DISCOVER YOUR STRENGTHS By Susan Crooks c t

DISCOVER YOUR STRENGTHS! By Susan Crooks, c. t. r. s.

PLEASE INTERRUPT ME!

Today’s Objectives l Learn How to identify a Strength Based Culture verses a Traditional Command Control Culture l Tools to discover your own strengths l How to Use that knowledge to cultivate your careers and improve overall life satisfaction l How to Navigate around weaknesses, skill gaps l Improve your individual work environments by using reward and recognition

STRENGTH REVOLUTION IS BORN Concept emerged from 30 year Gallup study conducted with over two million people who were interviewed about their strengths Recurring 34 patterns or themes of human talent evolved Discovering and focusing on our own unique patterns can result in excelling in our chosen field and finding lasting life satisfaction!

RECOGNIZING TALENT KEY TO SUCCESS GALLUP POLL QUESTION! At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? Globally only 20% of employees surveyed feel their strengths are in play everyday

IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU! How might your work environment change if you made a personal commitment to discovering your own strengths? l What might happen if you discovered what is enduring and unique about yourself and then re-directed your talents to more positive ends? l

IT’S ALL ABOUT THEM! l l What would happen if businesses/organizations were willing to rethink the Golden Rule and treat each employee differently, basing performance standards on outcomes instead of a strict adherence to rules, regulations, policies, procedures and behavioral competencies? What would happen if businesses/organizations started to look for what is right about their employees and used that knowledge to continually affirm their staff in their strengths by rewarding good performance?

Two Flawed Assumptions Companies who operate on the premise that people can learn to be competent in almost anything Companies who believe each person’s Greatest room for growth is in his/her areas of weakness

IT MAY BE TIME TO RE-THINK IF… Your workplace spends more money on training people once they’re hired rather than on the selection process Your workplace has a heavy emphasis on work rules, policies, procedures and behavioral competencies Your workplace spends more time on minimizing their employee’s weaknesses than building on strengths

HELP WITH THE HIRING PROCESS Hiring practices are one of the biggest obstacles in the way of the strength revolution Managers must convince their businesses they need to invest in The necessary tools up front to help accurately define the talents They need for each position Organizations/Businesses should have protocols in place to help Filter out candidates before the managers even begin the interviewing process

Let’s Learn a New Language Companies should get in the habit of using a Common language when describing talents. Many people often use the same words, but each have different meanings The language of human weakness is rich and varied, but the language of human strength is sparse!

Dictionary of Evaluation Comments l AVERAGE: Not too Bright l ACTIVE SOCIALLY: Drinks heavily l DEMONSTRATES LEADERSHIP: Has Loud Voice l USES TIME EFFECTIVELY: Clock Watcher l ENJOYS JOB: Needs more to do l HAPPY: Paid too much l WILL GO FAR: Relative of management l JUDGEMENT IS USUALLY SOUND: Lucky

EXAMPLES OF “TALENT SPEAK” Traditional -“I liked her people skills” Strength Based - She excels at building trust with people once the initial contact is made, while the other is brilliant at initiating the contact Traditional - He seemed “self motivated”. Strength Based – He is driven by an internal need for achievement no matter how you manage him or this person will need you to set challenging goals in which they motivate themselves to surpass

Strength Based Company Job Analysis - Computer Programmer A person who is analytical (an ordered, numbers oriented mind), Is disciplined (has a need for structure) An arranger, (has an ability to coordinate the demands of a fluid environment ) A learner (has a love of the process of acquiring competence in something)

Want Ads- Do Yours Add Up?

Typical Employment Advertisement ACTUAL JOB OPENING RECENTLY POSTED “Various Supervisory Positions open for Qualified Candidates” Will assert the need for certain skills, knowledge Ability to solve practical problems, work under the pressure of deadlines, perform multiple tasks simultaneously, communicate and lead others List years of experience required Minimum of 2 years supervisory experience Remain mute on talent

Strength Based Want Ad Activity Professional Needed Do you like to take time to explain, describe, to host or speak in public or write? When faced with a complex situation involving many factors, do you enjoy managing all of the variables? Do You need to achieve something each day to feel good about yourself? Do you love to learn? Can you prioritize the urgency of multiple requests and then take charge to meet these deadlines? If you can say yes to these questions, then please call. .

People are not the Only Thing They are Everything! Managers and Companies can take steps to learn to identify what individual strengths and talents are needed before they select, measure, develop and channel the careers of their people Once an employee is in place, they can begin to build around the strengths of that person by accommodating employee differences and by finding ways to capitalize on these differences

Time to Stretch!

Let’s Put On Our White Coats

The Raw Materials! The Brain is an odd organ in that it starts out large in infancy, then shrinks and shrinks into adulthood! Other Major Organs like the liver, kidneys and skin start small and gradually become larger until they reach adult size!

