A Tribute to My Strengths Hero and Mentor, Curt Liesveld

I received the news last Saturday night, as messages had rippled their way from Nebraska to Louisiana, where I was attending a family wedding. The news had exploded to Pretoria, South Africa, to Singapore, to points around the globe and to members of a growing tribe. Our tribal elder, Curt Liesveld, had died while gardening at his home on Liesveld Pond. Leaning into the legacy of Curt, that night after receiving the news I continued with the family celebration, treasuring priceless moments with people about whom I care deeply.

In the days since, voices from around the planet have mulled the impact of this man, whom I, like so many others, was privileged to experience as my teacher. Our thoughts and sympathies turn to his family, whom he loved so dearly, and to his colleagues, who were blessed with his collaboration. 

In August of 2013, I spent a week in Washington, DC with the people in the picture above. Front and center in the dark jacket is Curt, whose warmth and humility and generosity and wisdom brought a group of strangers from around the world together that week and helped us become a community united by a common purpose: helping people grow. It was clear that Curt was a person who loved life and loved people and loved helping people fully develop their potential so they could live lives of well-being and well-doing. Curt cared. Deeply. He paid close attention to people. He studied human nature and relished moments when new insights occurred and light bulbs were lit in the consciousness of others. He encouraged. And he shared from the deepest well of insight, bringing the heart and compassion of a pastor, the intellect and analytical rigor of a scientist, the enthusiasm of a true Huskers fan, and the joy of a man deeply rooted in the love of his own family.

I've come to appreciate that Curt put flesh and bones on Donald Clifton's StrengthsFinder™ work, bringing it into living color by working deeply, person by person, to help people grow. One of Curt's refrains was that the world needs the strengths that each of us uniquely has to share and that by developing self-awareness we can become masters of our Strengths. In Curt, I saw a master of Strengths who was also a servant with Strengths. 

From Curt, I will take forward some important lessons that he taught not only with words but also with actions.

Become the best you that you can be, and share yourself with the world so that others, too, have the freedom to be who they are and give what they have to give.

Each of us has the capacity to bring light into darkness, to see what is right in people and to work with others to help bring wholeness and hopefulness to this world.

Love your family. The investments of time you make with them are of immeasurable worth.

Hold onto the goal of a life of rich relationships and a balance between work and life outside of work. 

Celebrate life and occasions with small gestures and grand gestures, because life is precious and is to be savored.

For those of us who work with Strengths, our greatest tribute to Curt will come from what we do because of who he was and what he equipped us to do. His wisdom will live on and will be magnified by our actions in this world, as we, like Curt, focus on what's right with people and on helping people grow.

Curt always closed his messages with these words: Be well and do good.

Curt, we will.

Building a Stronger, More Effective Boat: Leadership Lessons from the United States Naval Academy

One of my favorite things to do is to think deeply with high-performing leaders as they evaluate the contexts in which they operate, anticipate the challenges they must navigate, experiment with approaches, refine their leadership style, and course-correct. Beneath that work is always this: Helping a leader maximize her or his organization's ability to fulfill its purpose. It's thrilling work.

Last October, I traveled to Annapolis, Maryland, to facilitate components of a retreat for leaders who work in Washington DC. Fall was in its full glory in Annapolis, and my time there with passionate, engaged and brilliant people whose works impacts health care innovation around the world was energizing and productive, generating strategies to optimize their use of their time and talent in support of their organization's mission.

While on a break from my work, I had the distinct privilege of touring the United States Naval Academy with a third year midshipman from Arizona. It was an unforgettable experience, for which I forever will be grateful. As we walked hallowed halls where USNA graduates lost in previous wars are remembered, as we saw the inspiring and beautiful architecture of the Academy, as we toured facilities where midshipmen receive a world-class education, I was struck by the tradition and history of this special place. Those of you who have had the privilege of touring the Naval Academy may relate to my experience.

One of the images that struck me at the Academy was a specially-built facility that affords students and faculty the opportunity to test boat designs under a range of conditions that can be simulated. Perhaps because I was taking a brief break from my work with leaders, this boat design laboratory presented a connection to me to deeper meaning.

