(Updated) A Guide: Using CliftonStrengths at Work
How do I apply my CliftonStrengths at work? This is the most common challenge faced by individuals. Coach Victor Seet writes about 3 areas at work that individuals can use their strengths - performance management, relationship management and collaboration
One of the most common questions I get after a CliftonStrengths workshop is:
What’s next? How can I use my strengths more effectively at work?
I'm writing this article to highlight three key areas where you can leverage your strengths.
(1) Performance Management: expanding our effectiveness at work
In performance conversations, we often explore the areas we do well and the possible obstacles to achieving performance. Such discussions often highlight our negative behaviors and whether we are self-aware.
Applying our CliftonStrengths Themes is about applying self-awareness as a practice.
The practice is to notice the patterns in our lives and make the needed adjustments to achieve what we want. This practice requires us to examine our past experiences to identify the patterns and the results.
In my coaching conversations, some examples of behavioral patterns that came up include:
Saying a lot of “Yes” to others
Drifting off-topic in discussions and not being concise
Shifting goalposts, making it hard for others to be in alignment
Leaving decisions till the last minute, putting others under tighter deadlines unnecessarily.
The list goes on.
Applying our CliftonStrengths themes in performance management is to be aware of how our dominant themes show up in helpful ways and not so helpful ways. When our dominant strengths show up in not so helpful ways, they become hindrances to our work performance.
An example:
Jackson, who has the Connectedness theme, enjoys seeing connections between different ideas and experiences. He believes in better outcomes when people connect the dots and import learnings from past experiences.
He started to notice that more and more people were giving feedback on his communication. “What’s the point you are trying to make?; I am not sure of the connection between these two incidents that you have just shared; You tend to talk about stuff that seems unrelated to the agenda and our meetings overrun.”
Realizing that his Connectedness theme was hindering his communication effectiveness, Jackson started practicing holding back instead of the tendency to verbalize connections that came to his mind. He saw that his communication was confusing others and decided to make adjustments. Jackson has since learned to communicate by giving context to his shared example or declaring his key point before sharing the connection. By doing so, he expands his ability to communicate clearly and improves his performance as a manager.
(2) Relationship Building: improving our social effectiveness
In relationship building, one critical factor is the level of trust forged between the parties. Applying CliftonStrengths in relationship building is to regulate the behaviors that will hinder trust building. One of the critical skills in trust-building work is how well we listen to others. Behaviors such as interrupting conversations, jumping quickly to conclusions, etc, show a lack of listening. These behaviors diminish trust.
An example:
Asher, who has the Strategic theme, sees his recurring pattern of seeking more efficient ways to achieve the desired outcomes.
He noticed he gets impatient in meetings because he already sees the solutions to the problems raised when others are still clarifying the issues. His impatience caused him to multitask and attend to other matters while his colleagues were still discussing. He also noticed his tendency to interrupt conversations to stop others from “wasting time” in meetings. These observations came after he received different feedback from colleagues that others have been irritated by his behaviors. They perceived that he did not care and respect others.
Realizing that it could be his Strategic theme that is hindering him from building trusting relationships, Asher practiced turning down his Strategic theme and turning up his Input theme instead. He consciously aims to be curious by using his Input theme rather than be quick to judge. The adjustments helped him to slow down and to show care. That started the process of rebuilding the trust of others in the team.
(3) Collaboration: improving our communication effectiveness
In collaborative work, we often need to coordinate between different stakeholders. Effective communication is one of the crucial factors in driving good collaboration. Applying CliftonStrengths in communication starts with recognizing our own needs and the needs of other stakeholders. Each CliftonStrengths theme has specific needs. When the different needs are met, communication flows naturally. Coordination work becomes more effective.
An example:
Julia, who has the Context theme, sees her recurring pattern of seeking background information and asking “how things came about”. To her, background information helps produce better quality thinking and eventually, decisions. However, she noticed that her teammates prefer to jump into problem-solving mode. She notices their tendency to quickly explore different solutions before understanding the real issue. That has often made her frustrated during meetings. Julia realized her needs from her Context theme were not met.
After exploring with her coach, she made adjustments by learning to articulate her need for background information to other team members. She is now intentional in making specific requests to acquire quick updates on background information or historical data before any solutions work.
The team has since felt a significant difference in results whenever Julia contributes. She asks good questions and brings fresh perspectives. The team now leverages her Context theme for more robust thinking and quality outcomes.
In summary, applying CliftonStrengths is learning to dial up our behavioral patterns in situations that will get us positive outcomes and dial down in situations that will create negative impacts.
The three basic but crucial steps to get there:
(1) Get clarity and understanding of our dominant CliftonStrengths themes and how these themes show up at work. Getting feedback from team members in this area is helpful to get this clarity.
(2) Notice the recurring patterns of our thoughts, feelings, and behavior by reflecting on our past experiences. This includes reflecting about when we feel energized during work, when we get triggered etc.
(3) Intentionally aim these recurring patterns towards our desired outcomes by making adjustments to our behaviors
Ultimately, applying CliftonStrengths in all aspects of work, such as performance management, relationship building, and collaboration, can lead to personal and professional growth. It involves recognizing and leveraging our dominant themes to improve self-awareness, build trust, and enhance communication. By consciously practicing to adjust our behaviors and tendencies associated with our CliftonStrengths, we can create a more effective and harmonious work environment while maximizing our individual potential.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor is an accredited ICF Advanced Certified Team Coach (ACTC) and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) based in Singapore. He is also a Newfield Certified Ontological Coach and CliftonStrengths Coach. Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops. Victor is Director of Coaching and Leadership Development at StrengthsTransform™
8 Reasons to use CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder) for Team Building
Are you looking for suitable Team Building Activities for your team or organization? Singapore CliftonStrengths and Team Coach, Victor Seet, shares why using CliftonStrengths Profiling for Team Building is a great and practical idea.
Since 2015, there has been a great increase in the number of companies in Singapore and across Southeast Asia enquiring about the CliftonStrengths (formerly Gallup StrengthsFinder) Team Building Program. Since 2021, the CliftonStrengths Profiling has been taken over 30 million times globally.
This article is written especially for Team Leaders and those in Human Resource, who are regularly looking out for team building programs that can be beneficial to their team and organization.
Based on past experience and participants' feedback from over hundreds of CliftonStrengths workshops I have conducted, I am giving 8 reasons on why a CliftonStrengths workshop could just be the ideal Team Building Program that a team or an organization should consider.
1. It's incredibly uplifting!
How often do people have the opportunity to hear the good things that other colleagues have to say about their own strengths?
Leveraging on the Strengths Language which is derived from the field of positive psychology, conversations that take place build up the morale of the team. The conversations in the workshop revolved around what is right with people rather than what is wrong. In many work cultures where affirmations and encouragements are in deficit, team members received a much needed morale boost. The overall morale of a team has been observed to be greatly heightened after a CliftonStrengths team building workshop.
2. All new partnerships start with a Conversation
It begins with a conversation. As cliche as it sounds, new partnerships can be formed from having a conversation on how different strengths complement. It is one thing to discover why certain people work well together. It is another to intentionally build partnerships that revolve around different strengths that complement. One of the most powerful segments during an interactive workshop is called “getting the best of me”. It is so important to hear from our colleagues how they feel they can bring out their best at work and what support they need from the team.
