How to Achieve Your New Year's Goals Using Your Strengths

Called to Coach Webcast Series -- Season 12, Episode 4

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

Setting goals for a new year can seem like an annual ritual that produces little in the way of tangible, long-term results. But what changes when you consciously look to your CliftonStrengths^® as "stepping stones" you can stand on in goal-setting? How can you lean into your themes even when you can't see how they align with your goals (including ones that leaders have given you)? And how can you tweak your process so you can be more flexible when your responsibilities, role or situation changes during the year? Join Gallup's Sara Vander Helm and bring a fresh perspective to your goal-setting this year and every year.

Finding ways where there isn't a way is what strengths are for.

Sara Vander Helm, 10:28

Most of what sets you up for success happens before the goal-setting conversation.

Sara Vander Helm, 11:16

Jim Collison 0:00
Hello everyone. My name is Jim Collison. I'm Gallup's CliftonStrengths Community Manager. Today, I'm here with Sara Vander Helm. Sara, welcome to this LinkedIn Live!

Sara Vander Helm 0:07
Hi! Thanks, Jim.

Meet Our Guest on This Episode

Jim Collison 0:09
So great to have you. While we're waiting for folks to come in at the -- we give them a few minutes to do that -- we're asking a question. You can put your Top 5 in the chat. Sara, we're gonna get to know you here in just a second. Or we want you to answer this question -- not or; and too. The question is, what's your No. 1 goal for 2024? So throw those in chat; throw your Top 5 in chat. Our producer behind the scenes, producer Reilly will be throwing those up on the screen. Sara, let's get to know you. Tell us a little bit about what you do here at Gallup.

Sara Vander Helm 0:37
You bet. So at Gallup, I'm super fortunate to get to work with all sorts of creative people who do creative things. So I work closely with our editors and writers and graphic designers and stakeholders who are thinking about all of our content at Gallup, right -- whether it's something that you're gonna see on the website, where, whether it's a report that we're launching, and everything in between; deliverables for clients, all of that. I get to work with and support the teams that do that work.

Jim Collison 1:08
For the folks coming in, we'd love to know your Top 5. You can throw those in chat; we'll put them on screen. Or answer the question, What's your No. 1 goal for 2024? Sara, you have a super cool title. Can you, can you tell me what that is? Yeah.

Sara Vander Helm 1:20
Yes. It is Director of Content and Creative Solutions, which kind of encapsulates all of what I just said, again, just thinking about content, and how do we get creative and innovative about the work that we do?

Jim Collison 1:33
Tell me your Top 5, so folks know.

Sara Vander Helm 1:34
Sure, yeah. Communication^®, Competition^® and Woo^®, Maximizer^®, and Input^® is my No. 5.

Jim Collison 1:42
That's awesome. So folks, if they are out at gallup.com, chances are you've had some influence on all that content, marketing material that comes in, as well as your team helps me do what we do from a webcasting perspective, getting all of our transcripts ready, our posts ready for all the webcasts we do. So thank you, thanks for your great partnership.

Sara Vander Helm 2:05
Yeah, absolutely. You're one of our favorite stakeholders, so --

Jim Collison 2:08
As -- well, thank you! That's nice of you to say. As you think about maybe a goal for you and your team, if I were to ask you this question, like, What's your No. 1 goal for 2024 for your team here at Gallup, what would you pick?

Sara Vander Helm 2:21
So I would pick growth, relative to the amount of things that we do, relative to our capacity getting better and faster and stronger, using our strengths through all of that. So my Maximizer gets pretty lit up when I think about what's coming this year and the opportunities that the team will have to think about things differently -- like I said, innovate, experiment, and bring all of who they are to that work. So at the end of the year, when you ask me if we did what we were supposed to do, it would be 10 stars if we did all of that; if we're thinking about How do we get better all the time?

