Status Go: Ep. 233 – Strengths Unveiled: Embracing Your True Potential to Lead and Succeed | Zaida Monell

Episode Highlights

[00:00:00]: Knowing Your Team’s Strengths

[00:00:36]: The Dimensions of Strengths

[00:03:59]: Zaida Monell – Career Journey

[00:05:00]: What is CliftonStrengths

[00:07:21]: Weaknesses are Important, too

[00:08:55]: Where to Start

[00:11:39]: WIIFM?

[00:13:51]: WIIF the Team?

[00:19:22]: How Often to Reassess

[00:21:52]: Zaida Coaches Me

[00:26:48]: Introvert and Leader

[00:29:34]: Connecting with Me as a Leader

[00:32:55]: Actions to Take Today

[00:37:31]: Thank you and Close

 

Episode Transcript

Zaida Monell [00:00:00]:

As a manager, once you know your team’s strengths, you can definitely approach them if you need something specific that may be one of your lesser talents.

Voice Over – Ben Miller [00:00:19]:

Technology is transforming how we think, how we lead, and how we win. From InterVision, this is Status Go, the show helping IT leaders move beyond the status quo, master their craft, and propel their IT vision.

Jeff Ton [00:00:36]:

Welcome to Status Go. I’m your host, Jeff Ton. Before we dive into our episode today, I have a favor to ask. If you enjoy The Status Go podcast, whether you are a frequent listener or this is the first time you have listened to us, tell a friend, send them a link, or post on social media. Let others know about us. We appreciate it.

Today, we have a captivating discussion lined up for you.

We’re diving deep into the world of Clifton Strengths from Gallup, a powerful tool for personal and professional development. But why should you care? And what’s the value in knowing your strengths?

Picture this: you’re working on a complex IT project, navigating the ever-evolving tech landscape. Maybe AI is involved, maybe the Internet of things. And you’re juggling countless tasks and responsibilities. In such a dynamic field in which we work, knowing your strengths becomes your secret weapon. It’s like having a roadmap to your own unique capabilities, but it doesn’t stop there.

Strengths Finders also helps you delve into the power of team dynamics. Knowing your team’s strengths brings a new level of synergy to the table. It’s about creating a well-rounded and harmonious group where each member’s talents complement one another. Think about that. In this fast-paced world of IT, collaboration is key. When you understand your team’s strengths, you can assign tasks strategically, leverage the expertise, and foster a culture of trust and support. It’s a recipe, not just for meeting deadlines but exceeding expectations.

And here’s the real kicker: the value of your team knowing each other’s strengths. It’s like unlocking the superpowers of your colleagues. When everyone understands the unique contributions each member brings to the table, communication improves, conflicts decrease, and innovation soars, so whether you’re a seasoned IT pro or just starting your journey in the tech world, understanding your strengths and those of your team can be a game changer.

It’s a tool that empowers you to thrive individually, elevate your team’s performance, and ultimately drive success in the competitive landscape of IT.

Today, we have a very special guest, Zaida Monell, who is an expert in the Strengths Finders from Gallup. She’ll be sharing her insights, experience, and practical tips on how you can leverage this tool to your advantage. So, stay tuned, grab a notepad, and get ready to unlock your full potential in the world of IT.

Now, I am thrilled to introduce to you a dear, dear friend of mine, Zaida Monell. Zaida and I have known each other for many years. We’ve worked closely together, and I want to welcome her…welcome you, Zaida, to Status Go!

Zaida Monell [00:03:55]:

Hello, and thank you for having me.

Jeff Ton [00:03:59]:

Zaida, I’ve had the pleasure of knowing you and working with you side by side for many years. As our listeners know, I was the CIO of Goodwill here in Central Indiana. Zaida was the VP of HR. We worked together to drive a lot of organizational change. And I know I stole a little bit of your introduction, Zaida, but I was really excited about having you on the show. Would you mind sharing just a little bit about your career journey?

Zaida Monell [00:04:31]:

Sure. So, I have been an HR professional for 35 years now. Started back in my home of Puerto Rico, and there mostly manufacturing. When I moved to the US. I worked for Red Gold, and I also worked for Goodwill for almost 20 years.

