Strength Based Mentoring

In our work with strengths, we have come to find that a key component of great self exploration discussion resides in great questions. This strengths activity encompasses 5 meaningful questions for you and your mentee to reflect upon. These questions not only point us to our most natural talents, they also work to cultivate gratitude, hopefulness, and engagement for all who ponder them. Explore these questions with one another, and name your top 3 or 5 strengths as they arise in your responses. Questions for True Self:  Where are you most at ease?  What makes you come alive?  What is possible for you?  Who do you want to be?  What is necessary?  You can find this activity on our strengths drop box HERE . If you and your mentee try out this activity, let us know how it goes! 

With Holiday celebrations on the horizon, today's featured strengths activity centers on gifts. The most memorable gifts one gives and receives can often be an indicator of our natural talents. In the 2017 holiday edition of Genn and Mille, Ally and Tess discussed this question together, sharing about their favorite gifts. You can watch/listen to the episode by   clicking HERE.   Ally's favorite gift of a filing cabinet was a strong indicator of her #1 Input talent. Tess' favorite gift of a desk was an indicator of her #4 theme of Learner. Next time you meet with your mentee, ask them about the best gift they have ever received. Spot their top 3 or 5 in their response. Then, ask them about the best gift (or an act of kindness) they have ever given to another and strengths spot their response. Then, be willing to do the same: offer your favorite gift received and given then strengths spot the results. My Favorite Gifts:  What is the best gift you have ever...

CliftonStrengths talent themes are innately neutral. It is up to us to apply them in productive ways for success. While we all aim to apply our strengths productively for the world around us, I am sure we can think of times where our strengths were actually the things that got in the way of our success. Today's activity takes a look at some of the most common challenges to affirming strengths: I was blind to my talents.  My talents threatened others.  I was in a position or role that did not fit my talents.  I was fearful of being proud or arrogant.  I didn't see how my talents would help me reach my goals.  This activity comes from Gallup's Strengths Quest resources, designed for high schoolers. Gallup recommends thinking of the following questions to facilitate discussion around these challenges: Can you think of challenges or roadblocks we face when attempting to affirm our talents? Do our strengths take care of them?  Do you talents need...

The start of the school year and mentoring is upon us and with it comes the opportunity to invest further in your strengths! Get caught up on all things TeamMates strengths by checking out the Genn and Millie Podcast episodes from this summer. You can listen by access our Genn and Millie Podbean site below, or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. 

An article came out from the strengths blogger Chris Heinz several days ago. He wrote short sentences about how each of the 34 themes might go about choosing names for their babies. Several people tagged me in the post of the blog asking my thoughts. We also had several conversations about it among the TeamMates staff. I found myself reading through the list thinking, wow, this seems fairly accurate. Now I do not have kids or kids on the horizon, but when my friends have children and they share the name prior to birth, I find myself wondering, why would someone name a baby before they meet them? For me, I found myself thinking I would not want to put a child into a predetermined box prior to getting to know them a bit. I laughed when I read the description about Adaptability naming babies. Chris wrote about Adaptability saying, " You wait until the baby is born to “try on names”. It is funny that even in this quirky blog post, I was reminded that the different ways we go about t...

Conversations have the power to bring our strengths to the next level. This week's strengths activity has curated conversation starters to help you and your mentee recognize talent and therefore develop your strengths. When answering these questions together, be sure to have your top 5 and top 3 strengths at the forefront. As you answer the starter questions, spot each other's strengths in the responses. At the end of the discussion, list 1-2 actions you could each take to develop your strengths further and keep each other accountable by checking in on these actions next time you meet.

I was reminded recently of a common phrase, "back to basics." This week, I chose to highlight the activity Gallup teaches us to do first after we have discovered our top 5 strengths. It is an activity I have gone back to time and time again because sometimes going back to basics is the best thing we can do in our own development.  The activity I will challenge you to do is a reflection on your signature theme report. Log back into www.strengthsquest.com and scroll down to find your report. See here:  Download this report and print it. Yours will look a bit like this, with your name and top 5 listed:  This report gives the longer definition for each of your top 5 strengths. Your mentee, if they are in high school will be able to generate the same report as you have by logging into their own strengthsquest page. If your mentee is in elementary or middle, you will be able to access the longer report for strengths explorer by going to the strengths explorer...

A fun activity we have done with students is Strengths Metaphors. We often have a tendency to limit and confine our strengths to the two-sentence definition of the theme we find on the 34 list. Strengths manifest uniquely in each person based on their other 5 or 2 themes, their age, their background, their life experiences, and so much more. The Strengths Metaphors activity is a great way to break the themes of out of the boxes we put them in. Fill out the worksheet or engage in a conversation using the prompts on the sheet. Pick one of your top 5 or top 3 themes.  Describe what the theme looks like, what color you would associate with it, what it smells like, what it sounds like, and any other sensory descriptors you would add to the selected theme.  Share with your mentee and ask your mentee to share with you. Share with each other why you chose to assign these specific descriptors to the strength.  If you have similar strengths to each other, discuss the diffe...

Yesterday, Ally and I were in Plattsmouth, NE for their Strengths Day. I kicked off the morning with a training at 7am with 10 mentors. As I walk talking about strengths, I was explaining the Student Success Model from Gallup. Since it was Boss's Day, an example came to me regarding the parallel to the workplace. I talked about the difference between two bosses I have had. One boss, from a previous job I had in college who was very laid back and aloof. He was concerned with his own work and outcomes. My work contributed to that, so every once in a while, I would have interactions that were not that  negative, but also not encouraging. He would say things such as "where are you at with this project, would you be able to get it to me quicker?" Beyond checking in and asking about my work, our interactions did not go very far. I wanted to have further conversations, but it did not seem like he had the time nor the desire to do so. He was not a bad   boss at all, but rather ...

