1. Strengths based SCHOOLS
Presented by
Ramon Utting
Building People
Building Teams

2. A wondering about this is whether there should be a mix of focus – domain and theme level? Ie could look at a team and an individual?

3. What is a team?
What does it take to create and motivate a team?

4. Strategic Interdependence - The foundational goal

5. Embracing our strengths Embracing our weaknesses
Interdependence
“We serve …”
COURAGE
VULNERABILITY
Embracing our strengths
Embracing our weaknesses
Dependence
Independence
Co-dependence
“You serve me”
“I serve me”
Toxic
Triangle
“I’ll serve you, so that you will serve me”

6. Are you normal?

7. Clifton Strengths* – a language for healthy teams
* Formerly known as StrengthsFinder

8. 1 1 : 278,000 Dominant Themes (our ‘normal’) 1 : 131m 12 - 14
TOP 5
TOP 10
1 : 278,000
Dominant Themes
(our ‘normal’)
1 : 131m
Supporting Themes
6-8
Lesser Themes 34
Talent Theme: An intuitive way of acting, thinking or perceiving that can be
productively applied.

9. It’s a language to understand …
What is natural and intuitive to me (Increases self awareness)
What is natural and intuitive in others (Increases other awareness)
Allows teams to achieve collaboration and interdependence rather than just the assumptions and judgments that “everyone understands everyone” or “everyone thinks/understands just like me (because I’m normal right?)”
Increases the sense of ‘being heard’ leading to wellbeing and engagement in a team which is maintained / increased over time

10. “Learning about my team’s individual strengths has helped me to have a better understanding of each person in my team and to change the way that I approach matters with each one depending on the situation and their strengths; whether it’s taking a different communication approach, or deciding who to delegate different tasks to.”
J.R. (ECE Centre Manager)
StrengthsFinders has helped to explain myself to me and to my team. It’s helped us to see the things that we do from a positive place rather than a negative. It’s incredibly freeing once you know each other’s ‘normal’.
K.L. (Primary Teacher)

11. “A strengths focus has helped our team communicate and understand each other - it gives us a common language.  Things that used to irritate, we now see as strengths, and we intentionally encourage the use of strengths within the team and wider school setting”.
M.C. (Syndicate Team Leader)
“Based on the strengths and natural inclinations/talents of the team, we’ve been given responsibilities which has kept us engaged and productive and empowered to accomplish our team/individual goals. We have learnt to appreciate people’s personalities and avoid being judgmental so that we don’t miss out on incredible relationships because of preconceived ideas.”
R.S. (ECE Centre Manager)

12. THE 34 THEMES ARE GROUPED IN 4 DOMAINS
A starting point*:
THE 34 THEMES ARE GROUPED IN 4 DOMAINS
* Unfortunately, we wont have time to unpack the meaning of all 34 individual themes

13. Executing Influencing
People with dominant executing themes know how to make things happen
Strategic
Thinking
People with dominant strategic thinking themes help teams consider what could be. They absorb and analyse information that can inform better decisions
Influencing
People with dominant influencing themes know how to take charge, speak up, and make sure the team is heard
Relationship
Building
People with dominant relationship themes have the ability to build strong relationship that can hold a team together and make the team greater than the sum of its parts
Contributions:
Concrete reality
Focus on details
Work with and develop processes
Goals and deadlines
Achieve completion
Contributions:
Creating possibilities
Planning direction
Finding/processing information
Ideas and creativity
Problem solving
Contributions:
Convincing/engaging
Igniting and outworking vision
Enrolling participation
Energising the group
Contributions:
Connecting and accepting
Inviting and holding
Listening and acknowledging
Valuing individuals

14. An ACTIVITY
As a group, what is your impression of the team, given what you understand of the contributions of the domains (NOTE: Just focus on the colours of the themes, not the names)
What do you think the team is good at doing?
What do you think would motivate the team the most?

16. The deficit mindset
We live in a world that is dominated by a deficit mindset – that the fastest way to achieve progress is to focus our attention on what is wrong
Actually the opposite is true – more progress can be made by focussing on what is inherently strong
But the Deficit Mindset is not 100% wrong – ie we can’t ignore our weaknesses. The key is to understand what is actually driving them.

17. 1 Dominant Themes 12 - 14 Supporting Themes 6-8 Lesser Themes 34
TOP 5
A majority of our weaknesses come from here – and these are the really hard ones to change!
Dominant Themes
Supporting Themes
Very few (if any) of our real weaknesses come from here. And of those that do, we mostly deal with them by:
Avoidance
Collaboration
These weaknesses are often easily addressed by changing roles or partnering with others
6-8
Lesser Themes 34

18. A weakness comes from …
A lack of internal or external interdependence and therefore experiences a ‘toxic trigger’.
The individual reacts most often by going into a state of overuse of their themes (very powerful drivers) and if the struggle continues, eventually into underuse.
This behaviour is then recognised by self and/or others as a weakness

19. Executing Influencing
People with dominant executing themes know how to make things happen
Strategic
Thinking
People with dominant strategic thinking themes help teams consider what could be. They absorb and analyse information that can inform better decisions
Influencing
People with dominant influencing themes know how to take charge, speak up, and make sure the team is heard
Relationship
Building
People with dominant relationship themes have the ability to build strong relationship that can hold a team together and make the team greater than the sum of its parts
Overuse:
Controlling
Inflexibility
Rigorous adherence to process
Task over relationships
Legalistic
Overuse:
Argumentative
Over analysing
Endless questions and discussion
Stagnation
Critical and judgemental
Overuse:
Manipulation
Dominating and Controlling
Over zealous
Over talkative
Self centred
Overuse:
Intrusive
Overly emotional
Relationally intense
Holding grudges
Fixated on relational toxicity
Withdrawing

20. Activity
Looking at the teams you had before and using your understanding of the drivers of each domain (colours):
Identify some potential conflicts in the teams?
Is there likely to be any individual that could easily slip into overuse?

22. A strength is …
It is a talent that has been matured with the addition of skills and character
An ENERGY and PERFORMANCE asset that is good for YOURSELF and good for OTHERS
The challenge for leaders is to know how to encourage, mature and co- ordinate everyone’s strengths into an interdependent team
This starts with an understanding of just how different and unique we all are and how we can develop the EQ of ourselves, our leaders and the team