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 Significance theme want to be very important in the eyes of others. They are independent and want to be recognized.   CliftonStrengths This week, our guest blogger is Teresa Hahn. Teresa’s journey with TeamMates began when she started assisting in the coordination of the program in Johnson-Brock in spring of 2015. That summer, she took on the full role of Program Coordinator. In addition, she has been mentoring since 2016. Her top 5 strengths are Arranger, Developer, Significance, Activator, and Maximizer. Here’s what Significance looks like for Teresa: The first time I took the Gallup Strengths Survey and found out that one of my Top 5 was “Significance” I was a bit taken back and felt sad.   I do not want everyone to think that I want to seem important.   Ally and Tess, the TeamMates trainers who came to school to work with all of our mentors and mentees, assured me that significance means more about helping other...

People exceptionally talented in the Self-Assurance theme feel confident in their ability to manage their own lives. They possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their decisions are right.     CliftonStrengths This week, our guest blogger is Connie Gildersleeve. Connie is the Program Coordinator for TeamMates of Holt County and has been mentoring since 2014. Connie is also a tremendous strengths advocate, being a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach and an Entrepreneur with Connie Lea Creative. Her top 5 are Futuristic, Positivity, Maximizer, Strategic, and Self-Assurance. Here’s what Self-Assurance looks like for Connie: “With my dominant Talent Themes, I get excited & dream up big ideas on a regular basis.   My Self-Assurance doesn’t allow time for doubting IF these things are possible, because my other dominant themes are already trying to MAKE them possible!”   We are all so use to just living our lives the best way we ...

People exceptionally talented in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb. CliftonStrengths This week, our guest blogger is Gigi Inness. As a teacher for Norfolk Public Schools, Gigi helped launch the local TeamMates program in 1998 and served as the local program coordinator. In June of 2000, she became the only regional coordinator for the program (the entire staff was 4 people) and continued in that role through 2016, adding the regional director responsibilities to her job in 2010. She started mentoring in 1998 and has had 4 long-term mentoring relationships. She currently mentors in the Millard chapter and with the TeamMates+ Post-Secondary program. Her top 5 strengths are Input, Maximizer, Relator, Intellection, and Developer. Here’s what Maximizer looks like for Gigi: Maximizer, for me, can be summed up with the phrase “If we are going to do it...

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 Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb. Clifton StrengthsFinder If I was to pick one theme that defines TeamMates as an organization in recent years, it would be Maximizer. The last few years, TeamMates has been utilizing the resources of Jim Collins’s addendum  Good to Great and the Social Sectors . In this resource, Collins, walks social sector organizations through steps to enhance and develop their organization from a good program to a great program. Collins states, “Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline” (p. 31). We have focused, studied, and selected certain points from this text to implement at certain times in an effort to bring TeamMates from good to great. This philosophy Just 9.7% of our mentors and 8.5% of our men...