Here are three ideas from that Naval Academy facility that resonate with me about leadership: 

1. To work on the boat, it helps to take the boat out of the water.

You might notice in the photo, adjacent, that different types of boat models hang on the wall. Students test these boats, and modified versions of these boats, in conditions designed to test their performance. The boats are worked on out of the water, and then put in the tank for testing and evaluation. 

What does this have to do with leadership?

An organization benefits when its leader takes the boat out of the water by taking the time to think deeply with a person outside of her context about where her organization needs to go, what forces it must withstand, and what design modifications can optimize the human potential in the organization. Leadership teams, as well, benefit from taking the boat out of the water, together, to do this type of deep work.

2.  To improve the boat's performance, it helps to build on what is or can be known.  

Naval Architecture students working on boat design at the Academy aren't starting from scratch. Their rigorous coursework gives them knowledge of physics, mathematics, hydrodynamics and all disciplines relevant to boat design and performance. The naval architects at the Academy have access to information that is crucial to performance and conditions. 

What does this have to do with leadership?

Working with an expert on Gallup's research-based insights on Strengths, a leader can access actionable intelligence to help catalyze the talents of and optimal configurations for people. We don't have to start from scratch.

3.  To refine the boat's performance, we don't take it out of the water only once.

At the Naval Academy, the design process is not a 'one and done' experience. Instead, the boat is put in and taken out of the water, iteratively, with specific measurements collected and analyzed so that the design can be modified for better performance. 

What does this have to do with leadership?

Leaders enhance their effectiveness, and in turn, the performance of their organizations, when they continually focus on where the boat needs to go and how it is performing. Observing and measuring are critical. 

May we in the United States be deserving of the fine young leaders I met at the Naval Academy. And may those of us in leadership positions of all stripes take the time and care to avail ourselves of resources that can help us put our organizations on course to fulfill our missions.

Mary Sue Ingraham and MIDN Sherwood

Johnston, October 2014

For more information on Gallup's approach to Strengths, or to take the Clifton StrengthsFinder™ online, go to https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/

Connectedness: Bridging Silos

Connectedness, one of the 34 StrengthsFinder™ talent themes that Gallup has described, is often underappreciated and can even be seen as a bit flaky. People with Connectedness see patterns and typically have a sense of the connections that exist between all of humanity and even all that is within the universe. Sounds too new agey? Think about this: The power of Connectedness is its ability to integrate that which is disconnected, whether the fragments are factions of people or disparate ideas. 

What can Connectedness contribute to a team? To an organization? Here's my short answer: People with Connectedness can bridge silos.

Sometimes, those silos are about people. 

Recently, working with a client who is relatively new to her organization, I heard her describe what she perceived to be a preexisting tension between her department and another department. Her impression was that there was unnecessary difficulty in their collaboration, that there seemed to be an "us vs. them" mentality. Because her department and she necessarily collaborate with the other department, improved working relationships between the two departments would be extremely beneficial not only for both departments but also for the organization itself and the mission it serves. Encouraged by me to lean into her Connectedness, she set up a meeting with her counterpart in the other department, at which they focused on the outcomes the two departments need to bring about. By focusing on what they had in common (a shared goal), she helped create a bridge between these two departments that leads to their more effective collaboration. 

While others involved in the situation I've described may have felt the tension between the departments, it was this particular client, with her Connectedness, who had the talent to do three things: 1) sense and name the division between the departments, 2) find what they had in common that would be the foundation for collaboration, and 3) build bridge span to the other department. The result? They are no longer operating in disconnected silos but instead are joining forces to collaborate toward specific goals.

Sometimes, the silos are about information or ideas. 

