose. I was sitting closer to the front on this day, so I was one of the ones he pointed out. He noted my involvement in the Living Your Strengths program and jumping right in to get involved.
I also learned that the next new class for Living Your Strengths will begin in February, and our ongoing Support Group meets on December 14th. I'm really looking forward to them both! Here is a link to LYS details if you are interested in learning more!
http://www.stambrose.us/lys.htm
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sharing the Wealth
The Strengths Finder book may in fact be one of my most favorite. I have bought and shared so many copies of it, I almost forget all of those who I've given a copy to! This always comes back though, as others who have received a copy tell me about their experience with it. I love learning about their "top 5 signature themes" and the different insights or even "ah-ha" moments people have with it.
If you took the Strengths Finder, please share your "Top 5" and/or your insights and experiences with it.
My Top 5 Signature Themes were Achiever, Learner, Responsibility, Arranger, and Relator.
If you took the Strengths Finder, please share your "Top 5" and/or your insights and experiences with it.
My Top 5 Signature Themes were Achiever, Learner, Responsibility, Arranger, and Relator.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Strength-Based Coaching
Today was a great day as Carol Maline from Saint Ambrose asked me if I would be interested in taking a class to become a strengths coach! I had taken the fall version of Living Your Strengths class and definitely want to continue working with this wonderful tool to enrich the lives of others. How exciting! The class is Jan. 14-15, 2010. More details to come...
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