Understanding Your and Your Teams' Strengths
University of Illinois, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Marketing & Communication Team
Jeff Yacup
15 August 2023
Jeff Yacup
Collaborator. Educator. MBA. MA Ed.
Likes: Pasta, Sports, Adventure, Travel, Cold Beer
Dislikes: Winter, Mustard, Mean People, Dry Skin
TEam Intros
1. Name
2. Role
3. Most Fun/Interesting Thing You've Done This Summer
Opening Activity
Takeaways
Strengths Philosophy
Positive Psych
the study of positive traits, the study of positive institutions, the study of positive emotions
The Formula
talent+knowledge+skills=
strength
Why Strengths?
increase self knowledge, more engaged at work, more likely to have an excellent quality of life
The Key Tenants
1. Top achievers fully recognize their talents and build on them to develop strengths
2. Top achievers apply their greatest talents in roles that best suit them, and subsequently partner with those to tackle tasks that do not suit them.
3. Top achievers invent ways to apply their greatest talents to their achievement tasks. They use them to overcome obstacles and invent new ways of capitalizing on them.
Reviewing Your Themes
Underline agreement
Cross Out Disgreement
Star Anything that is Most Like You
Takeaways
5 Minute Break
Your Strengths And How You Use Them
Partner Discussion: Connect to Your ACtivities
Scavenger Hunt
Domains of Talent
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Executing-they know how to make things happen. Leaders with this area, have the ability to implement solutions, and turn ideas into reality.
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Influencing- they are able to help their team reach a broader audience. They are always selling the team’s ideas inside and outside the organization. These people ensure the group is heard.
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Relationship Building-they are the essential glue to hold the team together. Without these people, the team is a group of individuals. These individuals are able to create groups/teams that are great than the sum of the parts.
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Strategic Thinking-they are the people who keep us all focused on what could be. They absorb and analyze information to assist the team in making a better decision with a focus to the future.
Domains of Talent
| Executing | Influencing | Relationship Building | Strategic Thinking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Achiever | Activator | Adaptability | Analytical |
| Arranger | Command | Connectedness | Context |
| Belief | Communication | Developer | Futuristic |
| Consistency | Competition | Empathy | Ideation |
| Deliberative | Maximizer | Harmony | Input |
| Discipline | Self-Assurance | Includer | Intellection |
| Focus | Significance | Individualization | Learner |
| Responsibility | Woo | Positivity | Strategic |
| Restorative | Relator |
Strength Goal Setting
Wrap up
One insight about yourself
One thing you have learned about a teammate/your team
The most effective leaders are always investing in strengths. Ultimately focusing on employee strengths increases employee engagement by over 60%.
The most effective leaders surround themselves with the right people and then maximize their team. They are not well rounded, but the best teams are.
"A leader needs to know his/her 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 strength at the right time. This explains why there is no definitive list of characteristics that describes all leaders."