Jim Collison 3:05
Yeah, we've got a lot of work to do. We say that every year, though. We got a lot of work to do. I love to see some of the Top 5s coming in. I love to see some of the goals coming in for 2024. Reilly, one sec -- I'm going to throw one up on screen there. Intentional journal. Oops, let me throw it back up. Intentional journal, wake up earlier, invest in personal development, take my SHRM exam, take more vacations -- that sounds pretty aggressive for 2024! Sara, as you think about your own personal goals for, for 2024, anything that you want to highlight as we, before we dive into the content?

Sara Vander Helm 3:39
Absolutely. I want to take more vacations too -- I'm not doing that, I'm not doing the SHRM thing, as far as I know. Biggest goals for the year, I would say, are about balance, right? So how to figure that out, right -- balancing work and life and figuring out how they, how I can blend them best. Tangibly, my biggest goal at work, again, is to focus on How do we grow and drive deep insights out of the work that we're doing at Gallup and get them out to the world? And at my house, it's really about presence, right? And making sure that I'm not getting kind of that tunnel vision and focusing on one thing for so long that I miss the rest.

Aligning Your Goals With What You Do Best

Jim Collison 4:21
Yeah. Love to see all the Top 5s coming in, love to see some of the goals that are coming in. But today's topic, not necessarily so much about the goals themselves, but more around how you can use your strengths to achieve those. And I think we, we've been talking about this the last 4 or 5 years, every year. We have a page up on gallup.com that talks about setting strengths-based goals and doing that. But in our conversation today, Sara, let's start with this question: As we think about the individual, how can they align their goals with strengths? As you just think about what you mentioned of what you have to do, what process do you go through to think, like, from a strengths-based perspective, how do now I align these goals, how do I get them done, knowing what I'm best at?

Sara Vander Helm 5:04
Yeah. I think my first answer is going to sound like cheating, and that is, Figure out what your easy buttons are, right? So when I think about strengths, I'm always thinking of them as my, you know, 5 or 10 easy buttons that I carry around in my, in my pocket every day. And if you can think through what those goals are and figure out which of those tools, which of those easy buttons is going to give you the quickest wins first, I think that's a really big deal. The psychology of goal-setting, right, which I've only studied a little and many of you have maybe studied much more, has to do with the fact that we do what feels good and what worked, over and over and over again, right. So the easiest way to figure out what that first thing should be, it should be something that comes naturally, that you can't not do, so that you can then stand on that stepping stone, and all of a sudden, the next step that's going to be a little harder, and the next one after that that's going to be a little harder, comes easier because you had some quick wins.

Jim Collison 6:12
I have Woo and Communication 2 and 4. Over the last 10 years, this has been a big part of my job of doing these kinds of things. I always try to align my goals, as I'm setting those up. In some cases, you get to set your own goals. And sometimes the goals are set for you. So this might be particularly more, harder to think about. But I always think, I always try to learn, How can I put myself in a situation where I get the opportunity to use that Woo and Communication, those, you know, 4 or 5 Influencing themes. So how can I stay on the edge of Influencing and set those goals in a way that supports those themes, knowing I can deploy those pretty quickly? Do you have, as you think about your Top 5, Can you give me a specific example of maybe a goal that you have and, and how you might think about that from a strengths-based perspective?

Sara Vander Helm 6:59
Yeah, absolutely. I, Jim, you and I talk all the time, our themes can be a little bit similar, but I'm 4 out of 5 Influencing themes, for those of you who are counting at home, in my Top 5. And so finding ways to get me talking, because that's the way that I think, is something that I'm always going to do first. So when I'm thinking about what my goals are, a lot of it comes from alignment with partners -- getting, you know, a feel for, What am I expected to do this year? And talking through, What does that look like? And moving to action through communication, I think, is a huge way to get me, again, those, those quick wins but also help me to show up in a way that I want people to know I can show up. Because I want people to know how I can be valuable to a team and what, you know, my brand promise is and, and what that can look like. So I think the more that you can identify those times, show up in that way, all of a sudden people go, Oh. Well, this is what Sara is really helpful in doing. And this is what Jim does well. And this is what producer Reilly does well. So it helps you not have to, like, jam yourself into something. And instead, people recognize and can bring you along.

