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A Look at Significance

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People exceptionally talented in the Significance theme want to be very important in the eyes of others. They are independent and want to be recognized.  
CliftonStrengths

This week, our guest blogger is Teresa Hahn. Teresa’s journey with TeamMates began when she started assisting in the coordination of the program in Johnson-Brock in spring of 2015. That summer, she took on the full role of Program Coordinator. In addition, she has been mentoring since 2016. Her top 5 strengths are Arranger, Developer, Significance, Activator, and Maximizer. Here’s what Significance looks like for Teresa:




The first time I took the Gallup Strengths Survey and found out that one of my Top 5 was “Significance” I was a bit taken back and felt sad.  I do not want everyone to think that I want to seem important.  Ally and Tess, the TeamMates trainers who came to school to work with all of our mentors and mentees, assured me that significance means more about helping others to achieve what you believe is important in life. The TeamMates trainers definitely helped me to accept this Top 5 strength as a positive asset for myself.  I definitely do always need to be working towards a short-term goal to help make something work in our community.  I look at significance now as how God helps me make decisions about where to concentrate my strengths.  What is most important and why.

I probably use significance on a day-to-day basis when I plan out my week.  Each day I need to accomplish a specific goal.  Gathering new ideas is part of my daily life.  I love to plan activities or events that will form memories and impact the future. Being allowed to serve as a TeamMates coordinator has helped me to use my Significance strength because we can actually carry out projects that will help make a difference in the lives of our students.  If a plan is executed well, many people will benefit from the activity. 

My top five strengths are Maximizer, Significance, Activator, Developer, and Arranger.  My top five allow me to organize, plan, and carry out projects for TeamMates, my community, and my church.  These five strengths help me to understand myself and why I like to make things happen.

I don’t remember anyone pointing out, when I was young, that one of my strengths was Significance. I remember going to the guidance counselor and not knowing what I wanted to major in when I went to college.  I wanted to do a lot of things in the future and the guidance counselor said “Well, you have to just choose one.”  When I received my scholarship to attend college I found a professor who helped me to love business and he became my role model.  One of his quotes stays with me always “There is never room for sarcasm in the classroom.”  How true it is!  Everyone is important in their own way.

Recently, I have used my strength of significance by helping to plan two new events in the community for TeamMates.  We invited a Kansas City comedian for an evening show and hosted the Duelling Pianos. Both of these events required a great deal of time, planning, and communication.  Each of these fundraisers were very successful and were thoroughly enjoyed by the local community.  In two years, when our TeamMates mentees start receiving scholarships from our chapter, the importance of these fundraisers will be very evident, and we will be thankful for working hard to implement our goals.

 It has also taken me two years to raise $10,000 at our church to fund a new Prayer Walk using granite engraved bricks.  The memories will last forever but I really had to put myself out there to work on a project, basically with not much planning support, to make it happen.  I see it as a future fundraiser and as an important part of the future of our church.  Most people saw it as a way to spend money that was not a necessary expenditure for the church.  Significance led me to work harder and not give up on a dream.
-Teresa

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