Strength Based Mentoring

How you view and use each of your strengths is unique to you.  Each of your strengths will evoke different ideas, images, and sounds. Think about one of your strengths.  If you had to describe it, what words come to mind?  Using these prompts, identify some metaphors for each of your top five strengths. Looks like: Color: Smells like: Sounds like: How does it feel? We asked ourselves these questions at a recent staff development day and actually utilized a few markers and cardstock to highlight our learning: Consider this fun activity with a group of mentors or with your mentee.  These metaphors are cues to think about when you want to call on a particular strength.

Thanks to Ashley Denton in Missouri Valley for this awesome Halloween activity! "We're better when we share our real selves. We're better when we're really authentic. We're better when we all work together."  There was so much individuality going on in the decorating as you can see from the pics. Also, the matches fed off of their unique talents, gifts, and strengths to create their designs.  We had 5 categories:  1. Scariest 2. Most Embellished 3. Most Colorful 4. Best Design 5. Most Creative Our categories also fed into their strengths as individuals and as matches. They each seemed to pick a category that they were working towards.  How can you incorporate strengths into a fun activity like this with your mentee?

Here are some great visual displays of strengths from great strengths coordinators!  How are you celebrating your strengths today? Andrea in Fairbury:  at their elementary, featuring a strength of the week to learn more about all strengths. Robin in Freeman: Kicking off the new school year!

Check out this playlist of 1 minute-videos for a quick picture of each of the 34 strengths themes in action. (click ‘Playlist’ once directed to the YouTube site) This is a great resource to share with mentors and high school students who are learning about not only their top 5, but the strengths of those around them.

Thanks to Eylse Lyons, Lincoln mentor, for this guest post!  A great visual of how Elyse sees her strengths described.  Consider this activity with your mentee as your begin the school year! Input: Always looking things up Learner: Blocks that you use to start learning your letters Discipline: 12 pt Font. Times New Roman Significance: Biggest font, bright yellow, Underlined Achiever: A very busy font

Here is a fantastic example of a program coordinator utilizing strengths for matches.  This was sent to mentors in an email to keep strengths conversations in their mind.  Jessica is planning to keep this fresh with new questions, craft ideas, and concepts via regular emails to mentors in her chapter.  Taking strengths application to the next level! Download the PDF for an easy quick print.  Great work Jessica!

This is a great post from the Gallup Strengths Blog , featuring one of the inspiring stories from Kalamazoo's Valley Community College and their incredible strengths program . Dropout or Honor Student: The Difference Is Strengths By Kyle Robinson, Director of Campus Engagement, Gallup Amanda’s excitement for her future is contagious. Perhaps it is her high positivity, the joy she feels at being a recent college graduate, or simply her engagement in working a job she loves. After spending just a few moments with Amanda, her excitement for living is evident. It is hard to believe that just a few years ago Amanda was stuck and lost in her academic pursuits. After graduating a semester behind her high school class, Amanda enrolled in a local community college, but quickly became disengaged and dropped out. “I just wasn’t connected,” she reflects. “I was in a program that wasn’t a fit for me, and really no one on campus seemed to care about what would be best for me and my fu...

As you further your strengths development, it is wonderful to recognize how you hear and see strengths in others.  Whether those strengths are familiar to you (in your top 5) or you are learning about the other 29, I found this great chalkboard via Pinterest the awareness of a shining strength theme in other people demonstrates you are taking strengths to the next level. One way I encourage people to do this is by really listening to others.  Listening for words and phrases in conversations, particularly those that are passionate and intense.  I believe you see strengths rise to the top when a person is in "the zone" and feeling engaged and at their best. I've found a great way to practice this via social media!  If you utilize Pinterest or Facebook, you might find these exercises fun: Pinterest As quotes are displayed in graphics (whether famous authors or inventors, or something via Tumblr), I find it fun to look for the strengths in those words.  ...

Another great hat I wear in life is that of Aunt Ally.  Holiday gatherings are a favorite for me as we get to spend time with my nephews and niece (13 of them total).  Any time a group gathers, I try to encourage thinking creatively about how we celebrate strengths and see the good. Pinterest makes creativity easy, and I am sharing an idea found from the awesome website  30 Handmade Days .  Be sure to check it out for additional ideas for crafts and fun for your mentoring time.  This is a worksheet we completed at the kitchen table and we then placed it inside a decorated mason jar.  The jar will be collecting our "favorite moments of the year" throughout 2014 to keep us focused on the "best" and "silliest" parts of our weeks.  Next year, we will all bring our jars back and read about the great things that happened in 2014. I will be taking this worksheet and the idea of the jar to my mentee next week when school resumes.  I look forward to ta...