Discovering and developing our strengths

Understanding and managing self Understanding the complexity of organizational life Building bridges through relationships Management skills Calling and passion

 “God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere, but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits!” (I Cor. 12, The Message) Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is part of it. “We have different gifts, according the grace given to each of us. “So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we are made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves to each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.” The Message, Romans 12

“You can be anything you want to be if you just try hard enough.” The story of Rudy Ruettiger You cannot be anything you want to be, but you can be a lot more of who you already are.

A strength is the ability to consistently produce a positive outcome through near-perfect performance in a specific task. A strength is composed of ◦ Skills, which are your basic abilities ◦ Knowledge, which is simply what you know ◦ Talents, which are the ways you naturally think, feel, and behave Talent X Investment= Strength

 In addition to your top five talent themes, consider these clues to talent: ◦ Yearnings ◦ Rapid learning ◦ Satisfaction ◦ Timelessness ◦ Glimpses of excellence

 “…the Gallup Organization interviewed five thousand executives as part of a study of excellence in leadership. Their discovery was that the most talented leaders reported that their self-awareness, or knowledge of self, was one of the most critical factors in equipping them for leadership.”  P.63, Leadership From Inside Out

A Gallup study of 20,000 senior leaders and 10,000 followers produced three key findings: 1. The most effective leaders are always investing in strengths. 2. The most effective leaders surround themselves with the right people and then maximize the team. 3. The most effective leaders understand their followers’ needs.

 Share your Strengths with your teammates  Chart the Strengths of your group  What might this mean for your team? (use the discussion questions if you want)

The four domains of leadership strength  Executing  Influencing  Relationship building  Strategic thinking See page 24 in Strengths Based Leadership

TrustCompassionStabilityHope

 It’s another tool for understanding self and others. “The best (leaders) lead…by excelling in the art of relationship.” p. 248 Primal Leadership  It provides neutral language for discussing relationship behavior.  It’s accessible (doesn’t require an expert) and relatively cheap.  “You have development needs---areas where you need to grow, areas where you need to get better—but …you will learn the most, grow the most, and develop the most in the areas of greatest strength.”

 Buy Strengths 2.0 or Teach With Your Strengths and have your staff, faculty and board members take the assessment and discuss it.  Post your strengths where everyone can see them and encourage your staff to do the same.  Invite your spouse and older (12+) children to take it.  Buy some copies of Go Put Your Strengths to Work for your faculty and staff to use.  Use it every time you need to create a committee, team or task force.  Use it as a planning tool for hiring, (firing), reassigning.  Review the details of your own Top Five every month and reflect on the “fit” you have in your organization.