3. Knowledge-Based Learning
Most team building activities are interactive and fun in nature and CliftonStrengths workshops are no different. One thing that stands out about a CliftonStrengths Team building workshop is that extra dimension of knowledge-based learning, especially in facilitating self-awareness and in gaining data to understand other colleagues. This is usually missing from the usual one-off team building cooking, art-jamming session or a laser quest mission.
A well facilitated CliftonStrengths workshop empowers and equips participants with practical handles on how to move forward with the knowledge gained. These handles allow the different team members to build on the positive energy gained from the workshop. Feedback from many participants have demonstrated that the strengths conversations that took place after the Strengthsfinder workshop usually transmit into greater synergy in the workplace.
4. Increase in An Individual's Self-Confidence and Self-Awareness
A well facilitated CliftonStrengths session is not only fun but participants leave with a greater level of self-awareness. By learning how they think, feel and behave in unique ways that are very different from their colleagues, participants have commented that the insights can help them in designing interventions for professional development. The knowledge gained from understanding their own strengths and the strengths of their colleagues gives people a renewed sense of confidence in themselves as well as for the team.
5. Understand How Strengths Cause Conflicts
A CliftonStrengths team building workshop helps participants understand how certain strengths among team members can clash and turn into potential conflicts. For example, a CliftonStrengths theme of Harmony prefers emotional efficiency while the theme of Strategic prefers operational efficiency. Harmony believes work gets done faster without the conflicts that suck up more emotional energy of the team. Strategic believes that efficiency lies in cutting down unnecessary steps even if the process has been established and executed in the past.
Such understanding and awareness usually helps people to realize how certain conflicts are non-personal in nature and is really a result of different perspectives. A CliftonStrengths workshop can provide participants with very effective handles on how to manage and resolve conflicts that happen in teams.
READ: Using CliftonStrengths to Resolve Conflicts
6. A Long Term Strategic Investment
A CliftonStrengths team building workshop is a long term strategic investment for companies as compared to one-off bonding sessions. Strategies to manage teams can become more customized because of the strengths data and hence more productive. Out of knowing different strengths of the team members, strategies devised can be more targeted especially in complex work environments.
It is often observed that after a CliftonStrengths team building workshop, many leaders take up the follow-up recommendation to receive individualized coaching. Often the purpose of the coaching session is to learn more about how to leverage the different strengths of the team members to grow team performances. This is one opportunity that can be captured after a CliftonStrengths team building workshop.
7. A Practical Alternative for DIVERSE Groups
A CliftonStrengths session provides a strong and practical alternative whenever a team building exercise needs to be catered to participants of a wide age range (or with vastly different physical fitness levels). The workshops usually take place indoors. While the activities are interactive and fun, they are not physical in nature and do not require any additional insurance liability coverage.
8. Understanding Human Relationships
The most common feedback from participants who attended the CliftonStrengths Team Building Workshops come down to understanding human relationships. "You learn to withhold your judgement because you now see a person for who they are and you learn to accept them”.
This is immensely transforming for any kind of human relationship!
Some Testimonials from TEAM Leaders
“Victor has been a very professional coach, walking with us patiently through our CliftonStrengths results. It was a fun and interactive team building workshop and we are glad to find out our individual strengths through this workshop. Thank you Victor!
Chloe Teo | Senior Director, Enterprise Clients | Colliers International
"The StrengthsFinder workshop went down very well with everyone and it struck me that was a near-perfect and flawless session. The session was very balanced, well-paced and well-organized. The session was peppered with personal (and often hilarious) anecdotes that the team found to be very helpful and relevant. Personally, understanding my own strengths and those of my team has helped to make sense of some of the behaviours from my team members and myself and caused me to make adjustments to some of the ways I interact with my team."
Wong Rin Rin | Former Legal Director & Associate General Counsel, Asia Pacific (MNC)
"The StrengthsFinder workshop was excellent and the feedback from all the team members was that it was one of the most valuable workshops they have been a part of. The concepts and team exercises certainly helped the teams to grasp the strength-based thinking, as well as enabled the team leads to get a closer view of their team dynamics, diversity and strengths."
Saurabh Mandal | Head – Supply Chain (MNC)
"As a Team Leader, I benefitted from understanding the team’s strengths and am glad that the team bonded from the workshop. The team really enjoyed the session. I will recommend this workshop to the other departments. It is beneficial to our personal lives as well as professional lives. Great job!"
Corrine Ee | Head of Distribution (MNC)
"The greatest benefit for me was to understand and start appreciating different talents of different individuals. That enables me to work better towards common goals. I find this workshop interactive, comprehensive and lively! I rate this workshop a 10/10!"
Michael Wu | Chief Financial Officer (MNC)
"This workshop helped me understand the team differences and what makes each person unique and what we have in common. I think this leadership program is a great one and I highly recommend it for leaders & teams."
Richa Goswami | Head of Digital, Asia Pacific (MNC)
How do I run the CliftonStrengths Team Workshop Programs?
Fun & Interactive, focusing on team DYNAMICS, TRUST BUILDING and EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor is an accredited ICF Advanced Certified Team Coach (ACTC) and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) based in Singapore. He is also a Newfield Certified Ontological Coach and CliftonStrengths Coach. Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops. Victor is Director of Coaching and Leadership Development at StrengthsTransform™
8 things to know about CliftonStrengths Leadership Domains
Are you one of those who read the book Strengths-Based Leadership and wonder about how to interpret the four domains? Or are you one of those who got your results and wondered what the colors mean? Singapore CliftonStrengths Gallup Certified Coach, Victor Seet, gives his input and insights about the Four Domains of Leadership Strength and how leaders can interpret their results.
As a CliftonStrengths coach, whenever I facilitate leadership workshops across Singapore and Asia, I often get asked many questions about the CliftonStrengths profiling tool. One of the most common questions I've been asked has to do with the four domains of Leadership strengths. What do the domains mean and how should individuals interpret their CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder) results based on the domains?
This article is written as a resource with the hope of answering some of the common questions asked. This article contains my own opinions as a Gallup Certified Coach, gathered from my training, facilitation and coaching experiences accumulated. Please feel free to check out some of the workshops I have conducted in this Portfolio.
Two key things to note as you read this article.
(1) CliftonStrengths is commonly positioned as a developmental tool and used by managers and coaches in a variety of ways.
(2) Similar to each of the CliftonStrengths assessment results, the way to interpret and understand a person's domain is uniquely individualized.
1. What are the CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder) Leadership Domains about?
Each of the 34 CliftonStrengths Talent Themes are categorized under four different domains, namely Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building and Strategic Thinking. These four domains are categorized by Gallup as a reference and for a different perspective on how the talent themes can be interpreted. The categories work more like a signpost and a guide. The different talent themes are surveyed and categorized in one of the four domains. The key idea is this: the type of activities linked to the particular domain will be the type of activities that the talent theme will most likely thrive in.
2. What is one common misconception that people have about the domains?
In my experience (as a Gallup Certified Coach), one of the most common misconceptions is people believe that a particular theme can only excel in the domain it is categorized in. This is definitely untrue. The categorization of the domains in no way suggests that a particular talent theme will not be able to function well in another domain. It is by no means exclusive. For example, the Learner theme, which is categorized under the Strategic Thinking domain, is often used to build relationships. Learners are curious. They use their curiosity to discover what makes their friends tick and what makes them upset. Learners are also curious to find out how they can strengthen their relationships with people from different communities.
