How to Improve Your Wellbeing With Includer®

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 Includer, 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 Includer talent to fuel your wellbeing. Join Jaclynn Robinson and Jim Collison on this CliftonStrengths Podcast to discover how.

Others feel seen, heard and valued when you're around because of your ability to hone in on who hasn't had a voice at the table. So you really help create the sense of belongingness for others.

Jaclynn Robinson, 1:43

This would be an opportune time to just consider other cross-functional teams who should be included in your own team's goal-setting or planning, so everyone's in alignment with goals, challenges and so forth.

Jaclynn Robinson, 6:24

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

Jim Collison 0:14
In this Clifton Strengths Podcast, we'll look at the Strengths Insight and Action Planning items from Appendix 1 in the Gallup book Wellbeing at Work one theme at a time, and today's theme is Includer. If you're listening live, love to have you join us on our chat room. There's just a link right above us there. You can jump into that, join us in the YouTube chat. If you're listening after the fact, and you've got some questions, you can always send us an email: coaching@gallup.com. Dr. Jaclynn Robinson is our host today. She works as a Learning -- a Gallup Learning and Development Consultant and was the primary contributor to Appendix 1 in the Wellbeing at Work book. And Jaclynn, always great to see you, and welcome back!

Jaclynn Robinson 0:49
Thank you, sir! It's good to be here. Happy Friday!

What's the definition of Includer?

Jim Collison 0:52
Good to have you. Happy Friday to you as well. We are talking about Includer. What, how about the definition of that? Let's get started with that.

Jaclynn Robinson 0:59
Yes, so people that leave with the Includer theme accept others. They show awareness of those who feel left out and make an effort to include them.

Jim Collison 1:06
I had an admin who has this No. 1, and she was fabulous at saying, reminding me like, Hey, think about these people. Super, super helpful talent for me, because that gets -- I -- good at process; not as good at the people sometimes. Let's talk a little bit about how it relates to you and how it relates to others.

Jaclynn Robinson 1:26
How it relates to you: So you likely feel at your best when you can lead with an arms-wide-open nature. Events where, you know, all are welcome or meetings where all can be heard might just light up your day. How it relates to others: I think about the perception people feel. So others feel seen, heard and valued when you're around because of your ability to hone in on who hasn't had a voice at the table. So you really help create the sense of belongingness for others.

How does Includer look when it's thriving vs. struggling?

Jim Collison 1:54
Not that we haven't had an event over the last 2 years that's separated us in many ways. And I think there's some superpowers involved in this Includer theme. And, and I think it's one that doesn't get talked about enough or doesn't get enough mojo is the word I would use on that, so, excited about talking about it. As we think about Includer, in this area of wellbeing, let's talk a little bit about as it's thriving, and then versus How is it, what does it look like when it's suffering?

Jaclynn Robinson 2:23
Thriving is when there's this culture of belongingness, and that is valued in their family life, in their community, in the workplace. And they're able to bring the right people to sit at the table, whether that's the family table or the roundtable. Struggling is when you sense that people don't feel valued or heard, or maybe favoritism is occurring, or the sense of belongingness within your environment hasn't quite taken -- oh, what's a good word for it? -- taken wind, where other people are really bought in. Or it's just happening in chunks here and there, and you really just want to see it spread like a wildfire. So that could be frustrating.

Jim Collison 3:02
Could it, could it also be frustrating when people are purposely or intentionally or systematically being excluded in situations? So, and so, Includers may feel that they want to include in the systems around them, right, maybe excluding on purpose -- not that we haven't been talking about that here in the United States for the last 2 years, right. But, but very, very important, as we think about. But anything else you want to add to that?

Jaclynn Robinson 3:33
That's such a good callout, and it really is their time to shine right now. Because even if maybe leadership, wherever leadership is, whether it's government, state or in the workplace, if they're not necessarily bought into the sense of belongingness, people are, and so Includer is can really be that voice for the people at this point in time.

Jim Collison 3:52
We have some best practices in the back of the book in Appendix 1, where we break that down by each, each element of wellbeing. Jaclynn, what -- which one have you picked for us today?

Jaclynn Robinson 4:03
I picked community. So this person would be great at bringing people together at a town hall or community event where a broad mix of people can share their opinions and concerns. They thrive when asked to do this. So anytime that they can invite people in is a very happy circumstance for this individual -- birthday party, could be anything.

Jim Collison 4:24
Yeah. And I think sometimes in the sense of also having opportunity, right, not, not to invite just to invite, but to invite -- to include to also partake in the opportunities that are available in whatever's happening in that. I think there's a sense of, for those with high Includer, there's this sense of almost like with an empathy that has this human element to it. They can feel when the group's not complete, or we, we're leaving people out. Or think about groups where there's, you know, a big room and lots of people. And certain, certain people begin to congregate together -- it just naturally happens, right.

Jaclynn Robinson 5:07
Yes. The middle school dance, which probably -- globally, we all are familiar with the middle school dance. People on both sides just staring at each other. They sense that too.

