Cheryl S. Pace Relator, Consistency, Learner, Intellection, Responsibility

Information about the CliftonStrengths assessment CliftonStrengths concepts and definitions Some activities Insights into how you are using your natural talents to

enhance your teaching Insights into how CliftonStrengths could benefit your

students

Decades of research into talents and success have shown that the talents most related to potential for success can be grouped into 34 themes. An assessment was created to measure the presence of talent in

these 34 themes Now, Discover Your Strengths was published in 2001 Other books have followed Over 17 million people have taken the assessment

StrengthsFinder is… An online assessment for identifying the potential for building strengths from

talent A strengths-based development tool Intended to honor the uniqueness of each individual

StrengthsFinder is not… A “typology” A predictor of behavior or performance Designed for selection and hiring

There is a strong connection between… Who people are and what they do best What people do best and how people feel How people feel and how people perform

Find out what you do well and do more of it Be the best version of yourself that you can be

The strengths-based development approach believes that a person’s most direct path to individual growth and improvement begins with a primary investment in his or her greatest talents.

Prepared by Jennifer Miller, Gallup Certified Strengths Coach since 2014. Jennifer@intentionalstrengths.com or www.linkedin.com/in/millerjenf. Gallup®, Clifton StrengthsFinder®, StrengthsFinder®, and each of the 34 Clifton StrengthsFinder theme names are trademarks of Gallup, Inc. A complete listing of Gallup’s trademarks can be found at Gallup.com.

TO DEVELOPMENT

Maintain each person’s strengths and

Work on fixing weaknesses

Identify improvement areas

Develop an improvement plan

• Most, if not all, behaviors can be learned.

• The best in a role display the same behaviors.

• Weakness fixing leads to success.

Prepared by Jennifer Miller, Gallup Certified Strengths Coach since 2014. Jennifer@intentionalstrengths.com or www.linkedin.com/in/millerjenf. Gallup®, Clifton StrengthsFinder®, StrengthsFinder®, and each of the 34 Clifton StrengthsFinder theme names are trademarks of Gallup, Inc. A complete listing of Gallup’s trademarks can be found at Gallup.com.

TO DEVELOPMENT

Focus on each person’s strengths and

Manage weaknesses

Identify talents

Develop strengths

• Only some behaviors can be learned (skills & knowledge)

• The best in a role deliver the same outcome using different behaviors

• Weakness fixing prevents failure

• Strengths building leads to excellence

You’ll need a pencil or pen And a piece of paper

Talent is a naturally recurring pattern of thought, feeling or behavior that can be productively applied

Examples of talent include… Effortlessly and instinctively starting conversations Thinking in an orderly or timely manner Being able to easily influence others Seeing patterns in data Consistently having a positive outlook on life

Raise your hand if… You talk to people in elevators, airplanes, grocery stores, and wherever you go Take book on vacation Have a color-coded or otherwise organized closet Make a list of things to do…even on the weekends Need to pick someone to race with when driving Ask a lot of questions Are most productive late a night Smile and see the silver linings

Strength is the ability to consistently provide near perfect performance

Strengths are a combination of your talent, knowledge, and skills

Skill is gained through learning and reflect areas of expertise and competency.

Examples of Skill include: Manage a project Prepare an analysis report Create a staff assignment schedule Prepare and deliver a course

Strength leads to Successes & Satisfaction

From Marcus Buckingham in Go Put Your Strengths to Work, the SIGNs of a strength are:

Success: Something you are good at. When you do it, you feel effective. Others may have said you have a gift for this activity.

Instinct: Activities you are naturally drawn to. You look forward to doing it. You might find yourself volunteering for this activity.

Growth: It feels really easy, like you’re not trying too hard while you grow and improve. Time when you learn the most and have insights. While doing it you feel inquisitive and focused. May be in a flow state.

Needs: Where you feel the need to spend time. After you’re done doing this activity, you feel fulfilled and accomplished, the opposite of drained! It’s fun to think back on it and you want to do it again.

Five Clues to Talent Success Stories

Strengths-based development Definition of talent and strengths How you use them to achieve success

Now what?

“What I Do”

◦ Create two columns on a piece of paper ◦ Write down your job responsibilities related to your teaching role in the left

column ◦ Rank them ◦ Circle the ones you do best ◦ Draw a square around the ones you do with the most ease, excellence and

enjoyment ◦ In the right column write down your Top 5 or the strengths you identified

today ◦ Align the two sides…which strengths support which responsibilities?

Our “Top 5” or “Signature themes” help us understand who we are. They are our filter…our “strengths lens”…to the world They are our core way of operating in the world They influence our choices They direct our actions and our primary response in work situations They explain why some activities energize us and others wear us out

The chances are 1 in 33 million that someone will have your Top 5 signature themes in the same order as you do

Value your uniqueness - appreciate and claim your talent themes – be yourself, everyone else is taken!

What’s important in building a great team are the individuals; we can’t afford not to understand the unique value of each team member

Ask yourself… When developing a new course, how will I use my talents/strengths? ◦ How will I take into account the talents/strengths of my students?

When mentoring students, how will I use my talents/strengths? ◦ How will I help them use their own talents/strengths?

Remember… Your strengths lens is different from anyone else’s ◦ And so are your students’…and your colleagues’

Cheryl S. Pace Director, Organizational Improvement Office University of Kansas Medical Center cpace@kumc.edu 913-588-7321