Strengths Based Leadership 2009-2013

Author Tom Rath and leadership consultant Barry Conchie found: 1.  The most effective leaders are always investing in

strengths. 2.  The most effective leaders surround themselves

with the right people and then maximize their team.

3.  The most effective leaders understand their followers’ needs.

 Web-based assessment   177 responses   Each item lists a pair of descriptors

  Example: “I get to know people individually.” “I accept many types of people.”

  20 seconds to answer on a continuum of strongly describes me or neutral

  Each item pair is associated with a theme or category of talents

 34 Talent Themes  Talents are people's naturally recurring

patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied.

 The more dominant a theme is in a person, the greater the theme's impact on that person's behavior and performance.

Maximizer talents can be stifled by conventional wisdom, which says you should find what is broken and fix it.  Maximizers identify and invest in the parts of

your organization or community that are working.

 Maximizers make sure that most of your resources are spent in the build-up and build-out of pockets of excellence.

"   EXECUTING- Achiever, Arranger, Belief, Consistency, Deliberative, Discipline, Focus, Responsibility, Restorative (working hard)

"   INFLUENCING- Activator, Command, Communication, Competition, Maximizer, Self-Assurance, Significance, Woo (influencing others)

"   RELATIONSHIP BUILDING- Adaptability, Developer, Connectedness, Empathy, Harmony, Includer, Individualization, Positivity, Relator (relating with others)

"   STRATEGIC THINKING- Analytical, Context, Futuristic, Ideation, Input, Intellection, Learner, Strategic (thinking smarter)

  Executing Team members who have a dominant strength in the Executing domain are those whom you turn to time and again to implement a solution. These are the people who will work tirelessly to get something done. People who are strong in the Executing domain have an ability to take an idea and transform it into reality within the organization they lead.

  Influencing People who are innately good at influencing are always selling the team's ideas inside and outside the organization. When you need someone to take charge, speak up, and make sure your group is heard, look to someone with the strength to influence.

  Relationship Building Relationship builders are the glue that holds a team together. Strengths associated with bringing people together -- whether it is by keeping distractions at bay or keeping the collective energy high. They transform a group of individuals into a team capable of carrying out complex projects and goals.

  Strategic Thinking Those who are able to keep people focused on "what they could be”. They are constantly pulling a team and its members into the future. They continually absorb and analyze information and help the team make better decisions.

People who do have opportunity to focus on their strengths every day are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life in general.

  They have concern for followers.   They are life-long learners.   They have ideas and visions.   They reflect on role models and influences.   They share charisma.

At GGS these are the traits of our staff. Followers are our students.

  Mrs. Krogstad – Executing   Learner   Empathy   Achiever   Arranger   Discipline

  Ms. Holzman – Strategic Thinking   Deliberative   Discipline   Input   Intellection   Context

  Ms. Tysse – Relationship Building   Harmony   Empathy   Consistency   Developer   Restorative

  Third grade not available

  Ms. Davis– Strategic Thinking   Input   Learner   Achiever   Intellection   Futuristic

  Mrs. Axtman - Relationship Building   Adaptability   Positivity   Relator   Includer   Maximizer

  Mrs. Matthews – Executing   Relator   Competition   Consistency   Activator   Restorative

  Mrs. Haskins - Relationship Building   Responsibility   Adaptability   Belief   Empathy   Relator

  Mrs. Deurmeier - Strategic Thinking   Context   Learner   Input   Connectedness   Responsibility

  Mr. Coon – Strategic Thinking

  Achiever   Strategic   Competition   Ideation   Relator

  Miss Black – Executing

  Achiever   Belief   Leaner   Includer   Developer

  Mr. Mohr – Strategic Thinking

  Strategic   Adaptability   Ideation   Developer   Learner

  Mrs. Thorn – Executing

  Deliberative   Responsibility   Harmony   Learner   Individualization

  Dr. DeBruycker - Relationship Building   Ideation   Includer   Arranger   Relator   Maximizer   Adaptability   Self-Assurance   Developer