Jeff Ton [00:04:54]:

Which is where we met.

Zaida Monell [00:04:59]:

Exactly.

Jeff Ton [00:05:00]:

And I know coaching has always been important to you, even in your Goodwill days. I know you valued that coaching aspect of management and leadership a great deal. And in fact, you helped many of us adapt a coaching perspective to our leadership.

And now you’ve launched a business around Clifton Strengths from Gallup, and for our listeners, let’s start there. Can you describe a little bit about what Strength Finders is, kind of the background on it?

Zaida Monell [00:05:39]:

Sure. So, it’s an assessment that lets you know the presence of talents that they have through a lot of surveys and a lot of research put together. So, once you take the assessment, you get a report that tells you, depending on how deep you want to go, you can get your top five strengths, or you could get your whole 34. And what that tells you is how strong is that talent in terms of your personality and how you think, how you behave, and how you feel.

And once you know that…I loved how you said it, that it would be a superpower because then you can really home in and continue developing your strengths. I want to make one thing very clear. It’s not that we’re ignoring our weaknesses. It is that because of the research that they have done through the more than four decades, and I don’t even remember how many countries, they have determined that if you work with your strengths or within your strengths, your performance will be a lot higher than if you spend the same amount of time and energy working on your weaknesses.

So, weaknesses, you need to be aware of them. It’s not that you are ignoring them completely, but you would have better performance and a lot of satisfaction if you really focus on your strengths.

Jeff Ton [00:07:21]:

I love that you added that in there because I was going to ask you about the weaknesses side of the equation because I think understanding your weaknesses is important, as you say, and sometimes it behooves us to work on our weaknesses to improve them. I always love to tell the story that 20 years ago, I would have said public speaking was a weakness of mine, and now I make my living by doing that.

I’m not saying if you spend some time on a weakness, it’s going to become one of your strengths, but it is important. And I think it was Peter Drucker who said something to the effect of maximize your strengths, work within your area of strength. You and I both shared a common boss who used to say maximize your strengths to make your weaknesses irrelevant.

Strengths Finders, also, it has a book that goes along with it, right, that talks a little bit about it. Is that still the case?

Zaida Monell [00:08:30]:

Yes, it is. It has been rebranded. It used to be Strengths Finder, and Don Clifton, who was the inventor of the survey, passed away, unfortunately, a couple of years ago, and they rebranded it Clifton Strengths to honor his participation in this.

Jeff Ton [00:08:51]:

I should start using [that terminology.] You know, old habits.

Zaida Monell [00:08:54]:

It is very difficult. Yeah.

Jeff Ton [00:08:55]:

Hard to change.

So, if I read the book and I take the assessment and spoiler alert to our audience, I have taken the assessment, we’re going to talk about that in a minute, but what is it going to tell me? I take the time. I do this survey. I think it was 30, maybe 45 minutes, I can’t remember now. What will it tell me?

Zaida Monell [00:09:19]:

Well, first of all, I would recommend that you take the assessment and don’t read the book prior to, that way, when you answer the questions, you’re going to go with your gut feelings, and you’re not going to overthink it because these are patterns that are recurring in your life.

So, the reason why, for example, your top one, intellectual right? And we’re going to talk a little bit about that, I took some notes from my information here at Gallup. That is something that describes you. But if, for example, let’s take myself as an example. Strategic thinking is not on my top five. And while I am a VP, I’m thinking, oops, what should I do now? Because when I took it the first time many years ago, it wasn’t there. Well, there are ways for you to A, you can surround yourself with people that are strategic and then they can help you with that. But then there are other ways that, through the combination of your strengths, you can also get to that goal.

So, the reason why I invite you not to read the book first is so that you would be very honest and authentic when you are answering the assessment. But once you do like, you get this report, and as a coach, one of the things that I ask people after they had gone through the report, is highlight those things that resonate with you, those statements that really describe you. And on the flip side, also highlight with a different color those that do not. And let’s have a conversation about that.

