Asset-Based Assessment and PlanningSupporting the Person-Centered Approach

Supporting the Person-Centered ApproachHelp job seekers establish a process of

assessment and planning that:

Inspires and motivates

Supports ongoing/evolving career management and situations

They can return to with minimal assistance

Key Issue

“How can we attend to the hopes, dreams and aspirations of our customers?”

4 Asset-based Strategies

1. Prime the pump with positivity

Experiences and patterns of thinking “wire” the brain

Neural plasticity—you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!

What we focus on, grows

Your Brain

Your brain on negativity

“It won’t work”

“Why bother?”

“Yes, but”

“I’m a failure”

“I can’t”

Tools Ideal Work Day Worksheet

Vision Board

Inspirational Interview

“Personal Commandments”

Vision Boards

Vision Board PromptsWhat is my ideal life?

What is my ideal career?

What is most important to me in this world?

What am I passionate about—what do I love doing?

What inspires me?

What are my greatest strengths? What am I really good at?

Inspirational Interviewing

What You Focus On Grows What’s wrong here?

What are the barriers/obstacles?

What isn’t working?

What weaknesses do I need to overcome?

Why isn’t this working?

What is working/has worked in the past?

What opportunities do we see?

What do I want more of?

What is my positive core that I can build on?

Negative Questions. . .

Positive Questions. . .

Questions for a Positive Future“This is my ideal life. . . “

What do you want MORE of in your life?

If success were absolutely guaranteed, what risks would you take?

What are you excited about in your life right now?

What would a perfect job look like?

What do people always come to you for? What do you you think you do really well?

Positive Planning QuestionsWhat is working that you can build on?How is your life getting better? How can

we bring more of that into your experience?

Think of a similar situation you handled well. What made it a success and how could we bring that learning to this situation?

What changes could we make, no matter how small, that would make your experience more enjoyable, effective and/or productive?

Personal Commandments

2. Build on Experiences

Vs.

ToolsPositive Questioning

Journals

Experiments

Positive QuestionsWhat have you done in the past that’s been

successful that we can build on?

What did you love the most about your previous jobs?

Tell me a story about a time when you were successful in doing _______.

Let’s list all your assets---the things that support and help you.

Journaling

Experimentation

Features of ExperimentsStarts with an energizing question— “I’m

curious about. . .” or “I want to try. . .”

It’s a “try-out”, not a permanent change.

You don’t know the outcome.

Approach with a spirit of curiosity and learning— “What happens if. . .?”

Coaching for ExperimentationWhat could you try, no matter how small, to

get you closer to your vision?

How could you use your positive core here?

How can you expand on that?

Who is doing something you’d like to do? How could you experiment with trying that?

How can you get MORE of what you want?

3. Build Positive Habits

What is a Habit? Something we do regularly—daily, weekly,

monthly, etc., often without thinking.

CueHabitReward

Positive HabitsResolution Charts

One Sentence Journal

Daily Question

Weekly/monthly visioning and assessment

Reframing Experience

Resolutions Charts

One Sentence Journal

Daily Question

“What one thing can I do today, not matter how small, to move me in the direction of. . . “

Periodic Visioning and Assessment SessionsVisioning

Weekly—For specific events coming up during the week, take 5-10 minutes to visualize the ideal experience or event. What happens? How do you feel?

Monthly--15-20 minutes to write detailed vision of ideal life/career. Can also be done as visual collage.

Assessment Weekly—10-15 minutes evaluating past week. What

is working? What do you want more of? What are you learning? How can you build on all of this?

Reframe Experiences

What’s the Story? “This is a challenge.”

“This shouldn’t be happening.”

“I can’t do this.”

“This is an opportunity.”

“This should be happening because it’s teaching me something.”

I can do this—I just need to learn now”

Reframing Questions What can I learn from this?

Who do I know who has handled this well and what can I learn from him/her?

How will my life be better after I’ve worked through this?

What are my greatest strengths and how can I use them to help me work through this?

What am I excited or curious about in this?

What am I grateful for in all of this?

4. Connect to Positive Peers

Building a Positive NetworkFollow the energy:

Who inspires me? Who supports me? Who challenges me (in good ways)? Who do I feel good with when I’m around them?

Find new people who support what you want more of.

Peer Assists

Peer Assist GuidelinesPerson presents problem or issue they want

help on. Explains background and where they need help.

“Assisters” listen and ask questions to get a clear picture. Facilitator may help with this.

Assisters offer—”When that happened to me, this is what I did. . “ or “If I were in that situation, I would. . .”

Facilitator helps person weigh pros/cons of options and figure out what would work.

Story Circles

Story Circle GuidelinesWarm-up—Name and 1-2 things about you.

Present “Focus Question” for stories.

Participants tell a personal story to to group that responds to the Focus Question.

Others listen for: Insights about the person telling the story How the story may apply to their own life or

experiences.

Story Circle Focus QuestionsTell us about a time when:

You felt really proud of something you did. You participated in an activity or event you really

enjoyed. When you were really successful at something. You solved a problem.

Tell us a story about the best job you can imagine.

Story Circle TipsEncourage details to make the stories more

vivid.

Help story-tellers find ideas and insights in their stories that they can use for their present planning.

Encourage listeners to respond to stories with ideas on how they see the story providing insight into the storyteller.

Help participants leave with at least one action item based on their stories.

Pulling it All Together

Next Steps. . . In your peer teams, will explore each

strategy/associated tools and discuss how these activities could be used with your clients.

Which tools/strategies seem to offer the most promise for your customers?

How could you adapt/use these with your caseload?

Which tools/strategies seem more challenging to implement? How could you overcome these challenges?

Which tool/strategy will you PERSONALLY commit to trying before our next class?

Large Group Debrief