When You Can't See How Your Goals, Strengths Align

Jim Collison 8:20
Yeah, I think it gives you an edge, like a strategic advantage, right, of being able to know, Hey, these are some things I'm going to do really well. You mentioned this -- you and I are very similar in our themes and the way we approach things. I'd love to hear from others in chat, as they think about, that don't have the Woo, Communication, Influencing themes rolling forward, how are you thinking about -- throw this in chat -- maybe some strategies you're going to use with some other themes that you might have, to set yourself up for success with that goal setting? Let's, Sara, let's shift that question a little bit. What if I get some goals? I mentioned this a second ago. What if I'm assigned to some goals that I need, and I'm like, Ah, what if I can't lean into them with my themes? What are some strategies in that area that maybe help me out?

Sara Vander Helm 9:11
That's a really good question. And I think the first thing is getting really comfortable knowing what the breadth and depth of those themes really are. Because I think that, I think they can do more than you think. Right? So these superpowers, it might not be a direct, I want, I have a goal, or I have a responsibility for teaching a class, and I lead with Communication and Woo. Well, that's a real easy one, right? But if it's something that's a little bit trickier, I lead with Analytical^® and Learner^®, but I've somehow got to get my head behind getting in front of people and giving a talk on a thing, right?

Sara Vander Helm 9:48
So it's really identifying, and I think doing this with partners who know you well -- you know, with your manager or with your direct team partners, with people in your house. Help me to see what I can't see. Right? So help me to see, How does my Learner help arm me with the information that I need to have the confidence to do the thing that maybe I don't as naturally do? Right? And how can the Analytical give me a chance to run through, OK, what are the risks? What are the roadblocks, and how can I analyze? Just again, to feel, feel like that door is more open to me. Finding ways where there isn't a way is what strengths are for, in my opinion. So, you know, that might be a little pie-in-the-sky; I do have Positivity^® No. 7. But I do think that that's an easy way to think about it too.

How Managers Can Help Their Teams Set Strengths-Based Goals

Jim Collison 10:42
As you think about goal-setting in the context of teams. And then sometimes if we don't have it, we need to lean on others for it and the partnership, there's some communication that needs to happen. As you think about for managers, some strategies to help their teams communicate, work through, practically do this kind of goal-setting exercise as a team, for you as a manager, or some manager tips, can you, can you, you know, what have you been doing? Or what are some tips that might help managers get their teams setting goals in a smart way that are strengths-based as well?

Sara Vander Helm 11:13
Yeah, I think that's really smart. I think most of what sets you up for success happens before the goal-setting conversation. So one of the questions that, especially I would say in the last year, my team grew. And so I've had the opportunity to get a chance to work with a lot more people, and, for the first time in a few years, right? So it was awesome to be able to have that opportunity to kind of have that shorthand and learn more about each other. But strengths are such a great shorthand in that way.

Sara Vander Helm 11:45
So the reason that I say that is, one of the questions that I love to ask most is, What do you need because of your strengths? Right? So not, What do you need right now? I need a pen. I need a laptop. I need -- . It's, What is a need that you have because of your strengths? So that I can find out, well, when I lead with Connectedness^®, I have a need to understand who is where in this web. And without that knowledge, I can't feel like my Connectedness can really grab on or click in, right.

Sara Vander Helm 12:23
So I think when you have an understanding of what people's needs are, then you go about setting goals with them, well, this is easy. When people say, when a manager says to you, What do you want to do? What's a goal that you have to use your strengths? Nobody can really answer that question, right -- not really, relative to their work, very easily. But everyone can really say, What do I need, because of my strengths? I lead with Communication No. 1. I have to have 5 minutes, 10 minutes -- if we're honest, it's 20 minutes -- to talk through a thing. And my closest partners know that. Right? They know that I need that. And then when I'm setting goals with my manager, I'm able to say, and really have that space to talk through what I want to accomplish this year, because writing it out isn't going to work for me; I have to be in Communication.

