Podcast appearances and mentions of donald clifton

In this episode, I discuss the importance of betting on yourself and taking control of your career. I share three tips for achieving this: >> planning ahead>> always being curious>> being selfishPlanning ahead involves having your resume ready and tracking your accomplishments. Being curious means paying attention to your interests and leveraging your strengths. Being selfish means prioritizing yourself and looking for signs of what you want in your career. By following these tips, you can gain more control and confidence in your career.Always bet on yourself. You are the only thing you can control.TakeawaysAlways bet on yourself and take control of your career.Plan ahead by having your resume ready and tracking your accomplishments.Be curious and pay attention to your interests and strengths.Be selfish and prioritize yourself in your career.Look for signs of what you want and go for it.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Inspiration02:26 Feeling Out of Control in Your Career04:24 Always Bet on Yourself05:22 Tip 1: Planning Ahead09:14 Tip 2: Curiosity14:32 Tip 3: The Power of Selfishness19:59 Conclusion and Call to ActionThose awesome books I mention?"Now, Discover Your Strengths" by Donald Clifton and Marcus Buckingham"Go Put Your Strengths To Work" by Marcus BuckinghamResources: Don't stay in a job that feels bad. I'll help you see your value, release your doubts and feel confident. It's time to make your move.When you're ready, I can help you :: Personalized 1:1 CoachingCustomized coaching and strategizing to end your lengthy job searchLeverage your career history and transferable skills in your career pivotFree resources on my YouTube ChannelTo learn more about me, visit my website and follow me on LinkedIn and don't forget to leave us a review!

In this classic episode of the Elevate Podcast, host Robert Glazer sits down with Tom Rath, a Gallup researcher and author who has spent the past two decades studying how work can improve human health and well-being. He is the author of 10 books that have sold more than 10 million copies, including the #1 NYT Bestseller How Full Is Your Bucket? Tom and Robert dug into Tom's career, how he carries the legacy of his grandfather, Gallup founder Donald Clifton, and how to play to your strengths at work and in life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The CliftonStrengths assessment, formerly known as the Clifton StrengthsFinder, was created by educational psychologist Donald Clifton. It's a performance-based tool to help you understand your innate skills. I took the test today and we're comparing the results with my enneagram type. -- Call/text your enneagram questions to (828) 338-9127 Grab a copy of my books at www.thehonestenneagram.com & www.theenneagramletters.com Check out my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/sarajanecase Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The greatest use of strengths is always coupled with a mission to do good.”  - Dr. Donald Clifton, Founder of CliftonStrengths Mark Whitacre is a model of purpose-driven leadership, embodying what it means to be a servant leader. But that wasn't always the case. When he was younger, he was a selfish leader, and it led him down a dark path. At the age of 32, Mark found himself caught up in the largest price-fixing scheme in the U.S. and eventually served eight and a half years in prison. In this episode, we discuss how the same strengths that helped Mark succeed when he only cared about material things are now helping him excel at living for significance. Listen in for more on what it looks like to use your strengths for good. Additional Resources: Email us at Brandon@34strong.com to learn your top 5 strengths

In this episode of Add To Cart, we checkout Simon Molnar, Founder of Flagship. Simon has retail blood flowing through his veins. I wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall at the dinner table in this family's house I can tell you - it's where the idea for Afterpay was first knocked about! After taking his parents' jewellery business online with great success, Simon founded Flagship, is a retail-focused tech company that uses bluetooth product stickers to give brick and mortar stores access to the kind of data and insights that eCommerce businesses have long enjoyed. Links from the episode:Edible BloomsVenroySoar With Your Strengths by Donald Clifton and Paula NelsonCliftonStrengths AssessmentSpying on Stock: The Flagship Story | #220Questions answered in the podcast:What is the weirdest thing you've ever bought online? Who is your favourite retailer? Which retail fad do you wish was history?Can you recommend a book or podcast that our listeners should immediately get into? Finish this sentence. The future of retail is… This episode was brought to you by…eSuiteAbout your co-host: Simon Molnar from FlagshipSimon Molnar is the founder and CEO of Flagship, a brick-and-mortar retail data provider and experiential creator. With a background in retail, but also software engineering, data, marketing and operations, Simon has been able to help retailers create end-to-end solutions to fully enhance the customer experience and to ensure retail conversions, repeat purchases and customer stickiness. Formerly, Simon was the CEO of Ice Jewellery, Australia's largest online-only eCommerce jewellery retailer and has also been heavily involved in Afterpay both in digital marketing and data analytics.You can contact Simon at LinkedInAbout your host: Nathan Bush from eSuite Nathan Bush is a digital strategist, Co-founder of eCommerce talent agency, eSuite and host of the Add to Cart podcast. He has led eCommerce for businesses with revenue $100m+ and has been recognised as one of Australia's Top 50 People in eCommerce four years in a row. You can contact Nathan on LinkedIn, Twitter or via email. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We all wear disguises. We put them on to protect ourselves, to keep our true selves hidden away. But what if we took off the costume? What if we allowed ourselves to be authentically us?In this episode, join David as we explore the idea of taking off the mask and being our true selves. Authenticity is about understanding who we are and embracing our amazing strengths as introverts, letting go of bad habits and limiting beliefs,  and courageously accepting our imperfections so we can connect on a deeper level.In a world where we're constantly putting on masks to fit in and be someone we're not, it's time to take off the costume and be authentically YOU! So take off that mask, and be the amazing person you were meant to be! Listen now and be strong!Books referenced in this podcast: Richard Newman, You Were Born To SpeakBrene Brown, The Gifts of ImperfectionBecca Ribbing, The Clarity JournalMarcus Buckingham & Donald Clifton, Now, Discover Your StrengthsMarcus Buckingham, StandOutPodcast Episodes referenced:Ep 89 - Presence, Storytelling, and Public Speaking with guest Richard NewmanEp 90 - Creating Career Clarity: Strategies for Getting Unstuck with Becca RibbingEp. 11 - Strengths, Personality Type, And Nature Versus NurtureContact the host of the Quiet and Strong Podcast: David HallAuthor, Speaker, Educator, Podcasterquietandstrong.comGobio.link/quietandstrongdavid [at] quietandstrong.com Take the FREE Personality Assessment:Typefinder Personality AssessmentFollow David on your favorite social platform:Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn Get David's book:Minding Your Time: Time Management, Productivity, and Success, Especially for IntrovertsYou may also like:Quiet & Strong Merchandise

Today's guest is very keen on visualizing spaces in 3 dimensions. He also holds state licenses in architecture and interior design. Vito Lotta is the Vice President of Architecture & Design at Hilton Worldwide. Vito joins the host Dan Ryan for the first-ever live, in-person episode of Defining Hospitality! Vito shares his journey through the hospitality industry starting with using a drafting board that his father had all the way to being an integral part of Hilton.   Takeaways:  Boredom is an excellent state of mind to be in because it allows you to really drill down into your imagination. It's hard to be imaginative if your mind is constantly coming up with new things. Being in the hospitality industry is providing a certain level of service to your customers, such as teaching guests who can't dance how to dance and better themselves and providing them with an unforgettable experience. To improve yourself for your company and your personal life, it's best to focus on your strengths and hone those skills to be even better. Hilton is going in a unique direction where it's going to be more playful, energetic, and younger.  When it comes to innovation, there are technical, digital, and physical spaces to it all now. You need to find a way to incorporate all those aspects into your design. We still live in an analog world. There are millions of apps out there but they aren't the answer to coming up with a great design space.  There are different levels of privacy that guests might want that you can integrate into your hotels. Some guests might want more privacy by using an alias while others might not care as much. Quote of the Show: 16:50 “we're in the business of hospitality. You're supposed to use your gift of dance to make our customers, our guests feel as elegant and graceful as they aspire to be.”   Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vito-f-lotta-464228/ Website: https://www.hilton.com/en/corporate/   Shout Outs: 27:13 American Institute of Architects  32:24 Know Your Strengths by Donald Clifton and Marcus Buckingham 34:40 David Goggins 44:33 Getty's Group 46:04 Larry Traxler 46:05 Hyatt 46:56 Gensler 50:12 Hotel of Tomorrow 50:37 Ron Swidler 50:51 Rodd Kidley 52:08 Oculus 1:00:54 Wayne's World Ways to Tune In:  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419 Podbean: https://www.defininghospitality.live/ YouTube : https://youtu.be/SWU9VheTiYs

It's useful to understand a little bit about the different homeschool styles out there, not so you can adhere to a label but so you can mix and match the features that suit you best. There's a reason that most homeschoolers take the eclectic moniker! Each method has positive traits, so feel free to borrow your favorite parts from each style to truly HOMESCHOOL YOUR WAY. ★★★ LISTENER COUPON CODE Request your coupon code to use on any purchase at bookshark.com. TIMESTAMPS 03:29 School at home (traditional method) 05:44 Unschooling 09:32 Montessori method 18:55 Classical method 23:48 Charlotte Mason approach 26:34 Unit Studies 29:59 Eclectic SPECIAL SEGMENTS 01:08 Hack of the Week Taking breaks with a year-round school schedule 16:08 A Memorable Quote "No matter how hard you try, you really can't improve your weaknesses. You are wasting time and energy trying to do so. The best thing you can do is discover your strengths and then find a role that allows you to use them." —Donald Clifton in Now, Discover Your Strengths

I am often asked if a person can change from an introvert to an extrovert. Strengths and personality types are consistent over time. So while you can't change your personality type, you can change in significant ways by understanding your personality type.  What about nature and nurture? How can understanding what is natural about you versus environmental factors help you learn and grow?  How can you help your children and others in your life embrace their gifts whether they are introverts or extroverts? You don't change from being an introvert to an extrovert, but understanding and embracing who you are can lead to great success and happiness.Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking Marti Olsen Laney, Psy.D., The Hidden Gifts of the Introverted ChildMarcus Buckingham & Donald Clifton, Now, Discover Your StrengthsGet my book: Minding Your Time: Time Management, Productivity, and Success, Especially for IntrovertsContact the host of Quiet and Strong :David HallAuthor, Speaker, Educator, Podcasterquietandstrong.comGobio.link/quietandstrongdavid@quietandstrong.comTwitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedInTake the FREE Personality Assessment:Typefinder Personality AssessmentYou may also like:Quiet & Strong Merchandise

