The key to success is to fully understand how to apply your greatest talents and strengths in your everyday life. During this workshop, we will make the case for focusing on strengths as the way to unlock your leadership potential. We will begin to explore your top five talent themes from your StrengthsFinder report and discuss ways to apply your talents to your work in LeadMN.

1. START WITH TALENT
FINISH WITH STRENGTH
S H A N N O N W I L L I A M S , M C T C
G A L L U P - C E R T I F I E D S T R E N G T H S C O A C H

2. TODAY’S PLAN
• We will explore:
– The concept of talent as a critical driver of success
– Your greatest talents and how to apply them
• What is strengths-based development?
• Your Top 5
• Name It, Claim It, Aim It!

3. KEYS TO SUCCESS
• When you think of highly successful people, who do you think
of?
• What made this person successful? What are the
characteristics that made this person successful?

4. CONVENTIONAL APPROACH
• Maintain strengths and work on fixing weaknesses.
Loop of identifying improvement areas and developing
an improvement plan.
• Assumptions:
–Most, if not all, behaviors can be learned.
–The best in a role display the same behaviors.
–Weakness fixing leads to success.

5. STRENGTHS-BASED APPROACH
• Focus on each person’s strengths and manage round
weakness.
• Loop of identifying talents and focusing on strengths.
• Assumptions:
–Only some behaviors can be learned (skills + knowledge).
–The best in a role deliver the same outcomes using different
behaviors.
–Weakness fixing prevents failure; strengths building leads to

6. WRITING
CHALLENGE

7. There is a strong connection between:
–Who people are and what they do best
–What people do best and how they feel
–How people feel and how they perform

8. START WITH TALENT,
FINISH WITH STRENGTH
Talent = BEING
A natural way of
thinking, feeling, or
behaving
Strength = DOING
The ability to
consistently provide
near-perfect
performance

9. EXPLORE YOUR
THEME REPORT
R E A D Y O U R R E P O R T A N D H I G H L I G H T
W O R D S O R P H R A S E S T H AT D E S C R I B E
Y O U .

10. THEME MAPS

11. LOVE/
CRAZY/
ENVY

12. BALCONIES AND BASEMENTS
• Themes are neutral, meaning they are not inherently good or
bad.
• People can use them for “good” or “evil”.
• Remember – talents are NATURAL ways of thinking and
behaving.

13. BALCONIES AND BASEMENTS
ACTIVATOR BALCONIES:
Self-Starter, Mover and Shaker, Energy Source, Fearless
ACTIVATOR BASEMENTS:
Ready-Aim-Fire, Loose Cannon, Speaks Before Thinks
A person with Activator is attending a meeting. How might this
theme manifest itself?

14. BALCONIES AND BASEMENTS
FUTURISTIC BALCONIES:
Imaginative, Creative, Visionary, Inspiring
FUTURISTIC BASEMENTS:
Dreamer, Lacks Pragmatism, Out in Left Field
A person with Futuristic is attending a meeting. How might this
theme manifest itself?

15. BALCONIES AND BASEMENTS
Consider your dominant themes (top 5).
What are your potential basements?
What give you your power and edge (balconies)?

16. AIM IT!

17. QUESTIONS?
T H A N K Y O U !