Jim Collison 13:17
I'm glad you said that. I'm still, we're, we're internally setting goals for 2024. I think they're due by the end of the month. Could just you and I right now set my goals?

Sara Vander Helm 13:25
Let's do it. Right now. What do you need? What do you need, Jim?

Jim Collison 13:29
Well, it's a great question. We have an exercise that we teach in our Certified Coaching course that's called, I Bring, I Need. And that "need" is the second half of the conversation. I think, as I'm listening to you, I'm thinking, sometimes we start with I Bring, and then we talk about what I Need. I think sometimes, it may be helpful to understand what I need first -- to reverse that question, and say, Hey, I'm coming at this from a perspective of, I'm gonna be OK, it's gonna be vulnerable. That's, by the way, that's a very vulnerable question, right?

Sara Vander Helm 14:01
It really is.

Jim Collison 14:01
Because I think sometimes we think, Oh, I've got to be able to do everything that's on this list that I have, and I can't. And I have to admit -- How does the language of strengths make that easier to talk about from a need perspective, do you think?

Sara Vander Helm 14:17
Well, I, I think it's permission. You know, I think when, when we know it, and we know this about ourselves, and we know it about each other, it gives you permission to, to admit it. To say, Hey, listen, as a result of X, I need Y. And that's OK. Right? It takes the vulnerability out of it. I also think -- or it can. I also think it's really hard for people at the beginning to show up and say, Hey, here's me, and here's what I'm great at. And here's what I promise I'm going to do for you and what I bring. I think of it as a, as a What do I get, then what do I give? So, I think about the needs first, because I think people can identify the needs a little easier.

Jim Collison 15:01
Love that. Yeah, I love that. Well, I think what you just, we can identify the needs easier; it comes quicker. It's, Hey, I --and then once the, once there's safety created in a team setting, and I can be OK saying, Hey, I've got these things assigned to me, and I'm going to need some help on some of these. Who can help me? Then the natural Bring part comes. Oh, wait a minute. Hey, if you're struggling with that, you know I have -- and I mention Mark all the time on Called to Coach, who helps me do a lot of the editing. He is so crafty at getting the words just right. And I would never be able to do that. Right. And so we have this partnership in that. I don't want to do it, and so, and he does it, he does it very, very well. So it's a, kind of a partner, you know, a Power of 2, as we like to say Gallup. Let's talk about staying motivated, because I think this is one of those things. It's, OK, so we've gotten through the process, Bring, Need. We've set some goals. We got some things going on. And then January 15, which, have we gotten to it? No, it's still January 10, so we're still OK.

Sara Vander Helm 16:05
We're still doing it so far.

Staying Motivated

Jim Collison 16:07
By January 15, we get tired, right? Or we get overwhelmed. As we think from a strengths-based, you know, standpoint, how do we stay motivated to continue for, How do we not make this a sprint and then a forget, and stay motivated?

Sara Vander Helm 16:22
Well, I think, I mean, obviously, the power of your strengths continue to pull you through. I think if you did it right at the beginning and got those quick wins because of your strengths, remember, your strengths don't go away on the 15th. They are pointed at a different objective, maybe. Or maybe they got a little tired of doing this thing, but they're not leaving you. Right? They're still there. So I think it's identifying, first of all, which are your strengths that are your turbo boosters, right, that are going to keep you going and help you power through. And then I think, Jim, the thing that you said becomes really important with the idea of teaming, and who are those complementary partners? You know, they're doing what they're doing, and then they're not letting you down, so you're not letting them down. How do you have that accountability structure around you, which, of course, we all think about through every lens of setting a goal. You know, who's your accountability partner?

