DISCOVERING & DISCOVERING & PUTTING PUTTING

OUR STRENGTHS OUR STRENGTHS TO WORKTO WORK

Modified from a Presentation of the Division of Student AffairsNorthern Illinois University

Critical CAPM Study Topic Part 1

and

Mission

Strategy

Goals

Projects

Roles: What, Who, How

Conventional wisdom…Conventional wisdom…says we learn from our mistakes.

The strength movement says that all we learn from mistakes are the characteristics of mistakes.

If we want to learn about our successes, we must study success.

Gallup and the Study of Gallup and the Study of StrengthsStrengths

The Gallup Organization◦ Founded in 1969◦ Studies focused on “the best of the best”

◦ 500+ Colleges and Universities have implemented Strengths-based education

◦ Strengthsfinder has been used with over 10 million people in 17 languages

◦ Facebook and other companies require team members/employees to have been evaluated and they customize their employee development plans accordingly.

Wh

at is a

stren

gth

?Consistent, excellent

performance in an activity

Strength = Natural Talent + Experience

What makes you What makes you unique…?unique…?

The combination and the order of the 34 talent themes measured by StrengthsFinder lead to more than 33,700,000 possible unique sets of Signature Themes

Among the first 800,000 people who took Strengthsfinder, less than 20 people had the same top five themes, without considering the order of the themes

Now, Discover Your StrengthsGo Put Your Strengths to WorkStrengths Based Leadership

Strengths Connect withStrengths Connect with Four Key Motivational Drives, or Four Key Motivational Drives, or ThemesThemes

THINKINGRELATINGIMPACTINGSTRIVING

STRENGTHSFINDERSTRENGTHSFINDER THEMESTHEMESAchieverActivatorAdaptabilityAnalyticalArrangerBeliefCommandCommunicatio

nCompetitionConnectednes

sContext

DeliberativeDeveloperDisciplineEmpathyFairnessFocusFuturisticHarmonyIdeationInclusivenessIndividualizati

onInput

IntellectionLearnerMaximizerPositivityRelatorResponsibil

ityRestorativeSelf-

AssuranceSignificanc

eStrategicWoo

Relating ThemesRelating ThemesCommunication

Empathy

Harmony

Includer

Individualization

Relator

Responsibility

Impacting ThemesImpacting ThemesCommand

Competition

Developer

Maximizer

Positivity

Woo

Striving ThemesStriving ThemesAchieverSelf AssuranceSignificanceActivatorBeliefDisciplineFocusRestorative

Thinking ThemesThinking Themes

AnalyticalArrangerConnectednessConsistencyContextDeliberativeFuturistic Ideation Input IntellectionLearnerStrategic

Strengths are tools…Strengths are tools…Your tool bag is full, but you have to get a good

handle on the tools you have

Trying to work on a project with the wrong tools is frustrating

Find projects that your tools fit

Find people who have tools you don’t have to collaborate with

But What About My But What About My Weaknesses?Weaknesses?

The beauty of the strengths approach is that by developing your strengths, you have a new approach for managing your weaknesses

Apply your strengths to challenging tasks or areas in need of improvement

Partner with others who have strengths outside of your own natural themes

Those who fulfill their own, Those who fulfill their own, unique best purpose…unique best purpose…

Spend most of their time in their areas of strength

Focus on developing and applying their strengths as they manage their weaknesses

Know the strengths of people around them

Empower the people around them to use their strengths