Messin' With Strengthsquatch

Not able to attend the Annual Conference on Leadership and Civic Engagement? Once you’ve been excused by Mel and Adam, go ahead and complete this alternate assignment instead. (Due March 5th). We like to call it #Strengths.

Based on what is outlined in Chapter 8 about ways to develop leadership using Strengths in college, discuss the following in your blog:

• Which of the opportunities outlined in the chapter have you taken advantage of already in college? Which of the opportunities are ones you would like to try?
• What can you do to be more Strengths focused in your leadership practice? Think about how your five themes weave together to influence your leadership.
• Find another student leader from a different organization who knows about Strengths and have a conversation. How have they used Strengths in their leadership practice? How can each of you help your peers in student organizations begin to think about leadership from a Strengths perspective?

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Let's be honest, how many people do you know that have taken the StrengthsQuest assessment that DON'T love it? Well, I have met a whopping 0 people during my time at Ohio State that don't jump for joy whenever Strengths are mentioned in casual (or leadership-based) conversations. Not to say that these people don't exist somewhere out there, but they are about as rare as hitting a hole-in-one and getting struck by lightning.... in the same day. Basically, Strengths are great. And because everyone is just dyyyyying to know, my top 5 Strengths in order are: 

1) Competition 

2) Maximizer

3) Communication

4) Significance

5) Woo

When reading through the 10 opportunities for leadership development that were outlined in this chapter, I had a specific experience come to mind for each one. Some of the opportunities that stood out most to me are:

#2 Leadership development and the classroom experience: Ever had Amy Barnes as a professor? If not, you better get on that before you graduate. She's the bomb.com.

#3 Leadership development and class selection: Uhhhh, hello? We have a Leadership Minor....and it's awesome.

#5 Leadership development in athletics: Let's be honest, this is pretty much my life. Whether it's student-managing the Women's Basketball team, coaching high schoolers in AAU tournaments, working summer basketball camps, or playing various intramural sports, my life is consumed by athletics the corresponding qualities of leadership. 

#8 Leadership development through student organizations: Whether it's my involvement with TKE, the Women's Basketball Team, the Greek Week Steering Committee, or another group on campus, there's no denying these experiences are rife with opportunities for leadership development.

Some of the opportunities that I would like to experience more of are:

#4 Leadership development in class assignments and independent studies

#7 Leadership development in study groups

As we discussed in class, being intentional about utilizing your Strengths is not an easy task. It may be even more difficult to be cognizant of and react to others' Strengths. The biggest thing I can do to be more Strengths focused is find ways to keep Strengths prevalent in my mind. I need to write down my Strengths and put them somewhere they will be visible multiple times per week. If I see my Strengths in writing on a regular basis, they will constantly be in my thoughts, exponentially increasing the likelihood that I will put them to use in my actions and leadership opportunities. 

All of the 34 possible strengths fall under one of four categories: Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, or Strategic Thinking. My 5 Strengths, all of which are comprised within the Influencing category, naturally interact and influence my behavior on a daily basis. Competition, my need to be the best and win all contests, and Significance, my desire to be important and be recognized, are both focused on me as an individual. Maximizer, my ability to identify and utilize the strengths of my group mates, and Woo, my love of meeting new people and winning them over, both address my everyday interactions with the people around me. Communication, my capacity to put thoughts into words and share information, incorporates how I respond to the context of circumstances and my environment. 

My friend, Scott, has also taken StrengthsQuest and, like me, is stoked about the accuracy and the potential of the findings. Scott agreed that it is hard to utilize Strengths to its fullest potential when many members of our respective organizations are oblivious to their existence and/or meaning. Scott did assert, however, that he has recognized particular Strengths in his fellow members, prompting him to initiate conversations about the principles of Strengths and how they influence organizational interactions. He is reporting mixed results thus far. I know that being aware of my own Strengths, how I am utilizing them, and how they are influencing my interactions with others is vital to my success as a leader. If I can spread some Strengths knowledge to the other members of TKE, I think we could have some seriously ground-breaking conversations and results. The potential is scary. I see what Katie said about all of Theta having taken Strengths...how do I make that happen?? I'm going to investigate that and maybe, if I can spread some more Strengths lovin' to my brothers in TKE, we will accomplish BIG THINGS in the next couple years! Hey... it could happen.