Sara Vander Helm 17:19
But even thinking about accountability through that strengths lens, I think, is really, really, really critical. Right? I have a, I have a goal that I'm thinking about right now about how to, you know, think about how we're infusing more effective and important creative thought into some of the work that we're doing. And I have a partner who many of us at Gallup know named Haley. We are very different from each other, and we are perfect partners. And when I'm struggling to find that foothold, she's the first one to say, "You know what? My Connectedness says, I can help with this," right? She has high Connectedness. She sees me struggling to find a way in, and all of a sudden, she goes, I got this! Well, now I'm not going to stop doing it, because I have this great partner who's here with me. So even that strengths-based teaming, strengths-based accountability, because they're bringing what they bring. And then it's not just your, your turbo booster anymore; somebody's riding sidecar. Right?

Getting Out of Others' Way So Their Strengths Can Shine

Jim Collison 18:23
Yeah. As you were saying that, I was thinking of five very important words, which are, "How can I help you?" Like one of those, as we think, if teams are indeed a contact sport, where we're together, we're, we're bumping up against each other, we're doing things, we're working together, we're -- both in good times and in bad -- we're gonna need, we're gonna need a phrase to use to stay motivated. "How can I help you?" "How can I do this?" "How can I jump in and give you some support on this?" Allison out in chat -- by the way, if you want to throw questions in chat, if you got questions for us, we'll be, Reilly will be helping get those marked as well. But Allison says, As a manager, I find I need to hold back utilizing my strengths in some areas -- this is beautiful -- in order to allow my people to use those same strengths or use other strengths to tackle something in a different way. In turn, I find new ways to use my own strengths. Sara, how important is it, even sometimes, to get -- we've been talking about, How can I help you? But how do I get out of the way sometimes, so others can shine?

Sara Vander Helm 19:27
Absolutely. Allison, I love that question. That is poetry, I think, to all managers who are thinking through a strengths-based lens, I do think it has to be different for us. We have to know when to hold back. And it's hard, right? Especially when we show up exactly as who we are, and we've honed these, these crafts and these talents. But we do have to help people have the opportunity to learn, grow and develop. We can't insulate everyone by jumping to action, even if that's exactly who we are and how we're built. And so we have to plug in those listening ears to do some more asking. And then we put on our coach hat, right? I'm not a doer here; what I'm here to do is to open you up and to help you become who you're supposed to become through this experience. Because it's not my experience; it's yours. Right? And that's real, it's real hard to just hold back. But you're exactly right, the impulse has to be that.

Taking a Long-Term View

Jim Collison 20:25
And sometimes really hard, if we've been a working manager coming out of a team where we've done that responsibility before, and we know, may have, may become the manager because of great work. But then I can't, I, then, as a manager, I can't do all that work. I have to do the work through the people that I'm now managing, and getting out of the way and sometimes letting, sitting back or saying, "How can I help you?" If they get stuck, How can, how can I help you get this done? We've got a few minutes left for some questions. So if you got some questions, if you could put a "Q" in front of them in the chat, that's helpful for me, so we can see those, and Reilly as well, to identify them. Sara, I want to think about this, though. As we think about some daily practices, from a strengths-based perspective, what kind of things can we do to infuse this, to keep this top-of-mind to kind of help us out, as we're trying to achieve these goals throughout the year? Because it gets dark in July. You know, it's like, Oh, it's been a long time. What are some things that you thought of that will help keep it going throughout the year?

Sara Vander Helm 21:25
Yeah. I mean, I think, first of all, accepting and acknowledging and even embracing the fact that goals can change and morph and evolve throughout the year is important. So you could have that larger umbrella goal, you know, kind of the overarching thing, but what can you do in January? What can you do in February? And then you're able to look at the rest of your life and work and go, OK, I might not be able to do X. But here's what happens when it starts getting nice outside. If you're, I have a goal of getting more sunshine, right? Well, it's harder for me right now, so How am I -- in Nebraska, right -- How am I thinking about it differently in January than in April, May, June? And maybe my tactics, right, my tactics underneath the larger goal are going to change and morph a little bit.

