Hi Reader,
Welcome to the new subscribers. I'm really glad you're here.
In this issue:
- Aim at What's Strong, Not at What's Wrong
- Open Enrollment Learning Experiences
- Introducing Strengths for Couples... FINALLY!
If you're new to CliftonStrengths (or even if you've known your Top 5 for years), here’s one of the most important things to understand:
Strengths are not just what you’re good at.
They’re how you naturally think, feel, and behave when you’re at your best.
That distinction matters, especially on teams.
Many teams focus on fixing what’s “wrong.” Strengths-based teams do something different: they aim what’s strong instead. When people spend more time operating in their strengths, engagement rises, communication improves, and performance follows.
But here’s the part many teams miss: Knowing your strengths isn’t enough. The real shift happens when teams start talking about strengths out loud:
- Naming them in meetings
- Using them to divide work
- Recognizing when a strength is being overused
That’s when understanding turns into impact.
Just this week, during a team session, an executive shared that she has FOCUS in her Top 10 strengths. She leads three different functions, sits in a open-work space, and is "pinged" all day through email, walk-ups and slack messages. This means her FOCUS is experiencing friction all day long. She is not making meaningful progress toward some of her own goals.
She admitted that she sometimes gets to use her FOCUS after her son goes to bed... meaning she is working from 8pm-Midnight. Eeek.
As an executive team, they brainstormed ways to help her find focus time. Ideas they came up with:
- Block out "focus time" and "open office hours" on her calendar.
- Communicate to her teams that FOCUS is an area where she thrives and ask for their help in getting it.
- Reserve working time to take place in a nearby conference room or an office. (The CEO even offered her own office space!!)
A reflection to consider:
Where on your team are people being asked to work around their strengths instead of from them?
If that question sparks something for you, you’re not alone! It’s often the starting point for better conversations and better teamwork.
If you’d like to talk through what this could look like for your team, you’re welcome to reply to this email. I’m always happy to think it through together.
Be Awesome Today,
Kathy Kersten
Gallup Certified Strengths Coach
Host of Obey Your Strengths Podcast
Upcoming Virtual Events with Kathy
FEBRUARY 19 - Strengths 101 for New Hires
$99 |This 60 min Course includes a CliftonStrengths Top 5 Assessment and is registering now...
FEBRUARY 24 - How to Coach with Strengths
$149 | This micro-learning strengths coaching course gives you actionable skills you can use immediately to have better conversations with your team. Register HERE!
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"I wish I could do talk about Strengths with my partner."
I've gotten this feedback for years! Well... wish granted.
I've enlisted the dynamic duo (READ: FUN!) of Jennifer and Ron Soos, a Licensed Family and Marriage Therapist and a Strengths Coach, to give us a webinar on using CliftonStrengths to improve our most important relationship!
You will get a...
- Quick Strengths Refresher
- Intro to Gottman's Relationship Framework
- Concrete examples of how Strengths can change the way you handle Conflict and Connection
- Live Q&A
Sounds like a FUN DATE NIGHT to me! Order some tacos, pour a glass of wine and join us. 🌮🍷
FEBRUARY 26: STRENGTHS FOR COUPLES
A live, one-hour webinar on using CliftonStrengths to improve communication, reduce friction, and understand each other more deeply. Secure Your Spot. <<< This link includes the T3 Newsletter subscriber discount of 25% off the ticket price!
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I'm here for you.
Schedule a chat if you want to talk about Talents, Teams, or Tacos!