Strength Based Mentoring

People exceptionally talented in the Woo theme love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with someone.    CliftonStrengths This week, our guest blogger is Dan Kingkade. Dan has been a TeamMates mentor since 2006, mentoring in both the Omaha Public and the TeamMates+ programs. In addition to being an incredible strengths advocate, Dan also is an expert trainer and has conducted mentor academies on the topics of well-being and humor. His top 5 are Maximizer, Communication, Individualization, Woo, and Self-Assurance. Here’s what Woo looks like for Dan: I have a very clear memory from when I was in 4th grade. I had written a poem about a frog that my teacher thought was worth sharing with other classes in our school.   “Would you like to go and read your poem to the 5th and 6th grade rooms?” And I remember this part very clearly....I said, “yes, that sounds like fun”...

People exceptionally talented in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.    CliftonStrengths This week, our guest blogger is Christian Warneke. Christian has been a mentor in the Omaha Catholic chapter since fall of 2014. He has been a strengths-based mentor since 2016. His top 5 are Restorative, Positivity, Woo, Individualization, and Includer. Here’s what Restorative looks like for Christian: Four words and funny YouTube videos. Sometimes four words, maybe even fewer, or a quick YouTube video, are all you need to change someone’s day. We’ll get to this later. A favorite quote and life motto, of sorts, I’ve followed for the last decade come from Sir James M. Barrie, the playwright who brought Peter Pan to life. “Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves,” he said. This is what Restorative means to me: doing what I can to improve peopl...

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 groov...

People exceptionally talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. The process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them. CliftonStrengths This week our guest blogger is Tess Starman. Tess first became involved with TeamMates as an intern with the Central Office in 2015, and she is now the Research Specialist. She has been mentoring in the Omaha Public Schools chapter for 2 years. Her top five strengths are Context, Adaptability, Strategic, Learner, and Individualization. Here’s what Learner looks like for Tess: My Learner looks like a craving to know more. I like to say that my best friend is Google. My mind naturally gets curious about many topics. When I don’t know something, whether it is a cultural reference in a movie, a question posed by a friend, or a person quoted in an article, I instinctively look it up. I find my search for answers never ends; one Google search leads to more curiosity, which leads to ...

People exceptionally talented in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions. CliftonStrengths This week our guest blogger is Darynn Ruiz. Darynn has been a mentor, and currently serves on the Sidney, Iowa TeamMates Board. Her top five strengths are Input, Learner, Discipline, Intellection, and Individualization. Here’s what Intellection looks like for Darynn: A few weeks ago, I asked a gentleman on my team what he was thinking.  His response still baffles me: “Nothing. I literally wasn’t thinking about anything.”  The idea of not thinking remains a completely foreign concept to me.  Intellection NEVER stops actively thinking, not even for a second.  Ever.  My mind is always working, thinking, processing.  Whatever the scenario, you can be sure that I have spent a lot of time examining every detail and possibility before I take action.  S...

People exceptionally talented in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how different people can work together productively. CliftonStrengths This week our guest blogger is Teri Nieveen. Teri has been involved in TeamMates of Freeman in a variety of roles. She has been a mentor since 2014, served on the board of directors, and became the assistant coordinator in 2015. Her top five strengths are Achiever, Learner, Individualization, Belief, and Developer. Here’s what Individualization looks like for Teri: My top 5 strengths are Achiever, Learner, Belief, Individualization, and Developer.  As I reflect on my strengths, I easily see my achiever as it is what drives me. I love to research and read about new things, a learner. My belief, my Christian faith, guides me in life.  I love the individualization and developer strengths; they have made me the teacher I am.  I s...

People exceptionally talented in the Deliberative theme are best described by the serious care they take in making decision or choices. They anticipate obstacles. CliftonStrengths This week our guest blogger is Janae Solomon. Janae has been a mentor since 2015 and last year took on the awesome challenge of serving as the Program Coordinator for TeamMates of McCook, Nebraska. Her top five strengths are Learner, Deliberative, Individualization, Input, and Developer. Here’s what Deliberative looks like for Janae: When I took the Strengths survey through TeamMates a year and a half ago, Ally warned us that there might be a strength we or our mentees would have a hard time taking ownership of because it had been previously been a label or a perceived flaw. That was Deliberative for me. When that came out as my number two strength, I thought “Yeah, I overthink things and take too long to make decisions. How is that a strength?” Thankfully, because of Ally and Tess’s strength...

People exceptionally talented in the Competition theme measure their progress against the performance of others. They strive to win first place and revel in contests. CliftonStrengths This week, our guest blogger is Sarah Waldman. Sarah has been a mentor in the Omaha Public Schools chapter for 12 years. She has served on our program-wide TeamMates Board, and just this year, she took on the role of Executive Director for our organization. Sarah’s top 5 Strengths are Strategic, Maximizer, Achiever, Competition, and Individualization. Here is what Competition looks like for Sarah: I still remember the day I received the results.  It was about 13 years ago during a leadership program for women at Gallup.  I remember thinking, “Competition . . . really, that’s a strength?”  I was proud of my other top strengths and felt an immediate connection to them – I claimed them.  Competition took a while longer to appreciate. As I think back to my younger...

People exceptionally talented in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how different people can work together productively. Clifton StrengthsFinder Those high in Individualization can naturally spot out what is unique about each person. They innately notice and catalog information about an individual, quickly figuring out who they are and what makes them tick. These folks also tend to make those around them feel valued by honoring their uniqueness in terms of a catered approach. One role those with high Individualization play is a strengths-spotter; They have the ability to see someone’s strengths easily and aid them in sharpening these talents. This is the reason Gallup writes, “like a casting director, they [those high in Individualization] use their intelligence about people to position them to do what they do best.” Because of their natural ability to “read” people well, those with this t...