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A Look at Ideation

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People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.
CliftonStrengths

This week our guest blogger is Bob Arp. Bob’s TeamMates journey began in the fall of 2009 when he became a mentor in Columbus, NE. Less than a year later, he took on the awesome responsibility of Co-Coordinating the chapter. His top five strengths are Ideation, Strategic, Achiever, Responsibility, and Adaptability. Here’s what Ideation looks like for Bob:



Do you know someone that seems to have a knack for coming up with that out-of-the blue, crazy and exciting idea?  Maybe that someone is you. 

Well, I have been told many times over the years that this describes me.  I never thought of it as a big deal.  But I must admit that there have been many times when I have even surprised myself with a think-outside-the-box suggestion or solution.  As a youth, our church youth group was asked to plan a Sunday morning worship service.  My ideation kicked in and we ended up with a service that included the song Turn! Turn! Turn! by The Byrds for the anthem and the sketch entitled Noah by Bill Cosby as the sermon.  And while there was some rolling of the eyes by a few, most in the congregation found it a refreshing change.

One of the aspects of my role as a high school principal that I really enjoyed was in never knowing what a day was going to bring.  I was energized by the challenge of the moment.  And when that challenge came, I relied on my Ideation along with two of my other strengths of Strategic and Adaptability to carry me through.

While Ideation has served me well, it has also created some additional stress.  Stress in my not always being disciplined enough to create the steps necessary to put the idea into practice.  Additionally my strength of Responsibility has at times tugged at my Ideation forcing me to be careful to not ignore rules and procedures in pursuit of the new and exciting.  Admittedly there have also been times when I created stress in others who think ‘here he goes again with another crazy idea.’  But you know what?  I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Being the person that looks at a situation and sees more potential than many around me energizes me!  And being part of creating something new, of finding a different path to follow, of opening up new possibilities to others, has been part of who I am in my professional, personal, social and spiritual life.

If you are working on an event and you want to add a unique twist, if you are responsible for attracting new mentors and are open to something different, if you are in need of a name for a new project or product and want something catchy, find yourself someone who leads with ideation … and then hold on.
-Bob

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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