Restorative™: Developing Your Leadership Skills

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

Explore Gallup's CliftonStrengths^® for Leaders Report and discover its ability to help you maximize the impact of your -- and others' -- unique leadership talents and strengths, in this Season 2 episode of The CliftonStrengths Podcast. Join Jim Collison and Dr. Jaclynn Robinson as they discuss the Restorative™ theme, its power in a leadership role, how it can help or hinder you as you lead others, and how you can leverage it with the CliftonStrengths for Managers and CliftonStrengths for Sales Reports. Unlock the leadership potential of your Restorative talent -- because everyone leads something.

If you have Restorative, you are adept at dealing with problems. You are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.

Jaclynn Robinson, 1:37

In a sales cycle, [Restorative is] not selling just to sell; [it's] selling to solve.

Jim Collison, 10:45

Jim Collison 0:00
I am Jim Collison, and this is The CliftonStrengths Podcast, Season 2, recorded on February 21, 2023.

Jim Collison 0:07
In this CliftonStrengths Podcast series, we look at the CliftonStrengths for Leaders Report one theme at a time, and today's theme is Restorative. If you're listening live, and you don't see the chat room, there's a link right above me to it. If you have questions after the fact, you can always send us an email: coaching@gallup.com. Dr. Jaclynn Robinson is our host today. She works as a Senior Learning and Development Consultant and joined me for Season 1 of The CliftonStrengths Podcast, where we looked at Wellbeing at Work, each theme at a time. And Jaclynn, always great to see you. Welcome back!

Jaclynn Robinson 0:50
Thank you.

Jim Collison 0:52
I have been getting, I've been getting a lot of requests for that Wellbeing at Work book. I think someone told me you had a little bit to do with that back in Appendix 1. Is that true?

Jaclynn Robinson 1:01
Oh, that was fun. That was my COVID project. Early in COVID, we were all trying to figure out what to do at home. It was great. I'll forever be grateful.

Introducing Restorative

Jim Collison 1:13
And thank you for your, thanks for your work on that. It's an important, it's an important book. I had somebody ask me about an audio version of it. And I was like, you're missing the most important stuff, which is all the stuff in the appendix. So make sure you pick that up and make sure you go back and listen to that. We're not talking about wellbeing at work. We're talking here about the CliftonStrengths for Leaders Report. And today we're talking about Restorative. Give us a little intro; get us started. What is Restorative?

Jaclynn Robinson 1:37
All right. If you have Restorative, you are adept at dealing with problems. You are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.

What Is the Power of Restorative in a Leadership Role?

Jim Collison 1:44
Yeah, not, not me, apparently; that's low for you, low for me -- in the 30s for both of us. But in a leadership role, we're spending some time thinking about this in the context of leaders; our CliftonStrengths for Leaders Report's got a section about how to be successful with it, and some hindrance and some action items. Let's spend some time talking about the power of this theme in a leadership role. What is that?

Jaclynn Robinson 2:06
Yes. Well, the leadership team and the employee base can really count on this leader to help them overcome obstacles in the workplace. This leader is someone that I don't foresee resting until it's diagnosed and resolved. So in that regard, the, the leadership can trust that this person will be there if a problem arises. They, they know that this person will help them overcome it. And that really trickles down to the employee base, too, that can feel like they can Trust in leadership and really feel like leadership's going to take them through during times of change. So it creates Stability as well.

How Can Those With Restorative Lead Others?

Jim Collison 2:40
Yeah, you're, you're digging in a little bit already to the 4 Needs of Followers. And I think this is an important one on that. We'll come back around to that here in just a second. But when we think about the direct leadership of others, how could this theme lead in other ways?

Jaclynn Robinson 2:53
Yeah, they can create more efficiency in departments or on teams, because they can start to spot where inefficiencies are obstacles are. And they'll say, OK, well, this might be getting in the way of productivity, or this might be getting in the way of communication. And they'll look for a way to rectify or fix it. So they can end up working with speed to correct that problem, so that employees can feel at their best and be at their best every day. So now we're getting into employee engagement, where they feel cared for, seen and heard and valued, because they've got this leader that recognizes the inefficiencies or is open to hearing what those inefficiencies are, so they can fix it. Gotta love this person.

Jim Collison 3:33
Where do you think -- well, we should love all, all people. Just a reminder. Don't know why I said that. The, I hear some Maximizer in there, when we think about Restorative and Maximizer and making things more efficient or whatever. Compare and contrast a little bit on that -- just, and there could be some similarities; the talents for both of those may come from similar cores. But as we think about that, how do you see the difference between maybe Restorative and Maximizer? Or do we need to have a difference? They get to the same outcome, right, but, so talk a little bit about that.