As a new lawyer working in health care in a large firm, it was my responsibility to monitor new opinions from our state's highest ranking court to look for opinions that could affect our practice. Studying a new opinion that pertained to the construction industry, I saw the possibility that the opinion might be construed to apply to our health care clients, creating a new type of legal claim that could be used against our clients and giving rise to triple damages. When I took this observation to the senior lawyer in my department, he didn't see the connection. After all, the opinion related to a construction case, and we represented health care clients. It wasn't until amended petitions starting arriving at our office, all seeking those triple damages against our clients, that he realized the connection. By seeing the connection in advance, I was prepared with a legal rationale that we then used successfully to convince the court that this new type of legal claim should not apply to our clients.  

When asked to explain my Connectedness, I share my filter this way: When I see all that is around me-- people, ideas, information, cultures-- it's as though I see an overlay of lines pointing between them, drawing connections. And I am hard-wired to connect everything to purpose. I naturally focus on commonalities-- what people or things have in common. To give my Connectedness its most fruitful expression, I focus on connections that have strategic significance. With my clients, I see and name patterns that are relevant to their potential and performance and the goals they're trying to accomplish. I help them spot the common ground that can be strategically leveraged for common goals and the common good. I help them connect deeply to purpose.

For those of you who don't have Connectedness, I hope you have a deepened sense of how it can contribute. And for those of you who have Connectedness, I'd love to hear your Connectedness stories. I'll bet we have some things in common.  :)

For more information on Gallup's approach to Strengths, or to take the Clifton StrengthsFinder™ online, go to https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/

What does a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach Do?

Were you to ask the question What Does a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach Do? of each member of our growing tribe of Gallup Certified Strengths Coaches around the world, the answers would vary but would have a common theme:

Applying research, insights and materials developed by Gallup, a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach helps other people use their talents in new ways to accomplish what is important to them in work and life. 

But how?

Perhaps you've seen the book StrengthsFinder 2.0, published by Gallup Press. 

This Wall Street Journal #1 business bestseller is based on more than 50 years of Gallup research and promotes people having the opportunity to do what they do best every day. With access to a new version of the Clifton StrengthsFinder™ assessment, StrengthsFinder 2.0 also provides strategies people can use to build their talents into Strengths and apply those Strengths in work and life. 

Maybe you're among the people who bought the book, took the assessment, had a brief boost in self-awareness, and then shelved the results because you had no good answer to the What next? question. Gallup Certified Strengths Coaches help with that What next? question by helping people leverage their Strengths toward clearly defined outcomes, utilizing research-based insight, materials and approaches. 

There's more to the story about what we do, though, because each Gallup Certified Strengths Coach has his or her unique niche that relates to the contexts in which we work, our life and work experiences, our purpose and passion, and, yes... our Strengths.

We coaches have many things in common. All of us who are Gallup Certified Strengths Coaches work with the Clifton StrengthsFinder™, have completed a certification process with Gallup, and help people focus on performance and results. We all know that there's a unique power to a Strengths approach, because there's a compelling correlation between people doing what they do best and their engagement, productivity and happiness.

Yet each of us is utterly distinct. Hailing from more than twenty different countries, we each use our knowledge, experience, and our own constellation of Strengths in utterly unique ways to help people thrive in work and life. For example, from my place on the map, I work with high-performing leaders of purpose-driven organizations and their teams as they navigate through change and challenge, helping them turn challenge into opportunity as they ignite and deploy their Strengths toward well-defined outcomes.

And I daresay most all of us share a sense of calling to our work. And this is what makes me happiest about our tribe: We want to help people be their best and contribute their best. That's a privilege and a calling.

If you've never taken the Clifton StrengthsFinder™ and are curious about it, take a look at https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/  For a modest sum and a half hour of your time, you can take the assessment online and immediately receive assessment results.

To connect with a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, access Gallup's coaching directory at https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/Coach/en-US/Index

Engagement Lessons from the River

From Gallup's research, we know this:  When people are engaged in their work, it is a win/win for them and their organizations:  They are more happy and confident and have a higher quality of life, and their organizations benefit in terms of productivity and profitability. 

Engagement matters.

Let me share with you four ideas about engagement that are framed in the context of white water rafting. Applicable to all organizations, these four ideas are directed to leaders and managers: (1) People need to know where the boat is going; (2)  People need to be in the right roles; (3) People need clearly defined expectations; and (4) People need encouragement and celebration.

