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A Look at Positivity

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People exceptionally talented in the Positivity theme have contagious enthusiasm. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do.
CliftonStrengths

This week, our guest blogger is JerLene Mosley. This blog, and the entire strengths-based mentoring movement would not be possible without her. JerLene began her journey with TeamMates in 2011 as our Gallup champion. A long-time employee of Gallup, JerLene works with school districts and other organizations to become strengths-based. JerLene is also a large TeamMates champion within Gallup, encouraging others to mentor a youth in the community. She has been mentoring the same mentee since 2012, within OPS and the Gretna chapter. Her top 5 strengths are Individualization, Communication, Activator, Positivity, and Woo. Here’s what Positivity looks like for JerLene:



Positivity! Exclamation points! Smiley face emojis! Those are a couple of my favorite ways to punctuate my messages, and they are groovy symbols of this theme. Positivity is more than that, though. It is an intentionality about life and laughter – a choice to focus on the possibilities that each day brings, and an ample amount of happiness for interactions and conversations. For me, it includes joy and enthusiasm and laughter and fun.

I love my positivity strength. I hope that I bring affirmation and encouragement to everyone in my path. It is one of the greatest privileges to being a TeamMates mentor. My dear mentee, who I have known since her 4th grade year, is now a sophomore in high school and I am blessed beyond measure to know her and be part of her life. A ritual of our weekly time together is for us to discuss highlights of her days and weeks. We often write notes of gratitude (drops to fill others’ buckets!) and know that when we express thanks to others – it makes us feel better inside, too. I truly do feel that every day in this life is a gift, and it is important to make the most out of that gift.

I’ve probably always been known as happy and energetic. I like that as my brand, and I always feel extremely fortunate to get to work every day with this language of strengths. That is a built-in way to know and understand the best parts of each of us, and to have that be the way we know and lean into each other. Our talent is our best multiplier, and we always need more words we can use to describe what we do well, and who we are, versus who we are not. My positivity lives in my top 5 along with Individualization, Communication, Activator and Woo. All of these integrate and inform my moments and days. I like spontaneous fun, so my Activator helped me initiate a  spur-of-the-moment Valentine’s Day party with my work team on February 14 – our classroom happened to be my workspace at Gallup and it was an uplifting way to recreate parties that we might have experienced in elementary school classrooms years ago. My Communication means that I love words – I like to help others know wonderful adjectives about themselves they can use for reflection and recognition. Of course, my Woo-combined-with-Positivity might mean that I greet you in an exuberant way. That might include a loud greeting, and I need to be watchful of that in quieter environments. Cue smiley face. My Individualization helps me remember that optimism and affirmation can be delivered in a variety of ways. Maybe it’s a thoughtful smile or a gesture or handwritten note---I need to personalize what is best for the receivers of interactions. Another way I like to think about this is “which of my strengths should be the line leader for this situation or interaction?”


One of my all-time favorite movies is Pixar’s INSIDE OUT. In fact, I am the proud owner (and perhaps the oldest owner!) of a playset with figurines from that movie because I love and identify with the character of Joy.  That movie was a great reminder about how all the emotions play an important part in this life we get to live. I like being an ambassador of joy and helping kids and the caring adults that surround them know what they do best every day.  Yesterday, I was coaching some school leaders on how they could keep creating a positive and uplifting culture for their own staff. At the end of one call, the principal said “you helped me feel good about who I am and what I can do”.  Day made. Positivity doesn’t just make me energetic and happy, it means I value what is good where perhaps others can’t see it.  It’s important for me to offer my positive perspective, because it creates an environment where people can be comfortable, authentic, and accepted.
-JerLene




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