How to Improve Your Wellbeing With Arranger®

Below are audio and video plus a transcript of the conversation, including time stamps.

Your CliftonStrengths^® can empower the 5 elements of your wellbeing -- career, social, financial, community and physical. But how does this happen if you are struggling in one or more of these elements? If you have Arranger, Appendix 1 of Gallup's Wellbeing at Work book has Strengths Insights and Action Items that can move you from struggling to thriving as you apply your Arranger talent to fuel your wellbeing. Join Jaclynn Robinson and Jim Collison on this CliftonStrengths Podcast to discover how.

When it comes to other people, Arrangers have this talent for resourcing people to positions and responsibilities where they're best suited to succeed.

Jaclynn Robinson, 1:31

On the topic of career [wellbeing] ... This person [with Arranger] thrives when there's a lot of moving pieces that need to fit together.

Jaclynn Robinson, 4:00

Jim Collison 0:00
I am Jim Collison, and welcome to the CliftonStrengths Podcast. On this podcast, we'll be covering topics such as wellbeing, teamwork, professional development and more. Now enjoy this episode.

Jim Collison 0:13
In this CliftonStrengths Podcast, we'll look at the Strengths Insight and Action Planning Items from Appendix 1 and 2 in the Gallup book Wellbeing at Work one theme at a time, and today's theme is Arranger. If you're listening live, love to have you join us in our chat room on our live page. There's just a link right above me. Or if you have questions after the fact -- any questions -- you can send us an email: coaching@gallup.com. Dr. Jaclynn Robinson is our host today. She works as a Gallup Learning and Development Consultant, which sounds super important, and was the primary -- this is even more important -- and as the primary contributor in Appendix 1 in the Wellbeing at Work book. And Jaclynn, it's always great to have you. Welcome back!

Jaclynn Robinson 0:49
Thank you, sir.

What's the definition of Arranger?

Jim Collison 0:50
Let's start with Arranger today. Why don't we dive in with a definition?

Jaclynn Robinson 0:55
We think of Arrangers as being both organized and flexible. These are the folks that can determine how all the resources and pieces can be arranged for maximum productivity.

Jim Collison 1:05
We -- it's my No. 1, so probably chiming in a little more on this one.

Jaclynn Robinson 1:08
Love that! Yes, please.

Jim Collison 1:10
But let's, let's talk. How does it relate to you? And how does that relate to others?

Jaclynn Robinson 1:14
If you think about how it relates to you, Arrangers are great at just determining how to plan out and coordinate the responsibilities that they have for the day, primarily in a way that's both efficient and productive. So really good at multitasking and thinking about how all the pieces connect together. So when it comes to other people, Arrangers have this talent for resourcing people to, you know, positions and responsibilities where they're best suited to succeed. And then I think this maximizes the team and the workload, because when it comes to the workplace, or even if they're, you know, a sports coach for their child's team, they just know how everyone works most efficiently. It's almost -- I always think about it as matching talent to task and really adept at being able to do that beyond just resources.

How does Arranger look when it's thriving versus struggling?

Jim Collison 2:02
Sorry, I think there's two components to it: There's a people and a process in this, right. And one being -- and they don't, aren't necessarily the same; one being able to organize work or maximize. Now, I have Maximizer also; that kind of taints Arranger for me a little bit, but working with people or working with processes. So just a good, I think a good -- and most of our themes have some of that, that divide, that division as well, but a great opportunity to, to do that. When we, when we think about this theme from a wellbeing standpoint, we think about it thriving versus struggling. Talk a little bit about that.

Jaclynn Robinson 2:39
Thriving, you know, they're operating a lot like a conductor. So they're coordinating people and/or places, including themselves, in a way that's efficient and productive. Alternatively, though, if we think about struggling, there can be too many people is what I think about -- too many things or too many people to adjust. And it feels like this flurry of activity, as opposed to even controlled chaos when you have a lot going on, and you're figuring out ways to manage it. So that can create confusion and burnout for that person or the people that are around them. What else would you maybe add to that, Jim, since it's No. 1 for you?

Jim Collison 3:14
Yeah, we've spent a lot of time talking about burnout and this idea of having for, I think for Arranger, having a lot of things on your plate that you don't have a lot of control over or you have unrealistic expectations for, right. Now, that's common among all, regardless of your Top 5, that's a common problem when we think about wellbeing and burnout. But I think that's an area for Arranger, those with high Arranger to really, to really look out for; just kind of make sure, How much control do I have over this? And if you don't, What are my expectations, then, about the results in that and getting that done? We have some best practices kind of in the book, as we think about that theme, tied to one of the elements -- one of our 5 wellbeing elements. Can you talk about. give us an example of one of those?

Jaclynn Robinson 4:00
Yes, so we're on the topic of career. So let's look a little bit at career. And this person thrives when there's a lot of moving pieces that need to fit together. So they might appreciate being in charge of hard and complex assignments. If we think about that stretch assignment for them, something that's hard or difficult or allows them to just kind of get in, get in and manage a lot of different moving parts is likely going to thrill them.

For those with Arranger, how can it be used to support others?

Jim Collison 4:25
We have 4 additional elements in there in, for each of these themes in the Wellbeing at Work book, and so a great opportunity with those that you coach to work, kind of work through each one of those to have some conversations. Lots of great questions can, can come up from that as well. So, really important, my favorite section is How does it, how can we use this, so this theme of Arranger, how can we use it to support others?