Jaclynn Robinson 4:12
Yeah, I was thinking about that, too. Whenever you, you start to think about Restorative with inefficiencies and how people might have that question. And that motivation is different. So they're looking at [in]efficiencies that might create a problem or might bring forth an obstacle in a person or in a workplace or on a team, and they want to fix it, diagnose it and fix it. Maximizer is more focused on what is efficient, so they don't like inefficiencies. They want to take something from great to excellent. And so for them, if there is an inefficiency, it's OK, let's fix it. Not because, you know, we just want to sit there and diagnose problems all day, but because this is a poor ROI if it isn't getting fixed. I don't think they want to live in that space, but they can identify what is inefficient. I would say typically, what I see Maximizers do is go, Aah -- this isn't fun. This isn't a fun bag for me to play in. Let me go to the efficiency side over here. So they might see an inefficiency and give it to that Restorative person versus wanting to even spend time on it.

Jim Collison 5:15
Well, and I think important to remember that they're successful -- those with high Restorative are successful at that. And I think you just said this, they live in that space, right? They just live in that space. Where, you know, I have high Maximizer. I like doing it from time to time. People have asked me sometimes, "Where's Restorative for you?" Because they see that. And I have to say, it's, it's pretty low. It's totally the Maximizer coming out. And good to understand those differences, but knowing that I'm not living there; I'm not living in it. It's not something I'm successful with more often than not. You probably wouldn't want me solving problems all the time. I get tired of that too. You know, I start to wear down and I'm like, whatever. My answers or "whatever, whatever, whatever. I'm tired; stop bothering me!" Right? Where high Restorative, I don't know if they get out of that zone. Right? They stay in that zone a little bit longer, right?

Jaclynn Robinson 6:11
That's such a good sort. Because what I'm hearing you say, and seeing this in Maximizer, and I think witnessing it myself, if something's inefficient, I might solve for it that first time. But if it continues to be a problem or an inefficiency, I don't want to be there at all. It's just, "Nope, this isn't good ROI for me, or return on investment. So I'm, I think I'd rather be off this project or off this responsibility. Give it to somebody else. Not my playground.

Jim Collison 6:41
That's stability, right?

Jaclynn Robinson 6:42
Yes. Yes. Yes.

How Could Restorative Hinder Your Leadership of Others?

Jim Collison 6:45
When we think about the hindrance of this, how could this theme hinder the leadership of others?

Jaclynn Robinson 6:50
They could come across as negative or someone who's always finding faults in people or processes. So that's something they do have to be cognizant of. In this regard, what I'll usually share out with managers or leaders with Restorative high is, Could you share out what you appreciate about that person's point of view or idea before offering your own insights? So instead of saying, "That's great, but ... ," maybe it's, "I love your idea, and ..." and you're adding on to it. So that is key that we've seen. And then the other, I think, primary hindrance we often see is before really embedding yourself into someone else's problem, just ask if the person wants you to help or if they just want that listening ear. So make sure you're getting tapped in to solve a problem before just diving in and solving someone else's problem for them.

Jim Collison 7:40
Yeah. "We just fixed that." "I know, but we need to fix it again." Right? And that's maybe, again, that's probably, that's probably a bad example. I don't know, actually, maybe I'd retract that -- Roy, you don't need to edit it. But because that's actually sounds more like a Maximizer statement, as opposed to when things are really broken, right? When we think about those 4 Needs of Followers -- Hope, Stability, Compassion and Trust -- where do you think, you mentioned that earlier in the program. Where do you think that fits in?

Jaclynn Robinson 8:10
Stability and Trust, and I would say, Stability, because they can recognize an inefficiency or an obstacle, and they'll remove it so that the workplace becomes efficient again, and that helps with people's wellbeing and engagement. But they can Trust that the leader is going to, you know, fix that obstacle that's in the way. So I see it playing in both ways. Compassion, because people feel cared about when they're telling you there's an issue, and you respond to it expediently. And then Hope. I mean, as we're just thinking about all of them, actually. But, you know, being able to recognize what this inefficiency is, and fixing it, is creating hope that tomorrow is going to be better and even more efficient. We can really thrive in terms of our wellbeing and engagement; hope that if there is chaos that happens, or some workplace change that's happening, this person can help you see it through, ride through those waves.

Jim Collison 9:11
Yeah, well, you also hear a little Ideation in that, as I think about going to someone with high Restorative and saying, Hey, I've got this issue. Can you think about it for me a little bit? And how would we approach this from a fix standpoint? I wonder where Ideation shows up for folks that have Relator? And I'd love to, I'd love to expand or think about that. Yeah. For, what did I say? What did I say?

Jaclynn Robinson 9:37
Relator.

How Can You Use Restorative as You Lead, Together With the Managers and Sales Reports?

Jim Collison 9:37
Oh, sorry. Restorative. Yeah, sorry. Just misspoke there. So yeah, just an interesting thought. We're, speaking of interesting, we're spending some time in this series looking at the CliftonStrengths for Sales and the CliftonStrengths for Managers Reports, role-based reports that could be put together with this CliftonStrengths for Leaders Report and kind of a, report dynamics is what we've been calling it. How can the, let's think about the Sales Report first. Put Sales together with the Leaders Report. What could that look like for success for somebody with high Restorative?

