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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