Coach Cast - Dan Mickle - Beating your blindspotA full transcript of this episode is available at http://coachcast.medium.comDarren and Justin talk to top sports psychologist, founder of the Soul Performance Academy and presenter of the The Mental Podcast Dan Mickle from Pennsylvania in America.In this fun packed and entertaining episode, Dan, Darren and Justin find out why they shouldn't suck, how they overcame their own blind-spots and why taking it slow is so important to your own self-improvement Shownotes:Books mentioned during the show:Tim Ferris - Fear Setting TED Talk - https://youtu.be/5J6jAC6XxAIThe Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Take Control and Master the Odds: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win**Contacting Dan Mickle: Website: www.danmickle.comAll social media: @realdanmickle E-mail: dan@danmickle.com**Contacting Darren Odell:To get in touch with Darren about coaching, the show or being a guest, his details are here:www.odlcoaching.co.ukinfo@odlcoaching.co.ukWellness Coaching UK on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/2883493241708420/Contacting Coach Cast:You can also reach the show directly by using this NEW easy page!www.coachcast.co.ukor drop us an e-mailhello@coachcast.co.ukPlease make sure you subscribe and leave us a 5 Star review in Apple Podcasts and follow us on Spotify!Thank you for listening to The Coach Cast......see you on 15th!**Inspirational Quotes:Dan's quotes"Don't Suck" (listen back to why he uses this one)Dan Mickle"You can't smell the roses, if you're running with them"Dan MickleDarren's quote"There is no alchemy for weaknesses, they can be removed but they cannot be transformed into strengths, the goal therefore is to manage the weaknesses, so that the strengths can be freed to develop and become so powerful that they make the weaknesses irrelevant"Donald Clifton and Pamela Nelson - Play to your Strengths Justin's quote"You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory then your current results"James Clear - Atomic Habits

Today we invite a beloved guest back on to the show to talk about strengths-based development and how to use it effectively within an organization. Why is this approach so transformational for organizations? Listen in to find out!   Dean Jones is a senior learning expert at Gallup, responsible for leading Gallup’s global learning strategy. In addition to advising clients on learning and organizational development interventions, he has overseen Gallup’s client learning strategy, the development of the organization’s workplace consultants and learning offering, and the growth of Gallup’s learning business worldwide.   What does Dean mean by ‘strengths’ when talking about strength-based development? Dr. Donald Clifton, an American psychologist and researcher, life’s work was designed to study success. What he discovered was there was actually a connection between talent and success, and there was a way you could measure it.   Strengths is about understanding your own innate talent and then being able to develop those into legitimate use cases that you can apply in both work and in life. Talent is something you are born with and you unfortunately can not create a new talent from scratch. This is why it’s critical to identify the ones you do have and hone those skills relentlessly.   Interview Links: Gallup.com Dean on LinkedIn Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Donald O. Clifton and Marcus Buckingham   Resources: Scaling Up Workshop: Interested in attending one of our workshops? We have a few $100 discounts for our loyal podcast listeners!Scaling Up for Business Growth Workshop: Take the first step to mastering the Rockefeller Habits by attending one of our workshops. Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube

If you hear that Tricia and Rob have been working for weeks now on a “new piecrust,” don’t believe it.  That happens to come up the first choice when your word processor thinks you have misspelled the word ‘podcast!’  And they have indeed been working on podcasts together…not so much on piecrusts.   In this episode, Rob shares a tip to use on your phone that we will all love: a way to use the Search mechanism to find that picture you’re looking for--almost instantly! It is so smart—and in Tricia’s opinion, maybe a little creepy…   Also, with all Rob’s knowledge and experience with the many characters created by Walt Disney and the Disney World creative team, Tricia asks him to tell her which female character she looks most like. She even suggests a few to jog his imagination: Cinderella, or Mary Poppins, or some sort of magical and smart and beautiful character. Rob responds to this opportunity like any younger brother all over the world would. And it doesn’t go over well!   Today’s conversation topic is mainly about the “strengths-based revolution,” which has been life-changing for Rob in terms of helping him know where he can make his best contribution to his world. They talk about how energizing and fulfilling our work can be when we know we are working within our strengths, as opposed to trying to minimize our weaknesses to get our work done.  Great freedom and energy come with knowing that you are utilizing and working within your greatest strengths (which is not the same as skills or talents).   One of Tricia’s strengths is Maximizer: the ability to take something that is good and make it great. She loves to collaborate and work with someone else to make something better; that is why writing collaboratively is one of the parts of her writing career that is most fulfilling to her. She is excited about the work that is currently being done to weave the Strengths research into the world of elementary education for children, giving them a big head start into understanding how they can best contribute to the world.   The discussion includes understanding why knowing your Strengths is different from knowing “what you’re good at.” You’re close to understanding your strengths when you notice what kinds of activities or efforts make you feel strong, even when you may also feel exhausted!   (They get temporarily sidetracked when Tricia realizes that Rob says ‘Winston Churchill’ wrong.  If indeed there is a right and wrong way to say it, and she’s convinced there is.  And her brother’s way is…well, wrong.)   Talk Back: What are your strengths, as defined here? What are your ‘misses?’ We’d love to hear from you on our Facebook page, “Let’s Talk Soon, the podcast!”    You can find Rob on Twitter and Instagram at robalott, as well as on his own podcast, The Leading Creative podcast.  You can reach Tricia Lott Williford on Instagram, Facebook, and her very active blog, tricialottwilliford.com     Resources mentioned in this episode: Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham, who partnered with Donald Clifton Strengthsfinder 2.0, a strengths-based assessment created and designed by Donald Clifton

Ivy League Prep Academy hosts Steve and Nathaniel discuss how the books they read help them and others prepare for studying at places like Harvard. In this episode we discuss How Full is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath and Donald Clifton

Johan Oosthuizen is an International Coach Federation (ACC) member, a Results-Driven Gallup Certified Strengths Coach (Advanced), and a BP10 trained coach. Johan has more than 34 years of experience of which he spent 23 years as a top Financial Advisor at a major life assurance company and for the last 10 years he has been specialising as a Gallup-Advance Certified Strengths and Business Profile Coach helping financial advisors and other professionals become the best version of themselves.In the 1950's a life assurance company asked Dr. Donald Clifton to do research and to determine why financial advisors left the industry so frequently. The study found that the reason financial advisors stay in the industry, is primarily because they are using their natural abilities and talents.In this episode, we talk in-depth about talents, strengths, weaknesses and how one can go about becoming the best version of yourself. Which inevitably leads to greater results and lasting success.Why should we stop trying to focus on and to fix our weaknesses?We discuss the difference between talents and strengths.Where do you start if you want to determine what your talents and strengths are? Some people intrinsically know, and there are several indicators, but many people have no clue.Then, once you have determined your talents and natural abilities, what comes next? How do you turn these talents into strengths? There is a total of 7 milestones that one would want to reach in order to fully integrate everything you learn and to operate from a place of strength. We talk about the first 3 milestones that are the starting point and basis for the rest of the milestones.But is a strength always an advantage? Do we always use it to our benefit?People often mismanage some of their strengths and Johan shares which strengths are the easiest to mismanage.We always hear how unique each one of us is. Is that also the case when it comes to our talents?We also discuss successful advisors and if they tend to have a particular set of talents and strengths. The discussion around this will surprise you!All of these aspects may seem fluffy or soft to you, so why should you care about getting to know your talents and developing them into strengths? This is one of the most important questions I ask Johan in the interview.If you are ready for the journey, should you go at it alone or should you get help from someone who can help you through the journey? The answer to this was also interesting!Another key message that we uncovered in the interview is that you don't have to be the best at everything. You don't have to do everything yourself. In fact, you shouldn't. So what is the strategy and answer here?Another key question is when is it suitable to start a journey to learn your talents and start to turn them into strengths? We end off the interview talking about different assessments and tools that are available to help you start your journey.Johan can be contacted via:LinkedinWhatsapp/Telephone - 0828293277 EmailIf you are interested in determining your Top 5 Talents (or even your full 34):Clifton Strengths Website

Podcast Talenty Dużych i Małych powstał z myślą, by połączyć temat dorosłych 34 talentów Gallupa dla tych dużych i 10 dziecięcych talentów dla tych małych. Łączymy talenty dużych i talenty małych. Tylko u nas szersze spojrzenie na talenty z perspektywy różnych pokoleń. W tym odcinku: Czym zajmuje się Gallup? Co oznacza rozwój w oparciu o mocne strony i jak różni się od konwencjonalnego podejścia Kim był Donald Clifton i jakie jest jego TOP5 Gdzie możesz znaleźć więcej informacji o Gallupie Podsumowanie odcinka Instytut Gallupa (dziś po prostu Gallup) to najstarsza organizacja zajmująca się badaniem opinii publicznej, która w 1935 roku została założona przez Georga Gallupa. Obecnie organizacja prowadzi badania nad efektywnością pracy i zaangażowaniem pracowników oraz dostarcza narzędzia do określania silnych stron dla osób w różnym wieku i zajmujących się rozmaitymi aktywnościami. Wykorzystanie narzędzi i rozwiązań Gallupa ma swoje zastosowanie w organizacjach i firmach, w szkolnictwie i edukacji, w zespołach, a także do pracy z liderami, z nauczycielami i rodzinami. Gallup posiada swoje biura w ponad 20 krajach na wszystkich kontynentach. Pierwsze narzędzie do badania talentów stworzył w 1999 roku Donald Clifton. W chwili obecnej funkcjonuje pod nazwą CliftonStrengths. Jest ono cały czas sprawdzane pod względem jakości i akuratności. Donald Clifton zadał sobie pytanie, co się stanie, jeśli zaczniemy myśleć o tym, co jest dobrego w ludziach, zamiast koncentrować się na tym, co jest w nich złe lub nie działa? Te dociekania i rozmyślania nadały zupełnie nowy kierunek w psychologii, a w 2002 roku Amerykańskie Zrzeszenie Psychologów (The American Psychological Association) nazwało Donalda O. Cliftona Ojcem Psychologii Pozytywnej lub inaczej psychologii opartej na mocnych stronach (the Father of Strengths-Based Psychology). Konwencjonalne podejście do rozwoju polega na szukaniu luk kompetencyjnych i proponowaniu pracownikom zdobywania wiedzy i umiejętności w tych obszarach. W podejściu tym obserwujemy się skupianie się na słabościach, jak również na założeniu że jedna metoda osiągnięcia sukcesu jest dobra dla wszystkich. Można to zaobserwować wśród Polaków i ich podejścia do nauki języków obcych. Większość nie wierzy w swoje możliwości, ale tez nie szuka sposobów nauki najlepiej pasujących do ich indywidualnych potrzeb i posiadanego potencjału. W tym miejscu chcemy podkreślić, że możesz realizować swoje cele (np. naukę języka obcego) wykorzystując to co masz w sobie, akceptując potencjał, który już masz w sobie. Po ponad trzydziestu latach badań nad potencjałem ludzkim Donald Clifton wyciągnął wnioski na temat pewnych wzorców zachowania, myślenia i odczuwania ludzi. Nazwał je talentami. Dodatkowo, na podstawie swoich obserwacji Donald Clifton doszedł do wniosku dlaczego warto się skupiać na mocnych stronach, na tym co dobre, a nie na słabościach. Stwierdził, że najbardziej efektywni menedżerowie najlepiej rozumieją potrzeby osób, którym przewodzą z którymi pracują. Podobnie jest w domu, że rodzice najlepiej rozumieją potrzeby osób, z którymi mieszkają i żyją. Wnioski z badań, które powinny skłonić nas do korzystania z rozwoju opartego o mocne strony: następuje nie tylko odkrycie i diagnoza talentów, ale przede wszystkim zrozumienie i akceptacja unikatowości i wyjątkowości naturalnych predyspozycji członków zespołu lub rodziny, najbardziej efektywni menedżerowie i rodzice zawsze inwestują w mocne strony, gdyż w tych obszarach poszczególne osoby mają największą szansę na osiągniecie sukcesu, każdy powinien wykorzystywać swój unikatowy zestaw talentów i osiągać sukcesy na swój własny sposób czyli najlepsi w swojej roli osiągają te same rezultaty używając swoich, indywidualnych sposobów działania. 5 dominujących talentów Donalda Cliftona, zwanego inaczej Ojcem Psychologii Pozytywnej: Poważanie Wizjoner Indywidualizacja Ukierunkowanie Maksymalista Można odkryć talenty poprzez badanie CliftonStrengths u osób dorosłych, CliftonStrengths for Student dla studentów i dla dzieci poprzez StrengthsExplorer. Linki: Strona główna Gallupa Raport ewaluacyjny i walidacyjny badania CliftonStrengths Kanał Gallupa na Youtubie CliftonStrenghts for Student Strengths Explorer Podcast możesz subskrybować poprzez: bezpłatny i bardzo dobry Player FM (Android i www) – mój wybóriTunes (iOS i Windows)Stitcher (iOS i Android)Google Podcast (Android)Twoją ulubioną aplikację do podcastów na smartphonie (wyszukaj frazę „Talenty Dużych i Małych”) Zostaw swoją recenzję w iTunes Jeżeli podobał Wam się podcast, możesz zostawić ocenę w iTunes. To tylko chwila a dla mnie każda gwiazdka ma ogromne znaczenie. Instrukcja: Aby to zrobić zainstaluj aplikację iTunes na swoim komputerze z systemem Windows, zaloguj się, następnie w sekcji “Sklep” wyszukaj podcast “Talenty Dużych i małych”. Oprócz gwiazdek możesz też napisać kilka słów na jego temat. Dzięki takim osobom jak Ty, które zostawią recenzję, pomagasz mi docierać z podcastem do większej ilości osób kreatywnych i przedsiębiorczych Dziękujemy!