The categorization of the domains simply highlights the area in which each talent theme can manifest its greatest impact when rightly engaged. When we subscribe to the common misconception, we will often believe an internal voice in our head: "Oh no, I do not have any strengths (in this domain)!" This deficit mindset causes the knowledge of the domains to be disempowering rather than empowering.
One of the most common thinking traps that Corporate Leaders fall into is this idea that "I need more people with Influencing Strengths". This is usually the instinctive response when a Team Leader begins to analyze the Team Strengths. Some even go as far as to comment that they need to hire people with specific influencing strengths (which are rare to come across). I usually have to spend time coaching the team leaders and help them understand how to develop their staff to leverage their non-influencing domain strengths to hit the objectives of influencing others.
3. How are the talent themes categorized and what does each domain mean?
The CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder) Talent Themes that are categorized in the Executing domain include Achiever, Arranger, Belief, Consistency, Deliberative, Discipline, Focus, Responsibility and Restorative. You can read more specifically about any of the talent themes in the 34 CliftonStrengths theme articles I have written.
When your talent themes are largely Executing in nature, it means you are someone who often intuitively wants to get things done and finish tasks successfully. The structure, system, budget, processes, timeline and rules are usually areas you are concerned about. While you might be often thought of as being task-oriented, people who work with you know that you can be highly depended on to get things done.
The CliftonStrengths Talent Themes that are categorized in the Strategic Thinking domain include Analytical, Context, Futuristic, Ideation, Input, Intellection, Learner and Strategic.
When your talent themes are mostly Strategic Thinking in nature, it means you are someone who loves thinking. Your playground is in your mind. Facts, data, concepts, ideas, strategies, dreams, and having a big picture are often areas that are of concern to you. You need to know the purpose behind a plan. You enjoy opportunities to create new strategies and explore ideas and meaning. You need room to imagine, and you need your mind to be engaged. People who work with you know that you are often a source of wisdom, counsel and ideas because of your agile mind.
The CliftonStrengths Talent Themes that are categorized in the Influencing domain include Activator, Command, Communication, Competition, Maximizer, Significance, Self-Assurance and Woo.
When your talent themes are largely Influencing in nature, it means you are someone who wants to rally people towards a particular direction. People see you as someone with lots of energy. You are more likely to be perceived as an extrovert than introvert. You are concerned with motivating others, persuading others to take action, and pushing others towards breakthrough. The freedom to speak out, freedom to act, and freedom to make changes are often areas you are concerned with. People who work with you know that you are passionate when it comes to inspiring and rallying others for a cause. The Influencing talent themes are rarer (statistically) compared to others. It is extremely rare to find someone with all their 5 top strengths in this domain. I had the privilege of conducting an interview with Singaporean, Joey Ong, who is one of the few rare ones in the world who have such a combination.
The CliftonStrengths Talent Themes that are categorized in the Relationship Building domain include Adaptability, Connectedness, Developer, Empathy, Harmony, Includer, Individualization, Relator and Positivity.
When your strengths are largely relationship building in nature, it means you are someone who often wants to show care and concern to others, often through an emotional connection. People see you as someone who cares. You send the message that human relationships triumph over everything. You are concerned with authenticity, encouragement, listening to the unvoiced, and ensuring no one is left out. Hearing the hearts of people, feeling their emotions and connecting to communities are often areas you are concerned with. People who work with you know that you are well aware of the human needs of people and you are highly sensitive to them. I found a unique pair of Singaporean siblings who both had the same five strengths (in different order) and interestingly, all five of their strengths fall in the relationship building domain.
4. How do the CliftonStrengths Leadership Domains affect people and tasks?
In my personal opinion, we can also divide the four CliftonStrengths Leadership domains into two general categories - task-oriented or people-oriented. Strategic Thinking and Executing strengths are primarily task-oriented. It isn't the case that they do not care about relationships—only that they enjoy finishing the tasks at hand and they leverage the different tasks to build relationships with others. The Influencing and Relationship Building strengths are primarily people-oriented. For these two domains, it's not that the task is unimportant, only that the tasks are completed because they give meaning to the relationships that exist. Simply put, their motivation to complete the tasks comes from the relationships they are building.
5. Why is it important to understand the CliftonStrengths Leadership Domains?
Domains help us to understand strengths from another angle. It is discovered that a well-rounded team with a representation of talent themes in each of these four domains often have valuable contributions that lead to high levels of performance. In the Strengths-Based Leadership philosophy, it is often taught that individuals need not be well-rounded, but teams should be.
As individuals, by understanding our dominant domains (the domain that most of our strengths lie in), we can understand the kind of tasks we are likely to excel in. We become aware of our biggest contributions to the team we are in. This knowledge also helps us to seek complementary partnerships. We can seek partners to leverage and strengthen the domains we are not so dominant in. Understanding domains also gives us an idea of how we usually impose ourselves on others (often without much awareness) - through the lenses of the domain filters. This understanding allows us to have greater self-awareness and help us regulate our behaviors when it comes to working in a team. Understanding domains thus opens up new possibilities for us to grow our talents into strengths. Domains also allow a team to know from another perspective the areas it needs to watch out for in terms of its most competitive edge and its weakest link.
6. What does it mean when a person's strengths are dominant in a particular domain?
It essentially means that the tasks and scope of work in that particular domain will be the individual's greatest value-add to any team or community that they are in. These people will often feel most engaged when they contribute in their strongest domain (provided that their contributions are also appreciated by the team). A team leader would do well to take note of such a great value that exists in the team, and intentionally create opportunities that can leverage and maximize this person’s unique contribution.
Team Leaders should also note that the reverse is true. When someone whose strengths dominate a particular domain but feel that the tasks and responsibilities given do not give opportunities for the strengths to be sufficiently-engaged, then this individual is likely to become disengaged over time. Team Leaders will do well to intervene and make quick and necessary adjustments.
7. What if an individual's strengths are evenly spread out among all the domains?
There is no cause for alarm. Firstly, this person can give different perspectives (spanning across all domains) without overweighing a particular area. This person's views will tend towards being a more "balanced" one and that is a great value-add to any team. Most people usually overweigh their judgements in a particular domain.
8. What are some things I should watch out for if I am very strong in one particular domain?
In my personal opinion (as a Gallup Certified Coach), there are a few points to be noted:
The perspectives in that particular domain can be extremely strong. Any job that does not strongly engage the strengths in that domain can easily lead to the person becoming disillusioned. For people who have 4 or 5 of their dominant themes in one particular StrengthsFinder domain, they need to be quite selective in the job they are in. Regular check-ins with the manager is helpful to ensure sufficient engagement.
A person who dominates a particular domain needs to form good partnerships with others who are strong in the other domains. (For example, as a person high in influencing and executing, I intentionally surround myself with people high in Empathy, Positivity, Harmony. I do so to grow my relational skills as well as to leverage their unique insights and perspectives to grow my strengths). Strong partnerships can be formed by operating in humility and being very conscious of the need to be interdependent. By being very open to the perspectives of others (especially in the weaker domains), blind spots can be uncovered. This naturally gives the individual a greater chance of success as he or she focuses on strengths and manages weaknesses.
A person needs to have a deep sense of security about themselves. Unfortunately, what usually becomes the talking point among others are usually the domains that an individual lacks rather than the one that individual is strong in. We live in a world filled with people who look more at the bad rather than the good (I believe this mindset can be changed, but I’m just being a little realistic here.)