Make the Connection HOW THE BRAIN DEVELOPS l Infancy - The brain forms synapses or threads that form our behavior, or more simply our talents. l By 3 years of age - our unique pattern of threads…extensive and intricate are already woven. l Mid-Teens -Our mental network, with its range of stronger to weaker connections won’t change much. l As Adults -After our synapses are formed, we emerge as distinctly talented individuals.

It’s all in the Grooves! A typical person makes an average of 1000 tiny decisions a day Or 240, 000 a year Our talents, or strongest synaptic connections make almost every one of our decisions!

“GROOVY” OFFICE SCENARIO While sitting at your desk you look at the files spread out in front of you. Which one should you open? The one that requires very little work or the tough one that might take you all morning to complete? If you open the latter, you are like that. You prefer to tackle the difficult work first. Then the phone rings. Do you ignore it, preferring to stay focused, or pick it up? Do you recognize the person’s voice? Do you remember their name? What tone of voice do you use? If you are confronted with a challenge, do you defend yourself or allow them to get everything off their chest.

The Anatomy of a Strength Talent, the raw material that make up your naturally recurring patterns of thought, feeling, or behaviors Knowledge consists of facts learned Skills are the steps of an activity Strengths combination of talents, knowledge and skills

We Bring Our Talent With Us! Talent is forever! What was formed early on in our brain, (our talents) are enduring and unique Each person’s greatest room for growth is in the areas of their greatest strength or talent We can help each other live a strong life based on discovering and using our gifts

Tools to Identify Your Strengths Myers-Briggs Flower Exercise True Colors Behavior Style Profile DISC The Strengths Finder Profile

MYERS-BRIGGS

THE FLOWER

BEHAVIORAL STYLE PROFILE

TRUE COLORS

DISC

STRENGTH FINDER

What Does a Strong Life Look Like? Tiger Woods, has an Extraordinary long-game Bill Gates, is good at innovations

How To Manage Around Weaknesses Weakness is anything that gets in the way of excellent performance We all have countless areas Where we lack proficiency, but most are not worth worrying about!

THE LITMUS TEST! The first thing to consider when you think you have a genuine weakness on your hands (one that is actually getting in the way of excellent performance) Determine if it is a lack of skills, knowledge or talent. If after acquiring the knowledge and skills, your performance is still sub par, then it must be a lack of talent!

FORMING NEW IDEAS If that’s the case, find ways to manage around your weaknesses, thereby freeing yourself up to hone your strengths. This could come in the form of coordinating tasks with your co-workers, hiring a consultant, choosing a partner or hiring staff whose strengths fill in the gaps of your weaknesses. Pay attention to what is draining you, and find creative ways to focus on what you do right.

SKILL GAPS IDENTIFIED WEAKNESS - Lack of Basic Listening Skills You may take a class and learn that you are supposed to be on the lookout For emotional cues, Maintain eye contact, repeat back to the person so they can feel “heard”. During the heat of conversation, your brain may keep channeling you down your well worn pathways and you end up interrupting when you should be reflecting back, looking away when you should be making eye contact or shuffling in your seat when your body language is supposed to be “open and accepting”.

DAMAGE CONTROL OR DEVELOPMENT? With practice you can remind yourself to pause or ask open ended questions, but the encounter often ends up being clumsy and erratic, Of course, even this karaoke version of a good communicator is better than no version at all, but the point is “weakness fixing” is damage control, not development. The Conclusion? Damage control can prevent failure, but it will never elevate you to excellence!

REACH FOR THE STARS! Usually, in centralized command control cultures there is only one pathway for recognizing near perfect performance. Do well, move up, get more power. Do better, move up higher, get still more power.

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION DAY Put the department vending machines in a break room on free vend for 24 hours for coffee and soda.

Weekly/Monthly Privilege Grab Bags Write down desirable privileges/rewards on pieces of paper and have employees blindly draw them from a paper bag. Options could include leave work a half hour early on a Friday. Take 15 minutes extra for lunch. Come in 15 minutes after start time on a certain day. Get a free lunch with the boss.

PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF ACHIEVEMENT After a great State Inspection you may want to tack up streamers to the ceiling and have a brief but boisterous celebration. Create an Employee Wall of Fame. When residents, colleagues and supervisors, for that matter — submit compliments about employees, display them prominently on a bulletin board in a high-traffic area.

Build-Your-Own Sub Sandwiches or Ice Cream Sundaes To celebrate an achievement or the end of a business quarter, bring in ice cream and toppings or buy sub-sandwich rolls and fixings, and have managers man the tables and hand out bowls, spoons, etc.

JOB WELL DONE TREATS If someone does a great job on a project or goes above and beyond the routine to help out a customer, pass out Kudos candy bars. If an employee comes up with a “lifesaving” idea, give them a necklace made out of Lifesavers.