In this episode of the Elevate Podcast, host Robert Glazer sits down with Tom Rath to talk about helping people find their strengths as performers and using that knowledge to build their overall capacity. Tom is a leading expert on the role of human behavior in business, health and well-being. He is the author the #1 New York Times bestseller How Full Is Your Bucket? as well as Are You Fully Charged and StrengthsFinder 2.0, which was listed by Amazon as the top selling non-fiction book of all time. Taking the mantle from his grandfather, Donald Clifton, Tom helps organizations focus on the strengths of their employees and create an environment where everybody can perform to the best of their abilities. Show Notes On this episode, you’ll learn about: Tom’s experience growing up in a house of psychologists and educators. How Tom started his career doing research for his grandfather, Gallup Chairman Donald Clifton. How society encourages kids to avoid finding their passion and instead focus on breadth of talent. Tom’s experience with Clifton StrengthsFinder, including how it works differently for a person over time. How people can capitalize on their knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses, and how they can do the same for their teams. Bob’s results from taking the Clifton StrengthsFinder. How many modern workplaces put unhealthy levels of stress on employees. A mistake Tom has made, and what he learned from it.

He was diminutive with a weak constitution and poor eyesight, but he changed the moral landscape of the world forever. In this episode, Richard and Sam discuss the life and leadership of the famed abolitionist William Wilberforce. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: “Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery” by Eric Metaxas. Find it here. Next month's book club pick: “Now, Discover Your Strengths” by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton. Find it here. CONNECT: Follow Richard on Twitter. Follow Richard on Facebook. Read Richard's latest blog posts at www.richardblackaby.com. Send questions to podcast@blackaby.org.

Anne Elkin, Vice President of Human Resources at Qualcomm, discusses how the StrengthsFinder assessment tool can help you identify your strengths, better understand your co-workers and be happier and more productive at work.   You’ll hear: Why it is important to focus on your strengths rather than to try to overcome your weaknesses How to figure out what your natural strengths are Why it is important to understand your co-workers’ strengths   StrengthsFinder 2.0 https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/home/en-us/strengthsfinder   Books mentioned:    Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton   StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath    Twitter: @anne_elkin, LinkedIn: Anne Elkin   Sign up for the Advice to My Younger Me monthly newsletter: www.tomyyounger.me   Sara can be reached on Twitter  Facebook and LinkedIn.   Leave a review:  https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1101880566?mt=2&ls=1

Today’s episode is a question that comes up every time we prepare clients for a training event that includes StrengthsFinder. The question today is whether you can take old or existing results and use them in a team or leadership training event today. I know this question is a bit tactical and technical compared to our usual topics, yet I thought it would be important to answer because we get asked so often. As you listen on, you will hear both HOW to find existing results (even if you think they’re wayyyy old), and we will offer a quick reason WHY it’s important to get old results. You’ll also get a list of books that you may have used a code from that you can import into the newest, snazziest report layout and dashboard. Even if you have your personal results already, if you’re a people manager or strengths champion, this could be an important question for you to know the answer to because your new hires or future people you’ll coach will likely have this question. Have You Downloaded Your Strengths Tools? One of the best ways leaders can build a strengths-based culture is to offer an appreciation of strengths in action. If you’ll notice what works, you’ll get more of what works because people can replicate what they’ve already done well. Get started by downloading this awesome tool that offers you 127 Easy Ways to Recognize Strengths on your team. What To Do If You Have Existing Results But You Don’t Know Where They Are If you have existing results, you can use your credentials from any of the old Gallup sites to import your data into the newest version of the Gallup Strengths Center. If you're working with a leadership and strengths training company like mine, you’ll get asked for each person’s individual results so that we can give you better insights and make custom company level reports that take the individual insights and turn them into team level conversations.  Over the years, there have been different landing pages and dashboards for all of these different places where you could get started with strengths. Although the books were different, the assessment is the same. So you can take your login information from those old sites and use the same credentials in the Gallup Strengths Center. If you do that, it will import your old results into the most recent report layout and dashboard.  This is helpful if you’re a busy person and you have a calendar already filled with meetings and to do’s — because when you have a training coming up and you’d rather not spend 45 minutes of your life answering questions you already answered when you did it years ago — you can just pull in your existing data. The problem is that people say, “Oh geez … I did StrengthsFinder like 3 jobs ago. I have no idea how to find it.” Or if you’re like me and you first did the StrengthsFinder assessment over 15 years ago, you'll probably have no way of guessing your username and password from those days. If You Had An Account At One Point But You Have No Idea What Site To Log Into Or What Your Credentials Are My recommendation is to first go into the Gallup Strengths Center, click Sign In at the top right (or if you’re on mobile, tap the main menu in the top left to get the sign in). THEN do a test with your old email addresses. Check your old work and personal email addresses you might have used with the forgot password function. On their site, their version of “forgot password” is a link called "Need help with your username or password?" If you do this first, it will help you confirm whether an account exists at Gallup with a given email address. For example, I found mine with a yahoo account from the 1990s. If you type in your old address and it works, you'll get a message back from Gallup saying they sent you an email to update your account. Boom you’re in. Even when you are unsuccessful, It helps you narrow down the accounts. For example I typed in my old email address from the employer I worked for in those years. And I got a message that says, “Your email address does not match any accounts that we have on record. Please try again or create an account." So it’s a step in your sleuth work to tell you whether you used that address back in the day.  Now, of course if you no longer work there, you would not be able to get the password recovery data in your inbox — because that inbox no longer exists. If that were to happen where you learn that the account exists but you can’t get the recovery by email, you can use the Gallup Strengths Center support team. They are extremely helpful. I will link to their support page in the show notes so you have access to that too. Their Contact Us page from there also has a phone number where you can troubleshoot with a human if you don’t want to do it by email.  You Think You May Have CliftonStrengths Results But Your Book Or Assessment Had A Different Name There are also a bunch of books from Gallup press that have a code for StrengthsFinder. Over the years, you may have used a code from these books and now you want to import it in for your team StrengthsFinder training. Only the most recent copies would have flap with a CliftonStrengths assessment code. All of the older ones would have called it StrengthsFinder. It’s the same assessment — just a name change to honor Donald Clifton, the original creator. Regardless of the original Gallup website you went to to redeem the code, you can get them all imported into the Gallup Strengths Center site today. Here are 5 of the books our corporate clients most commonly used when they’re importing “old” StrengthsFinder results in: StrengthsFinder 2.0  How Full Is Your Bucket? The Expanded Anniversary Edition Strengths-based Leadership StrengthsQuest or CliftonStrengths for Students Strengths-based Selling  If you originally did StrengthsFinder through a code in one of those books, you’ll want to get yourself transferred into the new system. And when I say transferred in, I mean remember your login because your old credentials will work over on these (if you remember them). It Has Been A Long Time, So Should You Retake StrengthsFinder Anyway? There’s a whole episode-worth of conversation on that topic, but the short answer is we recommend using your original results. Here are a couple of links from Gallup on whether your strengths change over time and how retaking the assessment can change your results (even decrease the accuracy of the results). Another Step If You’ve Done The CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder) More Than Once If you have already taken StrengthsFinder more than once, you can contact the Strengths Center support team to have them combine your data so that it represents the data of a single person (versus making it appear that two people have similar results). Gallup takes their data integrity seriously, so they would appreciate having the most accurate database possible. And It also helps us make you the best charts possible because our comparisons against the entire database will be more accurate, which means that your team charts will be more meaningful if you help us keep a nice and tidy database. Remember to Downloaded Your Strengths Tools One of the best ways leaders can build a strengths-based culture is to offer an appreciation of strengths in action. Get started by downloading this awesome tool that offers you 127 Easy Ways to Recognize Strengths on your team. Enjoyed The Podcast? To subscribe and review, here are your links for listening in iTunes and Stitcher Radio. You can also stream any episode right from this website. Subscribing is a great way to never miss an episode. Let the app notify you each week when the latest episode gets published.