I have had some people that go well, in my line of work, I really should have empathy at the top of my list. Well, the question is, why do you think that? Because maybe through the use of other strengths, you are showing up as you need to for your role. Those are some of the things that we need to think about when we’re coaching around strength.

Jeff Ton [00:11:39]:

As an individual, why would I want to take this assessment? The old adage, what’s in it for me? Right? Well, what things am I going to gain from it?

Zaida Monell [00:11:53]:

You are going to get a better understanding of what are your abilities because those abilities are the ones that help you provide consistently a high performance. And at work, it is very important for you to know, okay, these are my strengths. This is what I can rely on. So, as an individual, you would have a deeper understanding of who you are and how you show up.

The magic comes when you then know the people that work with you, how you can leverage those, how I know what yours are. So, for example, going back to intellectual, which is your number one, right? If I may, I’ll give our audience a little bit of a snippet of what that means.

So, people with intellectual are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective, and they appreciate intellectual discussions. They have a depth of understanding and wisdom. They love to read and analyze things, and they like to think and reflect.

So, when we were colleagues, if I had been in need for this kind of activity, for this kind of things that needed to do with introspection, I am not a very introspective person. So, I could go with you and say, hey, Jeff, you know what? I need your introspection here for this particular task, for this particular project.

So, in the same way, as a manager, once you know your team’s strengths, you can definitely approach them if you need something specific that may be one of your lesser talents in your practice.

Jeff Ton [00:13:51]:

Zaida, you like to focus on teams rather than individuals. And after our break, in a few minutes, I’m going to have you focus on me as an individual. But when you’re doing your team, talk us through that process a little bit. How does that work? What’s your process like in working with a team? And then what have you seen? What are the results? How does it help a team?

Zaida Monell [00:14:15]:

Well, I have seen this work many, many times. The first one was while I was still at Goodwill, and our team in HR grew to 22 people. So we had everybody go through the assessment, and then we mapped out everybody’s top five. And the top five are really your sweet spot. That’s where you thrive without even thinking about it. So, for example, I guess it would not be any surprise that my top strength is WOO, which stands for winning others over. So I thrive, getting to know people, getting them to feel connected, feel engaged, feel that they belong. So personally, I use that throughout my career in HR, and I’m using it even more now.

So, once I mapped out those 22 people, their top five, it was very easy for me to see who I needed to go to for a specific whatever it was. Right. You remember when we went from paper files to using Workday? You remember that?

Jeff Ton [00:15:34]:

I do remember that. That was a heck of a project.

Zaida Monell [00:15:37]:

Yes. So, some people in my team were more inclined for that work because of their strength. Another example was when Goodwill of Central Indiana merged with Goodwill of Southern Indiana. The skills needed for that particular project were very different from implementing Workday.

So again, I went back to the map, and I thought, okay, when it comes to making sure that the employees that are currently in Southern Indiana feel that they belong, feel that they are being heard, I need somebody with connectedness, for example. So I went to the map and sure enough, I had somebody there.

So, you begin to involve them in a deeper way, and they really appreciate it because they are also going to be enjoying that particular project or that particular task because it speaks to their strengths. I also did it with a couple of other teams within Goodwill.

I did it with the accounting team, I did it with the IT team, and I did it with the Indianapolis Metropolitan High School. But after leaving Goodwill, I have done it with a couple of teams. And again, there are so many activities that you can do to hone in the different aspects of the strength.

So, for example, they start with enhancing self-awareness. Part of working with Clifton Strengths is really everybody developing an understanding of what strengths are, but also creating a common language that they can use. So we start there.

Another step is developing partnerships. So let’s say two people in your team or three need to have a better relationship. We can help them with that. There’s activities that allow for that. Building strengths-based teams. Again, when everybody knows their strengths, and they know what they mean, they are in a better position to have conversations about them.

And then the last one, which I think it’s the most important that probably most of your audience are going to be interested in, is improving performance. Because at the end of the day, the bottom line here is using your strengths to improve performance.

Jeff Ton [00:18:16]:

I love those examples, Zaida, because it’s important for a manager or leader of a team to know the strengths and weaknesses of his or her team. But it’s also important for the individual team members to know each other. And those examples bring that out.

