Strength Based Mentoring

People exceptionally talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.     CliftonStrengths This week, our guest blogger is Marcie Kostrunek. Marcie is the Program Coordinator for the TeamMates chapter of Cozad, Nebraska and has been a strengths champion within the chapter. Her top 5 strengths are Input, Strategic, Responsibility, Developer, and Learner. Here’s what Strategic looks like for Marcie: To me the Strategic strength is approaching a situation and looking at it from many different angles and then coming up with the best possible solution. As a middle school teacher and a busy mom I use my Strategic strength all day long! Teaching middle schoolers involves being on your toes all the time. In our school we have a lot of students that come from poverty and broken homes so I use my Strategic strength to think of ways tha...

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 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 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 ...

People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena. CliftonStrengths This week our guest blogger is Bob Arp. Bob’s TeamMates journey began in the fall of 2009 when he became a mentor in Columbus, NE. Less than a year later, he took on the awesome responsibility of Co-Coordinating the chapter. His top five strengths are Ideation, Strategic, Achiever, Responsibility, and Adaptability. Here’s what Ideation looks like for Bob: Do you know someone that seems to have a knack for coming up with that out-of-the blue, crazy and exciting idea?  Maybe that someone is you.  Well, I have been told many times over the years that this describes me.  I never thought of it as a big deal.  But I must admit that there have been many times when I have even surprised myself with a think-outside-the-box suggestion or solution.  As a youth, our church youth group w...

People exceptionally talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They energize others with their visions of the future. CliftonStrengths This week our guest blogger is Suzanne Hince. Suzanne has been with TeamMates since 2005, serving as the Executive Director for 11 years, and last year, transitioning to become the TeamMates Foundation Director. In addition to being a staff member, Suzanne has also been a mentor with TeamMates for 12 years . Her top five strengths are Strategic, Self-Assurance, Achiever, Futuristic, Ideation. Here’s what Futuristic looks like for Suzanne: The best way I can describe the Futuristic theme is…daydreamer.  I can get so lost in my own thoughts about the possibilities of how things could be that I lose track of time and place.  I used to be a runner and one of the reasons I loved to run was it gave me the dedicated space and time to think about problems, situations and plans for the future.  ...

People exceptionally talented in the Focus theme can take a direction, follow through, and make the connections necessary to stay on track. They prioritize, then act. CliftonStrengths This week our guest blogger is DeMoine Adams. In 2012, DeMoine came on staff with TeamMates, launching our Post-Secondary program, TeamMates+. Last year, he became TeamMates’ Program Director. In addition to being a staff member, DeMoine has also been a mentor in both Lincoln Public Schools and Gretna Public Schools. His top five strengths are Achiever, Focus, Discipline, Leaner, Strategic. Here’s what Focus looks like for DeMoine: My Focus puts me in a zone where I can channel all of my energy into something and tune everything else out.  It allows me to boost my number one Strength which is Achiever, while complementing my number three Strength which is Discipline. I have a lot of hats to wear in my position with the TeamMates Mentoring Program – from projects and never-ending e...

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 Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues. Clifton StrengthsFinder TeamMates Executive Director Suzanne Hince calls her Strategic theme her “playbook to find solutions”. Hince, who leads with Strategic (#1), Self-Assurance (#2), Achiever (#3), Futuristic (#4), and Ideation (#5), states that she uses her Strategic theme each and every day, often in harmony with her other themes. One current use of her Strategic theme is through the chapter strategic planning process. Appropriately named, Hince travels to chapters to vision with them about their future, then decide what the best steps are to get to that desired future.  In terms of her leadership within TeamMates, Hince says Strategic helps her to find the right people the right seat on the bus, as well as understand her role within that dynamic. She explains, “I think the Strategic...