Strengths Focus For This Episode In this episode Lisa clearly answers the question, "Is there proof that strengths focused development works?" First, she presents a case study. It's research from the University of Nebraska that proves focusing on strengths yields better ROI than training yourself in your weakness zone. Second, she offers the metaphor of a fish and a cat to bring the point alive. Resources of the Episode You'll find lots of StrengthsFinder, leadership, and team tools on our Strengths Resources page. Lisa also mentions this classic book by Donald O. Clifton and Paula Nelson, Soar with Your Strengths: A Simple Yet Revolutionary Philosophy of Business and Management Strengths Tools One of the best ways leaders can build a strengths based culture is to offer appreciation of strengths in action. If you'll notice what works, you'll get more of what works because people can replicate what they've already done well. On our home page, you can download this awesome tool that offers you 127 easy ideas for recognizing your team. Scroll down and look for the box that says "Great Managers Notice What Works". Here's a Full Transcript of The Show You’re listening to Lead Through Strengths, where you'll learn to apply your greatest strengths at work. I'm your host, Lisa Cummings, and today we cover the question, “Is there proof that strengths-based development works?” If you're considering StrengthsFinder or strengths-based development, strengths based culture in your organization. This comes up pretty often. People say, “Hey, if I'm going to move away from this thing that you call a lopsided obsession with weakness fixing, I want to know is it actually going to work?” What I have for you today is 1) a proof point through a case study...some actual research...and then 2) the other is a metaphor because it's a really clear way of thinking and making it obvious that strengths-based development is the way to amplify performance on the job. First, for your proof point, some researchers at the University of Nebraska did a study to quantify the effects of what it is like when you invest in your strengths, versus when you invest in something that you're just average in. They did this test with the topic of speed-reading. They brought people in off the streets and subjected them to this speed-reading test, and at the end of the speed-reading test, they divided the subjects into two groups. Group 1: they were naturally talented at it. Group 2: they were average at the skill. The average people read 90 words per minute and the naturally talented people read 350 words per minute in this is the first round with no training. Just imagine bringing you in off the street and testing you on how fast you can read. Next, after that first round: they offered the same training to all subject. What they were going to look for, of course, is the answer to the question: "Can the naturally talented people use the same training to amplify their performance at a better pace than those who didn't have the natural talent?" Well imagine this is very much like work. You see people come in to the same job, but they have different background, skills, talents, knowledge, experience. You see that one person really takes to the job easily. And another person - they don't ramp up as fast, and the work is not intuitive to them. They're slower at it and it never feels quite right for them. Now, back to the study. All the subjects were given the same training and in the second round, after this training, those average participants, who started out only being able to read 90 words per minute, made some improvements. They went up to a 150 words per minute. This is very much like what you see on the job. You bring in people from off the street. You say, “Hey, you're going to go through the phone rep training and everybody's going to go through the same thing, and everybody who tries hard is going to improve.” So, as expected, these subjects got better. They made a 66% improvement in their performance. That's great. It did something, yet the first piece of insight here is if you remember back to a minute ago...I said the naturally talented group already read 350 words per minute in their first round. So they already beat the trained (average) people right there. That's an interesting insight because you see how your natural talents can help you perform, even when you've never been trained in something. Now, the real magic in this story, in this case study is what happened to the people who were naturally talented. That group improved 828%. So if you ever hear me talk about your triple-digit-performance-improvement-shortcut being strengths, this is what I'm talking about. They went from 350 words per minute to 2900 words per minute with the same training as the other people. One group of people improved to get to 150. The other group of people improved to get to 2900. You've seen this in the workplace, if you've looked around. You have the same people with the same training exposure, and you see very different performance levels. With those performance levels, you can see high performers who try really hard, but you can also see low performers who try really hard and they're just not getting it because it's not in their zone of genius, so there's the proof point for you: 828% performance improvement for that group of people who focused on what they were already naturally talented in. Now I mentioned that I would give you a proof point and then I would also offer you a metaphor that demonstrates it I think had a real guttural kind of level like, yes, this is how we should be thinking. So there is a book put out by Donald Clifton and the Gallup organization called Soar With Your Strengths. Now this is an older book and it's actually a fable. It has a really good metaphor in there about taking an animal and sending it to training in something that it’s not good at. I'm going to extend the metaphor and do the Lisa version of it. It's a little bit silly, but this way if you read the book, you can still get something out of it, so imagine this. Imagine you're going to work and at work you have a fish, and at work you have a cat, and it's been a year into their experience at work and you say, “Fish, it's time for the performance review and I’ve gotta tell ya, we've had you on that responsibility of mouse catching and you've been doing a really cruddy job at catching mice. We're going to really focus in, we're behind you, we want you to be successful, so we're going to spend the next year putting you through a training program so you can be really good at mouse catching. Fish, you're going to go to mouse-catching school." "Now, Cat, time for your performance review. Gotta tell ya, you did great at mouse catching, but you've also had that responsibility of swimming and you know every time we put you near the pool...you scream...you scratch. You’ve got people in the HR office because their faces are all cut up when they're trying to throw you in the pool. It's been a real nightmare. We want you to be successful though. We're going to send you through a year long training program to make you a great swimmer." Ok, so got my weird HR conversation here and you can imagine how ridiculous it would be to spend a year trying to teach a fish to catch a mouse and how ridiculous it would be to get a cat to swim. But if you flip that around and send that fish to swimming school and make it the best fish on the planet, you can see what would happen. Oh yeah! That's its natural tendency and that's what it was made to do. Same thing with a cat. It's made to catch a mouse. This is something that of course it's not as easy and clear with human beings what they were born to do and we're a lot more complicated because we've probably been squashing a lot of those things out of ourselves and hiding them and it's more difficult to make them apparent. But even the notion that you as yourself or that you as a people manager are looking for the genius in that other person that is exactly the path that's going to unleash performance in the organization. So get your fish in fish school. That's the big lesson. StrengthsFinder Activity: Conversation With Your Team Now let's talk application. As you listen to this audio and think about yourself personally, think of a time when you learned something new and it came really easily to you...more easily than that same thing would come to most people. If you make yourself think of 5 or 10 of these types of things, you're going to see some trends. You can extend those trends into your current role and think, “all right, if this stuff comes naturally to me, then how can I extend that into my current job?” If you want to apply the same question at a team level because you're a people manager or you're a strength champion (and awesomely) you are bringing this to a bigger conversation, then you can answer the question by going around the table and having a chat about it. For example, somebody says, “OK, you know, every time we have to learn new software, it is just so easy for me. I don't even know why user manuals exist. I don't know why help screens exists. I can't believe they have to be built out in such detail, because it's just obvious to me how it's going to work.” Maybe another person in a sales role says, “you know, you're doing a new initiative on storytelling,” and when that gets launched, the person is like, “Yeah! That seems easy and fun. This is how you want me to sell. Okay, no problem. Forget those other models we've been talking about. This is what I've been wishing for all along.” Or, maybe you have someone in a project management role and they say, “you know, I can really spot the dependent tasks, I mean like nobody's business...even when the rest of the team can't see the connections. They're oblivious to some of these things that are really connected to each other and are going to make the critical path, and others have to experience the whole thing to realize that some of those steps were connected and that they matter. That's the start of the question as a team, and then of course the magic isn't just knowing that something in the past happened. Then, the next part of the question is: “How do we amplify this talent? If this is something you're naturally gifted in, how do we get you more of that? How can we get more of your genius on display at work?” That makes a great team conversation. Based on the size of your team, you can spend however much or little time you have for this. I'd recommend allocating about 5 minutes a person, so it might be a 30 minute conversation, but if you only have 5 total minutes to spare at the beginning of a team meeting, ask people to submit the answer to you in advance. Put it in a spreadsheet. Collect it before you show up in the meeting so that you've done the first-level work in advance. Then when you get in the room, it's 5 minutes of, "Here we go. Rapid fire. How can we amplify this stuff?" And then you can take it further in the time that you're actually in person together. Okay, with that, you have a new question. Hopefully you have a newfound appreciation for how strengths based development really does work - how it does amplify your performance more than an obsession with weakness-fixing would. Now you have some questions to discuss as a team, and some things to think about on your own so you can amplify your own performance at work, and the performance of those around you. So with that, I'll leave you until next time. Thanks for listening to Lead Through Strengths. To find more strengths-focused tools, go out to our website at LeadThroughStrengths.com/resources. There's a whole host of documents and videos and things that you can do to apply this on your team. I'll see you next time. Subscribe To The Lead Through Strengths Podcast To subscribe and review, here are your links for listening in iTunes and Stitcher Radio. You can also stream any episode right from this website. Subscribing is a great way to never miss an episode. Let the app notify you each week when the latest episode gets published.

Today our expert guest is… Super Woman? No, it's Alissa Daire-Nelson! But it's an easy mistake to make - and she believes that you have superpowers too. Alissa is an accomplished Success Coach, Speaker, host of the Maximize Your Strengths podcast, and the author of the new book From Frustrated to Frickin' Awesome: 4 Steps to Achieve the Success You're Wired For. Above all, Alissa is an exceedingly proud wife and mother of two who loves helping others discover how to make their relationships and businesses thrive in harmony.   StrengthsFinder Alissa's journey began when she discovered StrengthsFinder, a psychometric tool that Dr. Donald Clifton created through 40 years of research. He comes from the field of positive psychology and, basically, thought people could live happier lives if they focused on what was right with them, as opposed to what was “wrong” with them. The assessment is a tool for identifying your innate talents, but it is only a tool - it won't have a significant impact on your life unless you know how to use it. These talents don't become your strengths until you are using them in a way that gives you energy and serves other people. Learning how to use the tool by yourself can be difficult, though... and hiring a coach can be prohibitively expensive. That's why Alissa started the Maximize Your Strengths podcast: she wanted to provide a resource that helps people more easily use this new tool.   You're awesome, I'm awesome, and we can be even more awesome together. As StrengthsFinder users gain more insight about themselves, they're also better able to relate to others. Alissa really wants to help people understand that you shining bright doesn't diminish anyone else's light. “You shining bright does not have to detract from anyone else shining bright” There's a common fallacy that we should strive to be well-rounded individuals, but we can't be good at everything - it's just not possible. When we let go of that idea, we can work together to maximize everyone's brightness.   From Frustrated to Frickin' Awesome: 4 Steps to Achieve the Success You're Wired For “When you feel good about you, you're able to provide more honor and grace to those around you.”   The 4 Steps: Know thyself. Understand where you thrive, where you don't, and internalize how awesome you are. Create a plan. Now that you know yourself, create a plan around that. Carry out that plan. Reflect on what worked, what didn't work, and what you learned about yourself. Rinse and repeat. If you continually repeat those four steps you will continue to improve, and the best part is that you'll never be done learning about yourself.   The Biggest Helping: Today's Most Important Takeaway “You are unique, and you're uniquely awesome - that in and of itself should make you stand taller and live brighter. Spend some time figuring out what those things are because you're worth it, and you didn't end up on this planet by accident.”   Daily Helping listeners can get From Frustrated to Frickin' Awesome for FREE right here.   -- Thank you for joining us on The Daily Helping with Dr. Shuster. Subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play to download more food for the brain, knowledge from the experts, and tools to win at life.   Resources: Learn more about Alissa at Daire2Succeed.com Connect with Alissa: Facebook | TwitterLearn more about StrengthsFinder

Zapewne słyszeliście o tym, że warto rozwijać swoje talenty aby stały się mocnymi stronami. Dzięki budowaniu mocnych stron możecie osiągać więcej, łatwiej, budować wydajność bliską perfekcji (jak mówil o tym Donald Clifton). Często kojarzy się to z pracą zawodową oraz zadaniami i projektami. Ale talenty i mocne strony można wykorzystywać wszędzie. Świetnym obszarem do wykorzystywania […] The post Podcast 027 – Wywiad z Kasią i Rafałem Bieleniewicz – Talenty w małżeństwie w praktyce appeared first on Z pasją o mocnych stronach.