Sara Vander Helm 22:17
I think we can use our strengths in that too, like, find a variety of different ways that could be a little bit seasonal. And then also, I think it's a great practice to revisit your core goals quarterly, and say, What did I do toward this, right? Which of those tactics worked; which ones didn't? Am I anywhere? And let your finish line be, you know, the end of March instead of the end of December. And then you're resetting. It doesn't mean you have a new goal. But you could have a new action toward it. Or it could be not on your plate anymore. Think about how often our roles change, at work, at home, everywhere in between. You know, maybe you're coaching basketball over the winter, but you're not in the spring. And then, all of a sudden, you have a different goal and a different way to approach what you need to do every day.

Jim Collison 23:10
Yeah, I love that, this idea of coming back to them quarterly, as opposed to, Hey, let's review, you know, it's December, let's think about -- and like, man, there's been a lot of things that's transpired, right. Some great comments coming in from chat. Terri says, Understanding others' strengths is a major part of understanding how we all show up in a team. To respect others' approaches to work means being mindful of how you show up with your strengths. And I think sometimes that self-awareness, right, of saying, Hey, I'm in this situation with this person. How am I influencing them in a way that may be counter or may be helpful to what they're doing? That, that mindfulness of our own impact in that. From a, from a manager's standpoint, or even from an individual contributor's, does that, Sara, does that, does that lead to any additional thoughts for you?

Sara Vander Helm 24:02
I mean, I think it's entirely true. I think I'm really fortunate to work with some people who are on the team that I directly work on and then also partners who are pretty good at checking me when my, when my strengths are coming on a little too strong or when I'm, one that I'm famous for is trying to paint a pretty picture when it's not a pretty thing happening. My Communication and Positivity love to do that. And my Best friend at work [item Q10 of Gallup's Q^12®] will say all day, "I'm not ready for the bright side yet. Don't give it to me." Right? And I have learned -- I think she would agree that I've learned I'm, you know, starting to back that off a little bit. So I think it's OK to check each other, too, in that, in that kind, safe space, to say, "This isn't what I need right now."

Jim Collison 24:52
Allison poses a good question. There's a few out there; we'll kind of roll through these in the next 5 minutes. Alison says, When we're in a situation where it seems like we aren't able to use our strengths, how do we identify ways and goals to enable us to, do you think?

Sara Vander Helm 25:09
I think I would, I would really lean on that outside perspective. You know, when you're thinking about when we can get stuck in our heads or really not think that there's a way, is there someone else who can be presented with what that goal is, what that obstacle appears to be? And can they help you see a way? Especially people who know a lot about you and understand the way that your strengths work. I'm assuming everyone here or most people here know a lot about their CliftonStrengths or at least have some considerable familiarity. But even if you're working with people who don't, I think it's easy for people to identify what they need and what they bring, and what's their kind of secret sauce -- much easier if they know their CliftonStrengths. But I think you can bring that to people even who don't speak the language of strengths, and they can help you find ways.

Jim Collison 26:05
Brit has been listening. Has got, she's got two questions, or a thought in here. Part of this discussion is strengths; part of it is goals. Right? Good. I'm glad we've done both. That's good. That was the intent today. She says, I don't know that it can be made SMART goals because of my Connectedness and Input. Where do attainable boundaries come from? Oh, yeah. Could be too big, right?

Sara Vander Helm 26:30
Yeah, it could be, it could be really too big. But I think when you're thinking about making SMART goals, I think you're getting really micro in the macro concept of strengths. But I think that's great. And I think it's the only way, Brit, to do it. Right? So you have to get micro if you really want to hit those, hit those goals. So if I'm thinking about Connectedness and Input, I'll think about Input, because I have that one in my Top 5 too. You know, but how am I thinking about things being time-bound and attainable, right, all of those sorts of things. I'm probably spending maybe a little bit too much time trying to learn, right, and soak in everything that I can learn about how other people approach a SMART goal. But I think you're right. I think it is, it's almost the dissection of the strength, the, the anatomy of a strength that's going to get you to that timeliness, to the how much is too much to bite off, to the, you know, whether or not it's even the right thing to be aiming at. But yeah, I do, I do think there's a lot to that. It's not easy, for sure.

