1. +
Nature of
Strengths
Human Services Career
Discovery HMNS 10078
Intro to Strengths Exploration

2. +
Gallup Asked the Following
Questions:
Which would help you be more successful in your life?
…knowing what your weaknesses are and attempting to improve
your weaknesses?
or
…knowing what your strengths are and attempting to build on
your strengths?

3. +
Positive Psychology
Deficit Approach Strength-based Approach
 Study what is wrong with people  Study what is right with people

4. +
What is a Strength?
 A strength is the ability to provide consistent, near-
perfect performance in a given activity.
 The key to building strength is to first identify your dominant
themes or talents.

5. + Outcomes of Strengths-Based
Development
Workplace: increases in employee engagement and
productivity
Education: improved attendance, grades
Relationships: sees unique strengths of others and
optimize team relationships
Community: increased civic engagement

6. 5 Clues to Talent
1. What are you naturally inquisitive about?
2. What activity are you engaged in when the
time flies by?
3. What activity gives you a great deal of
satisfaction?
4. What do you pick up rapidly?
5. What can you do to near perfection?

7. +
3 Myths that Keep You From Living a Life
that Plays to Your Strengths:
1. Myth: As you grow you change.
2. Myth: You have the opportunity to grow most
where you are weak.
3. Myth: You must continue to “chip in” for the
good of the team even when the task does not
play to your strengths. Yes, but…

8. +
34 StrengthQuest Themes
1. Achiever 12. Context 23. Input
2. Activator 13. Deliberative 24. Intellection
3. Adaptability 14. Developer 25. Learner
4. Analytical 15. Discipline 26. Maximizer
5. Arranger 16. Empathy 27. Positivity
6. Belief 17. Focus 28. Relator
7. Command 18. Futuristic 29. Responsibility
8. Communication 19. Harmony 30. Restorative
9. Competition 20. Ideation 31. Self-Assurance
10. Connectedness 21. Includer 32. Significance
11. Consistency 22. Individualization 33. Strategic
34. Woo

9. +
StrengthsQuest & Learning
*top 5 Strengths Finder Themes for Peggy French
 Intellection
 Loves to engage in intellectual discussions.
 Individualization
 Builds productive teams because talents and strengths of members
understood
 Learner
 Desire to continuously improve
 Achiever
 Has stamina and a high level of motivation
 Competition
 Pushes self and others to be the best

10. +
Jessica’s Daily Affirmation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg

11. +
Talents
Which main talent is Jessica
exhibiting?

12. +
34 StrengthQuest Themes
1. Achiever 12. Context 23. Input
2. Activator 13. Deliberative 24. Intellection
3. Adaptability 14. Developer 25. Learner
4. Analytical 15. Discipline 26. Maximizer
5. Arranger 16. Empathy 27. Positivity
6. Belief 17. Focus 28. Relator
7. Command 18. Futuristic 29. Responsibility
8. Communication 19. Harmony 30. Restorative
9. Competition 20. Ideation 31. Self-Assurance
10. Connectedness 21. Includer 32. Significance
11. Consistency 22. Individualization 33. Strategic
34. Woo

13. + Here is What Gallup Knows About
Top Achievers:
 Top achievers fully recognize their talents and build on them to
develop strengths.
 Top achievers apply their greatest talents in roles that best suit
them.
 Top achievers invent ways to apply their greatest talents to
their achievement tasks. (Strengthsquest, p.8)

14. + 3 Stages of Strength Development
At the individual level strengths based development involves three
stages:
1. Identification and celebration of talents
2. Deliberate integration of talents
3. Applying - intentionally living a life that plays to strengths
Talent + Knowledge + Skill= Strength

15. + Analyzing the Equation
Talent = naturally recurring pattern of thought, belief,
or behaviour that can be productively applied.
Basically the innate capacity to do something.
Knowledge = facts and lessons learned
Skill = basic ability to perform specific steps of an
activity
Talent + Knowledge + Skill= Strength

16. +
Pop Quiz Break: Skill, Talent or
Knowledge
1. An innate desire to outperform the competition.
2. A familiarity with the basic rules of the game.
3. The ability to pitch a curveball.
4. Knowing the basic plays the team uses during the
game.
5. The aptitude of rebounding the basketball.

17. +
Workplace Engagement
Gallup Research (Oct 2005 survey of US employees):
 31 percent were "engaged" at work
 52 per-cent were "not engaged"
 17 percent were "actively disengaged.”
Best fit = roles that match your greatest talents
Check out StrengthsQuest – Chapter 12

18. +
Career Discovery’s Goal
Mohawk’s Human Services Foundation wants you here:
31 percent were "engaged" at work
* Even if this means you leave Human Services

19. +
I Believe My Most Dominant
Strengths Theme Is...
 Where am I most frequently using my dominant theme?
 In what areas, roles, responsibilities?
 How often am I using this dominant theme? (minutes or hours per day/week?)
 In what specific activities am I tending to use this dominant theme?
 What am I doing to develop and nurture this dominant theme?
 What am I doing to make it stronger, faster, more efficient, more flexible or
versatile?
 Where and how am I applying this theme to become more effective or
successful?
 a. interpersonal relationships
 b. learning/academics
 c. career preparation
 d. Spiritual life

20. +
What is a StrengthsQuest?
 Your Quest addresses your personally meaningful questions
 Your Quest is an adventure of discovery
 Discovering your talents
 Figuring out the connection between your past achievements and
talents
 Your Quest generates optimism
 Your Quest provides a sense of direction
 Your Quest generates confidence...your potential for excellence
 Your Quest generates a sense of vitality...satisfaction and motivation

21. +
What is a StrengthsQuest?
Following on the definition of QUEST….
 We will be doing a fair number of assessments throughout
this semester to assist you in finding your path
 StrengthsQuest will be our hook or framework throughout
the semester
 We will continue to reflect back, integrate, and comment on
our Strengths even as we continue with our other
assessments
 Please keep up with the readings!

22. "If we could first know where we are, and whither
+ we are tending, we could then better judge what to
do, and how to do it."
Abraham Lincoln