Imagine a swift-running river.  In the middle of the river is a powerful current, which flows around and over boulders that are lodged in the river bed. On the downriver side of the largest boulders, water swirls in a circular pattern, forming eddies. Occasionally, beyond the banks of the river, are isolated pools that were formed when the river flushed out of its normal boundaries. No current circulates through these pools, which are becoming stagnant. 

Now, let's imagine people who are traveling in rafts down the river, working as groups to navigate the white water. Their destination is clear:  they are headed downriver, and they must work as a team to navigate without capsizing. 

1.  People need to know where the boat is going.  

The current in a river with white water moves briskly downstream, taking what is in it with it. The river is going someplace specific. In all types of organizations, such clarity of direction often is missing. Instead, many organizations find themselves in a veritable swamp, where the water offers no appreciable momentum and trees obscure the view. Leaders (those people who have followers) will meet followers' needs of knowing where they're going: What is the vision that propels us to the future? What are we trying to accomplish? Where are we headed? Leaders must have answers to these questions, and they must communicate to the souls on board the vision of where the boat is going.

2.  People need to be in the right roles.  

The captain of a raft assesses who he or she has on board to configure them on the raft and optimize their performance. Roles on a raft are based on strengths. Similarly, managers can and need to align talent to roles so that people are having the chance to do what they do best. Gallup's research has yielded an impressive statistic:  When people have a chance to do what they do best every day, they are six times more likely to be engaged. And, remember, people's engagement drives their performance and productivity, as well as their organization's profit or accomplishment of mission. In order to align talent to roles, managers need to know what people do best and then align those people and their talents with the roles where they can give the best they have to give.   

3.  People need clearly defined expectations.

When a raft gets caught in an eddy, it swirls round and round, stuck in a circling current of water but out of the main current of the river.  Eddies can be dangerous; they're a place where rafts and people can get swamped.  Similarly, were a raft to get shunted into an isolated pool outside of the river's flow, forward propulsion is gone, time is lost, and the thrill of the ride is disrupted.  There is no fun in a stagnant pool. On the raft, the captain communicates to the crew clear expectations that help the raft stay in the current, avoiding eddies and going-nowhere pools.  In organizations, the manager must set clear expectations so that forward propulsion toward a goal can be maintained. When managers don't set clear expectations, their team members may be paddling furiously in circles in an eddy, working hard but getting nowhere. Or they may get stuck to the side, languishing in a stagnant pool. No clear destination? No propulsion toward that destination. 

4.  People need encouragement and celebration.

After navigating a particularly challenging rapid, often a captain of a raft will call for a moment of celebration. All on board lift their paddles and clack them together, amid cheers and whoops that echo off the canyon walls. The captain leads the celebration of what the crew has accomplished together. Gallup's research shows that one of the factors that drives engagement is whether or not a person has, within the last seven days, received positive feedback for something they did well.  Managers should affirm and recognize a team member's specific contributions, ideally, at least every seven days and in a way that is comfortable for the team member.

Leaders and managers, if you'd like some tools for building even greater engagement in your teams, one of your options is to work with specialists around the world, Gallup Certified Strengths Coaches, who can share Gallup's research-based approaches with your organization. 

Wishing all those on board a great, thrilling, and successful ride.

For more information on Gallup's approach to Strengths, or to take the Clifton StrengthsFinder™ online, go to https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/

A Salute to the Command-ers

At a gathering of Strengths Coaches, one Strengths Coach asks all the Strengths Coaches in the room: What do you get when a woman with Command marries a man with Command? From around the room, coaches mull their answers before shouting out their responses: A marriage that's dynamite? A power couple!  A coach with high Deliberative mutters to himself, Trouble?

Command, that rarest of themes, is powerful. Potent. The theme of presence, Command is about that ability to push back when pushed. To take control of a situation and bring clarity. It's about influence. It's about wading into conflict and engaging the conflict.  