Now, we’re going to pause right here for a word from InterVision. Our listeners know that InterVision is the publisher of The Status Go podcast. And when we come back after break, Zaida is going to coach me based on my strengths, so stay tuned for that.

Here’s a word from InterVision.

Voice Over – Ben Miller [00:19:01]:

Unlock the power of more. With InterVision Systems, we provide the cutting-edge technology and expert guidance you need to take your business to the next level. Don’t settle for less. Choose InterVision Systems and discover what’s possible. Contact us now to learn more.

Jeff Ton [00:19:22]:

And if you do want to learn more, visit intervision.com. There, you’ll find a lot of information about their strengths and how they can align with your team to build your future together.

Now, before the break, I mentioned that I was going to have Zaida talk to me about my strengths and weaknesses. Well, predominantly my strengths. So, I retook the Clifton Strengths Finder and the strengths that showed up for…now, honestly, I don’t know that I would have picked these out of a list when thinking about me and my strengths. But here’s what came to the top for me: intellectual, achiever, context, learner, and responsibility.

So, before we dive into those Zaida Clifton Strengths, how often should someone take them? How often does it change?

Zaida Monell [00:20:26]:

Well, I don’t know that there’s a rule for that. Me personally, I have taken it three times, and I keep four strengths that always show up at the top five. And there’s one that recycles. I went back to the years, and I went back to what was going on in my life while I was taking it, and it made a lot of sense that I would switch one and get another one. The first time that happened, I was going through my master’s degree, and I had input, and I don’t have input anymore. And I think at the time, I was getting all that information, getting all the knowledge and the wisdom from my professors where I was going through the program. So, I think at that point, that made a lot of sense because I really needed that. Now there are people that just take it once, and they go with that.

There’s not a fast rule for that. But if you feel like, let’s say, you’re in a new position, in a new role, you are working on a specific project that may require you to be even more aware of what you bring to the table, then it wouldn’t be a bad idea to retake it.

Jeff Ton [00:21:52]:

Yeah. When I was reading the results of this, I wish I had had the previous time or times that I’ve taken it. I’ve not been able to put my fingers on it because I would love to see if there was anything common or if it was just all totally different because I’m probably, well, not probably. I am in a much different place in life now than I was probably 15 years ago when I took this for the first time, maybe even longer ago than that. So, a lot has changed in my life.

Well, I want you to pretend for a minute I’m your client, okay? I’ve just taken the assessment and sent you the results through the system. Maybe you are able to see the results, and you see these five strengths. What does our first conversation look like after this assessment?

Zaida Monell [00:22:54]:

So, our first conversation would be for you to go through the report, and maybe we do it together, and you highlight those things that resonate with you like I mentioned before. Then, after that, we talk about, okay, maybe it’s a good idea for you to share your report with somebody who knows you well. It could be a friend, it could be a spouse, it could be your supervisor, and have them do the same so that you begin to internalize and to have a deeper understanding. And it’s not that the language of strengths is that different from the language that we use in business, but it’s a different way of looking at things.

Now, I have to tell you, when I read your top five, it gave me a sense of what you are doing right now. So, when I read “context,” right, enjoying thinking about the past, they understand the present by researching history and what you do around your Lewis and Clark leadership training. When I saw that, I went, well, of course, that’s so there may be things in there that do not necessarily resonate with you, but I think it’s about, okay, this is what I am. Yay or nay? And you just accept the fact that these are the talents that have been ingrained in you or developed in you because of the experiences that you have had up until now.

So, we would spend some time there. So, Gallup divides the coaching into three areas: name it, claim it, and aim it. So, naming it is just getting comfortable with the language, the lingo. What does it mean? For example, the first time I saw WOO, and English being my second language, I thought, what does that mean? So, I had to go back to the book, and I go, oh, okay, well, sure. I love meeting people. I have never met a stranger. My kids will tell you that I could talk to walls, and sometimes I do. So, it’s really the naming it is making it part of you, making it your own.

