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!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
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!
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