Interesting to contemplate this potent theme residing in both a husband and wife. I've seen it first-hand in a couple that is, indeed, a power couple: Each enjoys great professional success, their talents complement one another in their marriage, and together they are people of powerful influence in their community and beyond. He is an entrepreneur and consultant who specializes in making things happen quickly, strategically, and with great order. She is a leader in the social sector who has held long tenures in institutions, bringing a capacity to develop and implement new models that take root and grow mightily while inspiring imitation by other institutions. While he and she have some overlapping talent themes in addition to Command, their Strengths profiles differ, giving us an opportunity to explore through the lens of their experiences the interplay of talent themes with Command.  There is no one shade of any theme, including Command, as their stories illustrate.

Moving from arena to arena as a consultant and leader of entrepreneurial endeavors, his Command gives him presence from the get-go. Willing and able to be fearlessly frank, he brings clarity to situations where clarity is needed. Intensifying that Command, his Activator gives him the ability to catalyze change quickly. Backed up with solid organization and planning, his Discipline complements his Command so that he becomes an imposing, persuasive organizer. His Command doesn't run willy-nilly, as his Responsibility imbues him with a deep sense of ownership and commitment, while his Strategic, Ideation and Futuristic themes give him the ability to see innovative, best routes forward into the future. He is a Master Commander.

Her arena of operation is quite different. She effectuates change over the long haul in social sector institutions, creating innovative models that deliver entirely new strategies, alliances, and products. Like her husband, she relies on her Strategic and Futuristic themes to imagine and create what hasn't existed before. Her Achiever and Focus drive her to work tirelessly and relentlessly to get to specific outcomes. Her Individualization gives her the ability to be a casting director who brilliantly places and develops talent in roles where staff and volunteers then thrive, and, with her Relator, not surprisingly many of the people with whom she works enjoy deep and lasting relationships with her. But inside that velvet glove of Relator and Individualization is an iron fist of Command. When pushed, she will push back, challenging assumptions, persuading and advocating for necessary change, and using her strong will to bring about big results. She, too, is a Master Commander.

One of the lesser known aspects of Command is that people with Command respect people who will push back when pushed.  In this marriage, that is the case.  Rather than butting heads unproductively, these two Commanders respect one another.  The power and presence of their Command is never destructive in their marriage; instead, it fuels a mutual respect and creates a balance of power.

I salute these Master Commanders, who are using their particular formulations of talent so very effectively.

For more information on Gallup's approach to Strengths, or to take the Clifton StrengthsFinder™ online, go to https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/

A Formula for Resilience

What allows some people to rebound from adversity while others are defeated? What's the formula for sustaining ourselves through defeat, disappointment, illness?  Could the answers to these questions lie in our Strengths?

Years ago, I became fascinated with the idea of resilience. More miles on my own odometer had taught me that those who can continue to adapt, refresh and repurpose were the people who survived with their joy and productivity intact. Wondering whether the word resin had a relationship to resilience,  I pictured a life sap within each of us, like the gooey sap that came out of the pine tree in our front yard when I was a child. I pictured a life sap that allows us to be supple and flexible, to bend but not to break, that allows us to recharge and refresh ourselves for life and work. Studying the lives of people who met life's adversities and who actually found ways to grow and become renewed through challenge, I wondered: What is their secret?

One night, in the midst of my resilience-focus, I had a vivid dream. Opening a pantry door, I saw floor-to-ceiling shelves lined with can after can of motor oil. The cans were colorful, and each was utterly unique. When I reached in to examine the cans of motor oil, I learned that each can was intended for just one person and that the formula for each can was different. I awoke from the dream puzzled. What might the motor oil in my dream symbolize? What was the significance of the unique formula for each person?

Unpacking the dream, I reflected on the functions of motor oil:  to keep engines from overheating, to reduce wear on moving parts, to encourage the smooth function of mechanical parts. To me, the motor oil in my dream was a mechanical metaphor for the life sap I envisioned for people, a life sap that gives them the capacity to be resilient, to continue to perform well despite the wear and tear of life. Just as the motor oil's formula was completely unique for each person, so too are the formulas for our individual resiliency unique to us.

