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A Look at Harmony

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People exceptionally talented in the Harmony theme look for consensus. They don’t enjoy conflict; rather, they seek areas of agreement. 
CliftonStrengths

This week our guest blogger is Tony Jensen. As the FFA Advisor at Freeman Public Schools, Tony has been collaborating with TeamMates on strengths implementation for years. In fall of 2016, Tony became a TeamMates mentor himself. His top five strengths are Futuristic, Learner, Harmony, Relator, and Discipline. Here’s what Harmony looks like for Tony:


My top 5 strengths are Futuristic, Learner, Harmony, Relator, and Discipline.  For me, Harmony was the one strength from the StrengthsFinder that I didn't realize was a strength until I got my results.  Once I read the description and dug deeper into the meaning of the strength, I learned that Harmony allows me to be a peacekeeper and a consensus builder.  I come into contact with a variety of people every day and seeing them happy and content is important to me.  In my role as teacher and FFA advisor, my philosophy is that everyone must get along and be on the same page to keep the group moving in the right direction.  I feel like I have a good listening ear and understand most situations pretty well if a conflict or disagreement takes place. 

As a teacher, conflict has no place in my classroom.  I simply cannot have it.  If something does arise in my classroom, my students probably have heard me say, "Harmony is a strength of mine.  You need to figure out how to get along!"  

As advisor of our FFA chapter, I am very proud of the officer teams that lead our chapter each year.  They are made up of young people that bring a variety of skills, experiences, and strengths.  In working with this group, I definitely see my Futuristic blend with Harmony because we get to plan out upcoming activities at our annual officer retreat.  During this time, we set goals, evaluate our activities, and put dates on the calendar for the next school year.  As we discuss our events and generate new ideas to improve, my Harmony allows us to build consensus to where I feel everyone is on board as we look and plan towards the future of the organization. 

My Harmony can also be a challenge at times.  Sometimes I will do whatever it takes to avoid conflicts, although some situations call for confrontations of the problem, so my Harmony can slow down progress towards a solution.  If conflicts do arise in my life, I tend to take them personally and can lose sleep over them if not resolved by the end of the day.  It is important for me to feel a sense of closure to any conflict so that I can feel at peace with the events of the day.  I appreciate differences in people, can often relate to where they are coming from, and have strong relationships with others because of my Harmony strength.

-Tony

If you are interested in guest blogging about one of your Top 5 StrengthsFinder themes this school year, please email Tess at tstarman@teammates.org


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