Jaclynn Robinson 10:08
I could see this person being really adept at helping their sales team see key customer issues in the existing market, and then helping them see how their own products and services can meet that customer need. Another way that this could show up is if the leader is talking to a prospect, this might be that person that's inclined to ask a lot of questions, a lot of, dare I say, Why's, but, you know, they always talk about in sales, ask the 5 Why's. Just keep going deeper and deeper to get the root cause of what their problem or need is. I can see them doing that investigation, so to speak. Tell me more. Tell me more.

Jim Collison 10:45
I love that in a sales cycle, because we're, we're not selling just to sell; we're selling to solve. Right? We're selling --

Jaclynn Robinson 10:52
That's good, sir! TM that! Trademark that!

Jim Collison 10:56
Somebody should be writing this stuff down! So yeah, Mark, you can use that as one of the quotes, one of the pull quotes that we do for each one of these. The, so I think the intent is there, right? We're trying to help the customer with something. They just don't need five seats of the whatever you're selling, or five items. Why are we trying to do it, I think, in solving that? I think that can bring Stability, going back to those Needs of Followers, to the sales, to the sales process. What about managing, as we think about the CliftonStrengths for Managers Report, combining that with the CliftonStrengths for Leaders Report?

Jaclynn Robinson 11:36
Kind of bringing in a little bit of the 4 Needs again, but employees can feel support and stability with this person knowing that if there is an obstacle in their day-to-day responsibilities or goals, this manager will help them, you know, sort through it and figure out a more efficient way of getting things done. And better yet, if this is a manager that guides the employee to their own solution, then you're empowering that employee to solve obstacles by themselves or for themselves. And you're just more or less that passenger in the seat. Oh, I hear there's an obstacle! OK. What are some ideas you have for solving it? What considerations have you already thought through? That way, again, we're not solving the problem for them, if you have Restorative high, but you're giving them an opportunity to come to that conclusion with your support.

Jim Collison 12:27
We spend a lot of time thinking, especially on this one, thinking about tying it to this engage, this idea of engagement. We don't spend, we haven't spent in any of these seasons really talking about that directly. We're not going to start here to do it. Because there's a lot, there's a lot to it. But I love, I love that idea of this theme of a manager/leader, bringing, using that Restorative talent to bring high engagement to a team that might be struggling. Jaclynn, any, any final thoughts before we wrap it?

Jaclynn Robinson 12:58
I can't think of this theme and not think of Vanilla Ice. If you've got a problem, yo, I'll solve it. It's just, I love these folks. We love all people, but having Maximizer high, this is my powerful partner anytime I'm working with someone with Restorative, because they really can just help come up with solutions and solves, and they love it. They love going down that, that tunnel of thought. And so if you've got these folks on the team, you know, be sure to lean in and use them, especially if, if this isn't a theme that you have or you don't fancy solving problems.

Jim Collison 13:34
Yeah. And if you have it, let somebody know. Let somebody know you have it, right. Hey, you know what? I really like thinking about problems -- because not everybody does. Not everybody does, you know. And so, let those around you know. Well, with that, we'll remind everyone to take full advantage of all the resources we have available now in Gallup Access. Head out to gallup.com/cliftonstrengths. Log in. We got tons of new resources available for you. Hit the Resources tab, upper left-hand corner. Drop it down, choose Resources -- not that hard. And then in the, in the, you'll see a bunch of -- don't get distracted by what's below it. Put "Restorative" in there. Everything we've done on Restorative is available. Be a good, be a good strengths study to go in there. I think we've got transcripts since Season 3. And even before that on Theme Thursday, we had little write-ups. Be interesting to go in there and do a little bit of a study of, Mark and I were doing that today; we were going across, we were just double-checking. Everything is making its way into Gallup Access, and I was just looking at the titles by theme of all these things. We've got 7 now. And this will be the 8th season on this, right -- 6 for Theme Thursday and 2 for. There's some, there's a real depth of information out there around these themes. You just have to put up with me, unfortunately. So as you get into those lots of great --

Jaclynn Robinson 14:53
Fortunately!

Jim Collison 14:55
Lots of great resources available for you. If you want to stay up to date on all the live webcasts, join us on Eventbrite. Go to gallup.eventbrite.com. Create an account; follow us, so you get a notification whenever we do something new. Join us on any social platform by searching "CliftonStrengths," and thanks for listening today. If you enjoyed it, we'd ask that you share it -- hit Like, Subscribe, that button is just down there; just click on it. You know you're gonna like it. And if you, if you do that, you'll never miss an episode. Thanks for joining us today. If you listened live, stay around for a little bit of the postshow. With that, we'll say, Goodbye, everybody.

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

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