Belief: Highlights From Your CliftonStrengths 34

Join Jim Collison and Maika Leibbrandt as they talk about your Belief talent theme -- helping you unlock the power of truly understanding yourself through how you get things done, influence others, connect with people and think critically -- on this Theme Thursday Season 5 webcast.

NEW for Season 5: Below is a full transcript of the conversation, including time stamps. Full audio and video are posted above.

Jim Collison 0:00

Hi, I'm Jim Collison and live from the Gallup Studios here in Omaha, Nebraska, this is Gallup's Theme Thursday, Season 5, recorded on July 18, 2019. Theme Thursday is a Gallup webcast series that dives deep into the CliftonStrengths themes, one theme at a time. And today's theme is Belief. If you're joining us live, we'd love to have you in our chat room. If you have questions after the fact, you can send us an email: coaching@gallup.com. Maika Leibbrandt is our host today. She's a workplace consultant here at Gallup and Maika, it's always great to see you on Thursdays. Welcome to another Theme Thursday.

Maika Leibbrandt 0:42

Well, thanks, Jim. It's the best day of my week. You know, the CliftonStrengths at the top of our profile really are the most powerful. These are the themes that represent your unique makeup of potential. And this season, we're diving into all 34 of them, to help people not understand whether they're talented, but how they are uniquely talented. Your greatest chance of success, whether you're thinking about work, or home, or life in general, lies in strengthening what you naturally do best, understanding that, and doing more of it. So if you possess a great deal of Belief, if it's at the top of your profile, or if you care about somebody who does, today's podcast is for you.

Jim Collison 1:20

So what does it mean to have Belief at my top -- kind of one of my top talent themes?

Maika Leibbrandt 1:24

it means you're led by a certain set or specific core values that don't tend to change, and that do provide a great deal of direction and purpose to what you choose to do and how you live your life.

Jim Collison 1:37

And how might people with a dominant Belief notice this in their life? What are some examples?

Maika Leibbrandt 1:41

There's probably something in your life that you know, has an absolute right-wrong, we don't prescribe whether this is political or faith or even just something like how to treat the environment. But whatever it is within you, there is something and it might not be everything where you feel this. But there is something that feels like it has a clear definition of what is right and what is not. When specific issues or choices are presented, you might feel a certainty about which way to go. Perhaps you even think about yourself as a conduit or a spokesperson or a representative for a specific cause, idea or way of being. Your Belief is going to show up in different ways, depending on different themes that you have. But it all comes back to how you choose to spend your time and to what you really do.

Jim Collison 2:31

What potential blind spots and this is a new kind of a new section in our all 34 report that gives us some ideas of some things to kind of watch for -- what kind of blind spots might hold people -- you know, or or, yeah, hold people back with Belief?

Maika Leibbrandt 2:45

Yeah, so and again, when we talk about blind spots, it's not a diagnosis, there's no scientific guarantee that you're going to experience these blind spots. But it is our responsibility to understand how the theme might get in its own way, or how it might be perceived by others. With Belief, it's possible to see other people through your lens of your own values. And in doing that, it's possible to miss the individuality that other people bring. So I think it's important to take stock of the perception that you have of other people, when you feel "judgy," get curious. Anytime you feel a wall being put up, replace that wall with a question. Invite understanding instead of quick criticism. If your Belief perhaps is still just that sense, or a like a "spidey sense" or a feeling, rather than something that you've explored yourself, it might come across as a dam or a logjam. We took our kids to a children's museum here last weekend, and there was this really cool exhibit about water flow throughout the earth. And that used real water and it's sprinkled down from these pretend clouds. And then it had a river that it flowed into, and you could choose whether you were going to stop that river with a beaver dam, or a sunken ship or a boulder. And I think about every single one of those could be what results when Belief feels like their values are being confronted. It could just be like a shutdown piece, "Just say no." Instead, you could do the hard work of exploring and naming your own values and then get out in front of them by spending time on projects that align with your ex, your external work with with your internal mission. Or even by understanding, these are the things that I'm always going to stand for; these are the things that I think are right. Consequently, these are the things that I won't stand for, that I think are wrong. And through that own awareness with yourself, you can have stronger partnerships where that Belief ends up being really a driving force that drives more than just yourself forward but benefits your team as well.