While I believe strongly that #EveryoneNeedsAcoach, I would strongly advise a person with very dominant strengths in one domain to find a personal coach or mentor who understands how to bring out the best in him/her.
Concluding Thoughts: This topic on the CliftonStrengths Leadership domains remains one of the most important areas to be understood, especially for Managers and Team Leaders. In a very competitive business environment, the leader who can strongly leverage on the unique contributions of each team member is the one who can lead a team to perform at a very high level. Gallup's research has shown that it is the role of the manager to have the wisdom and understanding to create such a culture. I strongly believe this to be true.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor is an accredited ICF Advanced Certified Team Coach (ACTC) and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) based in Singapore. He is also a Newfield Certified Ontological Coach and CliftonStrengths Coach. Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops. Victor is Director of Coaching and Leadership Development at StrengthsTransform™
The Impact of Self-Awareness (Uncovering Blindspots)
Are you projecting your anger / insecurities on others? Each one of us have blindspots. Ontological Coach Victor Seet discusses in this short article why uncovering our blindspots is critical for growth.
Have you been in conversations criticizing leaders and team members who seemed to have low self awareness? Have you wondered if you could be a conversation topic among your colleagues?
What is the impact if you are a poor observer of yourself?
Consider some of these possibilities when you are a poor observer of self:
▶ You project your anger / insecurities on others
▶ You believe that people must be able to see your point of view and you name it as common sense
▶ You believe you show up with the same level of performance daily and ignore the impact of your moods and emotions
▶ You expect people to live out standards that you can’t
▶ You say “Yes” to one thing without knowing that decision means saying many “No” to other things and vice versa
▶ You have a strong opinion that you put forth as a truth, not knowing that your opinion says more about who you are than the matter itself
The above 6 statements are part of a coaching resource on uncovering blindspots. These are common observations based on more than a thousand hours of coaching practice as an ontological coach.
So why is Self-Awareness so important?
👉🏻You can’t change what you don’t see👈🏻
▶ One of the most transformational experience is to notice the way you see the world or “taking a look at how you look at things”
We need more love, kindness and compassion in this world.
We need more to have greater self awareness in how they are impacting others at home and at work.
We need more consciousness in our families and workplace.
▶ My hope is this article will create some curiosity for yourself - what might be your blindspots?
We invest in different experiences to enrich our lives including spending on traveling, food, adventures.
▶ Coaching is an experience that can be transformational. It is an investment for yourself and your loved ones. Why not consider investing in your growth?
Consider reaching out and scheduling a coaching conversation with me. You will also receive the full resource with 20 statements that shine a light on various areas of blindspots,
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor is an accredited ICF Advanced Certified Team Coach (ACTC) and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) based in Singapore. Victor coaches teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. He intentionally integrates the strengths-based approaches and emotional agility into his team and 1-1 coaching and facilitation workshops.
CliftonStrengths: Complementary Partnerships Through Unlikely Pairings - Part 2
How can people with very different strengths work together? This is part 2 of the series on complementary partnerships through unlikely CliftonStrengths Themes pairing, written by Singapore Executive Coach Victor Seet.
This is part 2 of Complimentary partnerships through the unlikely pairs of the CliftonStrengths themes.
The key question asked from the first article was:
“How can people with very different strengths work together?”
I’m attempting to answer the question by examining the polarities that I derive from the unlikely pairs from the list of CliftonStrengths 34 themes. From Gallup’s research data, the unlikely theme pairings which bring insights into polarities are:
1. Deliberative - Woo;
2. Developer - Command;
3. Empathy - Self Assurance;
4. Discipline - Ideation;
5. Harmony - Strategic;
6. Maximizer - Restorative;
7. Positivity - Deliberative.
In this part 2, I will be touching from the fourth to the last pair. I will share my observations of how each theme within the pair has contrasting thinking, feeling and behavioural patterns. I will attempt to name the polarity so that we get an idea why these pairings can be powerfully complementary. Again, these are my own personal views as a coach based in Singapore.
4. Discipline and Ideation
People with Discipline require their world to be predictable. They set up routines and they need precision. They like things to be in order and planned. The need for structure often means they prefer to work within the box and not be taken by surprises. People with Ideation, on the contrary, enjoy newness and seeing things fresh. They are energized by out-of-the-box ideas. Innovative solutions are new perspectives developed on familiar challenges. They are often easily bored by routines and enjoy going beyond previously set parameters to develop fresh ideas and perspectives.
What does this partnership bring out?
The named polarity here is the need for stability AND change. Often, the routines bring a sense of predictability, which in turn, bring a sense of stability and safety. In a country like Singapore where survival is often a key narrative, stability at work is a need that workers require. On the other hand, what workers need and what businesses want creates the tension. Businesses need constant change and innovation to adapt to the dynamic business landscape. People with Ideation brings innovation and fresh perspectives. Leveraging this polarity helps to create a needed dynamic critical to building high performance teams.
5. Harmony and Strategic
People with the Harmony theme look for areas of agreement and consensus. They instinctively listen out for shared points of views. They prefer to help team members find common ground and have a preference for emotional efficiency, even if it means going on a longer route together. The journey towards camaraderie is often more valued than output efficiency. People with Strategic, on the other hand, prefer operational efficiency and having speed. Finding shortcuts is in the DNA. The results are often more valued than the team building process. They seek the path of least resistance and are prepared to rock the boat if they assess that a new path might bring greater results.
What does this partnership bring out?
The named polarity here is the need for emotional efficiency AND the need for output efficiency. To build a sense of togetherness, there is often the need for alignment through some levels of consensus building. Moving too fast without team alignment creates conflicts which in turn creates an emotional state that can be detrimental to team performance. Having the right level of emotional efficiency is helpful.
On the other hand, in the fast moving world of businesses, there is also a need for output efficiency and getting results. Leveraging this partnership allows for constructive exchanges on when it is critical to get buy-in from the team and when it is necessary to act efficiently and with speed to achieve the required outcomes. Leveraging this polarity creates more respect for each other and ultimately creates a stronger bond within the team. .
6. Maximizer and Restorative
People with the Maximizer theme see their world through the lens of excellence and beauty. They dislike mediocrity and being average. To a Maximizer, fixing something that is broken is akin to taking something from below average to average. That process takes a great deal of effort and often does not bring quality results. Maximizer prefers to focus on strengths to enhance quality and create high performance. On the other hand, people with Restorative love to solve problems. They see the world as a broken world and the world can be a better place by solving one problem at a time. Statistically, this pair is also the most unlikely to appear together in an individual’s top 5.
What does this partnership bring out?
The named polarity here is Exceeding Expectations AND Meeting Expectations. Customers are constantly looking for higher levels of quality in products and services and making comparisons. Customers are also ready to complain if the products and services are not up to the committed standards. Leveraging this polarity allows for the delivery of strong business results.
Another possible polarity is building on strengths AND managing weaknesses. Leaders have often seen how a non-performing member pulls down the overall team performance and morale. Managing the weaknesses of team members is part of a key process to build high performance teams. Yet, self-actualization is a powerful driver. The ability to achieve excellence through focusing on our strengths is greatly desired. This polarity creates a powerful partnership in the people development space.
