Discovering and developing our strengths
Understanding
and managing self
Understanding the
complexity of
organizational life
Management skills
Building bridges
through
relationships
Calling and
passion
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“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
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In addition to your top five talent themes,
consider these clues to talent:
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Yearnings
Rapid learning
Satisfaction
Timelessness
Glimpses of excellence
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“…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.
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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
Trust
Compassion
Stability
Hope
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It’s another tool for understanding self and others. “The best
(leaders) lead…by excelling in the art of relationship.” p. 248
Primal Leadership
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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.”
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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.