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A Look at Input

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People exceptionally talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.
CliftonStrengths

This week our guest blogger is Allyson Horne. Ally has been involved in TeamMates since she became a mentor in 1999. She has also served as a program coordinator, regional coordinator, expert trainer, and a Teammates mom. She is well known in this community as the TeamMates strengths champion, receiving her certification in strengths-based education in 2010 from the Clifton Strengths School. Her top five strengths are Input, Communication, Strategic, Woo, and Empathy. Here’s what Input looks like for Ally:



Most of my life I've heard I ask too many questions, but I have come to know and love my #1 strength – Input.  I've learned I am passionately curious and a researcher at heart. I truly love questions – asking them and being asked them - my favorite kind of sentences end with a question mark. Because I can be known as an interrogator, I try to remind my family, friends, and co-workers, even my mentee, that this is how I show I care - 



I love to collect information. The way I best describe Input is the web application Pinterest. That's how my mind works - I like to gather and sort information that may be helpful or useful to others. As a child, I asked for a filing cabinet for Christmas. Even then, I was collecting photos of my favorite hairstyles, articles, dream home plans, clothing combinations and recipes, ripping them out of magazines and storing them in file folders. Pinterest has been a great way to honor that love of collecting. This talent influences the ways I like to share information at work - our strengths dropbox is a favorite way for me to collect best practices, activity ideas, and additional resources, and I enjoy adding to a Pinterest board dedicated to strengths quotes.

Following input, I lead with communication, strategic, woo, and empathy.

My Input+Communication strength is reflected in the pinterest boards, as well as in my favorite thing to collect – words. I love finding quotes, keeping journals, reading and finding new books, I keep old letters and notes in basement boxes. My collection of vinyl records is also a reflection of Input+Communication with Empathy – I love music and meaningful lyrics and I love gathering my favorite records and creating playlists.

I’m lucky to have my strengths spotted by my co-worker Tess in our Genn and Millie episodes, and grateful that my family continues to be patient with this strength as I learn to not only name and aim it, but find ways to tame it as well.
-Ally

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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