IvyStrengths

I wish I had that strength!

By Jessica Prater

There are definitely certain strengths that I wish were in my top 5. I mostly begin to feel this way when I witness someone operating out of their strengths and shining like a new penny. Those are the times when I think "Man I wish I had that strength!"

Today, I was listening to a popular motivational speaker who was speaking about being secure in who you are. He began to talk about different people have different talents/strengths. Just because someone has a particular strength, doesn't mean that anyone else is less valuable. It just means that we have different areas of greatness.

So I encourage you to except the strengths that you know you have, and not to compare them to the talents/strengths others may have. When you see people and begin to think “Man I wish I had that strength!” remember that what makes them shine is not the specific strength they have it's that they are using it.

Face (Up)Lift(ing)

by Jerry Madsen

Ch-Ch-Changes: For those who have made it to our South Bend campus recently, you have started to see some of the first signs of what will be a very visible marketing campaign to our students, faculty and staff in the coming weeks and months.

Our IvyStrengths Communication Committee has been extremely busy working on new displays (click on photo to enlarge), designing posters, creating individualized door hangers and other projects, most of which are to be completed before Laurie Schreiner's visit and keynote address at the Annual all-Region In-Service on August 16.

Forget about Harry Potter: I know the big book news this past week was the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (spoiler alert: Harry lives in the end, but he gives-up magic after he learns of the true power of his strengths), but we have a bit of book news for you here at Ivy Tech. 

After the "Intro to IvyStrengths" sessions last month, I had a lot of people asking, "What Strengths resources does the school have available to students and employees?"

My typical answer: "None".

But that was then and this is now.  Starting next week, the libraries at the Elkhart, South Bend and Warsaw campuses will each have copies of the following books available for check-out:

• 6 copies of StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath
• 6 copies of Now, Discover your Strengths by Buckingham & Clifton
• 6 copies of How Full is your Bucket (Educator's Edition) by Rath and Clifton
• 2 copies of First, Break all of the Rules by Buckingham & Coffman
• 2 copies of Soar with your Strengths by Clifton & Nelson
• 1 copy of Discover your Sales Strengths by Smith & Rutigliano
• 1 copy of Follow this Path by Coffman & Gonzalez-Molina
• 1 copy of 12: The Elements of Great Managing by Wagner and Harter
• 1 copy of Go Put Your Strengths to Work by Marcus Buckingham

If you have any suggestions of other Strengths resources you'd like to see on a library shelf, please let  us know!

Strengths in the 21st Century: Knowing I'm a big fan of iTunes, one of my colleagues emailed me today and asked if I was aware that author Marcus Buckingham was now making Podcasts available for free?  At the time, I did not know this, but now that I do, I'd be remiss if I didn't pass this along to you.

And in case you are wondering, you don't have to have an iPod to download and listen to music or Podcasts through iTunes; you just need a PC or a Mac.

So, I'm Watching HGTV...

by Jerry Madsen

I really don't get into the "home" genre of television programming.  Home improvement shows.  Home remodeling shows.  Home shopping shows.  Home gardening shows.  Blah.  Blah.  Blah.  All it does is remind me of the mountain of work I need to do on my own house or that I secretly envy the lavish lifestyle of those who can afford more than me.

My wife, on the other hand, really enjoys them.  I'll often pull-up our Tivo menu to see that she has recorded a number home programs that she didn't have time to watch when it aired.  That would explain why - when I plopped-down next to her on the coach the other day - she was watching HGTV (that's 'Home & Gardening TV' for those not-in-the-know).

She was watching one of those programs where a TV personality and camera crew follow a house hunting couple around town in their efforts to purchase a new abode.  [Insert yawn here].

Under normal circumstances, I would have selfishly blurted-out, "So what else is on?"; that's my not-so-subtle way of trying to get the channel changed.  But for reasons that are so completely beyond me, I just sat there without saying a word.

The couple in question had looked at three different homes and could not decide which was worthy of an offer.  So as I was watching this mind-numbing process come to a conclusion, the aforementioned TV personality took us to a commercial break with these words, "Coming-up, Sue and John continue to demonstrate an inability to make a quick decision."

I furrowed my brow.

Now, I'm no fan of feet-draggers, but as I sat there, I could not help but take exception to Little-Miss-TV-Personalty's last comment.

