How to Improve Your Wellbeing With Strategic®

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

Your CliftonStrengths^® can empower the 5 elements of your wellbeing -- career, social, financial, community and physical. But how does this happen if you are struggling in one or more of these elements? If you have Strategic, Appendix 1 of Gallup's Wellbeing at Work book has Strengths Insights and Action Items that can move you from struggling to thriving as you apply your Strategic talent to fuel your wellbeing. Join Jaclynn Robinson and Jim Collison on this CliftonStrengths Podcast to discover how.

If you lead with this, when you can see the whole playing field and recognize patterns or trends, and then decide on the best path forward in pursuit of goals or intended outcomes, that is the best-case scenario.

Jaclynn Robinson, 1:24

You're really adept at being able to help people think of a Plan B.

Jaclynn Robinson, 8:51

Jim Collison 0:00
I am Jim Collison, and welcome to the CliftonStrengths Podcast. On this podcast, we'll be covering topics such as wellbeing, teamwork, professional development and more. Now enjoy this episode.

Jim Collison 0:13
In this CliftonStrengths podcast, we look at the Strengths Insight and Action Planning items from Appendix 1 in the Gallup book Wellbeing at Work one theme at a time; today's theme is Strategic. If you're listening live, love to have you join us in our chat room on our live page: gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/live. There's a link right above me there that'll take you to the YouTube that has a chat room; love to have your questions afterwards. But if you're listening to this in the podcast form or on YouTube, you can send us your questions: coaching@gallup.com. Dr. Jaclynn Robinson is our host today. She works as a learning -- a Gallup Learning and Development Consultant and was the primary contributor to Appendix 1 in the book Wellbeing at Work. And Jaclynn, always great to be with you. Welcome back!

Jaclynn Robinson 0:53
Thank you, sir! I'm glad to be here today. Strategic No. 2. I'm not biased or anything, but glad to be here today.

What's the definition of Strategic?

Jim Collison 1:00
It's gonna be a good one. Let's dive in on that definition.

Jaclynn Robinson 1:03
All right. So people that lead with the Strategic theme find alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly find the relevant patterns and issues.

Jim Collison 1:13
Patterns and issues. I think we'll be spending a little time talking about that coming up. Let's spend some time thinking about, How does that relate to you? And then How does it relate to, to others?

Jaclynn Robinson 1:22
If I think about how it relates to you: If you lead with this, when you can see the whole playing field and recognize patterns or trends, and then decide on the best path forward in pursuit of goals or intended outcomes, that is the best-case scenario -- seeing the whole playing field. And how it relates to others: Others can count on you to help them think of alternative solutions or pathways when they feel stuck in a rut. And that naturally can increase their wellbeing and that sense of confidence and moving forward.

Jim Collison 1:51
In Season 6 of Theme Thursday, Maika and I spend a lot of time talking about this sorting function that exists within these themes. And I think some, some themes sort harder than others, or better or different -- however you want to, and I haven't thought through what the right word is for that. But, and I think Strategic is one of those that sorts well -- looks, you said the, looks at the playing field, is able to assess that and then sort to the best, or sort to the most efficient or sort to fill in the blank of whatever the, the opportunity is. Right. But that -- it's, it's hard, I think it's, sometimes it's hardcore sorting, and being able to then differentiate and figure out. It's, it's an amazing talent, like, yeah, it's just an amazing talent.

How does Strategic look when it's thriving vs. struggling?

Jim Collison 2:38
I always, I always, I have a little Strategic envy sometimes, and I lean heavily on, Maika has it high; you have it high. I definitely lean on that as we're, as we're doing these things. And it's very different, by the way, between the two of you. So as you, for folks who've listened to both Theme Thursday and this series, your Strategic and her Strategic, very, very different. And I appreciate both. So well, we are spending time, you spent a bunch of time writing Appendix 1 in the book Wellbeing at Work. And we're looking at these themes as they're thriving versus struggling. So How does Strategic look, maybe when it's thriving versus when it's struggling?