Jim Collison 4:54

Speaking of strong partnerships, my wife Sarah has Belief very, very high in her in her Top 5, and my misunderstood by me for a lot of years, and I didn't quite know how to use it, how to see it, the -- you talked about that "judgy," that kind of "judgy" word, and that can be a really powerful intuition strength when we think about what it can do for a team, so whether that team is a is a married couple, or is at work, how -- What role does belief play on a team?

Maika Leibbrandt 5:25

So Belief listen to that executing domain, and executing is about doing. Belief might seem more like a feeling or an intuition. But it's about feeling out what is happening or feeling out what you're going to do. Your values drive what you take action on when you have high Belief. What becomes a priority? So within a team, you could be the conscience of the group. What -- What should we take on that's really right to do? Or even helping that group think about, as we progress forward, what are our nonnegotiables? To compare or contrast Belief to other executing themes, Belief might say, "I do this because it fits what I know is right"; whereas Responsibility would say, "I do this because it's right to keep my promises." These two themes show up together very often. In fact, the theme that you'll see most often show up with Belief is Responsibility. So I want to do a bit of a dance with Belief and Responsibility, compare and contrast here. Belief and no Responsibility probably sounds like regardless of the commitments that we have, this is what I stand for. Responsibility with no Belief might sound like I stand for this, because people are counting on me to fulfill what I've said I would do. Both of them together might say, I am going to say yes to the tasks because they align with my core values or a core value of mine is to honor my commitments.

Maika Leibbrandt 6:57

You can see there's a lot of overlap here. Again, I think Responsibility on its own is about fulfilling what you say you will do; Belief is about those core values -- they could live together; they could also live separately within a person. To compare Belief and Consistency, another executing theme, Belief might say, "The things I can get fired up about are unchanging," whereas Consistency would say, "The habits that work for me to get stuff done are unchanging, or not likely to change." In partnership, Belief can be the voice of a deeper purpose, the guide who helps align a task toward a mission. Belief can protect what the team says "Yes" to. A "Yes" to something is also a "No" to something else. So it's important to, I think spend our "Yesses" wisely. I would also add that Belief could go under the radar until activated. It's not an influencing theme, like Command or Self-Assurance that are constantly scanning and thinking about where they needed and how do they respond. Belief really fires up when it's hit.

Jim Collison 8:00

Any clues or advice on communicating well with Belief?

Maika Leibbrandt 8:04

Ask ask the people what they believe is important. Give them space to sort through it. Maybe they take this assessment and they realize, Wow, I've got this thing called Belief, I have no idea what that means. So they might need to think but they will value the the clarity and the permission to really sort and prioritize. Follow up with them, once you've learned what it is they value. Know what they care about, and stay curious about it. I would also say be brave enough to share your nonnegotiables. If you don't have Belief, it doesn't mean you don't have values. It just means they're not tied to your task list, like a spinal tap quite as much as they are with with Belief. So I think it's important regardless of where Belief falls in your profile that you share with people who have high Belief what what you really care about. And get curious about theirs. I would also say there's there's a coaching skill of using some of your client's language. So pick up on some of the words that they tend to value, and see if you can use them back, even if it's just through curiosity by saying, Hey, I notice you've said that a couple times. What does that really mean to you? Mirror it back to them when it's appropriate.

Jim Collison 9:16

Maika, in my case, I actually found trusting that Belief was one of those things that kind of led to helping in the communication, just actually trusting it. How else might we inspire or motivate someone with Belief?