There is something positive to be witnessed when a leader chooses to embrace the individual talents of a team. In episode 50 of the THEME-ADDICTS podcast, we discuss what it means to be a strengths-aware leader. Dr. Donald Clifton said “A leader needs to know his strengths as a carpenter knows his tools, or as a physician knows the instruments at her disposal. What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows his or her strengths - and can call on the right strengths at the right time. This explains where there is no definitive list of characteristics that describe ALL leaders.”

“If you manage yourself, you’ll see the greatest results.” — Brian Buffini Regardless of what we do, the most difficult person to manage is often ourselves. While we’re eager to achieve success, we often lean on excuses and passivity instead of putting in the work and making the right choices to reach our goals. In this episode, Brian Buffini shares his tips for managing the world’s most difficult person. You’ll learn why success boils down to the choices we make, how to identify and leverage your strengths and why reverse scheduling might just help you get more done each day. Plus, he lists three books that are sure to help you put his tips into action.   Inspirational quotes from today’s interview:  “Success is a choice.” — Brian Buffini “People are looking to change their circumstances, but not themselves.” — Brian Buffini “All permanent and lasting change starts on the inside and works its way outside.” — Lou Tice “Habits and routines are the secret elixir of the most successful people in the world.” — Brian Buffini “If success is a choice, any area where we’re not having success is also a choice.” — Brian Buffini “I chose to be overweight because I never ate anything by accident.” — Zig Ziglar “If you do what is easy, your life will be hard; but if you do what is hard, your life will be easy.” — Les Brown “I need to manage myself.” — Brian Buffini “If you want to have the good life, manage yourself.” — Brian Buffini “The most honorable thing to do is face up to the strength potential inherent in your talents and then go find ways to realize it.” — Donald Clifton Play to your strengths. “In this world, you get compensated very well when you do what you do real well.” — Brian Buffini “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say I used everything you gave me.” — Erma Bombeck “Identify and acknowledge your weaknesses.” — Brian Buffini “The idea that there are well-rounded people, people who have only strengths and no weaknesses, is a prescription for mediocrity if not for incompetence… Strong people always have strong weaknesses, too…where there are peaks there are valleys” — Peter Drucker “The best leader is the one who has the sense enough to pick good people to do what needs to be done and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” — Theodore Roosevelt “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.” — Jim Rohn “If you make the fewest amount of decisions, you make it automatic.” — Brian Buffini “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” — Jim Rohn “Put difficult things at the top of your list because doing difficult things is kind of like eating a frog. The longer you look at it, it ain’t gonna get any prettier.” — Zig Ziglar “The more successful you become, the less you’ll get done each day.” — Brian Buffini   Books mentioned in the episode: Now Discover Your Strengths by Donald Clifton and Marcus Buckingham The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg   Connect with Brian Buffini http://www.brianbuffini.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brianbuffini Twitter: https://twitter.com/brianbuffini Buffini Show Insiders: http://www.thebrianbuffinishow.com/insiders Love what you heard? Share it with your friends! http://bit.ly/BrianBuffiniShow Click here to buy our Podcast theme music, “The Cliffs of Moher” by Brogue Wave. http://www.broguewave.com http://www.facebook.com/broguewave

Jennifer Hill speaks with top Business & Executive Coach, Julien Adler, about how to move up the corporate ladder through a shift in perspective and the re-training one's skills. Julien offers suggestions on how to reframe one's point of view and develop leadership skills that can give job seekers access to landing upper level management positions. Julien Adler is an international executive coach and leadership trainer based in Silicon Valley. He is highly sought after for his unique approach to propelling his clients to success through a combination of organizational development, communication, business skills training and behavioral modification. An entrepreneur himself since he resold candy for a profit at summer camp, Julien provides his clients with real-world business support learned from his being an owner/operator of several organizations, including a painting company, to a software firm, an IT company to an Angel Investment firm. Julien also draws on several modalities — including psychology, conversational hypnosis and Neuro Linguistic Programming — to help reframe mental and emotional behavior patterns to put his client’s in alignment with their success. He is also a Master Hypnotherapist. Julien has worked with executives from everything from startup entrepreneurs to top professionals from Fortune 100 companies including: Adobe, the American Red Cross, Apple, Google, Intel, Mashable, Logitech, Microsoft, NASA, Netflix, Seagate and many more. How to Win Friends & Influence People, by Dale Carnegie In Search of Excellence, by Thomas J. Peters & Robert H. Waterman Built To Last, by Jim Collins & Jerry I. Porras The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, By Stephen R. Covey The Essential Drucker, by Peter F. Drucker Good To Great, by Jim Collins First, Break All The Rules, by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham & Donald Clifton, Ph.D. Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur Blue Ocean Strategy, by W. Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne The Enemies of Trust, by Robert M. Galford & Anne Semibold Drapeau Impro, by Keith Johnstone What Got You Here Won't Get You There, by Marshall Goldsmith Change Your Questions, Change Your Life, by Marilee Adams The Leadership Pipeline, by Ram Charan & Stephen Drotter Made to Stick, by Chip & Dan Heath The Fifth Discipline, by Peter Senge Drive, by Daniel Pink

Jennifer Hill speaks with top Business & Executive Coach, Julien Adler, about how to move up the corporate ladder through a shift in perspective and the re-training one's skills. Julien offers suggestions on how to reframe one's point of view and develop leadership skills that can give job seekers access to landing upper level management positions. Julien Adler is an international executive coach and leadership trainer based in Silicon Valley. He is highly sought after for his unique approach to propelling his clients to success through a combination of organizational development, communication, business skills training and behavioral modification. An entrepreneur himself since he resold candy for a profit at summer camp, Julien provides his clients with real-world business support learned from his being an owner/operator of several organizations, including a painting company, to a software firm, an IT company to an Angel Investment firm. Julien also draws on several modalities — including psychology, conversational hypnosis and Neuro Linguistic Programming — to help reframe mental and emotional behavior patterns to put his client’s in alignment with their success. He is also a Master Hypnotherapist. Julien has worked with executives from everything from startup entrepreneurs to top professionals from Fortune 100 companies including: Adobe, the American Red Cross, Apple, Google, Intel, Mashable, Logitech, Microsoft, NASA, Netflix, Seagate and many more. How to Win Friends & Influence People, by Dale Carnegie In Search of Excellence, by Thomas J. Peters & Robert H. Waterman Built To Last, by Jim Collins & Jerry I. Porras The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, By Stephen R. Covey The Essential Drucker, by Peter F. Drucker Good To Great, by Jim Collins First, Break All The Rules, by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham & Donald Clifton, Ph.D. Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur Blue Ocean Strategy, by W. Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne The Enemies of Trust, by Robert M. Galford & Anne Semibold Drapeau Impro, by Keith Johnstone What Got You Here Won't Get You There, by Marshall Goldsmith Change Your Questions, Change Your Life, by Marilee Adams The Leadership Pipeline, by Ram Charan & Stephen Drotter Made to Stick, by Chip & Dan Heath The Fifth Discipline, by Peter Senge Drive, by Daniel Pink

This Episode’s Focus on Strengths In this episode, Lisa speaks with Jim Collison. He manages a technology team at Gallup in Omaha, Nebraska. He also champions the community for Gallup Certified Strengths Coaches, so he’s the poster child of the movement for many strengths professionals. You’ll find this podcast particularly interesting if you’re ready to implement strengths-based coaching with your team. Jim gives specific examples that will get your wheels turning. He offers ideas for building a stronger team. He shares stories from his strengths based parenting experiences. And he shares examples of how he applies natural talents on the fly. He does this every year as he manages large teams of interns and only has a few months with each person. All the while he’s partnering with other people to maximize the productivity on the team. Jim’s Top 5 Talent Themes from the Clifton StrengthsFinder are Arranger, Woo, Maximizer, Communication, and Activator. He’s a great example of someone who doesn’t waste time wishing he had more of his “lesser” talents. Instead, he pairs up with those who bring the talents that are tough for him to call on.   Where It Started For Jim Every person’s strengths journey begins in a different place. Jim’s started at home, which led him into a career where he gets to apply his top talents and encourage others’ every day. He tells the story of how he took the StrengthsFinder Assessment, and was so excited, that as soon as he got home, he said to his wife, “You take this too! Let’s parent this way.” This had a profound influence on his life and the way they parent each of their unique children. He confesses that he thought one of his sons was apathetic. He got an enlightened view and changed their whole relationship once he looked at it through a talent lens. By looking at their children, and understanding what their individual strengths were, Jim and his wife were able to support each one and encourage growth in a positive way.   Applying Strengths At Work While finding his strengths had an immediate impact at home, it was much slower at work. He’s still evolving 10 years later. Jim says it’s a “long-haul” approach, and that you have to live it. Here are some of Jim’s TIPS:  Live it. Dig into your own top 5 talents, and strive to understand them at a deep level. You need to “live that life and walk that walk” every day. You have to invest in each talent theme to turn them into strengths on the job. Team View. Create a Team Grid that includes every team member’s top 5 StrengthsFinder talent themes. Use the grid to get a big picture view of the overall strengths of the team (and where your team lacks strengths). Remember, you want well-rounded teams, not well-rounded individuals. This is a great process for seeing who you need to lean on for different responsibilities and initiatives at work. Manage Head Butting. Utilize the Team Grid as a conflict management tool. For example, if you have two team members who are in conflict, you can use this knowledge of the conflicting strengths without them realizing that’s what you’re doing. Tell the two people “ I understand, Bob, that you are adaptable and can go with the flow. And, Anna, I understand that you need structure. As you two interact on this project, please remember to take that into account.” Both people will feel understood and more open to compromise. Set up the potential conflict and ask them how this shows up at work for them. Work Around Weaknesses. When it comes to projects, don’t spend time trying to improve your own weaknesses. Instead, spend time building partnerships by looking for someone who has strengths that are complementary to yours. Then, this is the big part: ASK. Ask the person to work with you on your project. If you don’t ask, the answer will be no. You’ll be surprised at how often people jump at the opportunity because you’re requesting help in areas they love working in. This will lead to a well rounded team. That’s so much better than trying to fight your way to a well rounded you. Live Into Talents In Small Bites. If you oversee a team, Jim says not to undertake huge strengths initiatives out of the gate. It’s not because he doesn’t believe in them, it’s because they almost always fail. Instead, take little bites at a time. Little changes are not as noticeable, and are much easier to achieve. People don’t resist the small bites. They add up to a lot of momentum over time. Align Responsibilities To Strengths. When it comes to specific assignments, pay attention to what your team members enjoy doing, and give them those tasks. When you give someone a job they want to do, the management part becomes a side thing. What you’re really doing is giving them opportunities to let them soar. Get Out Of The Way. If you’re a manager and you give assignments, remember to stand back and let people do their jobs. You can help them with adjustments to keep them on course, yet that’s about all they’ll need when they’re in their strengths zoze. Stay focused on the outcomes. Let them approach the “how” through their unique talents. This even holds true for remote teams. Here at Lead Through Strengths, we’re based in Austin, Texas, yet we each work remote from each other. The outcome is the focus of the work, and way the work happens in between is based on each person’s talents. Keep Growing. Jim’s last tip is to go to the Gallup Coaching website and check out all the free resources. You don’t have to be a certified strengths coach to access these helpful items that will help you grow as a leader. Resources of the Episode To get even more strengths tips, follow Jim on twitter @JimatGallup and the Gallup Organization @Gallup Listen To Gallup podcasts that Jim hosts: Theme Thursday – Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, and YouTube Called to Coach – Listen on Gallup.com and Spreaker   Jim mentions three books that he recommends about strengths: -- StrengthsFinder 2.0, by Tom Rath -- First, Break All the Rules, by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman -- Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton   Subscribe To subscribe and review, here are your links for listening in iTunes and Stitcher Radio. You can also stream any episode right from the website. Subscribing is a great way to never miss an episode. Let the app notify you each week when the latest episode gets published.   Go Live Your Talents Remember, using your strengths every day at work makes you a stronger performer. Go claim your talents and share them with the world.  

