Today’s Guest:

For me, one of the most magical moments of this year’s World Congress on Positive Psychology was the chance to honor, savor, and build upon the research of Dr. Shane Lopez. I first met Shane at a World Congress years ago, and he was generous enough to allow me to interview him on several occasions. In addition to being one of the world’s leading researchers on hope, Shane was also a senior scientist and research director at The Clifton Strengths Institute, where he explored the links between hope, strengths development, academic success, and overall well-being.

To give you a chance to savor Shane’s insight, I thought you might enjoy this interview, which was recorded prior to his death.  Shane explains how using your strengths – those things you are good at and enjoy doing –  can help you be more engaged in what you do each day at work.  And when managers shift their thinking to a more strengths based approach that encourages each person to do what they do best they can make a big difference in engagement, profitability and productivity. Learn how to identify your strengths, how these can change over time, and what you can do to develop yours and others strengths.  

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You’ll Learn:

• [01:45] – Shane shares his journey with strengths.  He talks about the work of Don Clifton at the University of Nebraska.
• [04:00] – Shane explains how natural talents develop into strengths through practice.
• [05:58] – In the workplace, we focus on weaknesses and try to “fix” those deficits rather than helping individuals find the right role.  
• [07:20] – Shane shares that our top strengths can change slightly over time with the challenges from life’s events.  
• [09:05] – Shane talks about Clifton Strengths Finder.  
• [11:57] – Shane discusses the difference in strengths between entrepreneurs and those working within organizations.
• [12:23] – Shane suggests once you take the strengths finder, team up with someone that has also taken the assessment to help  understand and develop each other’s strengths.
• [13:49] – Shane talks about how a workplace can be transformed by catching people doing great work and providing quality feedback.
• [15:57] – Shane talks about the 70% of disengagement in the workplace. And when managers are disengaged this can trickle down to their team.
• [17:33] – Shane shares what managers do to help employees use their strengths at work.
• [19:47] – Shane explains that college students are now more aware of their strengths, and hopes this will eventually change the culture of workplaces.
  

Your Resources:

• Making Hope Happen: Create the Future You Want for Yourself and Others – Shane Lopez

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for joining me again this week.  If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post.  

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Vale Shane Lopez. Until next time, take care!