Woo®: How to Feel More Energized at Work

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

Productive employees want energy, motivation and drive to characterize their work life. Managers want their teams to possess these in abundance. And organizations envision an entire engaged, thriving workforce that overflows with these qualities. How can individuals high in Woo^® bring energy and motivation to their workplaces? And how can managers high in Woo foster a work environment that is energized, motivated and thriving? Join Gallup's Jim Collison and Dr. Jaclynn Robinson and discover how, using your Woo theme, you can bring new energy and motivation to your role, your managing, your coaching.

And so my friends with high Woo, as we think about your basic needs, put yourself in situations where you can move people, where you can get ... the work done through people.

Jim Collison, 3:14

Celebrate not only the individual achievements, but also team accomplishments related to meeting or even exceeding expectations.

Jaclynn Robinson, 8:57

Jim Collison 0:00
I am Jim Collison, and this is The CliftonStrengths Podcast, Season 3, recorded on March 22, 2024.

Jim Collison 0:18
In this CliftonStrengths Podcast series, we'll look at how to feel more energized and motivated at work one theme at a time, and today's theme is Woo. If you're listening live, we'd love to have you join us in chat. If you're listening after the fact, you can email us your questions: 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 and 2 of The CliftonStrengths Podcast season, where we looked at Wellbeing at Work and our CliftonStrengths role-based reports. And Jaclynn, always great to be with you for this last theme. Welcome back!

Jaclynn Robinson 0:49
It is good to be with you. Good day, sir!

Jim Collison 0:52
Good to have you here. We're talking about bringing energy with your, with, you know, to work with your themes. Kind of ironic, coincidental -- I'm probably not using those words correctly -- but that Woo's the 34th to this. It's a, it's takes a lot of work and a lot of effort to get 34 of these done. I think sometimes people think, Oh, yeah, I can talk about every single theme, no problem. And 34 is a lot to get through. And I think sometimes we've left these sessions -- we're going to talk about this in the Season Wrap next week a little bit, but you and I have talked about this: We leave the sessions a little more energized often than we came, because of the content to them. And so we've done this to ourselves: We've practiced bringing energy to work. And we didn't have, it wasn't, it wasn't like we came to this with energy -- I mean, we did -- but we left with more. So congratulations on --

Jaclynn Robinson 1:50
I would agree.

Woo: Questions for Individuals

Jim Collison 1:51
Getting, getting to the end here. Thanks for all of these. Appreciate it. Well, let's dive into the content. Let's talk about individuals first. What are some ways an individual with Woo can feel more energized by focusing on their basic needs?

Jaclynn Robinson 2:05
Ooh, yes. I see this a lot with those high in Woo. The, you tend to encourage open dialogue through two-way communication. You invite team members to really express their opinions and ideas about a responsibility or a deliverable. It, and that's not to be confused with Communication^®. There's something about socializing a key responsibility or a project that, you know, the, the team is undergoing together or partners on our team are undergoing together, to say, Let's get clear. And do you have ideas? Do you have suggestions? And just kind of socializing those next steps.

Jim Collison 2:46
I do think the socializing is the, is the means --

Jaclynn Robinson 2:50
It's the key word.

Jim Collison 2:51
Not the end, I think sometimes we think of Woo as the, you know, the life of the party. That this is, when, when I first started in strengths, we'd always say, Oh, yeah. You want to be at the party! No, the party is the means; the end is moving people, right? The end is getting things, getting action happening, right, doing stuff. And so my friends with high Woo, as we think about your basic needs, put yourself in situations where you can move people, where you can get the people, the work done through people. And, and so don't -- now, again, we do that in a bunch of different ways. And it doesn't always have to be a large gathering. And it doesn't always have to be a large group of people. However, you may be great at large groups, right? You may not be intimidated. For me, the larger the group, the better. I struggle with personal accountability, when, like, smaller groups that know me, I'm not as effective, because I feel like, Oh, they, the phrase, "a prophet in his own hometown," right, that, I feel that. In larger groups, where they may not know me, I feel like I might be more effective. But put yourself in those situations where you get that opportunity. What are some ways an individual with Woo can feel more energized by focusing on their individual strengths and development? Maybe I just said that, but I hope I didn't take your answer. Jaclynn, what would you say?

Jaclynn Robinson 4:12
No, I'll add on to it. I think being around others, first and foremost. So having opportunities to create impact through relationships and, and in-person opportunities were available. I know that's not always possible for someone that might be in a remote position, but through work, through maybe keynote speaking or panels or those -- we call it "Take 5 conversations" on our own team, where you take 5 minutes and you, you know, phone a friend or you're talking by text to connect with each other, team meetings. But I find that those high in Woo tend to be really energized whenever they can develop that social talent they have by being around other people, and you brought up the, I think, one thing that we want to keep in mind -- to get work done.