7. Positivity and Deliberative
People with Positivity are generous with praise, quick to smile, and always on the lookout for the positive in any situation. They have the desire to keep environments lighthearted and look to inject vitality and life into areas that feel dead and lifeless. People with Deliberative on the other hand are always on the lookout for danger and what might go wrong. They believe that life is better when expectations are managed well and precautions are well taken.
What does this partnership bring out?
The named polarity here is being optimistic AND realistic. Having an optimistic mindset helps us to have lightness in our approach at work. People with Positivity often draws on this lightness to spread the positive energy around. When team members catch on the positive energy, there are more laughter, a greater sense of psychological safety and more effective collaboration. In times of setback, the positive energy empowers the team to be resilient. On the other hand, having the realistic mindset helps the Deliberative to actively anticipate challenges that might derail the team’s efforts. The realistic mindset often carries a sense of burden which in turn, creates a sharp focus on delivering results. Creating back up plans and planning for worst-case scenarios are the norm.
Leveraging this polarity creates the ability to draw on the lightness to create a positive team spirit and the operational prowess of burden to create focus.
In conclusion: the above examples illustrate how many of the CliftonStrengths themes can be powerfully leveraged. The conflicts in perspectives between the different themes are not problems to be solved. They should be seen as perspectives to be leveraged. Leveraging these polarities can help teams and businesses thrive in this VUCA world.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor is an accredited ICF Advanced Certified Team Coach (ACTC) and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) based in Singapore. He is also a Newfield Certified Ontological Coach and CliftonStrengths Coach. Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops. Victor is Director of Coaching and Leadership Development at StrengthsTransform™
CliftonStrengths: Complementary Partnership Through Unlikely Pairings
Are you consistently frustrated by certain colleagues resisting your perspectives? Or are you looking for people who could provide counter-perspectives to the ideas that you hold? Ontological Leadership Coach, Victor Seet, writes about the power of complementary partnerships through unlikely CliftonStrengths pairings.
As a CliftonStrengths Coach based in Singapore, one of the questions I’m often asked during workshops or coaching sessions is “how can people with very different strengths work together?”
As I listen to the deeper concerns, I discovered two common struggles. First, there are those who struggle with certain individuals in tension-filled relationships and wondering if the conflicts are a result of “opposite strengths”.
Second, some people saw the deficit in their decision making outcomes. There is a tendency to be over focused on one side of the coin to the neglect of another. It is a bias that surface regularly in decision making. Increasingly, polarity management is gaining traction in organisational development.
Polarities are interdependent opposites and each dimension is needed for the healthy functioning of the system. There is a necessity of both dimensions. Central to the idea of a polarity is the expectation that each opposite dimension will have an impact on the system. Having one but not the other creates issues within the system. From this point of view, the complementary partnerships of people with opposite strengths, are very powerful in bringing better business outcomes.
Taking a step back, you might be now wondering: “What are strengths that are considered to be very different?”
There are multiple ways of answering this question. I approach this from a coaching lens. Through some research data published by Gallup, I discovered that there are some CliftonStrengths talent themes that are very unlikely to be paired together in an individual’s top 5 strengths results. From Gallup’s data, these unlikely pairings are:
1. Deliberative - Woo
2. Developer - Command
3. Empathy - Self Assurance
4. Discipline - Ideation
5. Harmony - Strategic
6. Maximizer - Restorative
7. Positivity - Deliberative
So how can people with very different strengths work together?
In this article, I will be touching on the first three pairings to explore this question. These are my own personal views as a professional executive coach.
1. Deliberative and Woo
People with Deliberative are quite private in nature, selective about those they allow into their inner circle and preferring quality over quantity. They are very careful in the way they use social media and doing networking online in the digital world today. They are often very aware of the dangers in the social media online space. Those with Woo are considered to be socially adventurous. They love meeting strangers because they see it as an opportunity to make new friends. They tend to enjoy playful banter, as it helps them build rapport quickly. They are likely to initiate in reaching out to others to build a greater network of contacts, aware of the power of leveraging relationships in the social media space today. This is probably the reason for the unlikely pairing in the two talent themes. When you speak to two different individuals, a Deliberative and a Woo, it is fairly common to observe some distinct differences in perspectives.
What does this partnership bring out?
The named polarity here is the human need for protection AND connection. There is both the need to create strong personal boundaries and strong social connections. In work partnerships, Woo brings the perspectives and learnings of leveraging connections for business development, job search and ideas exchange. Deliberative brings the learnings and perspectives on risk assessment. That means learning how to spot scams, guard against wrongdoings within and out of the system. Deliberative can also share perspectives about the danger of being overly vulnerable and friendly.
2. Developer and Command
People with the Developer theme tend to be perceived as nurturing and patient while those with Command can come across with a colder and more intimidating presence. In terms of people development, Developer enjoys encouraging people to take baby steps in facing challenges. The Developer celebrates every growth and milestone. Command enjoys challenging people to move out of their comfort zones and overcome their fears. While the development goals looked similar, the emotional journey can be in stark contrast. Another contrasting perspective is how each might look at results. Command tends to polarize and see results as either success (“you have overcome”) or failure (“you succumbed to your fears”). The Developer tends to focus on the growth and progress even with not so desirable results (“you did better than before, that is worth celebrating”).
What does this partnership bring out?
The named polarity here is the need for Support AND the need for Challenge. Leveraging this partnership allows for constructive exchanges on when it is necessary to push people to overcome personal challenges and when to take a step back and give people some breathing space. This is a common tension seen in coaching, mentoring and teaching. Leveraging this polarity creates better results in the space of people development, talent retention and employee engagement.
3. Empathy and Self Assurance
People with the Empathy theme tend to be others centered. They naturally want to put themselves in another person’s shoes in order to understand how that person is feeling. Their confidence come from their ability to connect deeply with others and being able to sense what others are feeling. In a rather contrasting fashion, those with the Self-Assurance theme build confidence by developing a keener sense of self. They rely a lot on their gut and have faith in their own strengths and judgments. Like an anchor of a ship, those with Self-Assurance can often withstand different kinds of pressure and they have a great self-belief that is often unwavering. The decision making process is very different for each side. Empathy often makes decisions based on meeting peoples’ needs and concerns. The sensing of peoples’ emotions (fears anxieties, hope and excitement etc) are key data points for decisions. Self-Assurance enjoys taking risks and decisions are often based on their personal gut feel and sensing about the situation. Decisions do not necessarily concern how others might be feeling.
What does this partnership bring out?
The named polarity here is the relying on Others as a resource AND relying on Self as a resource. When should one move ahead decisively and depend on the gut instinct? When should one choose to listen, gather data and sense the mood of the community? Leveraging the contrasting perspectives bring rich learnings and is crucial in a context of fast changing landscape with much unknowns.
In conclusion: the above examples illustrate how many of the CliftonStrengths themes can be powerfully leveraged. The conflicts in perspectives between the different themes are not problems to be solved. They should be seen as perspectives to be leveraged. Leveraging these polarities can help teams and businesses thrive in this VUCA world.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor is an accredited ICF Advanced Certified Team Coach (ACTC) and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) based in Singapore. He is also a Newfield Certified Ontological Coach and CliftonStrengths Coach. Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops. Victor is Director of Coaching and Leadership Development at StrengthsTransform™
THE 15 BELIEFS THAT STOP YOU FROM LEARNING - and being resistance to change - coaching guide
What makes a person more adaptive than another? What stops people from learning and being resistant to changes? Ontological Leadership Coach Victor Seet elaborates on 15 different beliefs that might stop individuals and teams from learning and therefore navigating change effectively.
