The Strengths Zone

  How does your role make a difference?   This is a powerful question which I have started to ask when I am connecting with employees about their progress and potential.  Research has proven that people who feel they are making a difference at work have higher levels of engagement and greater overall wellbeing.    Gallup recently identified that nearly 50% of America's working population are actively searching for jobs and watching out for new opportunities.  Gallup re-framed the current societal  "Great Resignation" into the  "Great Discontent" .  Their data supports that the rise in resignations is not an industry, role or pay issue - it is a discontent with the workplace issue.   While it takes more than a 20% increase in salary to lure away an engaged employee, it takes next to nothing to poach a disengaged worker.    Maslow's famous human needs model places esteem and self-actualization at the top of the pyramid.  In the workplace, esteem aligns with

  Last year, my organization invested in training to help leaders focus on collaboration and become more others focused .  The workshops and resources, designed by the Arbinger Institute , inform us to become responsible for doing our own jobs well while considering the needs, objectives and challenges of others - realizing that their jobs contribute to our collective success.   Arbinger defines mindset as the lens through which we see our work, our relationships and our world.  They identify two types of mindsets; inward and outward .  An inward mindset is self-focused; we see others as objects through which we can achieve our personal goals. On the flip-side, when looking at the world with an outward mindset, we now see others as people who matter to us and we naturally want to adjust our efforts to be helpful. Spoiler alert - it is better to be outward than inward .   As a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, I have been on a parallel journey within my organization helping Team Membe

Here are the super-powers of my own team.  We accomplish together what we could never accomplish alone.   I was recently listening to a TED Talk on teamwork and the speaker introduced me to a quote from Abraham Lincoln which is worth remembering; "I don't like that man.  I must get to know him better".   Within the workshops I facilitate on CliftonStrengths, I speak about how we see the world through the lens of our own talents.  What may irritate us about others really helps us understand more about ourselves.  It is very likely that the behaviors and actions of people we work with that drive us a bit crazy are actually talents and strengths which are foreign to us.  In the world of CliftonStrengths, these are "non-talents" near the bottom of your list of 34 that never "fire" or show up rarely within us. One in thirty-three million people have the same "Top 5" CliftonStrengths in the same order.  Bringing these talents to work each

By Chris Heinz  While change is inevitable, each of the 34 strengths deals with change in a different way. Some rush in, some hold back, some bring others along. The key to great change management is utilizing the strengths in a positive way. Here are starter ideas on how the strengths deal with change. At the end of the list, you can come up with your own ideas. Starter Ideas Achiever®: Doesn't want to be slowed down; show how the change will make them more productive Activator®: Able to act on change quickly; eager to move so give timeline Adaptability®: Flexible and adaptable; can create confidence that the change will be okay Analytical®: Needs to understand the causes and reasons for the change; give time to consider the factors Arranger®: Can handle change well, but needs to understand the impact on all the moving parts they are juggling Belief®: Can be stubborn if change interferes with personal or organizational values; show how change aligns with values

Lean into your strengths to manage through uncertainty and complexity The times are rather stressful.  As I write this post, Coronavirus has become a pandemic, the stock market is plunging and the industry in which I have invested my life, hospitality, is suffering losses and instability.  It does not help that we are overly connected with texts, tweets and e-mails flying at us at break-neck speed. My Futuristic (#3) and Positivity (#4) are already reminding me that everything will be fine when I look back on this particular blog a few months from now - but for now, things are unpredictable. On my way home tonight, I decided to stop at some of the ticketing locations my department manages at hotels at Universal Orlando Resort.  I always gain energy after visiting with our Team Members and thoroughly enjoy our dialogue.   During this visit, I wanted to make myself available to answer any questions the team might have about the current state of our business (and the world).

Aim your strengths at your goals for success and professional fulfillment in 2020 There is something about the start of a new year that I find extremely energizing.  My Strategic (#1), Ideation (#2) and Futuristic (#3) strengths power on all cylinders, motivating and inspiring me to plan the promise of a new year ( Belief #6) for myself and my assigned business units. Don Clifton, the "Father" of positive psychology and the founder of Clifton Strengths is quoted as saying "'Nothing happens until someone expects something of you in ways you can achieve.".   Research has proven that there is a direct connection between understanding and applying your unique strengths and doing your best work.  There is then a connection between doing your best work and feeling your best.  Finally, when you feel your best at work, you perform your best at work - and have a greater likelihood of achieving your goals. As an Achiever (#5), I am never short of goals to s