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 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 Discipline theme enjoy routine and structure. Their world is best described by the order they create. CliftonStrengths This week, our guest blogger is Audrey Watson. Audrey  works for TeamMates of Lincoln Public Schools, where she serves as a Project Specialist. Her top 5 Strengths are Discipline, Positivity, Achiever, Learner, and Responsibility. Here is what Discipline looks like for Audrey: Many of the people I know would be shocked that I am not choosing to write about positivity in this blog.  My top Strength is actually Discipline and I strongly believe that this strength describes me very well and I feel that I confidently name and claim it, but as with my other four strengths, I’m still working on aiming it. “People exceptionally talented in the Discipline theme enjoy routine and structure.  Their world is best described by the order they create.”  This is a strength of mine that I absolutely love bec...

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 Context theme enjoy thinking about the past. They understand the present by researching its history. CliftonStrengths This week our guest blogger is Jay Wright. Jay has worn may hats in TeamMates, including Mentor, Program Coordinator for Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools in Sioux City, Iowa, and most recently, as Regional Coordinator for the Eastern region. His top five strengths are Context, Achiever, Developer, Includer, and Learner. Here’s what Context looks like for Jay: I can still remember when I fell in love with history.  We were driving to the 1982 Peach Bowl to watch our beloved Iowa Hawkeyes take on the Tennessee Volunteers in Atlanta.  (Relive the Hawkeye win here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujQQ96qV3U4 ).  The Hawkeye win is not the moral of the story however.  For me, the highlight of the trip was the stop at Chattanooga to see the Civil War battlefield which was, for 6 year old me, life ...

People exceptionally talented in the Consistency theme are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same. They try to treat everyone with equality by setting up clear rules and adhering to them. CliftonStrengths This week our guest blogger is Cathy Hanna. Cathy is the co-coordinator for the TeamMates program at Chase County Schools in Imperial, Nebraska. Her top five strengths are Responsibility, Deliberative, Consistency, Discipline, and Harmony. Here’s what Consistency looks like for Cathy: I am in my third year as Elementary School Counselor and as co-coordinator for our Chase County TeamMates Chapter.  I went to the Strengths Training this last summer so I am in the beginning stages of Strengths spotting.  We introduced Strengths to our mentors in September and to our mentees in November and have had great feedback from those who have been trained.   Consistency is my number three strength and defined by Gallup as being keenly aware o...

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 Communication theme generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters. CliftonStrengths This week, our guest blogger is Beth Roberts. Beth is the Regional Manager as well as the Regional Coordinator for the central region of our organization. Beth’s top 5 Strengths are Empathy, Woo, Developer, Includer, and Communication. Here is what Communication looks like for Beth:                 Award-winning film composer John Powell states “people may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.”  I love this updated language of “actions speak louder than words.”  Communication is one of my top five strengths and one that I use everywhere I am.             Communication is simple how I convey my own thoughts, ideas, and beliefs to the world. ...

People exceptionally talented in the Belief theme have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for their lives. CliftonStrengths This week, our guest blogger is Annette Woodhead. Annette is the Regional Coordinator for the Western Region (or as she likes to say, “the Wild West”) of TeamMates Mentoring Program. Her top 5 Strengths are Responsibility, Belief, Developer, Positivity, and Achiever. Here is what Belief looks like for Annette: If you possess a strong Belief theme, then you have certain core values that are enduring.  Typically, this belief theme causes a person to be family oriented, relationship oriented, and even spiritual and provides direction to your life.  It also demands that you find work that is meaningful and matters to you….. a purpose. I don’t think until I discovered my “strengths” through TeamMates, several years ago, did I understand how I was wired, how God made me uniquely.  I a...

People exceptionally talented in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to determine how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity. CliftonStrengths This week, our guest blogger is Sue Kennedy. Sue is the Regional Coordinator for the northern region of our organization. Sue’s top 5 Strengths are Positivity, Includer, Woo, Arranger, and Futuristic. Here is what Arranger looks like for Sue:                 The executing theme of ARRANGER is number four of my top five.  Before learning more about ARRANGER I really thought this theme was COMPETITION.   At my best when dealing with multiple things , and living in the moment, is when I’m most productive! As a child growing up on a ranch I worked along side my Dad who had an incredibly GREAT work ethic.  There was a driving force when...

People exceptionally talented in the Analytical theme search for reasons and causes. They have the ability to think about all the factors that might affect a situation. CliftonStrengths This week, our guest blogger is Brian Klintworth. Brian is a mentor in Lincoln Public Schools. He also gives his time and expertise as a trainer for financial literacy mentor academies. Brian’s top 5 Strengths are Achiever, Discipline, Learner, Analytical, and Relator. Here is what Analytical looks like for Brian: I want you to think back to when you were in middle or high school and you gave thought to what you wanted to be when you “grew up”.  And then, I want you to compare what you wanted to be back then to what you are now.  My guess is that the career path that you ended up choosing is somewhat different.  As you got older, you found a better way to hone your strengths and determine what you were best suited to.  When I got asked in middle school what I want...