Strength Based Mentoring

People exceptionally talented in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient. CliftonStrengths This week, our guest blogger is Hannah Miller. Hannah  works for the TeamMates Central Office, where she serves as the Recruiting and Marketing Coordinator. Her top 5 Strengths are Positivity, Woo, Activator, Restorative, and Empathy. Here is what Activator looks like for Hannah: I’ve always seen impatience as a weakness. Growing up, my mom would laugh “You’re so impatient! You’re just like your father!”. When I learned I had Activator as my #3 strength, a lightbulb clicked. Impatience is something I excel at, and I couldn’t be more proud. For the record, my dad also has Activator in his top 5—THANKS DAD!             If I were to give my Activator a catch phrase, it would be: “Are ya ready yet?”. I love action. I don’t like to sit around and procrastinate. In fact, I’m writing this blog post about a month before it’

People exceptionally talented in the Achiever theme work hard and possess a great deal of stamina. They take immense satisfaction in being busy and productive. CliftonStrengths This week, our guest blogger is Mallory Gregory. Mallory is the co-coordinator for the TeamMates program in Waverly, Nebraska. Her top 5 Strengths are Achiever, Relator, Learner, Responsibility, and Belief. Here is what Achiever looks like for Mallory:  "Mrs. Gregory, if you were an animal, what would you be?"  What a fun question to think about.  A senior student of mine asked me this exact question at the start of this school year.  I replied and said, "Well, I would love to be an eagle because it would be so cool to soar and see the beauty of our country from above."  My student immediately replied, "Well that's an interesting thought but I think you would be a golden retriever.  You talk a lot, your loud with a lot of excitement...a lot like a loud yippy g

This school year for our strengths blog, we will be featuring a guest blogger each week for the 34 talent themes. The guest will write about what the featured strength looks like in their own life, blended with their other 4 themes. We believe in the power of sharing our strengths stories. Knowing my strengths has aligned my thoughts of myself and others with reality versus assumptions or expectations. It’s truly been life changing. This same transformation can happen with anyone we encounter, but it won’t come to pass if we do not take the brave step of sharing our own stories. Every single one of us has a story to tell--our own. You don’t have to be a talented writer, grammar wizard, or tech genius to be a guest blogger. All you need is a willingness and a bit of courage to share your story. If you are willing to share your story, please reach out to Tess at tstarman@teammates.org . We will provide more information about this process, as well as some questions to help

You like to start friendships and keep them for a long time-maybe even your whole life. You widen the circle of friends for yourself and others. Clifton Strengths Explorer Youth with Relating in their top 3 Strengths Explorer themes are people people. They like to be around others and have a knack for building relationships. They easily make new friendships and maintain old friendships. They relate to others in various ways, and can prefer small or large groups of people. Regardless of how they relate, others feel comfortable around them. They not only build solid relationships with their peers, but also with mentors, adults, teachers, and parents. Gallup writes, “Whatever style of relating, people like you and relationships are important to you.” Because school is a social environment, it may not be the easiest to point out those who have the talent of Relating versus those that are sociable because of the context. No matter the difficulty of identifying the talent, on