Gallup CliftonStrengths

Do you ever wonder why you make certain choices?
Why you do what you do?
Why you like certain things?
Why you are better at some things than others?

There’s a reason. It’s your talents.

This session will provide an introduction to CliftonStrengths and will help you understand and focus on what “strengths” are, the language of CliftonStrengths, and the various ways in which CliftonStrengths help us navigate our lives.

Get closer to the core of who you are with powerful insights about your talents and how they influence each other with CliftonStrengths Theme Dynamics Cards. This will build a powerful platform of language for which you can further understand and explain to others your natural talents and how they are areas of strength for you.

Relationships are living, growing organisms. They require constant nurturing to thrive, and without focused attention, they can die. This session will help you become more intentional about your relationships and commit to lasting action. In this session you will develop a personal mission statement and think about how you can work more effectively by partnering with others who have complementary themes of talent and strength.

By looking at past experiences, team members can more effectively determine how their current team can expand its partnerships both within the team and throughout the rest of the organization. The easiest way to talk about how to expand partnerships and teamwork is to first focus on what individuals want, need and expect from others when they start a partnership and become part of a team. Come learn how your talents and strengths can lead to enhanced group success, even with group projects!

Through your CliftonStrengths you can plot out how to build on your talents to develop leadership and other strengths directly related to your NC State experience. Action items and strategies will be explored specifically related to your top 5 strengths to develop an action plan for success.

Throughout our lives, we will be faced with having difficult conversations among our peers, family, friends, and others. While these conversations can be emotional, uncomfortable, and/or controversial, it is the approach and communication style which can have the greatest impact on how others receive and respond to such dialogue. From this workshop, you will be able to identify your personal communication style and reflect upon the connections which may exist between your communication style, natural talents, and approach to difficult conversations. Possessing this kind of self-awareness is the first way to tackle difficult conversations.

In this session, you will build on your understanding of your CliftonStrengths and use that understanding to help target your job search.  We will learn how to incorporate your strengths into your resume and talk about them effectively in interviews.

In this workshop, you will use your strengths to help understand how you can manage your time more effectively to give you time to do things you want to do! We will also find ways to incorporate your strengths to learn how to study and prepare for your final exams.

Tapping into your strengths can help you create a self-care plan that is tailored to you. Together we will explore the six elements of wellness and how to use the resources NC State has to be healthy, happy, and whole.

Celebrating our unique talents and turning them into strengths has been the goal of this Pathway to Success journey. This session is designed to recognize where we have started, reflect on what we have learned, acknowledge what needs to be done, and to Celebrate!

30-45 minutes

The purpose of this conversation is to get team members to think about what they do well and how they use their strengths to be successful.

You can also use this when discussing the difference between a strengths-based approach to development and the conventional weakness-fixing approach to development.

30-45 minutes

A picture is worth a thousand words. The purpose of this activity is to help team members learn how to appreciate applying their top themes in the real world.

Team members select an image that best represents how they use their dominant themes to create meaningful outcomes in their role

30-45 minutes

This activity will help you discuss important characteristics of partnerships by exploring effective partnerships. Partnerships form for various reasons such as to:

1. Make up for a lesser talent. For example, people with lesser talents in the Strategic theme could partner with someone with higher talent in this area when creating a strategy for achieving a specific objective on a short timeline. In this way, one person makes the most of the other’s talents to accomplish the objective.
2. Take over where one person leaves off. For example, in a car dealership, one person will help you decide which car to buy, and another person will write up the purchase agreement. Both people contribute something unique and important to the purchase of your car.
3. Enhance what one person already possesses. For example, a person high in Focus could partner with someone high in Achiever when it is crunch time on a specific project. In doing so, both people bring the best of who they are, and the results can be extraordinary.

30-45 minutes

We know that successful partnerships draw out the best in both people. The purpose of this coaching activity is to have partners consider how they are similar and different and how their top five themes complement each other.

The best partnerships happen when two people join forces and focus on a single goal. They accomplish together what they could not do separately. This type of collaboration is more than doubling up — it is understanding each person’s talents and strengths and recognizing how to join forces to get better results. For example:

• People with dominant Communication talents can help you connect with others in meaningful ways.
• People with dominant Individualization talents can help you customize your approach to others’ needs.

45-60 minutes

The purpose of this coaching activity is to help team members identify positive aspects of past team experiences. By looking at past experiences, team members can more effectively determine how their current team can expand its partnerships both within the team and throughout the rest of the organization.

The easiest way to talk about how to expand partnerships and teamwork is to first focus on what individuals want, need and expect from others when they start a partnership and become part of a team.

30-45 minutes

The purpose of this activity is for team members to reflect on what the Team Strengths Grid says about their team and how they work together to get work done.

There is not a perfect combination of themes. Strong, successful teams come in all shapes and sizes. Every team has strengths and gaps. The challenge is to use the strengths of the team to achieve the objectives the team must accomplish.

30-45 minutes

The purpose of this activity is for team members to reflect on what the Team Strengths Grid says about their team and how they work together to get work done.

There is not a perfect combination of themes. Strong, successful teams come in all shapes and sizes. Every team has strengths and gaps. The challenge is to use the strengths of the team to achieve the objectives the team must accomplish.

60-90 minutes

A strengths-based team is an interdependent group of imperfect but talented contributors valued for their strengths, and who need one another to realize individual and team excellence.

This model will help bring this definition to life and encourage discussion. Use this model to gain insights into the team and to enhance team effectiveness.

Common Purpose: Do we have a clear and compelling performance goal?

Connection: How do we stay connected with one another and other parts of the organization?

Communication: What is our communication structure and style?

Collaboration: How do we collaborate with people on our team and with others in the organization?

Celebration: What do we celebrate, and how do we celebrate?

45-90 minutes

Communication is the most important part of building a strengths-based team. The purpose of this activity is to encourage thoughtful discussion, comments, observations and questions about team dynamics.

45-90 minutes

Complementary partnering means combining team members’ strengths to achieve a goal. This interactive activity will help team members think about complementary partnerships as they consider their talents, barriers to overcome and contributions to the team.

60-90 Minutes

The purpose of this coaching activity is to help the team brainstorm ideas about using their strengths at work to achieve a performance goal.