Jim Collison 5:03
Yeah, through people.

Jaclynn Robinson 5:05
Yeah. To influence.

Jim Collison 5:06
I think the people part is super important in that. And I certainly, you know, during the pandemic had a great time helping folks, and even those with high Woo, to continue to challenge their, their, you know, their idea on the way they influence, on the way they move people. You know, there are other ways. We get comfortable, we might get comfortable in a way and be like, Oh, I need to do this. So when that, during the pandemic, when situations changed, to say, Oh, you know, there's other modes, there's other modes. Naturally, sometimes we gravitate towards that. But that development of, and maybe an effectiveness, too, of saying, What are the best, most effective ways to move people? (There's a little Maximizer^® talking in there.) What are some ways an individual with Woo can feel more energized by building partnerships and finding purpose in their role?

Jaclynn Robinson 5:59
Fostering open and honest communication. There's a warmth that comes through with that Woo theme. And you can encourage team members to share their strengths, their challenges, their ideas, make them feel comfortable discussing how their strengths can contribute to the team's success. And it might not even be just with your direct team; it might be teams that you work cross-collaboratively with as well.

Jim Collison 6:26
Early in this webcast journey that I'm on -- podcast journey that I'm on -- I realized it was my job to make other people a big deal. That statement of not me, it's not about me; it's about making other people big deals. It's about promoting and extending the reach or -- a term I used -- amplify. It's to amplify someone else's message, right, in that. And that was, for me, we talked about building partnerships and finding purpose. That helped me find my purpose in what I -- Why, why am I doing these things? And focus them then in on, OK, the most important things are the ability to do what I do here, or whatever that looks like during the Summit -- you know, we're gonna get an opportunity to do that together this year. But it's, I say to people all the time, I'm best when I'm partnering my Woo with something else. It doesn't live well by itself. And that's been a realization for me -- it's, it doesn't, it doesn't want to play alone, for me; it needs other people. Would you add anything else to that before we talk about managers?

Jaclynn Robinson 7:30
I would just say it shows up so vividly in the expression of what you do day to day, how Woo can be so impactful, and how you bring a community together by highlighting individuals and teams or organizations or companies or strengths coaches. It's, it's a really great way of showing how Woo can drive purposeful impact through the means of others and with others.

Jim Collison 7:57
Well, and helped me find more, more purpose when I realized, it's not about me, right? Taking it from me to we, right, as we've talked so much about, yeah. Let's talk about the manager. How can a manager with Woo support others with their basic needs?

Jaclynn Robinson 8:11
Oh, yes! Create feedback channels where employees can, can easily communicate their needs. And then when a need is identified for tools or resources, then use your persuasive skills to advocate for your team. Build that compelling case for why those resources are essential for achieving those team goals.

Woo: Questions for Managers

Jim Collison 8:31
Yeah, I'll admit -- as a manager, I wasn't as good at this naturally; I needed to work on that. And I still do, in a lot of ways. Those folks that I'm managing in their own personal, their own needs, that, that didn't, that didn't come as natural. That's, that still requires a little bit of work on my end, thinking, thinking about that. So some, some development I need. How can a manager with Woo help others feel seen, heard and valued as individuals?

Jaclynn Robinson 8:57
Celebrate not only the individual achievements, but also team accomplishments related to meeting or even exceeding expectations. And I see this all the time, too, with those high in Woo, you tend to create a natural culture of collective celebration. Even if you're recognizing an individual within a team setting, there's celebration, and it really feeds my own theme of Positivity^® to see that come out in those high in Woo. And maybe an example of this is to share pictures of team events or partnerships by email. If you've got folks that are remote or hybrid, this works especially well with celebratory messages about the win and the impact, you know, that that partnership or that team or that individual created.

Jim Collison 9:44
Yeah, I think, I've watched others do this with Woo really, really well and strategically -- maybe small "s" on, on that -- but in ways that get, for maximum impact. And, or using those -- you just said "email," but, you know, using social platforms for good and really recognizing people. I think sometimes we run the risk on social of me -- Look at me! I'm doing this. This is where I'm at. And I think some of the best Woo that I've ever seen, and I wouldn't put myself in this category, but the best Woo I've ever seen says, "Look at them!" "Look at this!" "Look at that!" Be -- the me to we on that is really extending that influence for others out in other spaces, to take the focus off self and put it on the performance of others, the success of others. How can a manager with Woo build trust, inspire and deepen team collaboration and community?

