Author Tom Rath and leadership consultant Barry Conchie found: 1. The most effective leaders are always investing in
strengths. 2. The most effective leaders surround themselves
with the right people and then maximize their team.
3. The most effective leaders understand their followers’ needs.
Web-based assessment 177 responses Each item lists a pair of descriptors
Example: “I get to know people individually.” “I accept many types of people.”
20 seconds to answer on a continuum of strongly describes me or neutral
Each item pair is associated with a theme or category of talents
34 Talent Themes Talents are people's naturally recurring
patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied.
The more dominant a theme is in a person, the greater the theme's impact on that person's behavior and performance.
Maximizer talents can be stifled by conventional wisdom, which says you should find what is broken and fix it. Maximizers identify and invest in the parts of
your organization or community that are working.
Maximizers make sure that most of your resources are spent in the build-up and build-out of pockets of excellence.
" EXECUTING- Achiever, Arranger, Belief, Consistency, Deliberative, Discipline, Focus, Responsibility, Restorative (working hard)
" INFLUENCING- Activator, Command, Communication, Competition, Maximizer, Self-Assurance, Significance, Woo (influencing others)
" RELATIONSHIP BUILDING- Adaptability, Developer, Connectedness, Empathy, Harmony, Includer, Individualization, Positivity, Relator (relating with others)
" STRATEGIC THINKING- Analytical, Context, Futuristic, Ideation, Input, Intellection, Learner, Strategic (thinking smarter)
Executing Team members who have a dominant strength in the Executing domain are those whom you turn to time and again to implement a solution. These are the people who will work tirelessly to get something done. People who are strong in the Executing domain have an ability to take an idea and transform it into reality within the organization they lead.
Influencing People who are innately good at influencing are always selling the team's ideas inside and outside the organization. When you need someone to take charge, speak up, and make sure your group is heard, look to someone with the strength to influence.
Relationship Building Relationship builders are the glue that holds a team together. Strengths associated with bringing people together -- whether it is by keeping distractions at bay or keeping the collective energy high. They transform a group of individuals into a team capable of carrying out complex projects and goals.
Strategic Thinking Those who are able to keep people focused on "what they could be”. They are constantly pulling a team and its members into the future. They continually absorb and analyze information and help the team make better decisions.
People who do have opportunity to focus on their strengths every day are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life in general.
They have concern for followers. They are life-long learners. They have ideas and visions. They reflect on role models and influences. They share charisma.
At GGS these are the traits of our staff. Followers are our students.
Mrs. Krogstad – Executing Learner Empathy Achiever Arranger Discipline
Ms. Holzman – Strategic Thinking Deliberative Discipline Input Intellection Context
Ms. Tysse – Relationship Building Harmony Empathy Consistency Developer Restorative
Third grade not available
Ms. Davis– Strategic Thinking Input Learner Achiever Intellection Futuristic
Mrs. Axtman - Relationship Building Adaptability Positivity Relator Includer Maximizer
Mrs. Matthews – Executing Relator Competition Consistency Activator Restorative
Mrs. Haskins - Relationship Building Responsibility Adaptability Belief Empathy Relator
Mrs. Deurmeier - Strategic Thinking Context Learner Input Connectedness Responsibility
Mr. Coon – Strategic Thinking
Achiever Strategic Competition Ideation Relator
Miss Black – Executing
Achiever Belief Leaner Includer Developer
Mr. Mohr – Strategic Thinking
Strategic Adaptability Ideation Developer Learner
Mrs. Thorn – Executing
Deliberative Responsibility Harmony Learner Individualization
Dr. DeBruycker - Relationship Building Ideation Includer Arranger Relator Maximizer Adaptability Self-Assurance Developer
Mrs. Fisher – Executing Achiever Relator Learner Responsibility Woo
Mrs. McCauley - Relationship Building Relator Responsibility Deliberative Harmony Includer
Mrs. Johnson - Relationship Building Positivity Responsibility Harmony Adaptability Empathy
Mrs. Coon – Relationship Building Context Empathy Individualization Responsibility Adaptability Achiever
Mr. Bassler – Strategic Thinking Harmony Discipline Analytical Input Context
Executing Influencing Relationship Building
Strategic Thinking
Miss Black Mrs. Axtman Mr. Bassler
Mrs. Fisher Mrs. Coon Mr. Coon
Mrs. Krogstad Dr. DeBruycker Ms. Davis
Mrs. Matthews Mrs. Haskins Mrs. Deurmeier
Mrs. Thorn Mrs. Johnson Ms. Holzman
Mrs. McCauley Mr. Mohr
Ms. Tysse
A strength is the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance in a specific activity.
The key to building a strength is to identify your dominant talents, then complement them by acquiring knowledge and skills pertinent to the activity.
Talents, knowledge, and skills -- along with the time spent practicing (investment), developing your skills, and building your knowledge base -- combine to create your strengths.
Although talents, skills, and knowledge are each important for building a strength, talent is always the most important.
The reason is that your talents are innate and cannot be acquired, unlike skills and knowledge.
For example, being drawn toward strangers and enjoying the challenge of making a connection with them are talents (from the Woo theme), whereas the ability to consistently build a network of supporters who know you and are prepared to help you is a strength. To build this strength, you have refined your talents with skills and knowledge.
Likewise, the tendency to confront others is a talent (from the Command theme), whereas the ability to sell successfully is a strength. To persuade others to buy your product, you must have combined your talent with product knowledge and certain selling skills.
The key to building a fully developed strength is to identify your most dominant talents, which are likely found within your top five themes, then complement them with acquired knowledge, skills, and investment.
When considering where to invest one's time, energy, and attention, Gallup research indicates that the best place to start is in an area of strength. Yet by no means does any of our research suggest that people should ignore their weaknesses. To do so, especially in the classroom or workplace, is reckless.
All of Gallup's development programs focus on helping individuals to build on their strengths and to determine how their weaknesses can best be managed. The strengths-based approached can help staff and faculty increase productivity, drive, performance, and improve areas with underperforming management or leadership. We do not advise ignoring areas of weakness; the result would be detrimental to a campus's impact -- and likely an individual's career.
“Great organizations must not only accommodate the fact that each employee is different,
THEY MUST CAPITALIZE ON THESE DIFFERENCES.”
~ Don Clifton Father of Strengths-Based Psychology
Effective and productive teams meet their goals and achieve meaningful outcomes by capitalizing on the diverse talents of their members.
The best teams achieve success by developing a team dynamic that welcomes, values, and leverages each members' talents.
1. Conflict doesn’t destroy strong teams because strong teams focus on results.
2. Strong teams prioritize what’s best for the organization and then move forward.
3. Members of strong teams are as committed to their personal lives as they are to their careers.
4. Strong teams embrace diversity. 5. Strong teams are magnets for talents.
Stats for GGS:
18 members (2 double test)
Relator is the most common strength
GGS possess 31 out of 34 strengths
28 Executing 8 Influencing 39 Relationship Building 25 Strategic Thinking
Research shows that followers have a clear picture of what they want and need from the many leaders in their lives:
Trust Compassion Stability Hope
Build on our strengths to lead each other and our students.
Give our followers (our students) what they want and need from us.
Trust Compassion Stability Hope
We are both the leaders and the followers in the process of school improvement.
We analyze, interpret, and communicate the desires we hold for our school.
We build on our strengths, recognize our weaknesses, and go forward with the determination to make a difference.