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

Jim Collison 5:19
You've got some natural coagulation of the, of those, of people together, right -- they begin to clump together. Then on the fringes, there's always maybe some individuals that, that don't, aren't, they're not fitting in or they're not feeling like they're fitting in. And I think those with Includer bring -- sense that pretty quickly and are able to find ways to, to bring them into the group. I struggle with that. I mean, I have it. It's mid, and sometimes I do it. But sometimes if I'm busy, I'll bypass it. And I think those with Includer high are able to sense that pretty quickly in a room. So we have 4 other elements and 4 other examples, as we think about those, those elements of wellbeing there in the back of the book Wellbeing at Work. So Jaclynn, with this idea of Includer in mind, how can we really use that? We just talked about using it to support others by including them in group settings. But how else can we use that to, to really support others?

Jaclynn Robinson 6:18
If you're a manager or you're leading a team, because Includers, you have that spidey sense for who should be included, this would be an opportune time to just consider other cross-functional teams who should be included in your own team's goal-setting or planning, so everyone's in alignment with goals, challenges and so forth. If you're on a team, who on the team is more reserved or introverted? And again, being able to check in with them, and see what their thoughts and ideas are, helps them feel valued. And that might even help pull them out of their shell a little bit if they're just uncomfortable maybe sharing with people until they have that warm and welcome feeling. As an individual, who would be great to include as an accountability partner, champion or thought partner in your own life? I think Includers are great at including others in conversation and goal-setting; this would be a good way to personalize it and apply those same skills.

Jim Collison 7:12
I love the very first one you give about What other teams? We often talk about this in the context of individuals, but I love, in group settings as a manager, maybe a manager of managers, which groups, which teams do I have that should be included in these processes, these procedures, these conversations? And how do we include those teams into the conversations? I've been, for whatever reason lately, I've been talking with folks about this, you know, about doing CliftonStrengths Discovery in organizations where you have kind of disparate teams around, and mixing them together for discovery so that they get, so you don't have the same teams talking to the same people about -- I mean, and it's important to do it from a team setting, but they're around each other every day. But using that discovery across teams to get cross-functional talk going, maybe between accounting and manufacturing or something, right.

Jaclynn Robinson 8:14
That's so valuable! Way to break down silos and just create value and appreciation for what other people do.

Jim Collison 8:20
Yeah, and maybe a little Includer exercise, right, to begin to say, Hey, I'm, I didn't know you did these kinds of things in accounting, you know, maybe some of those kinds of things to help bring some synergy, some efficiencies, right, to the process.

Jaclynn Robinson 8:35
Build a bridge.

Jim Collison 8:36
Yeah, no, I love that. Love it. We, in Appendix 2 in the back of the book, we have a framework that you could kind of work through. Let's give, let's give an example of that, as we think of Includer. Walk us through that framework.

Jaclynn Robinson 8:47
I think for this one, I selected quite a few from the career, career wellbeing piece. But Ask Yourself: Do I encourage my team members to pause and celebrate their achievements? Ask Your Team Members: Of all the things you do well in your job, which ones do you do best? And Take Action by creating opportunities for people to learn about one another, their work and their lives. So all of those questions and actions have a sense of inclusiveness, where people are getting to learn and celebrate one another.

Jim Collison 9:17
Let me, let's dig in on the team members for a second -- I get to, get to do what I do best. Expand on that a little bit for me, because that's, when we think about inclusion or we think about including people in things at this point, How do those two -- put those two together for me with a little more detail. How does that come together?

Jaclynn Robinson 9:36
Yes. So if an Includer even initiates a team meeting where they say, "You know, let's all go around and share out what it is that we do best, so we can make sure that we are all recognizing how we contribute in our unique ways to the team." But also, there might be a project you're working on, and you're used to doing it as a lone wolf. Now you know who you could loop in and include into that process, because they're saying, "Hey, I do this really well." You've probably observed that they've done it really well. And so now you are extending your partnerships, whereas before, you might have been more focused on self and not partners or the team.

Jim Collison 10:14
I found when we would do manager retreats, and while I don't manage anyone directly at Gallup anymore, I do manage the 12,000 Certified Coaches around the world that do that. But it, I found it helpful that they'd include me -- one, I could hear what they're talking to the managers about company vision. But it also gave me a good opportunity to hear other people's perspectives of what's going on in the organization. And then help educate me both on where to take this program for our Certified Coaches, as well as maybe some potential guests for the future, right? You'd see somebody, and you'd be like, Oh, they're really good. We should do this.

Jim Collison 10:50
So again, that cross-functional -- I didn't have to be there. But we have a culture of, of inclusion -- I'll use that in the sense, and that may be, some people may see inclusion different than the way we're talking about inclusion, from a DEI perspective. But for a second, let's just suspend that. That's probably a whole nother conversation. But that inclusion for me, of being able to be involved in the conversation, made this product better -- not intentionally, right. They didn't say, "Oh, let's add Collison in here so that he'll make a better product." But that inclusion made it a better product, Jaclynn, anything along those lines, as we kind of wrap this? Anything you want to close this with?

Jaclynn Robinson 11:30
I like those key words that we've just been talking about in our last few minutes together, of just cross-functional relationships, and the sense of inviting in different perspectives, which is something that comes natural to an Includer, but they have that capacity to have other people think outside of the box too and recognize the value of others.

Jim Collison 11:53
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.