Jim Collison 27:39
Yeah. Well, and I think sometimes, there's no, it's just not a switch you flip, a formula that you put in that calculates down to the end. These are ever moving, ever changing. I think of a pilot flying from New York to Paris, who's going to make hundreds, if not thousands, of flight small changes throughout the course of that flight. I think if, if they set the goal to get to Paris, and then they, they, at the end of the, you know, 6 hours later, they go, Are we there? Kind of deal. It's this constant measurement, right, throughout. And I think even sometimes, getting into the goal, seeing, Can I do this? And then being able to, midway, say, Oh, now I need some help. Maybe it doesn't come at the beginning, right. Apurva asks a great question as well. How has the acceptance of strengths-based approach to work, life, education evolved over the years? Sara, you and I have been doing this at Gallup for quite a while; we've seen some of this. Why do we not hear about strengths more often? What are your, what are your thoughts on, as we think about our work, and certainly your work with gallup.com, thoughts on that?

Sara Vander Helm 28:45
Yeah, I mean, if you think about the evolution of human development, right. When we, you know, Jim, Jim and I are of a certain age, I would say, and when we were in, when we were in school quite a few years ago, it was almost all about remediation, right, about how to fix the thing. I'm bad at math; I need to do more math. I need to focus on, you know, and, and we all know this -- focus on what's right, instead of what's wrong. People are, the world is grabbing on to the idea, and necessarily so, that when you focus on what you do well, you succeed more often, more predictably. Right? We know that that's true. And, and, and at Gallup, and of course, with Dr. Don Clifton and all of our predecessors here, we've known that. And then as soon as you get plugged in and know your strengths and start growing from your strengths, well, it's a whole different kind of growth. Right? It's not a bit-by-bit, line-by-line; it is exponential. Absolutely. So when you get yourself in a situation where you can focus on that, I think the world is starting to figure it out. So yeah, certainly it would have been great if it would have come sooner. But I'm sure glad that we're all here for the ride now.

Jim Collison 30:06
Yeah, yeah, right on. I work with college students a lot, and I, as I've done strengths interventions that I've done, strengths exercises with them, I don't find myself having to say, "Does the strengths-based philosophy make sense?" I think they kind of get it now. I think there's a, where you and I, it might have been a little more different in coming in of fixing the things, our weaknesses, we're now more focusing on strengths. And I think that, that is making its way in there as well. Sara, a few more questions, but we are out of time. Or not. But we said we'd do 30 minutes, and so here we are with you. Sara, thanks for your time on this. I will remind folks, if they still have continued questions, or they want to know, How does, what does Gallup think about this? You can send us an email: coaching@gallup.com. You don't have to be a coach to send it to that email address. But we can pick that up and get an answer back to you as well -- coaching@gallup.com. Sara, thanks for being a part of this, and, and thanks again for coming out today.

Sara Vander Helm 31:03
You bet. Thanks for having me.

Jim Collison 31:05
We will remind individuals one more time as well: This will become part of The CliftonStrengths Podcast. If you want to get more information around CliftonStrengths, your individual themes, we've got a whole bunch of content for you out there in Gallup Access. Head out to my.gallup.com, if you have an account -- or just gallup.com; you get to see some of the work that Sara does. We'd love to hear from you as well. Thanks for coming out today. Good luck with your 2024 goal setting. Don't let it be December of 2024 before you review them. Thanks for coming out, everybody. With that, we'll say, Goodbye.

Sara Vander Helm's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Communication, Competition, Woo, Maximizer and Input.

Gallup^®, Q^12®, CliftonStrengths^® and each of the 34 CliftonStrengths theme names are trademarks of Gallup. Copyright © 1993-1998, 2000 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.