I'd like to share with you two truths about resilience:

1.  Our particular talents shape our personal formulas for resilience. 

2.  When we meet life's adversities, challenges and tragedies by living into our unique talents and strengths, we can grow through our difficulties and produce in new ways.

Let me share three examples of these truths, coming from the trenches of medical challenges in those near and dear to me.

A very special young woman in my life was diagnosed with cancer when she was a child. The cancer was aggressive, and the treatment was brutal.  From my place alongside her and her family during the months of chemo and radiation, I observed an interesting phenomenon: With support from her parents, this young woman set goals. By Christmas, I want to be done with chemotherapy. This year, I am going to form a Relay for Life team and raise money to find cures for cancer. I am going to study to become a pediatric oncologist. This young woman, whom we later learned had Achiever and Focus talent themes, was fueled by goal-setting and goal-accomplishment. By living into those talent themes, she created a to-do list that ranged from near-term to long-term, with goals that benefited herself, her family and others. She was done with chemotherapy by Christmas, she did form multiple Relay for Life teams, she has raised thousands of dollars for cancer research, she has become an eloquent spokesperson as a cancer survivor, and she is a pre-med student in a university with plans to become a pediatric oncologist. Brava!

Another very special young woman in my life was born with life-threatening heart and lung defects. Since childhood, she has beaten the odds of survival, leaning on her Communication talents to navigate the world of medicine. From childhood, she has let medical providers know specifically what she needs and has been an effective advocate on her own behalf. In high school, she became a member of the advisory board of the children's hospital where she received treatment. In that role, she communicated, passionately, about the needs of patients. Now an articulate 21 year-old, she has paired up her Communication and Belief talents to become an effective and ardent spokesperson advocating on behalf of people afflicted with congenital heart and lung defects. As an anti-bullying speaker, she has broadened her platform to serve on behalf of a larger community who need her voice. Her advocacy work fuels her as she continues to navigate her persistent life-threatening challenges. Brava!

Last year, a woman close to me was diagnosed with breast cancer. As a leader in a dynamic work environment, she was challenged to juggle treatment with a host of nonnegotiable responsibilities. A long-time Strengths proponent, this woman used her Strategic Thinking talents (Input-Learner-Strategic) to learn about and plan for her treatment options. She fired up her Input-Learner-Futuristic- and Strategic talents to learn about and plan for all the factors she could control in her diet and lifestyle to mitigate the chances of her cancer's recurrence in the future.With her Achiever and Focus talents, she continued to push ahead during treatment to cross finish lines in her professional life, fueled by the successes and contributions she was making at work to maintain the energy to navigate through serious illness. Brava!

Do you see how each of these women met her respective medical challenge out of her particular talents, finding a way forward that allowed her to be fueled and energized in the process? Do you see that by finding ways to remain productive, to live purposefully in the midst of challenge, they each have grown through their challenge?

Inspired by the resilience of each of these women, I offer to you these six steps to help you on your own path to resilience:

1.  Claim your particular combination of Strengths (your unique "motor oil")

2.  Gather a circle of allies around you who will encourage you during your challenge.

3.  Clarify a goal you have in the midst of the challenge. The goal may have to do with how you'll navigate the challenge, or it may have something to do with "life beyond the challenge."  Pick a goal that will empower you.

4.  Find ways to spin up your Strengths, individually and collectively, to accomplish the goal you've set.

5.  Find meaning and purpose in the midst of challenge by intentionally reflecting on what you're learning and how you're growing.

6.  With your circle of allies, celebrate your successes, small and large, along the way!

Each of us has inherent talents that are unique to us, and we operate with them whether we are aware of them or not. When we know, with certainty, what they are, we can intentionally develop them into Strengths and lean into them in times of challenge or crisis, harnessing them to give us the power to not only endure but also to emerge with new insight, with spirits intact, and new ways to live into our life's purpose.

I wish you well-being and well-doing.

For more information on Gallup's approach to Strengths, or to take the Clifton StrengthsFinder™ online, go to https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/