This year, since coming on staff, I have had the opportunity
to attend trainings at Gallup, travel to countless communities to advocate
strengths, make ridiculous yet informative videos, write about individual
strengths, and grow in my own knowledge and ownership of strengths.
One of the greatest lessons I have learned personally this
year is the power of knowing my limits. Gallup co-founder Don Clifton believed
that a lifetime is not enough to learn about your #1 strength. After years of
naming, claiming, and aiming my top 5, I find I am still learn something new
about my strengths each day. But this year, because of my training, I had the
opportunity to learn my full 34 strengths. When most people learn about their
full 34, they go straight to the bottom, looking at what are their “weaknesses.”
These aren’t actually our weaknesses, but our “lesser talents”, according to
Gallup. Through a strengths-based lens, our lesser talents are opportunities to
utilize blends of our other dominant strengths or find complimentary partners
who have these talents.
While musing about my lesser talents one day (which you
really should not do…woops… my Intellection got the best of me), I came to a
realization that these lesser talents are also tools to help us understand our
own limitations. If you have ever met me, you know I am a “yes” person. I love
to give of my time, talent, and treasure to others. This often results in my
plate being a bit too full. Utilizing the realization of my lesser talents as
my own limits, I felt compelled to step back from several commitments at the
end of their term that did not coincide with my best self. I realized these
commitments conflicted with my most natural talents and often left me more
anxious and less engaged day-to-day. By understanding my lesser themes or less
present domains, I was able to create health boundaries and give myself a bit more
room to breathe in life.
On a program level, as I reflect back on this past year, I
am in awe of the power of local community. The highlight of this year on staff
with TeamMates has been the transformation that happens when people know and
own their strengths in community. The impact of mentoring, relationships, and
strengths collided when I got to travel to a community and see the magic that
happens at the local level. From McCook to Columbus to Johnson-Brock and
everywhere in between, we have a rock star group of strengths chapters. You
Program Coordinators and Board Members work tirelessly to ensure our students
and their mentors receive the tool that will transformation their lives: their
top 5 strengths. Research from Gallup has shown us time and time again that when
a person has someone in their life who recognizes and develops their strengths,
they have an increased sense of hope, wellbeing, engagement, and success. That’s what you, Mentors, Program Coordinators,
School Staff, Board Members, and Volunteers do for our youth each and every
day.
So, thank you. Thank you for giving of your time to the
mission of TeamMates. Thank you for spending hours on end recruiting,
submitting data, making matches, sitting with kids, and scanning paperwork. Thank
you for devoting one hour a week to build hope in a young person’s life. Thank
you for attending training. Thank you for keeping safe and healthy boundaries
with your mentee. Thank you for prioritizing the strengths revolution. Thank
you for being on this team, because together, we transform lives.
Tess
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