Are you playing to your strengths?
It’s a common question asked during the interview process: “What are your strengths?” Unfortunately, most workers toss out their laundry list of positive attributes after they’ve landed the job.
What if those strengths were not only used daily, but also understood, appreciated and maximized in the workplace? How would that affect team performance? How could that boost worker morale?
“Discover Your Strengths in the Workplace” is a new program offered by the Center for Business and Technology at JCCC. Participants find out not only how their unique talents can best be used but also how these strengths work together in the workplace.
The curriculum is based on the best-selling "StrengthsFinder 2.0" by Tom Rath and the accompanying assessment developed by psychologist Donald O. Clifton. Called “the father of strengths-based psychology,” Clifton developed an assessment program that allowed individuals to identify their strengths, then build on them and integrate them into their daily lives.
“I think it’s an incredibly important tool in your toolbox to understand yourself better,” said Karen Martley, executive director, Staff, Workforce and Community Development. “But I also think StrengthsFinder helps you understand others as well, and that’s a critical piece to the program.”
Martley, who has participated in StrengthsFinder herself, said “Discover Your Strengths in the Workplace” can help:
- Identify one’s strengths.
- Identify a work team’s strengths.
- Improve communication within a team.
- Handle conflict management within a team.
Participants are given a questionnaire that provides two options, such as “Would you rather read or talk to friends?” The Gallup organization creates a profile listing the responder’s top five strengths and what they mean.
The “what they mean” part is where JCCC’s program can help, Martley said.
“Anybody can go out and buy the StrengthsFinder book and take the questionnaire, but to really interpret the results and understand how these strengths work around other people – that takes time and practice,” she said. “You need someone to guide you. And we’re lucky enough to have one of the best facilitators around.”
Sondra Cave, founder and director of SLC Consulting, will serve as the StrengthsFinder facilitator for the JCCC program. She has received a "Strengths Architect" Award from Gallup for her work across the nation, training others and advocating for people to discover their innate talents.
The four-hour workshop can be customized around the schedule demands of any business, and ongoing follow-up sessions are offered for short meetings, lunch-and-learns or retreats.
For a first-hand account of what the program offers, visit a participant’s blog.
In the end, business leaders may find that the best way to motivate and utilize employees may not be to concentrate on their weaknesses as “room for improvement.” Instead, assessing and maximizing one’s strengths may be the best course of action.
To find out more about having a class at your site, call a business solutions director at 913-469-3845.
Read JCCC Marketing Communications writer Anne Christiansen-Bullers' blog post, "Finding my strengths."
