Using StrengthsFinder to Elevate Your Students and Your ... · Results •Program Assessment –99%...

Using StrengthsFinder to Elevate Your

Students and Your Program

Joe Morris and Devon Wright

Missouri State University

NODAC 2015

About Us

• Devon Wright

– Second Year Grad Student, M.S. SAHE

– Colorado, Texas, Missouri

• Joe Morris

– Director of New Student & Family Programs,


– 10 years in OTR field

2015 NODA Annual Conference 2

Overview

• Learning outcomes

• Clifton StrengthsFinder background & overview

• How StrengthsFinder is used for team and

individual student development

• Suggestions for implementing StrengthsFinder

• Areas for future growth


Learning Outcomes

• Recognize and explain the uses and basic

concepts of Clifton StrengthsFinder

• Build strategies to employ StrengthsFinder for

individual student reflection

• Apply strengths in team formation and

management

• Incorporate strengths into training and staff

development programs


CLIFTON STRENGTHS FINDER

A Background


StrengthsFinder: What Is It?

• Science of strengths and positive psychology

• For decades, the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment has helped people excel.

– More than 12 million people have taken StrengthsFinder (GSC, 2015)

• Do what you do best, every day

– People who do focus on their strengths every day are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and are more than three times as likely to say they have an excellent quality of life. (GSC, 2015)


Our Strengths

Devon

• Strategic

• Developer

• Belief

• Relator

• Achiever

Joe

• Ideation

• Empathy

• Developer

• Adaptability

• Input


Four Domains of StrengthsRelationship Building Influencing

Executing Strategic Thinking

Clifton StrengthsFinder Benefits

• Help team members better understand their

teammates’—and their own—assets and limitations

• Help team members be more intentional and

purposeful in utilizing and developing their strengths

• Pair individuals that will work effectively with each

other with minimal friction or personality clashes

• Increase program efficiency by placing individuals in

positions that best utilize their talents

(Gallup)

82015 NODA Annual Conference

It is a Best Practice

• The knowledge and understanding provided by

StrengthsFinder allows us to improve our

teamwork and better our program.

– Over 600 campuses use Gallup Strengths

– Students and staff that use their strengths are

found to be more engaged and involved on their

campus (Gallup)

• StrengthsFinder vs. other personality assessment


It is a Best Practice

• Focuses on the WHY, not the HOW

• Our WHY is two-fold

– Macro level: Team dynamics

– Micro level: Individual student development


Macro Level: Team Dynamics

• Knowledge of strengths can provide team

members with a language for discussing roles

and relationships

• Positive psychology

– StrengthsFinder shifts the attention from deficits to

talents, which improves confidence

– Students thrive → Program thrives


Micro level: Individual Student

Development

• Baxter Magolda’s Self-Authorship Theory (Evans et al., 1998)

– Theory of self-authorship focuses on a student’s epistemological development.

– Answers Three questions: “How do I know?”, “Who am I?” and “How do I make relationships?”

– Process of moving towards self-authorship and through phases

• Following Formulas, Crossroads and Author of One‘s Own Life

– StrengthsFinder can help with these transitions and understandings


IMPLEMENTATION

Making it work



• Public, four year

institution

• UG Pop: 19,400

• FY Pop: 3,178

• StrengthsFinder not

used campus-wide

• 45+ OLs


New Student and Family Programs

• Oversees transition programs

– Student Orientation, Advisement & Registration

(SOAR)

– Ursa Experience (extended orientation camp)

– Parent & Family Programs

• 2 Professional Staff & 1 GA

• 4 undergraduate orientation coordinators

• 45 undergraduate orientation leaders


IDS 280: Student & Life Leadership

• 1 credit training course for orientation leaders

– StrengthsFinder codes purchased online ($9.99

each)

– Reflection Paper

– Periodic review and application


Building Partnerships

• Program set up

• Student’s individual strengths are considered

when pairing them and placing them in

advising groups

• Some examples…


Group 17: STEM Majors

Kimmy

Belief

Adaptability

Arranger

Developer

Connectedness

Ricky

Restorative

Harmony

Futuristic

Input

Learner




Group 20: Pre-Health

Reina

Woo

Positivity

Communication

Strategic

Adaptability

Greg

Restorative

Futuristic

Arranger

Achiever

Focus




Results

• Program Assessment

– 99% of incoming students said they thought their SOAR

Leaders were welcoming AND knowledgeable!

• StrengthsFinder Assessment

– 87% of leaders know Top 5 Strengths

– 96% understand how to use their Strengths

– 34.8% discussed their Clifton Strengths with partner

– 93% discussed Strengths in general


AREAS FOR FUTURE GROWTH


Areas for Future Growth

• More one-on-one guidance with orientation

leaders

• Intentional and formal discussions of strengths in

early partner meetings

• Conceptualizing strengths development as a

process, not a single event


References

• Evans, N., Forney, D., Guido, F., Patton, L., & Renn, K. (1998). Development of Self-Authorship. In Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

• Gallup Strengths Center. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2015.

• Gallup. (n.d.). Creating Engaging Learning Environments: Focus on Strengths. Retrieved October 12, 2015.

• Rath, T. (2007). Strengths finder 2.0. New York: Gallup Press.


Using StrengthsFinder to Elevate Your Students and Your ... · Results •Program Assessment –99%...

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