Then, claim it is more like, okay, how can I use my strengths to get to where I need to go? And that takes you right into aiming it because aiming it is that’s the goal. How am I going to get there? Another thing that they mentioned, which is pretty cool, and I don’t have it right here in front of me, but it’s also the pairing of the strengths. So, for example, when you sent me your information, I thought this was interesting. It said you are one in 33 million. These are the odds that someone has the same top five strengths as you, in the exact same order…one in 33 million. Now, when you have intellectual with achiever, which is your second one, that creates a different way of looking at things, different from if you had intellectual with something else, does that make sense?

Jeff Ton [00:26:31]:

Okay, yeah.

Zaida Monell [00:26:34]:

There’s a way for coaches to show and share that with their coachees so that they have an even deeper understanding about what it is that they bring to the table.

Jeff Ton [00:26:48]:

Well, I’m going to put you on the spot here a little bit and go off script, and I can see the fear in your eyes right now.

When I read those five. I don’t know if you interpret them this way or not, but to me, it highlights introvert. I am at heart, an introvert. And so, when I think intellection achiever context, learner responsibility, it’s almost like a bookworm in the back, right? Studying this. Plus, you layer in context and my love for history, which makes me a geek anyway. But I’m a leader of people. So, if I’m a leader of people, yet, my top five strengths seem to point to me as an introvert. How would you coach me to come out of my shell a little bit…maybe is the right word…to lead a team?

Zaida Monell [00:27:57]:

Great question. So Gallup their statement around that is this: you’re never going to be able to have every strength at the top, right? So, they coach you to help you understand. How can you use your current top five or top ten to get there? Now, one way could be for you to pair yourself with somebody with WOO, for example, right? Somebody with connectedness, somebody with empathy, have conversations with them and try to understand how can I use a little bit of that in the example that I gave you before about strategic thinking, as you know, we had a couple of very strategic people within our team. So, you go to them and you go, okay, I am putting together the strategic plan for the next five years for our department. Help me out thinking through the future, considering possibilities, and just plain and simple being strategic. Now, the important thing about that is that once you ask someone for their help with that, you need to trust them, and you need to let them go. Right?

You should not be putting any constraints because then you’re not going to get what you need and what you ask for.

Jeff Ton [00:29:34]:

If you were working with my team, say, right now. My team is myself and my cat. But I’m talking about when I actually had a team years ago. And I, as their leader, have these five strengths. What would you coach one of my team members who maybe isn’t feeling as connected with me as they want to be? How would you advise them to work with me to improve our relationship?

Zaida Monell [00:30:09]:

So I would start with everybody understanding everybody else’s strengths, so not make it.

Jeff Ton [00:30:17]:

One-on-one make it group?

Zaida Monell [00:30:19]:

Well, I would start with the whole group, right? Because it would be very beneficial for you as a leader but also for them as your team. And sometimes leaders are a little bit afraid of being a little bit what’s the word I’m looking for here? Vulnerable. Transparent. Vulnerable. Well, to me, this is all about trust, right? It’s all about being authentic and genuine. This is who I am. My top five are Woo, Positivity, Communication, Learner, which we share, and Maximizer understanding.

Let’s take Maximizer for a minute. That’s my number five. Maximizers are people who find this and are looking for ways to make it better. Now, when I think about that, I think of my father, who was an industrial engineer, and continuous improvement was everything for him. I was socialized like that, so I internalized that at a very early age. So, I’m always looking to make things better. So, if you report to me and you may find that I am a little bit critical or that I’m always looking for how to make it better, understanding that Maximizer is one of my top five, you would go, okay, well, this is who she is right now. Let’s say, using that same example, that I was not very empathetic when I was asking you to find better ways of doing something.

Well, that’s where the conversation needs to be, right? Because understanding that Maximizer is one of my strengths, but maybe empathy may not be one. Maybe we could have a conversation of saying, I appreciate the fact that you are wanting for me to be a better employee. It’s just the way that you are bringing that to me. Right?

And that’s what I said. I think that’s where the magic happens when people are in a relationship of trust, and they feel safe that they can have those conversations. But if you didn’t know that about me, you wouldn’t even know where to start. You wouldn’t have necessarily the terminology or the language to have the.

