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Interview: How Tim Shriver Leads With Strengths

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About the Leader

Tim Shriver

Timothy Shriver, Ph.DChairman of Special Olympics

  • Includer®
  • Strategic®
  • Self-Assurance®
  • Significance®
  • Activator®

"A person with Down syndrome might live most of their life being pointed at, being told what their limitations are, being reminded what their disabilities are. Then they get into the gym and they're a point guard. Or they get into the pool and they're swimming breaststroke. Or they get onto the playing field and they're a striker or a goalkeeper. The identity shift from a deficit to a skill, from a weakness to a strength, was just pouring out of our athletes. The starvation, the demand to be seen for their strengths and not their challenges -- it just seeped into my heart."

Includer

"When we encounter difference, choose to include."

Shriver’s Includer drives him to approach people who are different from him with openness and optimism. He is always including more people in his initiatives.

Strategic

“I’m constantly looking for how do we craft a new narrative that fits. Maybe we’re missing just one little piece.”

Strategic helps Shriver understand and steer the bigger picture of the Special Olympics.

Self-Assurance

"Come on, we can do this."

Shriver uses his Self-Assurance to persist in the face of challenges or oppositions. He is confident that what he sets his mind to he can achieve.

Activator

"Make it happen, no matter what."

Shriver brings a relentless, fast-paced mentality to projects he's a part of, especially difficult projects.