Parenting in the Rain, Episode 3 In This Episode:   Carol McCloud’s book, “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?”  has a message of “ Have you done something nice for someone today?”. Children tend to understand this concept well when explained in this context.   Metaphorically speaking, everyone is born with an invisible bucket. Children not only need love, but they need to be TAUGHT how to love others.  As parents, we can teach them how to love others through showing them through our actions, as well as explaining to them the concept of “filling” and “dipping” into our metaphorical buckets. One of the main tenets of this bucket filling concept is that when we help others, we fill others’ buckets (help them to feel good), when we are unkind, we dip into others’ buckets (contribute to their unpleasant feelings).  In turn, when we help others to feel good, we help ourselves to feel good. When we help children to reflect on their actions through statements such as “Did you fill a bucket today?”, they often learn how to be kind, which helps them to be happier long term. Carol made some changes recently in her original “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” book to include the concept of “put a lid on your bucket” when others are disrespectful or hurtful to you in some way.   When people are in pain, it is hard to be bucket filler.   This bucket filling concept teaches children that sometimes it is hard to fill buckets (be nice to others) when we have an empty bucket ourselves.  It gives them an understanding of how to navigate through the times when others’ just aren’t nice to them.  It also teaches children how to resolve their emotional pain and move toward feeling better through kindness.  This is an empowering message. This bucket filling concept originated with Donald Clifton.  He coined “bucket filling” and “bucket dipping” verbiage. In essence, this concept is based in the notion that people feel better about themselves when they are kind to others.  Our words and actions affect others. It is important to teach our children that everyone will not always be nice to them or treat them with respect.  A short one-liner, such as “use your lid” can let your child know how to respond in a healthy way when people are unkind.  The use of a metaphorical lid is a way of not letting other people dip in to your bucket and take out your good feelings.  It helps children to understand that the way that people treat others is a reflection of how they (the other person) is feeling inside. (Do they have an “empty bucket”?) This is an important concept because if we don’t teach them otherwise, they may start to believe that something is wrong with them when people are unkind to them.   Giving our children opportunities to treat others with kindness is so important.  Many people volunteer, donate clothing and food, and do other things to help support this concept and ultimately nurture genuinely kind children. Carol mentions that whatever you focus on, you get more of.  In essense, when you teach people “what to do”, you get a better result than when you focus on “what not to do”.  So, teaching children to be kind is so much more effective than focusing on “don’t be mean”. When kids realize that people that don’t treat them kindly have an “empty bucket”, it still stings, but it also can ignites feelings of compassion and empathy.  These traits are important in regard to nurturing kind kids.   These character traits set them up for relationship success now and in the future.  For some, it may take some time to develop that understanding though. The moments that we don’t think matter, really do matter.  Our children are aware of how we treat others and use that for their “How To Act in Life” guide.  Even relatively small acts such as smiling at someone, saying thank you to the cashier, having a positive facial expression when you first see your child in the morning and such, can make a huge impact on how children treat others, and ultimately themselves.    Statements such as, “Who’s bucket can you fill today?” or  “I wonder what I can do to fill her bucket?”,  supports the intentionality of being kind.   As parents, statements such as “Let me tell you some of the reasons I love you so much” , “I love the way you light up when you are talking about your play at school”, and such is a great way to fill our children’s buckets, as well as our own.