Jeff Ton [00:32:55]:

Well, Zaida, thank you for indulging me a little bit and going through my strengths. I wanted to give our listeners a sense of what this might feel like. And I know we only spoke for a few minutes about it, but wanted to really get them that realistic picture because I think this is such a valuable exercise to go through.

Whenever I’m coaching someone, I love to start with, what are your strengths and weaknesses, and how can we leverage those to achieve the goals that you’re trying to achieve? And so, I think this practice area that you have gone into in recent years is just so vitally important for leaders to understand themselves as well as emerging leaders and as well as the team members. You have to understand your strengths, the strengths of those around you. It’s the way that you build high high-performing teams.

Now, I know I warned you about this. Our final question for everybody who’s a guest on our show is about action, and I know you are also about action. Zaida, having worked side by side for so many years, what are one or two things that our listeners should go do tomorrow? Because they listened to our conversation today about Clifton Strengths.

Zaida Monell [00:34:26]:

They could go into the Gallup website and they could pay to take the assessment. Gallup has a directory of strengths-certified coaches, and I’m one of those. But there are many across the well, across the world, because they have certified coaches in almost every country. The task of the coach is really to guide you through getting the most that you can get out of this, right? You could buy the book, and you could read the book, and in the book there’s portions there. If you’re dealing with somebody who’s high on WOO, for example, and it gives you some ideas of how to interact with them. So that’s kind of where I would start.

You could also hire me, and I could help you not only individually but also with your team. And there’s many different ways that we can do that. I’ve done it plenty of times, so I have different ways that we can go about it well.

Jeff Ton [00:35:36]:

And I love both of those because I highly recommend hiring. Zaida but also taking the assessment. And then, once you have it, I think having a coach is vitally important for professionals as they grow in their careers. I’ve said all along for years that I would not be in the place I am today without my executive coach. And you know him well as well, Zaida…Dr. Dan Miller.

So, having that coach that you can connect with and help you make sense of things and I think personalize the results, right? Clifton Strengths does a great job of personalizing it to an extent, but they don’t know you like a coach gets to know you.

So great examples of actions. Do you have an idea of the cost? What’s a ballpark of the cost of just going to Gallup site and doing the assessment? Do you know?

Zaida Monell [00:36:43]:

I do not know, but that is something that we can check immediately.

Jeff Ton [00:36:49]:

Well, we can put a link to the website in the show notes. I just thought if you knew off the top of your head, and I should have looked beforehand as well, so no big deal.

Zaida Monell [00:37:01]:

Something I could say if you buy the book, if you buy it on Amazon, for example, or somewhere else, make sure that it’s new because at the end of the book, there’s a code, and you can use that code to take the assessment. So that’s one way of doing it. But make sure that the book is new because if somebody has opened and seen the code, you’re not going to be able to use it again. So that’s something to be aware of.

Jeff Ton [00:37:31]:

That’s a great way of doing it. Just buy the book because you’ll want to read it after you take the assessment, as Zaida said.

Zaida, thank you so much for joining us today. I knew this time would fly by, and I really appreciate you role-playing with me a little bit as my coach. I know that’s not always easy, but I appreciate you playing along with my role-play here for a little bit. Thank you.

Zaida Monell [00:38:00]:

Thank you for having me. This is near and dear to my heart, and I hope your audience gets as much out of it as I did.

Jeff Ton [00:38:08]:

To our listeners. If you have a question or want to learn more, be sure to visit intervision.com. The show notes will provide links and contact information. We’ll be sure to include a link to the book as well as to Gallup’s website, where you can find out more information. And, of course, we will have contact information for Zaida and how you might engage with her. If you’re interested in continuing this discussion, look for The Status Go podcast group on LinkedIn. There, we have conversation about recent episodes. You can ask questions, you can express your opinions, and invite others.

This is Jeff Ton for Zaida Monell, thank you very much for listening.

Voice Over – Ben Miller [00:38:57]:

You’ve been listening to the Status Go podcast. You can subscribe on iTunes or get more information at intervision.com. If you’d like to contribute to the conversation, find InterVision on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. Thank you for listening. Until next time.