Last year, I gifted the Gallup Assessment to my mom, even though she is retired. I wanted her to gain awareness and understand where her strengths lie to make sure she is using them wisely in her retirement. She was very excited to actually be able to be part of what I do but also to get a bit of insight into her strengths. It was such a fun session.
When you look at her assessment, she is very much on the blue side in her 10, which is "relationship building". My mom comes from a very large family of 11 siblings total, she has 23 nieces and nephews, a lot of friends and was a teacher with a large network that she still has now. It is so impressive to see how your strengths come out and say things about you, even if you haven't started to analyse it yet.
It was very interesting how my mom reflected on her work, life, her choices and how amazed she was by the fact that it showed in the order in the assessment.
She was one of the lucky ones that knew from a very young age (about 12 y/o ish) that she wanted to be a teacher and pass on her knowledge to others. That actually amazes me. Her top 5 strengths are: developer, adaptability, empathy, connectedness and positivity. It is very interesting how throughout life and career those strengths were actually very strong: being proud about other people's achievements that she was part of, even if minimal. I told you how I am not a fan of the French Teaching System, as a lot of teachers will always see what is wrong and never the improvements. My mother was the opposite and it is interesting that Developer is her #1 strengths, even now when she swore that she is done with teaching, she cannot help herself and will always help those in need (young people, refugees etc). Her next strengths up to 10 are a mix of influencing and strategic thinking. My mom always wanted to be part of new projects to help the students shine, she created a games' club on, her free hours between classes, at school, so students could come and learn to play new games, she got a lot of projects done which resonates in "Activator, Ideation, Woo"...
Her strengths also resonate in the way that she brought me up. She was always excited to see that I did something new really well, very proud, would give everything in order for me to succeed. We could never afford those languages classes abroad BUT through her extensive network of colleagues and friends, she always found people that could host me abroad so I could learn German and English.
She brought me up saying that I can do anything I want to, as it's just a question of mindset. Her mindset is very strong and so is mine. Her Positivity scored #5 and mine is #3. We truly see how lucky we are to have what we have and be where we are, even though it has not always been a smooth ride.
Why am I sharing this ?
Simple. When I decided to be a coach, I realised that I wanted everyone to have the opportunity, even in 1 session to understand their strengths and see how to "aim, claim & name" them.
So many of my clients tell me that they are not aware of their strengths, what they do well and that they feel lost. I couldn't be clearer about how to fix this !
Take the assessment, it will take you about 40-45 mim, and let's debrief it. You won't be sorry at all and this can be the start of a wonderful journey for you.
See you soon?
By the time the article is released, I should finally be with my mom after over 2 years! I can't wait to hug her!
Thanks for everything maman, we are waiting for you!