  Mrs. Fisher – Executing   Achiever   Relator   Learner   Responsibility   Woo

  Mrs. McCauley - Relationship Building   Relator   Responsibility   Deliberative   Harmony   Includer

  Mrs. Johnson - Relationship Building   Positivity   Responsibility   Harmony   Adaptability   Empathy

  Mrs. Coon – Relationship Building   Context   Empathy   Individualization   Responsibility   Adaptability   Achiever

  Mr. Bassler – Strategic Thinking   Harmony   Discipline   Analytical   Input   Context

Executing Influencing Relationship Building

Strategic Thinking

Miss Black Mrs. Axtman Mr. Bassler

Mrs. Fisher Mrs. Coon Mr. Coon

Mrs. Krogstad Dr. DeBruycker Ms. Davis

Mrs. Matthews Mrs. Haskins Mrs. Deurmeier

Mrs. Thorn Mrs. Johnson Ms. Holzman

Mrs. McCauley Mr. Mohr

Ms. Tysse

 A strength is the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance in a specific activity.

 The key to building a strength is to identify your dominant talents, then complement them by acquiring knowledge and skills pertinent to the activity.

 Talents, knowledge, and skills -- along with the time spent practicing (investment), developing your skills, and building your knowledge base -- combine to create your strengths.

 Although talents, skills, and knowledge are each important for building a strength, talent is always the most important.

 The reason is that your talents are innate and cannot be acquired, unlike skills and knowledge.

  For example, being drawn toward strangers and enjoying the challenge of making a connection with them are talents (from the Woo theme), whereas the ability to consistently build a network of supporters who know you and are prepared to help you is a strength. To build this strength, you have refined your talents with skills and knowledge.

  Likewise, the tendency to confront others is a talent (from the Command theme), whereas the ability to sell successfully is a strength. To persuade others to buy your product, you must have combined your talent with product knowledge and certain selling skills.

The key to building a fully developed strength is to identify your most dominant talents, which are likely found within your top five themes, then complement them with acquired knowledge, skills, and investment.

  When considering where to invest one's time, energy, and attention, Gallup research indicates that the best place to start is in an area of strength. Yet by no means does any of our research suggest that people should ignore their weaknesses. To do so, especially in the classroom or workplace, is reckless.

  All of Gallup's development programs focus on helping individuals to build on their strengths and to determine how their weaknesses can best be managed. The strengths-based approached can help staff and faculty increase productivity, drive, performance, and improve areas with underperforming management or leadership. We do not advise ignoring areas of weakness; the result would be detrimental to a campus's impact -- and likely an individual's career.

“Great organizations must not only accommodate the fact that each employee is different,

THEY MUST CAPITALIZE ON THESE DIFFERENCES.”

~ Don Clifton Father of Strengths-Based Psychology

 Effective and productive teams meet their goals and achieve meaningful outcomes by capitalizing on the diverse talents of their members.

 The best teams achieve success by developing a team dynamic that welcomes, values, and leverages each members' talents.

1.  Conflict doesn’t destroy strong teams because strong teams focus on results.

2.  Strong teams prioritize what’s best for the organization and then move forward.

3.  Members of strong teams are as committed to their personal lives as they are to their careers.

4.  Strong teams embrace diversity. 5.  Strong teams are magnets for talents.

Stats for GGS:

18 members (2 double test)

Relator is the most common strength

GGS possess 31 out of 34 strengths

28 Executing 8 Influencing 39 Relationship Building 25 Strategic Thinking

Research shows that followers have a clear picture of what they want and need from the many leaders in their lives:

 Trust  Compassion  Stability  Hope

 Build on our strengths to lead each other and our students.

 Give our followers (our students) what they want and need from us.

Trust Compassion Stability Hope

 We are both the leaders and the followers in the process of school improvement.

 We analyze, interpret, and communicate the desires we hold for our school.

 We build on our strengths, recognize our weaknesses, and go forward with the determination to make a difference.

 Our Vision: Educating the Future

 Our Mission: “The Gallatin Gateway School community is dedicated to enabling our students to be lifelong learners and productive citizens by meeting their needs in a positive atmosphere in which diversity is valued.”