Jaclynn Robinson 4:52
I think about, you know, if you're a, if you're a manager leading a team, matching, thinking about the resources, What are the resources I have? Who are there people I have? And engaging with team members on what it is they do well, to make sure that it aligns with the, you know, the responsibilities that you're providing them with. You might see some of that talent in them, because you've seen how efficient they are at specific tasks. But I think also just asking them, "Is this something that brings you joy and energy?" is going to be helpful just to make sure that it's in alignment. And then finding ways to link them to more of those opportunities. If I think about it from this Arranger being on a team, then they could be a really good team lead, just help people divvy out the resources, "This is what I think we should get done and when." We think about them as being able to have this juggling act, you know, they've got all the balls in the air; they can see all the priorities for all of those. So they might naturally be just this team lead that helps the team stay efficient with the workload they have.

Jaclynn Robinson 5:55
From an individual perspective, Arrangers love a dynamic work environment. And so, I think it's, it's considering -- well, you brought up a great point earlier, Jim, and we can pull that right back in: If there's a lot on your plate, what do you have control over? Thinking about, if you don't have control over some things, maybe that's a good time to talk to the manager to see how you can create a little bit more, I don't know, productivity and efficiency. Because without that efficiency piece, it could just be nails on a chalkboard to an Arranger. And that's, we're talking wellbeing here, so that might burn you out. That might frustrate you. And then maybe just even checking that gut feeling you have: Where do I feel a lot of energy and excitement and enthusiasm throughout the day? where it's that dynamic work environment, and I'm just thriving, and I can't wait to get back to it. We've been talking so much about your, your personal projects, Jim. And you just hear the energy come out. Because it's, "Yeah, I get to do this and this and this." And so where are you getting that energy? And how can you create more of that for yourself throughout the day, whether it's at work or at home?

Jim Collison 7:02
Yeah, and it's been, these have been kind of individual -- for me, these projects have been individually based. They're just me; I don't have anyone else involved. But it's been good end of the year. The weather has been great, so it's been good to get outside. But it really, it gives me the opportunity to recharge -- to get out there, get some, do something different, build some things, think through some problems that need to be solved. We have a. I often get asked, you know, "Where's your Restorative?" because the Arranger kind of mimics that in solving the problems. Restorative actually likes to fix them. I don't always want to get all the way there or have the patience to follow all the way through with it. When, though, that can't -- that, that theme, that talent, and I think from a coaching standpoint, great opportunity to use this to, to, to help Arrangers use this and give it to a team.

Jim Collison 7:55
So How can, in a team setting when I'm a contributor to a team, how can I lend that to others? It isn't, you know, it's one of those, How can I help others get those things going? Or how can I help others with multiple processes happening all at the same time? I think early on on Called to Coach, it worked in a way when it was chaos. Like, and it was. Like, the technology wasn't very good; It's so easy now -- then I'm adding, I'm starting to add some other complications. We'll maybe talked about that in the midshow. But it, it created a space where I could then provide that for a team, and others knew Jim had it, right. And so I think it creates some stability, from that standpoint. So I love thinking that through again. Again, coaches, a framework that you can use right out of the book, managing -- How do you, how do you see this, managing or leading a team; if you're on the team; and as an individual? I think is a great framework to walk through. So Jaclynn, with those with Arranger, anything else that you want to, that you want to add to that before we kind of wrap this up?

Jaclynn Robinson 8:59
I'd say if you're thinking about, How can I continue to, you know, work through my wellbeing for self? One thing that you could even think about if you're managing a team or even managing your family: How can I better position individuals to use their strengths every day? If you're, you know, connecting with your team members, of all the things that they do well in their job, which ones do they do the best? And again, looking for ways to align them to those tasks.

Jaclynn Robinson 9:26
And then last, if we think about taking action and then just moving forward, and we want to use this now, scheduling time for team events or, you know, social activities. Whether it's remote or on site, people are looking for that; they're still feeling a little bit of this, you know, social isolation. They're looking for that sense of camaraderie. And I think that's something Arrangers do really well is looking for ways to kind of bring people together. If that's the people piece that you have, because we talked about this earlier, Arrangers -- there's a people side; there's a processes side. And some feel like they have both. But whenever you're, you're able to maybe manage this dynamic environment and bring people together, it might feel quite thrilling.

Jim Collison 10:08
Yeah. From a take-action standpoint lately, with, with Arranger 1 and Woo and Relator also in the Top 10, I shifted from getting groups together to getting individuals together, one-on-one conversations. So lots of activity around, "Hey, can I just call you?" "Hey, can I just spend some time with you?" "Hey, can, can we get it, can we just jump on a call?" High activity, lots of those calls going on, right? Just a different focus. Instead of it being a group of people all in person doing things together for an event, it became a group of individuals doing things for, kind of for a purpose or whatever, whatever those individuals needed. And it gave me a great opportunity to take action in that way. Jaclynn anything else?

Jaclynn Robinson 10:53
I love, well, even just hearing you talk about the people piece, I hear the processes piece, it sounds like, which is great, because it's, Oh, do you just have time? And Arrangers, you know, you might have 5 minutes. And that's time to be very efficient and productive. And Oh, I can squeeze in a call before I have my next meeting that pops up on my calendar.

Jim Collison 11:10
Yeah, and it's kind of exciting when it does happen. Like, for some people, those, more tasks getting added kind of is like, Ah! And I think sometimes the value in this Arranger is, it's like, "Oh!" You know, "Hey, this is gonna be great!" I mean, I think sometimes the best day is a busy day. You know, you look at your calendar. I get excited when the calendar is full. And it's kind of like so well, super great. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of the CliftonStrengths Podcast. Make sure you like and subscribe wherever you listen, so you never miss an episode. And if you're really enjoying this podcast, please leave a review. This helps us promote strengths globally.

Jaclynn Robinson's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Strategic, Maximizer, Positivity and Relator.

Gallup^®, CliftonStrengths^® and each of the 34 CliftonStrengths theme names are trademarks of Gallup. Copyright © 2000 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.