In the book “Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth”, author Amy C. Edmondson describes the learning zone as the high-performance zone. This is the zone where people can collaborate, learn, and get complex work done. In a VUCA world, high performance occurs when people are actively learning as they go.
This article is about the beliefs that hinder people from learning. When we struggle with learning, we struggle with navigating change.
There are 15 beliefs described here and they are termed as “enemies of learning”. I learnt about these beliefs while doing my ontological coaching course under Newfield and have used these actively for my own coaching work. I often find that these beliefs can help unlock certain blindness, especially in how people resist learning which underpins the ability to navigate change in this increasing complex world. I have observed that these beliefs can be used powerfully to spark transformation and can be used as a guide for coaching conversations, leadership conversations and performance conversations.
I have added in my own understanding and elaborations about what these 15 beliefs are so that readers can benefit further.
1. Unwillingness to admit “I don’t know”
This was one of the dominant beliefs that I had to address for myself. For me, this belief is closely tied to a common mindset: “not knowing is a sign of weakness”. For many people, the idea that I have experienced this before so “I know how this works.” The lack of curiosity is usually more obvious to observers than the person himself. The unwilling to admit “I don’t know” because of the experience gained closes up the space for curiosity. Learning is hindered. There is an ongoing assessment that he or she already possessed the information and knowledge needed for a particular situation.
Conversely, people who are naturally curious often dwell in a “I don’t know” headspace. In this space, the brain actively look for new knowledge, information and pathways.
I observed that this unwillingness to admit “I don’t know” is common among leaders and managers who feel that leadership competency is closely tied with “knowing” and the assumption that when one has experience, it means one must have some knowledge of the subject. Any sign of “not knowing” can jeopardize power and influence so to admit “I don’t know” is a huge barrier.
2. When you don’t know that you don’t know but act as if you do
This particular enemy of learning centers around “acting” in a way to make others perceive that we know. The focus for such an individual is on making sure his or her responses and actions do not show the “lack of knowledge or understanding”. There is little priority on learning about the unknowns. This belief can also be possibly tied to the popular idea of “fake it till you make it”. There is an ongoing practice to produce an answer in every situation and to act as if one knows a solution even when he or she does not. This can be a trap for consultants, lawyers, or anyone who is highly paid because of the knowledge they have.
Overtime, this practice of faking lowers a person’s ability to be truly curious. The person’s brain is usually busy trying to come up with answers so as to be seen as one who knows. There can be multiple reasons why people choose to fake. The fear of “not looking stupid in front of others” is one idea.
3. Unaware that we have blindspots
Do you deliberately consider points of view shared by others? Do you intentionally reflect on what could be your blindspots? Do you actively gather feedback and pondered over why those feedback were given? These questions could help you discover if you are aware that we live in blindness.
When one is unaware that a person can have blindspots, the priority is often on justifying and defending one’s views more than considering other perspectives. This enemy of learning is highly correlated to people who often operate with strong assumptions and have little awareness of what is commonly termed as unconscious bias.
I observed that this phenomenon is especially common for people who experienced some level of success and live with an assessment that there is nothing much more to learn (since they have already experienced success). They tend to be confident in their abilities to perform and deliver results. They might not be conscious of how they are coming across to others. They can be less sensitive to power dynamics and less sensitive to how others who are less experienced, less privileged, less resourced, are feeling.
4. “I should already know”
Is this an internal talk that you have after you made a mistake? There is a tendency to beat yourself up rather than being curious to learn (after a mistake is made). This belief unfortunately hinders learning that can take place from a setback. Instead, the belief focused the individual towards self-blame. During a setback, this belief triggers an emotional response (usually negative) and generates negative thoughts for the individual.
The possible assessment held by is “why am I so stupid? I should have known better!” Such an assessment is prevalent in cultures where speed and efficiency is worshipped. Failures are amplified and there is an assumption that if people are of a particular status, position, experience, success should be “in the bag”. There is little tolerance to embrace failures. “I should already know” comes from the belief that because of past experiences gained, success is to be expected.
This particular enemy of learning is also prevalent in sub-cultures that believe that knowledge is the key to learning and knowledge equals the ability to do. When someone fails to do something and achieve certain results, the internal self-talk of “I should already know”” can be quite condemning.
5. “I have to be clear about everything, all the time”
Have you met people who you feel are “control freaks”? They ask many questions and often demonstrate their insecurities and anxieties through the extensive amount of questions asked.
The belief centers around “the more information I get, the more certain I will become.” This leads one to be obsessed with information finding to handle uncertainties. Unfortunately, having information (knowledge) and processing information (learning) are two separate distinctions.
This belief focuses a person towards an excessive search for information and often hinders a person from learning how to handle uncertainties and change. This was evidently seen during the Covid context. The fears and anxieties lead many to find out as much information as they possibly can, hoping that the information can bring a sense of control.
When there is an assessment that everything can be managed and be under control (with enough knowledge), a sudden or surprise change (leading to many unknowns) usually triggers a negative emotional response such as panic, fear or anxiety. The negative emotion subsequently shuts off the neocortex part of the brain. This limits the ability for the brain to learn and find new pathways to respond to changing circumstances.
6. Forgetting the domain of emotions and its impact on learning
People living with this belief give little regard to the emotional context surrounding learners and how emotions influence the effectiveness of learning. Researcher and Author Amy C. Edmondson wrote that when a person feels psychologically safe, it shapes the propensity to engage in learning behaviors, such as information sharing, asking for help, or experimenting”
Parents (including myself) are the big culprits, often rebuking and dishing out knowledge at the same time while the child is emotionally affected. There is little awareness that the child has very limited ability to retain what is being shared. Rather, the child remembers the trauma of the “scolding received” and remembers how the parent made the child feel. As learners, our ability to learn is largely connected to how we are feeling at the moment of the learning.
There are also many cultures that hold strong beliefs that emotions often lead to unfavorable and unwise decisions. The cultural belief is that we are to shut our emotions down to have improved performances. “Men do not cry” is the classic belief that illustrates this enemy of learning.
Rather than tap into the emotion (such as sadness and what the sadness could be revealing) as a source for learning, the focus is on shutting off the emotion to conform to cultural behaviours. Leaders who ignore the domain of emotions are observed to have very limited leadership effectiveness.
7. Distrust
A teacher walks into the room and you immediately assess that you will not learn much from this teacher. Whatever the reasons might be, distrust is a big enemy of learning. It is important to be aware if we are generally more trusting or less trusting. That has implications on our ability to learn from others, from our experiences or from our failures. If you are someone who perhaps acknowledge that you are easily skeptical and less trusting in nature, this could be an area to be watchful.
In the working world, trust and distrust are major contexts, the backgrounds out of which actions (or non-actions) spring. As more collaborative and coordinating work are being demanded across organizations, the theme of trust is a great indicator to assess how teams are learning, innovating and performing.
As an ontological coach, I’ve encountered many leaders who do not pay attention to the context of trust and how the mood of distrust severely hinders learning and the ability to navigate change.
8. Confusing “knowing” with “knowing about”
Will you want to learn swimming from someone who cannot swim or learn driving from someone who does not have a driving license? The response might be obvious but we can be easily confused by those who know and those who simply have lots of opinions about a subject.
