Strengths

Strengths Workshop

Aim & Context

What is the aim of the exercise?	The goal of this exercise is to gain awareness about your strengths and to understand how they can support you in your work, life and the contribution you would like to make to the world.
In what context is this exercise useful?	This exercise is tailored to individuals that wish to be more conscious about his/her strengths and how to capitalize on that to improve your life, work, relationships, purpose.

Quick facts

Preparation time: 15 minutes Online / Onsite: Both Workshop time: 1: 30 hour Ideal group size: Can easily accommodate up to 50 people Contact of Workshop Developer: Roberta Domingues [e-mail]

Equipment and tools needed: Strengths assessment website (see at the bottom of the page) Pen and paper Board or slides/miro/chat to expose instructions Phones/computers with internet to access strengths assessment Facilitator needs this guide Online or Onsite Room to run the session

Detailed Description of Activity & Method

Please list step by step how the activity should be facilitated

Activity & Format	Time	Instructions	Facilitation Notes
Check-in and Session Introduction	10 min	Introduction of facilitators and participants if needed Present today’s topic and agenda Check-in on participants mood, expectations, or other. You can suggest a check-in question as “In one sentence, how are you arriving today?”	Start with answering the check-in question by yourself and then hand the word over to someone else, allowing everyone to share. Nice start for hearing all the voices in the room.
Topic introduction	5 min	Start creating the space for the reflections and conversations of today: you can highlight that many people are not necessarily used to creating space for reflection and personal development. Ask the audience to think when was the last time you took time to reflect about your strengths? Comment about the importance of these reflections for leadership, wellbeing and to create a positive impact in the world. Introduce the topic of Strengths: explain that strengths help us to develop more self-confidence and self-awareness, as well as a deeper appreciation and value for how each of us is different (the need for diversity). It has also been linked by science to an elevated sense of vitality and motivation, increased probability of achieving goals, and a stronger sense of life direction. Make the point that looking at your strengths is a very powerful way to focus your attention and efforts on what you are good at (your natural talents); it makes clear your distinctiveness and helps you to identify how to improve. Explain that today we will use one exercise to find your strengths.
Explaining the exercise instructions	5min	Provide the websites and ask them to access the strengths online assessments and to follow the instructions. Show them what the results will look like. The report they receive after taking the assessment. Ask if they have any doubts before starting taking the assessment.	Check the resources list below for free strengths assessments. Invite participants to take a space in the room where they feel comfortable. Better to do the exercise in silence. You can write the assessment websites in a board (if onsite) or in a slide/miro/chat (if online) for a better visualization while you explain. Make it beautiful!
Time for taking assessment and reading the report with results.	20 min	Instruct them to do the assessment and to read their results’ report individually in silence. Remember to share the time they have for doing it.	Better to do the exercise in silence and have soft, instrumental and inspirational music playing in the background. This step can last from 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the facilitator. You can ask how the group is doing after some time and ask if they need more time. To me the longer the better as it is a very privileged moment to be with oneself and it generally takes a bit of time to get into the right mood.
Break	5 min	Give them a break to have water, stretch, go to the bathroom and to prepare for the group discussion.
Pairs discussion	20 min (10 for each to share)	Gather participants back, and ask them to find a pair to share about their strengths. Suggest some questions for their conversation as: -How was it for you to see the results (do you agree/is it surprising, etc.)? -How do you see these strengths taking place in different areas and relationships of your life and for your purpose in life? -What do these strengths tell you about who you are? -How would you like to improve areas of your life using these strengths?	You can offer less questions or allow them to focus on the ones they wanna speak about. They can take the other questions for further reflection at home. You can write the questions on a board (if onsite) or in a slide/miro/chat (if online) for a better visualization while you explain. Make it beautiful! This step can last from 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the facilitator’s wish. You can ask how the group is doing after some time and ask if they need more time. Another option is to allow personal reflection time (around 10 min) to think and journal on these questions before gathering in pairs, if you have enough time.
Group debrief/Plenary discussion	15 min	Gather participants back in a circle, and facilitate the discussion into the feelings/ sharing/ impressions of the participants. You can ask them how was their reflection and sharing time; what stood out for them, what were the insights, what they have learned about themselves and about others. Don’t forget at the end to ask what were the key take-aways from the session.
Check-out	10 min	Provide logistical info about the next planned workshop (if any) or any necessary announcement. Check-out question: For example, get each person to say what they are leaving with from this session. Thanking people for joining and closing the session.	You can provide a document or in your preferred way the opportunity for them to provide feedback from this session.

Feedforward: Tips for future facilitators

You can do the strengths assessment and practice the exercise yourself with someone before facilitating the session. Keep in mind it might be the 1st time participants think about their strengths in life. Prepare yourself beforehand by for example meditating and being ready to give all your attention & empathy. Focus on the present moment, speak slowly and clearly, breathe a lot and smile. Also try to make it personal and share with your audience how it helped you down the road!

Resources (Helpful websites or books for further reading)

Choose a strengths assessment to work with your audience: Free resources: https://high5test.com/strengthsfinder-free/ https://www.viacharacter.org/ Payed resource: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/home.aspx