"An inability to make a quick decision?" I thought.  "Maybe it's not an inability to make a quick decision, but rather a talent for thinking things through.  Maybe they have the Deliberative strength or Intellection or perhaps both.  Maybe one or both of them have Input and need to see more then three houses before making an offer.  But whatever it is, you can't assume that it's 'an inability to make a quick decision!'  Lady, you could be mocking their strengths on national TV and not even know it!"

I stepped down from the soapbox in my head, turned to my wife and said, "So what else is on?"

Putting my TV viewing habits aside for the moment, that's the beauty of individual and corporate Strengths development, is it not?  I'm speaking of the ability to not only embraced your own Strengths, but also learning to embrace the Strengths of others, even if they're not in your top 5... or top 25.

As I said, people who feel the need to think through a process often leave me feeling impatient.  I imagine that the most common phrase of the Activator in all of us is, "What's there to think about?!?"  I know I've uttered those words on more than one occasion.

But the point in this case isn't that I should change the way I make a decision, but rather, that I accept and embrace that the way others make a decision is likely born out of their Strengths.  And it doesn't end there.  It's that I embrace the way others see the future, or the way they seem so laid back, or they way they get competitive, or how easily engaging they become, etc, etc, etc...

Individual Strengths development is great.  I'll even go out on a limb and say it's necessary for excellence.  But again, Strengths must be thought of corporately. 

Cause ain't nothing happens in a vacuum.

Gallup's Gunna Need a Bigger Room

by Jerry Madsen

The week before last the Gallup Organization hosted their annual Building a Strengths-Based Campus Conference at their Riverfront Campus in Omaha, Nebraska.

The week before last the Gallup Organization - once again - failed to disappoint.

This is the second year in a row that I've had the opportunity to attend the conference and their's little doubt in my mind that I'll be three-peating.

The nice thing about attending a conference successively is that you see how the organizers of the event build on previous years.  Mark, Irene, Krista, Sonny and the rest of the folks at Gallup did an outstanding job, not just as hosts, but also in pulling together a wide-range of workshop presenters and keynotes, such as 'Bucket' and 'Vital Friends' author, Tom Rath and positive psychology guru, Shane "One Trick Pony" Lopez.

There were nine of us from Ivy Tech who attended and not a single one walked away with unmet expectations.  Last year, this conference served as the springboard for our Strengths initiative and I'm excited to see what will come out of it for the 2007/08 school-year.

In short, if you're a fan of Strengths and you work in an educational setting, plan now to attend next June.  Between the learning and the networking, it really is a must.

Strengths Awareness

by Jetta Cruse

You know when you are shopping for a car and you start noticing car lots and seeing for sale signs everywhere?  It is like you get a new heightened awareness for whatever it is that you are seeking, like the universe tunes you in to every opportunity to find the item you are looking for.  You may have passed the same car lots and for sale signs several times before but all of a sudden you are aware of them.  This is how Strengths has been for me.  The more I read, the more discussions I have, the more in tune I get with others who believe the Strengths philosophy.

Just the other day, I was in conversation with someone from my church and I was talking about Strengths and they proceeded to tell me that everyone on the leadership team in our church had taken Strength's Finder and are using it for team building.  I was floored!  My own church knows of Strengths and is currently using it as a tool to form committees as well as working out conflicts due to differences in the member's personalities.  WOW!  I wonder how many other institutions, organizations and such are using Strengths and how many more should be?

I know that Strengths has really helped change my approach to people, especially regarding conflict and resolve. Now that I am aware of Strengths I see people in a new light.  I am able to ask the questions, how is this person hard-wired?  Why to do they react to situations the way they do?  Why do I react to them the way I do?  Strengths is a very valuable tool for me to have acquired.  With Strategic and Activation back to back as 2 of my top 5 strengths this has created some conflicts with others who may possess less activating and more reflecting strengths (Jerry Madsen's Ideation – wink, wink - you're the best Jerry).  I am now able to view people with positive labels instead of the negative ones I have acquired over the years. It is amazing to see the difference when I apply the Strength's philosophy to situations of conflict.  I definitely get better results. It is like having a new window with a completely different view rather than the old windows I've been looking through.  I am truly thankful that Strengths has come into my life.  It has made a big difference in my perspective and relationships with others.

I look forward to keeping in tune and seeing where Strengths continues to show up in my life. The first step is awareness!