Many are led to believe that they have learnt a lot because they know so much details about a particular topic. This confusion is often made worse by the vast amount of information that can be found on the web. Anyone can be an “expert”. Just look at how many influencers have become experts overnight and strategically use this confusion to spread untruths.
As a side note, it is useful to do a personal reflection because of the massive information we possess on our fingertips:
Do you notice if you are happy with simply having lots of information about a subject? What do you notice about your ability to act on the knowledge you have gained?
9. Addiction to novelty
Are you one of those who moves quickly towards things that are novel or new? Are you easily bored by doing the same thing again and again? It has been researched and observed that the road to mastery on a particular skill or competency often includes seasons of plateau. The grind to practice something over and over again creates grit and patience and ultimately lead to mastery. The one who moves on too quickly out of boredom misses the boat.
You might want to notice if you move on quickly from one thing to another. While there is seemingly nothing wrong with this practice, it does create a learning habit that might potentially stop you from experiencing deep personal transformation.
10. Addiction to answers
There is a common perception that not knowing the answer makes a person feels unintelligent. For most jobs, people are paid to find answers. The addiction to answers however can be a big stumbling block to learning.
When efficiency is prized above innovation, one prioritizes answers over questions. Yet, often it is the curiosity zone where good questions are asked and breakthroughs are experienced.
This particular enemy of learning is seen in behaviours where one gets hooked to the initial answers and solutions without holding the space for uncovering underlying roots. This recurring thought pattern stops one from going deeper to gain transformation.
I invite you to practice staying in the curiosity zone for a tad longer even when you feel that you already have an answer.
11. Not granting permission to be taught
“Who are you to tell me what to do?”
A sense of entitlement can often hinder us. Have you felt like you have spent more time researching on a subject or you have more experience in a particular area and therefore reject learning from others (especially when you believe they are unworthy)?
Ego and pride is often a big hindrance to one’s capacity to learn and navigate change.
This is commonly seen in people who are in senior positions, important roles and assess themselves as expert in their own field. Enough said.
12. Making everything overly significant or trivial
To make a mountain out of a molehill was a term coined when a person makes too much of a minor issue. We might even say such a person is over-dramatic. This person could be habitually bursting into tears, having anger outbursts or spiraling into a chain of negative thoughts.
The challenge here is when such a person regularly assigns tremendous weight to something that has happened and makes a big drama, there is little emotional space left to engage learning.
In this context, some form of lightness is helpful. The ability to laugh at oneself is a big friend of learning.
Making everything overly trivial also hinders learning. Have you met those who are unwilling to let the conversation get serious enough to get to the real issues? Conversations usually stop at the superficial level. There is a habit of deflecting (usually through humor) when something important is about to be revealed. This can be commonly observed in team setting where learning is hindered because humor is used to quickly defuse tension.
13. Living in permanent assessments or judgments
Have you had such a strong opinion about something or someone that make others feel like it’s unlikely for you to accept another point of view? Not being aware that we hold what is essentially an opinion as a Truth (or an assertion) can hinder us from learning. There is little or no space to perhaps hold a counter perspective in tension.
“He is always so full of himself.”
”The situation will never change”.
”What’s the point of trying when we will end up getting hurt ourselves?”
If your language and internal thoughts often reflect any of these statements above, this could be an enemy of learning (unconsciously) that you might be holding.
14. Living in the belief “I cannot learn, given who I am”.
I observed this commonly in two kinds of people - those who consider themselves as experts and those who see themselves as “stupid” in a particular field.
There is a distinction between a Master and an Expert. The Master stay out of the “I know the answer zone” as long as possible. An Expert stay in the “I know the answer” zone as long as possible. Individuals who feel a need to maintain the public identity of “being an expert” in a particular field are often in danger of not asking the questions necessary to open up learning.
When someone feels “stupid” in a particular field, the person often generates an identity (subconsciously) to maintain that they are right in their assessment. “I can’t dance; I am bad at math; I suck at public speaking” etc are the common beliefs that people generate to reinforce the assessment of their “identity”.
To let go of the belief we have of ourselves can be rather painful especially when we have held on to this belief for a long time. Letting go fully means we have to act against the belief (and might end up with results that might make us uncomfortable).
Personal story: I assess that I can’t dance. When I eventually did a dance in front of a group of friends, it actually felt freeing. I had a good laugh at myself. I also felt I had a breakthrough.
15. Forgetting the body as the domain of learning
In many countries, there is a common perception that learning occurs when a person gains understanding. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth.
For most things in life, learning occurs in the body more than in the head. When there is no practice, there are no new results.
Whether it is using excel, doing slides on powerpoint, cooking, driving, swimming, cycling, public speaking, listening, negotiations, selling etc, only practice brings new results.
An active listener is one who practices listening and navigates the challenges involved rather than one who has completed courses on active listening. Huge difference.
Thank you for your patience in finishing this article. Hope this article creates a reflection for you as much as it did for me.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor is an accredited ICF Advanced Certified Team Coach (ACTC) and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) based in Singapore. He is also a Newfield Certified Ontological Coach and CliftonStrengths Coach. Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops. Victor is Director of Coaching and Leadership Development at StrengthsTransform™
The Four Archetypes of Learners - Coaching Guide
There are many different types of learners observed in the context of work and life. This article aims to bring out these distinctions for greater self-awareness. Singapore Ontological Coach, Victor Seet, shares the four archetypes of Learners as a coaching guide.
As a professional coach based in Singapore, I am passionate about helping people gain deeper levels of self awareness. I believe that in doing so, individuals can use the learnings to achieve more effective results in the area of personal growth and development.
This article is on the topic of learning and covers the different archetypes of learners. It is a follow up to the piece I wrote on the 15 beliefs that hinder learning. Both articles are written with the desire to create deeper self awareness.
As you have a read about the four archetypes of learners, my wish is that you can use the information to do a simple profile of yourself. See if you can identify a particular archetype that you might be engaging with consistently.
THE Dabbler
The Dabbler says “I want to pick up this skill as a hobby. It looks fun. The joy of learning is very important to me. I find lots of joy when I started off as a beginner and acquire the basic competency. I feel happy that I can tell myself and others that I now know this skill.”
“I’m not looking to excel. Longer term practice might not be part of the purpose I pick up this skill. I will work hard to acquire the skill to a basic competency level and I’ll be very satisfied. After that, I will move on to the next skill that I find interesting. At work, I am usually seen as a dynamic all-rounder, who has the required competencies of many different inter-connected skills relevant to my job scope and role. I am also known as the one who is constantly picking up new hobbies. I love work environments that are highly dynamic. I love the type of work that provides many opportunities to learn different types of skills.”
The Obsessive
The Obsessive says “I am results oriented and performance oriented. I am the type of person who is determined to reach my goals and my key performance indicators (KPIs). When I learn, it’s tied to my Return On Investment (ROI). The skill I am practicing must make me better and help me achieve my personal and professional goals. At work, I am usually seen as the outstanding performer.”
“Whenever I am not gaining the results from my learning practices, I’ll re-examine the process and find different ways to make it better. I take pride in producing results through my learnings and hard work. My satisfaction comes from the results I receive and not so much the joy of learning. The time to stop is when my goals have changed or I assess that the ROI is not worth the trade-off of my energy, time and resources.”