HEAD-HONCHO NOTES At the end of a new employee’s first week on the job — or if someone does something noteworthy — have the head of your organization send them a personal, handwritten thank you note. If the president of the company takes time to personally send hand written notes specifically thanking their employees for their accomplishments, it sends a strong message and doesn’t cost a cent.

TAKING TALENT TO A NEW LEVEL In a strength based culture, there are different kinds of meaningful prestige available. The organization builds more ladders for each key role, listing three basic rungs good, great, and superb. The highest rung represents the pinnacle of performance (the Tiger Woods or Bill Gates) in the role.

BUILT IN INCENTIVES Give people incentives to climb the rungs. You can offer titles representing higher prestige, or change your pay structure to reflect increases in prestige where the person on the highest rung on the role ladder Can earn 30, 40 or even 50% higher than someone on the first rung.

USING YOUR STRENGTHS EQUALS JOB SATISFACTION Of course, no job is perfect – even The best of jobs have their down days and we all have to do things we don’t like. But if we’re in a setting where we’re using our strengths, even then we should feel good about what we do.

You Don’t talk about other People; You talk about the Cool things other People are Doing. When you love your job you don’t gossip about the personal failings of others. You talk about their successes, because you’re happy for them and because you’re happy with yourself.

You think, “I Hope I get to…” Instead of, I Hope I don’t Have to…” When you love your job it’s like peeling an onion. There always more layers to discover and explore. When you hate your job it’s also like peeling an onion – but all you discover are more tears.

You see your Residents and Business Associates not just as People to Satisfy but Simply as People. They aren't numbers. You think of them as real people who have real needs. And you gain a real sense of fulfillment and purpose from taking care of those needs.

You Enjoy your Time at Work. You don't have to put in time at work and then escape to life to be happy. You believe in enjoying life and enjoying work. When you love your job, it’s a part of your life. You feel alive and joyful not just at home – but also at work.

You Would Recommend Working at your Company to Your Best Friend In fact, you can't stop talking about how cool Your company is and the awesome work you're doing even when you're away from work.

You Enjoy Attending Meetings No, seriously, you enjoy meetings. Why? Because it’s fun to be at the center of thoughtful, challenging discussions that lead to decisions, initiatives, and changes – changes you get to be a part of.

You Don’t Think about Surviving, You Think about Being the Best You Can Be. You don't worry much about losing your job You're more worried about not achieving your potential, or not making the impact you hoped to make

You see your Manager as a Person you work With, not For. You feel valued. You feel respected. You feel trusted.

You Don’t want to Let Your Coworkers Down. Not because you’ll get in trouble or get a bad performance review, but because you admire them – and you want them to admire you.

You Hardly Ever Look at the Clock You’re too busy making things happen. When you do look at the clock, you often find that the time has flown.

You View Success in Terms of Fulfillment and Gratification – Not just Promotions and Money. Everyone wants to be promoted. Everyone wants to earn more. You definitely feel that way too… but Somewhere along the way your job has come to mean a lot more to you than just a paycheck. And if you left this job, even if for a lot higher salary… you would still miss it. A lot.

You leave Work with Items on Your To-Do List You’re Excited about Tackling Tomorrow. Many people cross the “fun” tasks off their todo lists within the first hour or two. You often have cool stuff – new initiatives, side projects, hunches you want to confirm with data, people you want to talk to – left over when it’s time to go home.

You Help Without Thinking You like seeing your colleagues succeed, so it’s second nature to help them out. You pitch in automatically. And they do the same for you.

You Don’t Think About Retiring, Because Retirement Sounds Boring… And a lot less fulfilling!

KNOW THE SCORE! How many statements rang true for you? If you said: 0 -3: You may want to find a new job. Life is too short. 4 -6: You don't hate your job. . . but you don't love it either. What can you do differently? 7 -10: You really enjoy your job and the people you work with 11 -14: You are deeply, madly in love with your job! (and your friends are jealous!)

STRENGTH-BASED MANAGERS l Make sure employees have the materials and equipment they need to do their work properly l Make sure employees have the opportunity to do what they do best everyday l Don’t let a week go by without recognizing or praising staff for good work l Encourage staff opinions l Periodically talk with employees about their progress l Provide opportunities throughout the year for employees to learn and grow l Make sure their staff knows what is expected of them

What We’ve Learned The Strength Revolution – challenges the popular belief that we need to fixate on faults. Instead, shift our focus and look for strength patterns by using some of the examples we discussed. Use The tools Available to Discover Our Own Strengths, Cultivate our Careers and Improve Overall Life Satisfaction. We can expand that further by Helping others live a stronger life by becoming skilled at looking for talent in every role, focusing more on outcomes and treating each person differently. Identify and Navigate around weaknesses by first determining if it comes from lack of skills, knowledge or talent and fill the gaps with the help of others. Create a working environment that engages and inspires employees by shifting our focus from task oriented to person centered and value people not just for what they do, but for who they are!