1. Know Your Talents, Grow Your Strengths
EDU1010
Learning Framework
In this class, you will be working with concepts that will help you be successful in your academic, professional, and personal life. In other words, this class is all about your success. Part of being successful is knowing what you have to offer in any situation or environment.

2. Know Your Talents, Grow Your Strengths
EDU1010
Learning Framework
In this class, you will be working with concepts that will help you be successful in your academic, professional, and personal life. In other words, this class is all about your success. Part of being successful is knowing what you have to offer in any situation or environment.

3. Playing to Your Strengths
Michael Jordan, inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and again in 2010 as a part of the U.S. Olympic team, is arguably the best basketball player in the history of the game.
Michael Jordan, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009, was again inducted in 2010 as a part of the United States Olympic basketball team. He is thought to be the best basketball player in the history of the game.

4. Not So Strong
In contrast, though he worked hard, his relative lack of success in baseball propelled him back to basketball to lead the Bulls to three more championships.
Because he was such a great athlete, when he retired from basketball, he began a career in baseball. Although he carried his work ethic with him into baseball, his career was not particularly successful. He left baseball to return to basketball where he excelled again and led the Bulls to three more championships.

5. What Made the Difference?
Hard Work + Strength Outstanding Success
There is no question that Michael Jordan worked hard and that his skills in basketball were superior to other players’ skills. As a result, his success was outstanding. In baseball, however, the same hard work did not garner him the same success. His skills, or his strengths, were not honed to the same level.

6. Another Example
Rudy Ruettiger, who inspired a movie, wanted to play football for Notre Dame. He worked very hard and had the motivation to succeed, but only played one play during the last game of his senior year.
Rudy Ruettiger, who inspired the movie Rudy, wanted to play football for Notre Dame.
He worked very hard and had the motivation to succeed, but only played one play during the last game of his senior year.

7. Why Wasn’t He More Successful?
Hard Work
– Strength
Mediocre Success
Why wasn’t he more successful? Rudy’s one play was spectacular and inspired a motion film, but he wasn’t working in an area of one of his strengths. Imagine what would have happened if Rudy had concentrated his hard work and motivation on something in which he was strong.

8. The Research
For 80 years, the Gallup organization has studied the behaviors of employees, customers, students, and citizens.
One of their studies was focused on top achievers in all walks of life.
You may have heard the term “Gallup poll.” The Gallup organization has been polling and surveying all kinds of people, and then analyzing the resulting data, for over 80 years. One of Gallup’s studies focused on people who were top achievers in all walks of life.

9. The Results
This study of top achievers took over 40 years and polled over 2,000,000 people. The results were amazing.
This study of top achievers took over 40 years and over 2,000,000 people were surveyed.

10. Talent Themes
Thirty-four top talent themes were identified in people who achieve excellence.
As a result of the study, 34 top talent themes were identified in people who achieve excellence.
So that we’re speaking the same language, a “talent” is (and this is important) a naturally occurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied.
A “theme” is a cluster of these naturally occurring talents.
A “talent” is a naturally occurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied. A “theme” is a cluster of talents.

11. More About Talents
A talent really represents a capacity to do something. When you do something very well, you can be sure that you are using at least one of your talents.
A talent represents the ability to do something. When you do something very well, you are probably accessing at least one of your talents.

12. Talents Occur Naturally
Talents occur naturally so they are “automatic,” almost like breathing or blinking your eyes. They repeatedly help you achieve.
Remember that talents occur naturally. They are automatic, almost like breathing or blinking your eyes. These talents are always available to you to help you achieve.

13. More About Talents
Each of your talents help you do more than one thing very well.
Your talents help you do more than one thing very well.

14. Achieving Excellence
Your talents help you not only achieve, but do so at a level of excellence.
As a matter of fact, your talents help you not only achieve, but achieve at a level of excellence.

15. Grow Your Talents
Having a talent will not cause you to perform at a level of excellence.
Talents must be developed into strengths by acquiring skills and knowledge.
Having talents is great, and the fact that they naturally occur is wonderful, but talents will not cause you to perform at a level of excellence.
Talents must be developed into strengths by acquiring skills and knowledge.

16. Good News
Just as everyone has talents, everyone can obtain the knowledge and the skills to turn a talent into a strength.
The good news is that everyone has the ability to gain knowledge and skills. You can develop any of your talents into strengths.

17. What is a Strength?
Strength—the ability to use a talent to consistently perform a specific task at a nearly perfect level.
Again, so we’re speaking the same language, a “strength” is the ability to use a talent to consistently perform a specific task at a nearly perfect level.
Think of times when you have been “in the flow” when you were doing something. You were utilizing a strength.

18. Talent + Skill + Knowledge = Strength
When you have supplemented your greatest talents with knowledge and skill to the point at which you can provide consistent, near- perfect performance in a given activity, you have a strength.
When you have built on your greatest talents by acquiring knowledge and skill to the point at which you can provide consistent, near-perfect performance in any given activity, you have a strength.

19. Back to Gallup In Gallup’s research, it was found that top achievers:
Fully recognize their talents and build on them to develop strengths;
Apply their greatest talents in roles that best suit them; and
Invent ways to apply their greatest talents to their achievement tasks.
In Gallup’s research, it was found that top achievers were in every kind of field, in every walk of life, but they all had some things in common.
They fully recognized their talents and built on them to develop strengths;
They applied their greatest talents in roles that best suited them; and
They invented ways to apply their greatest talents to the tasks they were responsible for completing.

20. The StrengthsQuest Assessment
When you take the StrengthsFinder assessment, you receive your Signature Themes, which are your five most dominant themes of talent as indicated by your responses to the assessment.
In this class, you will have received a code for the StrengthsQuest assessment. When you take the assessment, you will receive your Signature Themes, or your 5 most dominant talent themes as indicated by your responses to the assessment. There are no good or bad themes so read each question and respond as truthfully as you can.

21. Signature Themes 1 2
Your Signature Themes are presented in rank order, with your most dominant theme listed first. 3 4 5
You will receive your Signature Themes in rank order, with the first being your most dominant. Remember that there are 34 talents. These will only be your top five.

22. Top Achievers
Top achievers only focus on their dominant areas of talent.
They don’t ignore their weaknesses, but they concentrate on their strengths.
But knowing your top 5 talents is important. Gallup found that top achievers only focus on their dominant areas of talent.
That doesn’t mean that you should ignore what are considered “weaknesses” in a particular environment. If you aren’t a great communicator, you probably wouldn’t choose a sales job. If you had to make a living at sales, though, you would learn techniques to make you a better communicator.

23. Key to Success
Knowing your Signature Themes can help you focus on developing your most natural talents into strengths.
That is your key to success.
Your strengths will allow you, by definition, to achieve consistent, near-perfect performance in a given activity. That is where your success lies.

24. Questions
Be sure to post your questions about the material in the Virtual Office so that they can be answered by your instructor or one of your peers.
Be sure to post your questions about the material in the Virtual Office so that they can be answered by your instructor or one of your peers.