The Hacker
The Hacker says “I’m interested in finding the fastest way to pick up the new skill. I enjoy the hacking process. Finding shortcuts gives me the thrill and satisfaction. It’s about the speed of learning and knowing I can hack my way through. I’m not concerned if I have missed the foundations required for long term success. I feel happy when I get quick results from my initial investment.”
“Being seen as smart and a fast learner is important to me. I am often seen as the one who can deliver quick results within a short time frame. People see me as a good problem solver in time-sensitive situations because of my ability to hack my way through.“
The Master
The Master says “I’m in for the long haul. I believe in being the Master in a particular field. I understand the process of learning and how my body will take time to learn. I believe that a person needs to be consistent on this path towards being a master and there are no shortcuts to mastery. I will not rush through the learning process. I am determined to persevere through the periods of plateau. The plateau is necessary for my body to learn and adjust.”
“I fully embrace the paradox of being both the expert and a beginner as I pursue mastery. I believe in the Growth Mindset and I work hard to seek continuous improvement. I’ll enrol teachers and mentors into my practice and actively get supervision and feedback. At work, I am often seen as the leading authority in a particular field. I hope to be able to guide others as well in pursuing this pathway of mastery.”
SUMMARY:
Here’s four questions for your reflection and application as you consider these four archetypes of learners.
Which of these archetypes do you identify with most often (show up a lot in your life?
Which area of your life does other archetypes show up?
What advantages and disadvantages has the dominant archetype brought for you?
As you learn the distinctions of each archetype, what might be the next steps for you?
**IMPORTANT NOTE: The profiles are not my own and are adapted from the book “Mastery” by George Leonard. I will like to acknowledge his great work that has been extremely useful for my own learning. I have added in my own inputs and assessments as a Professional Coach so that readers can use the archetypes to generate more awareness in the day to day working contexts.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor is an accredited ICF Advanced Certified Team Coach (ACTC) and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) based in Singapore. He is also a Newfield Certified Ontological Coach and CliftonStrengths Coach. Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops. Victor is Director of Coaching and Leadership Development at StrengthsTransform™
How to Systematically Build Our Performance Capacity
Performance and Capacity are intrinsically related. How can we level up our capacity sustainably to continue to live to our highest potential? That is something to consider especially as we experience increases in our responsibilities in both work and life. Otherwise, the results are often frustrations and disappointments. Singapore Ontological Coach, Victor Seet, shares five steps to systematically build our performance capacity.
If you are an iPhone, what model might you be? Are you an iPhone 15 or are you still an iPhone 6?
In 2023, I have made an observation about expectations when it comes to performance. I notice an assumption that we can create a higher level of performance even when we operate at the same level of capacity. I notice this assumption operates not just at work but especially in marriages.
Most people understand that the iPhone 15 can far outperform an iPhone 6. Yet, I notice that many don’t seem to see the need to upgrade themselves to perform at a higher level. I define performance widely, including thriving in relationships.
Below are some observations I have about people’s assumptions:
the capacity to perform as an individual contributor will also allow the same person to perform as a manager.
the capacity to perform in their thirties will also allow the same person to perform in their forties.
the capacity to manage one kid (and juggle many multiple responsibilities) will also allow the same person to manage two kids and other growing responsibilities.
The list goes on.
I also observe that the consequences of not growing, damage marriages more than work or career. The emotional damage from a broken marriage takes a huge toll on individuals. I am currently speaking to or coaching many in their 30-40s who are facing a breakdown in their marriage. The underlying reason seems to be the lack of growth (in capacity). The school of hard knocks worked for the past generations. Unfortunately, the younger generations might not be used to this.
Performance and capacity are intrinsically related. Capacity can be simply defined as the upper limit or the maximum potential to perform at a certain defined level. While there are many factors contributing to performance, capacity is the baseline.
If a car’s speed is performance, the engine capacity defines the maximum limit or potential. If an athlete wants to perform, the physical fitness level defines the capacity. If a laptop needs to process high quality videos and images, the processor speed of the laptop defines the capacity. To make a great cup of coffee, the coffee beans define the capacity.
So what?
One reason to continuously build our capacity is to LIVE OUT OUR FULLEST POTENTIAL.
And how can we do that?
There is a need to systematically build our capacity.
One key aspect of human potential is the capacity to operate under discomfort. When one is required to play at a higher level, the stakes are increased. With greater level of responsibilities, there is an increase in the level of stress. There is an increase in the level of pressure. We need to grow our “discomfort” muscles.
Building our capacity requires a systematic gradual exposure to putting ourselves in situations outside of our comfort zone. The exposure level is then gradually and systematically increased. This helps us build resilience and confidence in handling discomfort. Just like how our bodies learn to systematically adapt when we are learning cycling, swimming or rollerblading, the body can be systematically tuned to handling discomfort. The increase in our ability to sit in discomfort grows our human potential. Almost all types of growth require us to play outside of our comfort zone.
Here’s five steps to systematically build our capacity.
1. Identify and Rank Discomfort Areas:
We can start by noticing the specific activities we are procrastinating or avoiding. There isn’t a need to judge ourselves. The aim is to be aware of specific activities that will create tensions within our bodies or trigger emotional responses like fear, anxiety or even resentment.
Once we have identified these areas, we can rank the discomfort from least to most uncomfortable. This ranking allows us to know how to systematically progress.
2. Create practices of being in Discomfort:
This is the critical part of the 5 steps. We can start with small practices of being in discomfort to stress test the body. The purpose is to get the body used to small doses of discomfort. We can create highly personalized practices that stir up discomfort within the body. For me, these practices include smiling and greeting neighbours, wearing bright colours instead of my black tees, driving on the slower lane, fasting from coffee once a week.
3. Start engaging in the identified areas of Discomfort:
When our practices become more consistent, we can start to intentionally engage in the activities that we avoid or procrastinate. The idea is to do the activity despite the level of discomfort and notice our responses and growth: How have we adjusted in terms of our discomfort? What new narratives might be emerging? What ew possibilities are we now open to?
By intentionally engaging and noticing, we can adjust our approaches. The thing to take note is that growth seldom happens in a straight line. We need to be patient with our results.
4. Gradually Increase Our Exposure to Discomfort:
At this stage, we can create new practices that will challenge us to level up our capacity. Increasing the intensity of the practices can also be an alternative.
For example, I started practicing swimming underwater and holding my breath for as long as I can. The aim is to put my body under stress and systematically build resilience. I gradually went from 25metres to 30 metres to 40 metres.
The result was interesting. I found myself being able to absorb and notice my discomfort. I found myself being able to respond rather than react under stress.
5. Find Accountability Partners:
As a coach, I am a huge believer in leveraging the power of accountability. I recommend setting a support system. As a coach, I engaged my own coach and have monthly sessions. I also create my own trusted circle of friends who know about my goals and can provide support or challenge me when needed.
As I continue to practice these five steps, I found myself more resilient, more calm under pressure and more adaptable. I found I can also play to my strengths at a higher level. As an ontological coach, I wholeheartedly recommend you to practice building your capacity and potential if you desire to play at a higher level.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
As a Gallup and Newfield Certified Leadership Coach in Singapore, Victor is passionate about helping people be better observer of themselves to achieve the results they want, especially in the area of well-being and performance. Victor intentionally integrates the strengths-based and ontological approach into his leadership coaching and workshops.