This Episode's Focus On Strengths Andy Sokolovich joins us to help you lead through your strengths at work. You'll find this episode especially useful if you need to influence others at work. He does it with his talent called WOO (Winning Others Over). He also shows the world how your natural talents are cooler than purple rain.   Listen Links Give the full episode a listen on iTunes or Stream The Audio Right Here.   SubscribeTo subscribe and review, here are your links for listening in iTunes and Stitcher radio. Subscribing is a great way to never miss an episode - let the app notify you each week when the latest question gets published. You can also stream any episode live on the website. Just click through the title you like and there will be a player waiting for you on each page. See you there!   Here's The Full Interview   Lisa Cummings: You mentioned Woo as one of your top talents, and it is one that interestingly, when I'm doing training events or speaking events, people probably more than any other, mention that one, and have a negative reaction to seeing it on their list, and they say, "I've been told that I talk too much in my career," or, "I've been told that I'm shaking hands and kissing babies, and that it doesn't look genuine," I've had a lot of people show a lot of concerns about that talent, and several others give a similar response. So Andy, talk to people about anything that you see in people where they've been trying to squash their talent and their career, because it's not really a virtue. Andy Sokolovich: Yeah Woo is definitely one that often gets highlighted a lot. Either you hear people talk about Woo and say, "The first thing I think of is the smarmy salesman that gives you a nice firm handshake and brings you in for that half hug with the sole desire of getting to buy something from them." That's not the case. I do see a lot of people suppress their Woo, because they do not want to come across as that. Granted, I embrace my Woo. I give it the double hug, bear hug. Bring it in. I love having Woo. Why? It has really allowed me to build my social capital to a level that I would never be able to do if I don't think I had that. Here's the thing. I'm not very good at noticing emotions in people, so some of those emotionally driven strengths, or people will notice that, "Hey, you're coming across to strong," or, "Hey, this person is kind of freaked out by the fact that you're super positive and excited, and way outgoing." Lisa Cummings: So when they stick out their hand out to shake your hand…and you give them a big bear hug instead they think, "Whoa buddy." Andy Sokolovich: Yeah. What is that? That is just the type of person that I am. But what I'm finding now, more and more, is that people are receptive to that as opposed to get offended or feel like they need to go on the defense. I tell people, "If you have the strong desire to go out and meet others to shake hands, to foster relationships, to grow your social capital, use it," because that's an untapped talent that a lot of people are not willing, especially managers, are not willing to foster that growth within their organization. This is my pet peeve on job descriptions. I feel we've created this way that we employ people: we give them a paragraph of what they're going to be paid to do. You have to have this degree, you have to have this amount of years experience, you have to have this, this, and this. Once all of those items are checked off here's a block of text that says what you're paid to do, yet we don't take enough initiative to unearth those untapped talents from those individuals and see what they're naturally good at. Now just imagine if you had somebody who was just overflowing with Woo. Someone who wanted to go out and meet people, who wanted to grow new relationships, wanted to bring new people into the business. And instead they were stuck in a cubicle crunching numbers. Is that the best use of their talents from a business perspective? My answer is probably not. Don't let them just sit there and wallow and own their own self defeat because they need to get out there and meet people, they need to go out there and shake hands. You've seen people like this if you work in the corporate world. They are the people that walk around and start up little conversations with everybody, and never really seem to be focused on their work. Why? They need to go out and communicate in order to feel like they are contributing something to the overall goal of the organization. Lisa Cummings: Yeah, and it's likely that that actually helps them relate better, influence better, and get their work done. It just looks different. Andy Sokolovich: Absolutely. Lisa Cummings: I always talk about it like a Jack-in-the-box where you have this talent (pick Woo or any others that you've been trying to squash down), and on the inside what's going on is that thing is getting cranked up, and do do do do dooodledo, do do do do dee do [singing] ... It's just getting tighter and tighter, and sometime when you're not expecting it, or when you don't want it, Bam, it's going to pop out and scare people. If you actually invest in it instead, and watch the effect that it has on people and use it to your advantage--double down on it, while you're maturing it and investing in it--it has a great effect for you. But if you're just trying to squash it, it comes out eventually. It's a part of you, so if it's your natural way of thinking or feeling, it's going to pop out at you. Trying to squash it isn't going to do you a lot of good in your career. Andy Sokolovich: Yeah, no, I reflect back onto the small part-time jobs I had before I joined the military, and I always think of reasons why I was either 1) fired, or 2) counseled for my bad behavior, and they all relate to me over communicating. I was always talking (first job when I worked at the grocery store) instead of stocking the shelves. I was always talking to somebody—to the customers that were walking up and down--sparking up conversations because of the jersey they were wearing for my favorite football team. Or if I was working at a grocery store up at the cashier station, I would get chastised for the fact that I'm spending more time talking to the customer than actually ringing them out and getting them out the door so the person behind them can come check out. All of the things that I ever got in trouble for were because I like to talk, and it wasn't just I like to talk because I wanted to kill time. It's because I needed to communicate with others in order to feel good about myself. Lisa Cummings: I can see with communication being such a strong talent for you also that you talk to think, and talk to figure stuff out, whereas other people might just go back to their cube and be able to do that stuff alone. There's such a different need from each unique person. How did you find the roles that would shine the light on those in a good way, instead of, early in your career thinking, "Oh my gosh, those are getting me in trouble all the time, getting me fired." Obviously you did the right thing. You didn't say, "Well, I guess I suck as a human." Instead you found how to make those work for you. How did you figure all that out? Andy Sokolovich: Yeah, it was a long maturing process. When I left the military, I had this overwhelming desire to be an entrepreneur. I can't really say where it came from. I knew nothing about business. I knew nothing about marketing. I knew nothing about any of that stuff. But when I moved to Clinton Iowa, I was looking for a void in the marketplace that I could fill. It's a small blue-collar town with a population around 26,000. There's a lot of small business growth, but there is the larger businesses in industry. We have large corporations in this community that really support most of our qualified workforce. So when I got here I was looking around at the small businesses—at what they were doing to market themselves. Really nobody at that point was leveraging the power of the Internet, and I started doing some research on marketing. Really what I found out was that marketing is being able to tell a story in order to draw in new business. Whether that story would be told via platforms like social media, websites, press releases, whatever it was, I needed to get out there and tell the story of these local businesses in order to draw in more business. I thought, "Man, would I be good at that?" I remember sitting there one day and I was talking to a friend on the phone and he said, "Well you like to talk, and you tell a pretty good story, actually half the time we don't know if you're telling the truth, or if you're stretching the truth," because I'm a storyteller, and actually, professionally, that's what I call myself: a professional storyteller. I tried it, and I got my first client. I realized that the client-relationship part of it--the sitting down, trying to create a narrative and tell a story--was a little difficult because they already had a story in their mind. My expertise was really to highlight those areas of their business that nobody knew about. Those little hidden gems that nobody really knew existed, but man if only they did, it would bring up a whole new level to that business, and there would be a huge attraction factor, and we just need to get it out there. It was slow growth at the time, because I had a lot of maturing to do. Believe it or not, I was that type of person who thought they were never wrong for a long time. I was so confident in my own abilities that I thought, "I'm never wrong," so once I got involved in client work, I really had to understand that, "Listen, we have to work as a team in order to make this effective." I started to grow the marketing business, and there was a time about 11 months after I actually started that where my business started to plateau. I wasn't losing clients, but I was having a hard time getting new ones. I went to a friend of mine, a mentor of mine, here in the Clinton area Chamber of Commerce, and he handed me a book called Strengths Finder 2.0. "Take this assessment." I thought, "An assessment? Dude I don't need something to tell me what I'm good at. I know what I'm good at." Lisa Cummings: I'm good at everything, huh? Andy Sokolovich: Yeah. He said, "Do me a favor and just take it. See what happens." Once my Top 5 were revealed, I did the Andy way of doing things at that time. I basically stuffed the report in my desk drawer for about another year. Now we're two years into my business development, and things are continuing to plateau. Again, not losing clients, but just not getting any new ones. What was even worse was that I was no longer in love with the fact that I was an entrepreneur. I was no longer in love with the fact that I was building my own business. I hated it. I went back to the same guy and I said, "What am I doing wrong?" He said, "What are your Top 5?" I said, "Dude I respect you, but I could not tell you because they're in my desk drawer collecting dust." Needless to say he was not surprised by that, because he just assumed that was going to be my course of action moving forward, but he said, "Go get them, bring them back in, and let's review them." Strategic, Futuristic, Woo, Ideation, Communication. What we quickly realized as we reflected back on my business growth and what I was actively doing, is I was spending an awful amount of time on the logistics of running a business. Tweaking the business plan, applying for financing, sending out invoices. All the little nitpicky numbers things that I hated, hated, but it had to be done, and I was the only one doing it at the time. He said, "What are you good at?" I said, "Man all I want to do is go out and talk to people about my business. I want to talk about their business. I want to go out and I want to share their passion for why they do what they do." He said, "Why aren't you doing it?" I said, "Who's going to do all the rest of this stuff?" He said, "Outsource it, find somebody else." And that was probably the single most important turning point of my career, when I started to realize, "I don't have to be good at everything, and there are people out there who like crunching numbers, and just because I'm not one of them doesn't mean I have to take that action on. I don't have to take on that responsibility." I started outsourcing whatever I could, whenever I could, and focus 80% of my time on just getting out there and speaking, doing what I naturally loved. From that moment on, things began to skyrocket. Not necessarily in result to my bank account, but in the way that I feel towards my business, and the social gains that I've been able to make over the last almost a year now. Lisa Cummings: There's so much good stuff in there…with identifying your talents and doing something with it. The career slump that was sneaking up on you, I mean you were at a point saying, "What's going on here? What am I doing wrong?" That stuff just happens over time, and people feel that in their careers all the time. For a lot of people listening that are in the corporate world--they may manage people, or they may not--a lot of them have had this experience of the career slump sneaking up. Let’s say they're digging the Clifton StrengthsFinder report out of the drawer…and if you are Andy talking to them now…and you want to give them a couple of ideas for what to do with this. Okay, they know their Top 5 talents now. How can they handle this at work in a corporate setting? What could they do next, just action taking? Andy Sokolovich: Yeah, the first step is always to be able to identify where your talents lie, and I think you and I probably have had similar success in the fact that when we get people in the room, and we show them their Top 5. When you have managers, supervisors, even C suite employees reviewing their Top 5, it sparks a conversation where people start to talk about, "Hey, what other skills do you have? Why are you so good at this? How have we been ignoring this the whole time?" My first little bit of advice is make it known. Okay? Don't keep your talents to yourself. Now it doesn't mean that you come in with your favorite kazoo and play your kazoo down the hallway, and say, "I'm musically talented." That means have that conversation with your supervisor and let them know what you are naturally good at, because if you keep it a secret, nothing is ever going to happen. The other thing I tell people is often when I give this conversation, or I give this speech in a large setting, people want to talk to me about the entrepreneurial side of things. "Well Andy I'm really good at this, and I've always wanted to do this as a business, but I'm scared to." Listen, the power of the World Wide Web has never, ever been stronger. I mean if you have it a desire to crochet for a living, and you think you can do it, and you're naturally gifted at crocheting, pursue doing that and try to draw in some extra residual passive income. Whether it be through online courses, or maybe crocheting stuff and selling it on Etsy, just try it and see if you actually like it first, because sometimes when people think they actually really would do well at something, whether it be starting up a business, or selling a specific product, they quickly realize that they don't like it as much as they thought they would. So test out the waters, grab a hold of your talents, figure out a way to apply them. If you want to try something outside of your normal 9-to-5 grind, use the power of the Internet to maybe start a little online business for yourself. Lisa Cummings: I've been wanting to start a kazoo band on the side [laughs]. Andy Sokolovich: It's really the only instrument that I play. I'm actually talented all across the board, but the kazoo… [laughs] Lisa Cummings: I couldn't let that one drop, you know you mentioned the kazoo… Andy Sokolovich: I have zero musical talent, I can't carry a note even on a kazoo [laughs]. Lisa Cummings: Oh Andy you were singing with me earlier, so that's pretty good. Andy Sokolovich: Yeah we were, Purple Rain I think is what we were jamming out to. Lisa Cummings: Yeah, now that's going to be in everyone's head the rest of the day. Purple rain [singing]. Oh, so let's talk about managers. Those are really good tips for employees, and then the next layer that happens is managers will say, "Okay I get it, I need to pay more attention to what's going on with the team, and I want to do this to lead my team through their talents instead of trying to scale humans." Let's say one of the listeners leads a team and they want to get better at just spotting Strengths on the job, even without StrengthsFinder, what do they look for, or how do they start this? What do they say? What are they watching for? Andy Sokolovich: Yeah, I mean as you and I know, every manager is different. Not everybody manages the same. What I found to be most effective is I always ask the managers that I work with to start communicating with their employees. To just start talking about things, and once you become aware, once you mentally decide, "I'm going to start searching for talents, I'm going to start mining for abilities that maybe are untapped in the organization." You will find that you are more in tune in the conversation to pluck those things out. It could be something as simple as, "Hey, what did you do this weekend?" Listen to what people are saying. Listen to their hobbies, look for when their eyes light up, when maybe they've spent the weekend with their son, and their granddaughter. Start to mine for those abilities that maybe you didn't realize existed, and ask them … You and I have talked about this in the past. There's an exercise that we do with some of our clients, and it's called “The Best Of Us.” Really what the conversation is about is asking people, "What do you need from me in order to be successful?" It's not a bigger budget. It's not a front row parking space. It's not a bigger office. You've got to think of this emotionally. What do you need from me as your manager, in order for you to be successful? That conversation goes both ways. Managers can say, "This is what I need from you in order for me to be successful." Again, it's not budget minded type of stuff, it's, "Hey, what I need from you in order to be more successful is five minutes of your time," or, "What I need from you to be more successful is maybe a little bit of information before moving forward." "What I need from you to be more successful is maybe that you understand that I'm a Deliberative person, and I'm not going to ever be late in getting you this report, but you've got to understand that I'm going to read over it 10, 15, 20 times and make sure that every I is dotted, and every T is crossed before it comes across your desk." That conversation usually yields massive results, but you have to be open and willing to have it. I guess my advice would be as a manager, is start asking people what they need from you in order to be successful. Ask them deeply. What do you…you…not your department, not whatever office you serve…what do you, first name, last name, need from me in order to be at your very best? Lisa Cummings: That's so good. To bring some examples like you did. And be ready. Give them context about why you’re asking this because if that question comes out of nowhere, and you haven't asked that kind of thing before, they might be looking at you with really blank eyes, like “what is up here? What's going on?” You mentioned something way earlier in that answer that is so cool to tap into. You mentioned somebody's eyes lighting up when a person was talking about a hobby. It's just taking those moments and saying, "Oh, you really lit up on that one. Tell me more about that." It can be the simplest sentence, but just noticing that that thing got them really fired up, and asking one more follow-up question, that's where the deep part comes from. Andy Sokolovich: Yeah, I'll use one example that I keep remembering, and it was early on when I started coaching, but we were sitting there and it was a group about 25 of us. I issued that same response, you know what I would do if I was manager, and I could see that there was this person to my left crying, I mean noticeably sobbing. I looked over and I said, "Are you okay?" She said, "Yeah, I'm okay." She said, "So and so is my manager," and he's sitting right there, and she's like, all I want to say to him is, "I need five minutes," and I think that's why I use that example all the time, "I need five minutes of your time in the morning." He says, "What?" She's like, "When I come by your door first thing in the morning, you're doing the standard zipping through 250 emails, do I need to reply? Junk, trash, the standard thing that most of us do every single morning when we sit down at our computer." She said, "In order for me to be effective, and to serve the position that you hired me to do, it's important to me that I have five minutes of your time every morning so I can go over my action steps for that day." She was like, "I don't need you to approve them, I don't need you to agree with them, it's important for me to verbally speak with you and tell you that." He was like, "Oh." She's crying, and he's like, "Well, I didn't realize it was that big of a deal," and she was like, "Yeah, because there's several times where I had my letter of resignation typed up and ready to send." Lisa Cummings: Wow. Andy Sokolovich: All because all she wanted was five minutes of his time, but she didn't know how to start that conversation, she never had permission to in her own mind. Now he would not have cared if she came up and said that. In her mind, she didn't give herself permission to share that, why? She thought that in doing so, she would be perceived as weak, or needy, or different from the others. The fact she was different, because she needed that five minutes, and then he started welling up a little bit and said, "Oh my gosh, I never knew it was that bad," and she said, "Well it is, and now we're talking about this, and I just want you to know that if you give me that five minutes every single morning," he said, "You got it. You have five minutes of my time between 8:00 and 8:05 is dedicated to you. I won't be at the coffee pot. I won't be putting my food in the refrigerator. I won't be checking emails. I'll be in my office waiting for you so we can have this five-minute sharing session of what you’re going to do that day," and as long as he was there ready to listen it changed everything for her. Lisa Cummings: It's so big. Five minutes, and just that moment to have this conversation and what you were doing opened that up. Andy Sokolovich: Yeah, and to think she was willing to pack up her office and leave in search of somewhere else that may have yielded less results financially who knows? Lisa Cummings: Who knows? Andy Sokolovich: The willingness to test the waters because of five minutes. Lisa Cummings: This also makes me think of one more question, which is how sometimes people have trouble seeing the other person's virtues, or preferences, or talents. You know, to pick that thing, and get into a mental habit about how you think about your boss, or how you think about that employee. It can go either way, whether you're the manager, or you are the employee with the relationship. Instead of viewing it like a lost cause going, "This person…we're just never going to click." How do you instead approach that when you're in a situation like this: you have an employee who you know has some goodness, because everybody has genius and talents, but they don't know how to uncover it. How do they even get started with the process of opening up to understand each other? Andy Sokolovich: Well, we always say as strength coaches, and strength enthusiasts, be able to look through a lens of strength. I think that comes with maturity, and it actually comes with an increased feeling of responsibility and discipline, because for the longest time I never was seeking out talents in other people. I mean it wasn't something that I totally ignored, but it was not on my priority list. I was focused on my own personal growth, but once I started to become really in tune to what other people brought to the table, no matter what level they are ... We've all seen the movies, you look at Goodwill hunting where the janitor solves the algorithm, but those people out there exist, but you've got to find them. I think the starting point is start with yourself, being able to identify the talents within yourself. First become aware of what talents look like. It’s one of the beauties of StrengthsFinder. I say this time and time again, I'm in love with the concept of strengths-based development. The 34 Talent Themes are great verbiage to add to your arsenal of tools to help you identify talents with others. I love the fact that Gallup has taught us (and Dr. Donald Clifton has taught us) that there is this whole strengths movement where we're actually starting to identify what's right with people rather than what's wrong with people. Once you start to realize the terminology of strengths, the 34 Natural Talent Theme names, you can start to look at people and be able to not judge. Instead, pluck around, or pick different talents until you can zone in on what you think they definitely have, and you don't want to say, "Oh, you're a Woo," or, "Oh you're a Deliberative, that's why you're taking so long to get me this report," or, "You're this." Be aware of it, and start asking questions to try to mine for that talent, and see if it actually exists, and then think of ways to apply it. Here's what I hear all the time. "That's great Andy, but that's not within..." and this is going back to my job description rant, but they say, "That's great Andy, I'm good at this, and yes I probably make a better salesperson then an accountant, but that's not within my job description, that's not what I've been hired to do." To me, that retards business generation, and forward momentum because you're not allowing people to grow within the company, and fill those cracks or voids using their natural talents. For the life of me, I can't understand why businesses still expect that. They just expect you to be happy in the position that you're hired in and never seek out more. If I went to my boss and said, "Hey, you know what? I know I'm an account, that's what you hired me to do right out of college. I'm an accountant today. I don't mind doing that, but I'm telling you what, I just have this deep itch to be in the sales floor and to go out there and talk people. Is there any way that I can maybe transition out of this office into that position?" When managers, or supervisors, or CEOs or whoever say, "No." I think, "Man, why would you ever say no? Why would you ever deny somebody the chance to express themselves and go out there and try to do something amazing for your company?" I probably just derailed your whole question there. Lisa Cummings: No I love that, because there are so many good conversations that come out of this. When I work with teams and people have that same feeling you just described--then I say, “all right, well, if you're doing something that's within your control, and you're the accountant…and you want to go be a salesperson…it's a serious change. So think about projects you can take on, teams you could be a part of, some extra stuff you could go build your network in that area. Test it out, and maybe build some chops as well. Be able to have that conversation with your manager so that you say, "Hey, this is what I'm interested in trying on."” Take on something that's low stake. Try a project where you can get involved. Then people start seeing you in that light. Managers aren't mind readers. I mean they don't know this stuff about you unless you have the conversation. Now I hope they're having the conversation, and I think listeners are the types who try to pull this out, but if you're in the employee perspective here, you've got to go think about what you want in your life. What do you want more of? What talents, what yearnings do you have? Then go ask for it, and say, "Hey, I'd really like to try out X," because if you haven't asked for it, it's not going to be on their mind. They have 4000 other things competing for that priority, but if you spark that thing that says, "Hey be on the lookout for projects that would let me test this out, I would love to do it," a lot of times, they come back and bring you the opportunity, and then those turn into roles, and they turn into relationships that 10 years later you're getting a job from somebody you worked with on a project because you expressed interest. Andy Sokolovich: Right, absolutely, and every corporate boardroom has that buzzword called retention. People constantly try to think of how to solve for it: how do we keep people here for the long haul? How do we bring them into our family, our culture and make sure that they continue to grow and they become enthusiasts about what we're trying to do? How do we make them want to stick with us forever? How do we do that? Well, the secret sauce is what we just said. You ask them what they want and what they need. You ask how you can foster their growth internally. Don't just expect them to live within your guidelines, i.e. that job description that they got hired under 11 or 12 years ago. I mean really start to invest in people, and you'll see things just mature to a level that's mind blowing. I've done it personally, even with folks that I worked with online. I do stuff with virtual assistants, and I do stuff with graphic artists, graphic designers. I try to constantly tell them, "You are naturally gifted at design, keep doing what you're doing. I really really enjoy this," and even when I'm not working with them, I'll go back every once in a while and say, "Hey, I just want to check in with you and see how you're doing. Is there anything I can do to help your business grow? Can I direct you to anybody? Is there a certain niche, or is there a certain group that you're trying to target? How can I help you grow, because I really believe you have the talent and to do what it takes." We've talked sometimes about low points. Just imagine being at a low point in your life, where maybe your career is not firing on all cylinders. Your family life is falling apart. Your health is going away--who knows--but when somebody comes and actually acknowledges or recognizes a talent that you have, something that you're able to do better than anybody else, how much of an uplift is that? How much of a boost in confidence is that? I think that little gesture makes all the difference. Lisa Cummings: I so agree. You never know what's going on in people's lives, and taking that moment to appreciate a talent that you see, and like I had an experience so similar to what you're talking about recently. I was working with a client, they were going through a merger and acquisition process. I was working with somebody who was a really heavy part of the due diligence process, and I know she was working insane hours. She was sleeping four hours a night. Otherwise working the other 20. I asked for something that just seemed trivial, and I knew it was going to be a pain. I didn't even want to send a request to the person, but it was something that I needed. So I made mention, "I appreciate you so much for taking the time to get this. It was so accurate and fast, and I know you must be so slammed right now." Then she wrote back this very heartfelt note. It was just about noticing what she was going through, and acknowledging that she took that extra time, and it was really cutting into her few hours of sleep that night, and she appreciated so much the notice. I think that's such a big deal--taking 30 seconds to tell someone what you see in them--just like you do with the designer you work with, or whomever, and say, "I really see this spark in you," and it gives them the juice to go, "There really is something to that," and maybe the difference in pursuing a whole different career. Andy Sokolovich: Absolutely, well said. Lisa Cummings: Andy this has been such a blast. Now I know the listeners want all sorts of Andy now, so how can they find you? Andy Sokolovich: My website is over at unleashstrengths.com Lisa Cummings: Thanks Andy, for joining. And thanks to all of the followers of Lead Through Strengths. Remember, using your strengths at work makes you a stronger performer. If you’re focused on fixing your weaknesses, you’re choosing the path of most resistance. So claim your talents. Then share them with the world. And help your team do the same!     Andy also has an excellent podcast focused on Strengths. It’s called Theme Addicts

