Skip to main content

Harmony: Seeing Both Sides

By
People exceptionally talented in the Harmony theme look for consensus. The don’t enjoy conflict; rather, they see areas of agreement.
Clifton StrengthsFinder

Harmony is one of the most misunderstood strengths. Because of its name, people may think of Harmony as a state of being full of peace, love, and flowers. In reality, Harmony is all about your relation to others, not your state of being. People with Harmony have the unique talent of seeing both sides of any story. They are able to put themselves easily into someone else’s shoes in order look at all situations. Unlike someone with Empathy who may do this same thing to feel what others feel, or someone with Individualization who may do this to understand how someone ticks, those with Harmony do this to seek consensus. By seeing all sides of a situation, those with Harmony can easily see what is in agreement among people with the goal of working towards that.

One of the common ways to describe people with Harmony is they don’t like conflict. This often can be construed in a negative way, giving someone a label like “pushover.” Gallup contrasts the development of all strengths using the imagery of “raw” and “mature.” Someone with raw Harmony may look this way; they may be so uncomfortable with conflict that they run from it and turn to
tactics of gossip or avoidance. However, growing and maturing Harmony looks very different. Often people with mature Harmony are the ones you see having the most difficult conversations. Although this may seem counterintuitive, in reality, those with mature Harmony see conflict as opportunity for consensus. They have strong discernment between necessary and unnecessary conflict. They do not shy away from the necessary conflict but take continuous steps to work through it.

9.3% of our mentees and 26.3% of our mentors have Harmony in their Top 5. If you have Harmony in your top 5, you naturally avoid controversial conversation topics. Steer your conversation with your mentee to places in which you both share common interests. However, also be cognizant and mindful of times where hard conversations, done in love, are necessary. Frame your conversation around your strengths by giving examples of a friendship or relationship that you helped work through conflict. Because of the difficulty in understanding this theme, by giving a real-life example of your Harmony, your mentee will be able to gain greater awareness of its power. In addition, because of your natural talent to collaborate well with people, consider how attending a renewal training session, going to a mentor meet up, or attending a fundraiser will enhance your mentoring relationship. By attending one of these events, you will be able to share and exchange information with other mentors, consequently gaining greater confidence and appreciation in your mentoring relationship.

-Tess


Image Credit: (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/b7/af/06/b7af06f943692190b96338fb7d525832.jpg) 
Labels:

Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 25, 2019 at 12:00 PM

    why do these descriptions always start with "People exceptionally talented in ..."? Why is exceptionally used? This implies gradations, yet I don't see any descriptions of less than 'exceptionally'.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Strengths Activity: DBT House

By
The featured activity this week has become a recent favorite of the TeamMates Strengths Team. I learned of it by attending the Green Hills AEA Conference this past summer. The breakout presenter, Louise El Yafoori, taught on mitigating culturally sensitive trauma. This activity comes from the practice of Dialectical Behavior Therapy. While it can be used in very targeted ways for working with certain groups of kids, we found it a powerful reflective exercise that we all could benefit from. We facilitated this activity at our annual strengths day at the Gallup campus this year and the results of this learning and self reflection were highly impactful. Consider doing this activity with your mentee as a way to deepen the conversation around strengths and talent by incorporating discussions of values, role models, support systems, and more. Activity Instructions:  On a blank piece of paper, sketch out a house. Your house should include: a foundation, walls, windows, a door, roof...
3 comments
Read more

Achiever: Fulfillment from Accomplishment

By
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. Clifton StrengthsFinder We are excited to hear from Stephanie Pravecek about Achiever this week. Steph is the Events Coordinator for TeamMates and leads with Achiever, Responsibility, Discipline, Consistency, and Relator. People with high Achiever are hard workers, list makers, and doers. It is very difficult for Achievers to take a break when there is a task at hand that needs to be completed.  Once one task is complete it is on to the next and then the next. Achievers set out each day to accomplish at least one task but, there is much more fulfillment when multiple things are crossed off the “to-do” list for the day. This does include weekends and vacations, as REST or RELAX are not words you often hear in the vocabulary of an Achiever. As a guest blogger this week, I am going to put more of a personal...
61 comments
Read more

Strengths Activity-Strengths Collage

By
Conversations are a great way to recognize, own, and develop our strengths. But sometimes, I find my mentee and I have the best dialogues when we are doing something kinetic. This week's featured strengths activity is hands on!  In the picture above, you see a great example of this week's activity, a strengths collage! Our own words and descriptions of our strengths are powerful, just like strengths conversations, but sometimes, when we look to other's words, we can help expand our understanding of our talent. In addition, sometimes our words just don't "cut it", and pictures or images might evoke a more accurate feeling regarding your talents. Through this activity, you and your mentee will look to magazines, newspapers, and advertisements in order expand your strengths language as well as practice strengths spotting.  What you will need:  A piece of card stock or journal page Various magazines, newspapers, or advertisements.  Glue Scissors  ...
2 comments
Read more