Jaclynn Robinson 10:46
Assign team members, where possible, to cross-functional projects, where they can collaborate with colleagues from other departments. I think this really exposes them to diverse perspectives and learning opportunities. And it also highlights how everyone is working towards the same mission in their own respective way. And we need more of this in the workplace, because as much as organizations try, there's still quite a, quite a few silos among different departments in workplaces. And Woo does this really well, where they bridge communication because they bridge connections between people. And then that amplifies everyone's experience and wellbeing and their, their productivity as well.

Jim Collison 11:31
Early on, I started user groups. When I started managing here, I started user groups to help technology, bring technology people together. It wasn't for me; it was for them. I never, I did it as, I loved doing it. I did it as an exercise to help them, right, to deepen the collaboration and the community here -- for the Omaha community. And of course, the podcasting and the group building that we do through Called to Coach, through The CliftonStrengths Podcast, through our groups, is an exercise in that. Yeah, I learned through the process, but they're really for, they're for everybody else. And guys, Get along out there, would you? Would you do me a favor and get along out there with each other? Do I have to pull this car over? So, so it's, it is seeing that, I encourage those high in Woo, you've got this ability to create things that may or -- that may not be for you. They would be for others. You're going to participate, because you don't care. It's OK. But, you know, you don't have to be the expert in it to get it, to get it moving either. You can bring the experts in, and I've made a living off that's. It's been pretty great. How can a manager with Woo support the growth of each team member?

Jaclynn Robinson 12:44
Deliver feedback in a positive and constructive manner. And you could do this by focusing on specific -- so we'll bold that word and underline it -- specific actions or behaviors that can be improved, and then provide guidance on how to make those improvements. Think Woo naturally is going to be great at delivering positive feedback of, you know, successes they've seen. But it might be difficult, just as it is and can be for Positivity, to offer more constructive feedback. You've got the warmth. You've got the heart. So if you can drive their development by saying, "This is what you do well. Here's maybe some specific actions or behaviors I noticed, but we can work through this together," I think that's going to support their development and growth. And that might be that opportunity where you can really grow, because it might be easier said than done.

Jim Collison 13:39
I think before we wrap it, I'll say, too, like all the other themes, Woo is influenced by those things that are around it. So spend some real time looking at what you have around you and how that's influencing that method or the motivation behind what, doing what you're doing. Look for those past successes and say, "What did I do? How did it work? And why did it work?" to be able to replicate that again. Final thoughts on Woo, as we wrap it up today?

Jaclynn Robinson 14:09
Oh, this is such a just wonderful, fun theme. Continue to use your strength to create that positive and supporting environment for others. I think you have an adept, just very natural way of helping individuals feel valued, motivated and empowered in the workplace, but also outside of the workplace.

Jim Collison 14:30
I'll say I don't think I understood Woo until I started podcasting. And that, the exercise of that really drew it out, and then all of a sudden, it began to have some successes in that area, and you're like, Oh, that's the way it works. So, you know, I think with these themes, again, going back to it, we got to get out there and do some things. You got to go out there and get some, get some reps in. And, and then, when it starts working, do it. You know, I created 3,000 podcasts at this point over the last 12 or 13 years, something like that. Yeah, crazy number, but --

Jaclynn Robinson 15:07
That's a lot!

Jim Collison 15:07
It feels like I've done just a handful, to be honest, because they're so easy to do. Right? So it's good, good, a good way to look at it. Well, with that, we'll remind everyone to take full advantage of all the resources we do have available inside Gallup Access. Check it out: my.gallup.com. Sign in, hit your Strengths Dashboard, there's lots of resources there. You can go to gallup.com -- search, there's a Search button in the upper right-hand corner. Choose "Woo" theme, it'll drop down, there'll be a drop-down that says "Woo theme," choose that. All the podcasts we've done and some other resources available for you in gallup.com. You can check that out and get some learning figured out for, for you. For coaching, master coaching or to become a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, send us an email: coaching@gallup.com. It's, it's already past by the time we release this, but we had a great time at the 2024 Gallup at Work Summit, and we'd like to see you there in 2025. Head out to gallupatwork.com, and see what's going on right now. It could even be 2028. That's OK; we've got something going on. Get, get plugged in, get tied in. Find the community wherever you're at in time, and we'd love to spend that time with you. Stay up to date on all future webcasts by following our Facebook or LinkedIn groups. Find us anywhere on social by searching "CliftonStrengths." And if you enjoyed it, hit the Like and Subscribe and Share buttons, so you never miss an episode. Thanks for listening today. If you're listening 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.

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