Maika Leibbrandt 9:28

We should really just say trust it for all 34 of these, Jim, that was that was really cool. I would say challenge them to put their values into words. Ask them questions that are going to help them sort to the meaning or the mission or sort of the underlying purpose of why we're doing what we're doing. Give them the chance to select their priorities. Ask them questions like, "Hey, what are you noticing?" Maybe this gets to trust. "What do you think we should do?" Remember that Belief is a little bit of that intuition. It's intuition toward execution. But it's still kind of a gut experience. So just get curious about what they're sensing.

Jim Collison 10:07

What can Belief do to practice this on a daily basis? We talked a little bit about this in the mid-show of just kind of using these in success, how can they use this?

Maika Leibbrandt 10:16

Practice your must-do goals. So you might do this every day, maybe do this every week, maybe you do it every month. But if you have high Belief, and you're feeling somehow out of alignment, it's likely that you are out of alignment. So instead of starting with what's outstanding, start with what's standing out; give yourself permission to focus on the most important things instead of just the unfinished things. And maybe you do that in addition to finishing -- you're, you're tying up your loose ends, but think about writing what's most important today? What's most important this week, this month or this quarter? In the 34 report, it offers this specific advice: It says try to keep an appropriate balance between work and personal life. I almost feel like that's difficult, if, like, at best, and dated, at worst. So what we really mean is not work less. What we mean is align your work to what you value. I think that's an important distinction that comes from a lot of research that we're learning now about what's important to people, we -- today's workforce doesn't want you know, a 9 to 5 that they then leave; we want it we want purpose. And we think about not just a job but really a life.

Jim Collison 11:35

I also heard that word we've used integrate, integrate those two together in full practice. And really I think someone with high Belief wants to be the same at work and at home and have that same Belief structure that exists there -- there's, speaking of practice, we can all kind of do this, whether we have Belief high or not. So we've been spending some time on this idea of talent-mindfulness, Maika, so walk us through that.

Maika Leibbrandt 11:59

So it is time for another exercise in talent-mindfulness, you can follow up with us online #talentmindfulness. This is for anyone, regardless of whether Belief is in your Top 5 or your Top 10, or anywhere in your profile. You might hear tones of Belief, but it's not prescriptive to the theme. It's just a practice. So this will take us to the end of our podcast -- about 3 to 5 minutes, let's, let's dive in right now -- just let go of anything you might be physically hanging on to. If you're sitting in a chair, get comfortable, get all your wiggles out. Maybe you really feel the weight of your body in that chair. If you're driving, don't do this. Here, we're gonna we're going to go into this together, I'd like you to absorb and really inhale all your day and all of your thoughts, take that deep inhale in. …

Maika Leibbrandt 12:49

And then squeeze out all that clutter, exhale, let it all out. …

Maika Leibbrandt 12:59

Here we are with a fresh, clean slate to get in touch with our talents. So let's breathe in fresh … exhale clean. … Today, I invite you to focus on one single word, you get to choose it -- a word that will guide you through the rest of your day and maybe spill into tomorrow or to next week. You might choose a word right now that aligns with your priorities, your values, maybe an aspiration that you have. Think of one word that can lead you through the rest of your day, a word that could serve as your safari guide. If you can't think of one right now, or it's getting to be too much work, it's bringing you out of this space to come up with a word, I invite you to borrow mine. That'll be the word "hope." H-O-P-E. … Close your eyes if you're comfortable, or if you're not, you can look down past your nose to a single spot right in front of you. I'd like you to see the whole world -- whole word -- floating around in your brain. Spell that word in your mind. …

Maika Leibbrandt 14:30

Imagine how it feels in your mouth, if you were to speak that word out loud. …

Maika Leibbrandt 14:43

In your mind's eye, think of that word floating in the air around your head after you've spoken it. …

Maika Leibbrandt 14:58

And imagine what that word sounds like when someone you love says it out loud. …

Maika Leibbrandt 15:10

Imagine that word going back in through your ears, into your brain. And now it's back in your brain. It's floating around, mixing and mingling with the rest of your thoughts. That word is going to land on the inside of your brain, right at the front, right behind your forehead and settle in. You'll carry this word with you for the rest of today, until it no longer serves you. Let that word be your focus, let it be your guide. You are in charge. Now let's come back together.