Do you find yourself struggling with changing your behavior? Real learning is hard, but keeps you from making the same mistake again.   I wrote this article a few months ago: Sorry, I Don't Love Learning Have you seen this scene in the Matrix? I mentioned the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell* Practical Advice 1. Ensure that it’s something important for you to learn I mentioned the book Soar With Your Strengths by Donald Clifton and Paula Nelson* 2. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable “When you are tough on yourself, life is going to be infinitely easier on you.” -Zig Ziglar 3. Recognize that what you’ve been able to change your behavior on is really challenging for others “Every single time I get on a plane I’m really glad that the plane is not being flown by someone who just always loved planes.” -A teacher quoted in Building A Better Teacher by Elizabeth Green*. Feedback Join the conversation: http://coachingforleaders.com/157 Comments, questions, or feedback for future Q&A shows: http://coachingforleaders.com/feedback Next Q&A show is episode #161 Thank you to new weekly update subscribers Ian Collinson, Tom Loncar, Demetria Bilbrew, Tonya Richards, Andy Thomas, Elaine Su, Knhur Carrasquel, Tanja Ilijazovic, Simon K, Alberto Fernandes, Tammy Pazdro, and Ransom Bennett. Receive the 10 Leadership Books That Will Help You Get Better Results From Others, including 2 books that I rely on weekly. You can subscribe at http://coachingforleaders.com/subscribe  A special thank you this week to Schwedenapfel from Germany and Kat_K and Australia for the kind review on iTunes. I'd be honored if you would take a moment to leave a written review about the show as well. Either visit http://coachingforleaders.com/itunes to leave a review on iTunes or http://coachingforleaders.com/stitcher to leave a review on Stitcher.

Do you find yourself struggling with changing your behavior? Real learning is hard, but keeps you from making the same mistake again.   I wrote this article a few months ago: Sorry, I Don't Love Learning Have you seen this scene in the Matrix? I mentioned the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell* Practical Advice 1. Ensure that it’s something important for you to learn I mentioned the book Soar With Your Strengths by Donald Clifton and Paula Nelson* 2. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable “When you are tough on yourself, life is going to be infinitely easier on you.” -Zig Ziglar 3. Recognize that what you’ve been able to change your behavior on is really challenging for others “Every single time I get on a plane I’m really glad that the plane is not being flown by someone who just always loved planes.” -A teacher quoted in Building A Better Teacher by Elizabeth Green*. Feedback Join the conversation: http://coachingforleaders.com/157 Comments, questions, or feedback for future Q&A shows: http://coachingforleaders.com/feedback Next Q&A show is episode #161 Thank you to new weekly update subscribers Ian Collinson, Tom Loncar, Demetria Bilbrew, Tonya Richards, Andy Thomas, Elaine Su, Knhur Carrasquel, Tanja Ilijazovic, Simon K, Alberto Fernandes, Tammy Pazdro, and Ransom Bennett. Receive the 10 Leadership Books That Will Help You Get Better Results From Others, including 2 books that I rely on weekly. You can subscribe at http://coachingforleaders.com/subscribe  A special thank you this week to Schwedenapfel from Germany and Kat_K and Australia for the kind review on iTunes. I'd be honored if you would take a moment to leave a written review about the show as well. Either visit http://coachingforleaders.com/itunes to leave a review on iTunes or http://coachingforleaders.com/stitcher to leave a review on Stitcher.

Unfortunately most of us are told to "focus on removing our weaknesses" instead of "Focusing on Our Strengths. In Buckingham's book "Now Discover Your Strengths he breaks through this myth and reveals a revolutionary program that shows you how to develop your unique talents and strengths - and those you lead.