As a Strengths Coach, you are constantly guiding and supporting positive change and growth in others, by helping them understand their talents, manage their weakness and build on their strengths. But how do we as coaches help the client identify and understand how to optimally manage our talents, and leverage our strength for optimal and sustainable performance?
To answer this question let’s take a look at the SeQuEnCe model. The SeQuEnCe Strength Performance Coaching model for performance management helps the client evaluate their own performance by linking specific tasks and challenges to each and all of their Top 5 Talent Themes.
How does it work?
The Talent Themes are evaluated against the following four indicators of performance:
• Speed (Productivity)
• Quality (Standard)
• Endurance (Energy)
• Creativity (Ideas)
Step 1: Each Talent’s impact overall
The client must identify the impact each of their Top 5 talent themes have on speed - which is directly linked to productivity. The key question here is to determine and evaluate each of the Top 5 Themes in regards to being positive or negative, when it comes to speed of performance. Some talent will naturally speed you up (like Activator, Strategic etc), while other talents will naturally slow you down (like Intellection, Analytical etc).
Do this for each of the 5 Themes, rating the impact on each of the 4 indicators of performance - speed, quality, endurance and creativity, each time honestly asking "Is this talent's impact experience by myself as having a positive or negative effect on this indicator?".
Step 2: Identifying the reason
The client then explains why they think this impact is experienced as being positive or negative. Reasons could be that they think certain themes slows them down, whilst others make them too perfectionistic. Perhaps a specific theme struggles to communicate clearly, or it may have trouble "thinking on their feet".
Fill in the reason for each talent aligned with each performance indicator.
Step 3: Getting specific
Repeat the same exercise with a specific and relevant task or challenge in mind. This task could be hosting meetings, presenting for others or even designing solutions. Identify the impact the talent themes have on speed, quality, endurance and creativity whilst busy with this task, and let the client explain why they think this.
Step 4: "Turn the Table"
Once the client has completed this exercise, ask a manager or a colleague to answer the positive and negative elements regarding the client’s talents from their perspective. Your experience may be very different from the experience of team members or managers.
This is where the magic happens. The client may think their ideation slows teams and processes down tremendously, whilst others may think their ideation speeds up the process by coming up with new ideas and solutions. Allow them to discuss the similarities and differences in their review to create awareness on where their strengths and weaknesses actually lie.
The final step:
Once the exercise has been completed the most important question can be answered: How do you manage the Negative and build on the Positive? Remember, “A well managed Talent becomes a Strength…but a mismanaged Talent becomes a detriment.”
This forms part of a facilitated discussion, lead by the Strengths Coach. This may be done with an individual client, or with partners or team members, or between a manager and employee.
This evaluation is effective as it allows the client to come to their own conclusion whilst gaining the perspective of others. This is a great awareness tool for coaches to use whilst coaching, and is only one of the many tools included in Strengths Synergy’s Enhancing Course!
Remember: The currency of this exercise is TIME. You cannot and should not rush this model. It is based on self reflection, understanding of talents and honest awareness of self and others.
See the images below as an example:
*** This Model was created by Dries Lombaard, the founder and owner of Strength Synergy International.
It forms part of various similar models that is taught in his online training for Strengths Coaching on 3 Levels, that you can access here.
CONTACT DRIES LOMBAARD TODAY FOR MORE RESOURCES AND TOOLS LIKE THIS: dries@strengthsynergy.co.za
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