Jim Collison 15:55

Maika, for for for some of us, defining -- you know we talk a little bit about these beliefs, values is a word that we've thrown around in defining those. What if we have trouble with that -- not all of us are, you know, I'm kind of a "all shades of gray" kind of guy. And sometimes, you know, things are situational. What if I, what if I'm struggling with that?

Maika Leibbrandt 16:19

I think part of it is thinking you know if you can replay this and ask yourself, "What are those times where I would have like gone to extreme lengths to make a point? Or what are the causes that I would always stand up for? If everything else was stripped, what would I need to have in my life? Another really helpful tool is Gallup has this set of values cards. They're not meant to be exhaustive of every value in the world. But they are a deck of cards that you can sort through and think about sorting to your Top 5 most nonnegotiable values. I've done this in a couple of our CliftonStrengths sessions. There's a leadership or a management session around CliftonStrengths where we ask people to do it. It's also included in our some of our certification courses or our Accelerated Strengths Coaching course. And I was looking back at my notebook -- I wish I had it right here -- I have my original like learning journal from the first time that I taught the ASC Accelerated Strengths Coaching. And I've used that same one every single time because I like the notes, I add sticky notes. It's dog-eared, it's loved, it's highlighted. And I noticed that every time I ask a class of people to go through that values-card sort and actually do the exercise, I do it with them. And so I've got a different sticky note for every single time I've done it. And we're talking about upwards of 5 or 6 years now. And there's always been 3 out of 5 that have remained unchanging; the other 2 aren't unimportant. In the moment, they were nonnegotiable; they they tell a really important story. But being able to look back at those, I think, for me, at least serves as a really good filter when I'm thinking about that idea of you know, a "Yes" to something is also a "No" to something. Or a "No" frees you up for a better "Yes." And I'll use those values as just my own personal sort of gatekeeper to think about what am I doing every day? Now I do have Belief No. 10. So that also helps, but it might be a tool that you want to look into. You can always get those or any of our other good resources at shop.gallup.com.

Jim Collison 18:22

Maika, anything else you'd add before we go?

Maika Leibbrandt 18:24

No, thanks for doing this.

Jim Collison 18:25

Yeah, no, super good. Some great questions in the chat; we'll use a little bit of time in the post-show to answer those but will remind everyone to take full advantages of all the resources we have available at the Gallup Strengths Center, just gallupstrengthscenter.com. You can send us your questions. If you're listening to the recorded version, you can still chat with us, send us an email: coaching@gallup.com. You can also catch the recorded audio and video of this program as well as all the past ones, maybe this is the first, first one you listened to. And we we have four other seasons of Belief as well. We'd love to have you listen to them, either on YouTube or download them as podcasts. They're available for you as well. Head out to our Coaches Blog, coaching.gallup.com. If it's after September, or maybe this is after October of 2019, you'll want to go to gallup.com/cliftonstrengths. We're excited about that change coming as well. If you're interested in becoming a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach or take any training that's available from us, head out to our courses page. That's really easy. It's just courses.gallup.com. If you want to sign up for these webcasts and join us live, and everybody in the chat room, we love the chat room. We'd love to have you out here as well. You can see a complete list of everything we do at our Event Brite page. Go to gallup.eventbrite.com. And join us on our Facebook group. We'd love to hear about how you're deploying, using, experiencing this idea of #talentmindfulness as we're doing it together. And join us on the Facebook group facebook.com/groups/calledtocoach, all one word. About 13,000 of us out there so we'd love to have you in that as well. Thanks for joining us today. We'll do a little bit of post-show. With that, we'll say, Good-bye everybody.