Jaclynn Robinson 3:18
Thriving is when you know when you're heading in the right direction, or you know where you're heading. And then you have enough information and resources to make a decision. But also when others provide autonomy and trust in your decision-making. Gosh, yep, that's thriving. And then if I think about struggling, it's almost the opposite. It's when you're flying with a blindfold on. You're less clear on what you should be focused on; you're not quite sure what your final destination is. And then that's when it can be a real struggle. Because without knowing where you're heading, you don't have a real idea of what patterns or trends or information to even consider. And there's a lot of anxiety that I find people have, in the sense of almost nervousness, when they feel like they have that blindfold on and they don't know what the path ahead is, for those that lead with Strategic.

Jim Collison 4:06
How can they, with a blindfold on, or, you know, this morning, it was really foggy here in Omaha, which we don't get a lot of that fog. I grew up in the Bay Area; we got fog all the time. But, but we don't get it here. When it is foggy, what can Strategic do, thinking through this, to help get clarity? Since you have it high, let's just, let's just pick your brain a little bit. What do you do when things are a little hazy?

Jaclynn Robinson 4:32
If it's a partnership, it's going to that person and extracting more information. What's the outcome that you'd like to achieve? They might not have made that clear, or they might not have themes where that outcome is going to be front and center, like maybe Focus, as an example. So extracting the information to go OK, now I can acquire the resources I need, go to the specific people I need to make a best decision. If it's within your own role, and you have, you know, independent responsibilities in the workplace, then it's going to the manager and saying, What should I be focused on? What's the key priority? There's 10 things spinning in the air; are any of those something that I should be primarily focused on, because it's getting us to the end goal? And then we can do that with family and friends quite easily too. But I've recognized in the workplace, it really rears its face. Because you have more autonomy and freedom, I feel like, in your personal life, to know where you want to head and can communicate that with others.

Jim Collison 5:32
I'm watching you do that right now, just, as you and I have had some preshow conversations, talking about your own, like your own workload has changed over the last 4 months as we've been doing this, and we talk about it when we get together, and I've watched you use that Strategic in the conversations to say, Hey, you know, from a timing perspective, this is or isn't working. And so it's kind of fun to hear you use that as an example and go, Yeah, you know what -- ?

Jaclynn Robinson 5:57
Yeah, that's true.

Jim Collison 5:58
I've lived that through with you. And it was pretty great to see that come out in you. In Appendix 1, we got some best practices by the 5 elements in wellbeing. You've picked one. Walk us through what you've picked today for this exercise.

Jaclynn Robinson 6:12
I did. I picked physical wellbeing. So for this one, getting in 10,000 steps a day in a busy life is more achievable for this person when it's part of a larger plan for overall wellbeing. So ask this person once in a, once a week, How is your health strategy going? What are your, How is your health goals -- How are your health goals? I can't speak today. But there's, there's usually a larger goal. Even thinking about like, half marathons or marathons, it's step by step, you know, you're putting some steps in place to get to that larger end goal that you see for yourself.

Jim Collison 6:49
Do you, do you see your Strategic short-term or long-term focused, or maybe both? In the sense that, Are you better at sorting quickly to the short-term goals and being able to adapt to those? Or is it better in a, I can make long-term plans that affect that and stick to them with something else? I don't know, how does that work for you?

Jaclynn Robinson 7:08
Yeah. It's both because of the Futuristic that I lead with as well in my Top 10 -- and Focus. What's the future goal I'd like to achieve? And then everything in the, in the present moment impacts where I'm wanting to go.

For those with Strategic, how can it be used to support others?

Jim Collison 7:27
Yeah, yeah, no, that's great. I think great opportunities. There's 4 other wellbeing elements with some information in there about Strategic. And so if you haven't used that for yourself or in your coaching, whether it's independent or you're an embedded coach in an organization, those resources are available for you -- Appendix 1 in the back of the book. So, Jaclynn, with Strategic, How can we really use it, as we think about using it, how do we use it for others?

Jaclynn Robinson 7:53
If you're a manager or a team lead, you have that, that "bird on a wire" perspective. You can see everything that's happening in the workplace. And there might be some strategies that you can share out with an employee that's coming to you saying, "I don't see, I don't see why I'm doing this." Or maybe "I don't see how the pieces connect." You're able to help them see, this is the strategy. Sometimes, what will happen with those leading with Strategic, you already see far ahead. You might already be in left field, but you still have some players on the bench. And so just helping catch them up on what the team goals are, why you're striving towards those, can be very helpful. If you are on a team, you can be that person that helps, you know, a colleague saying, "I'm just trying to figure out how to sort through the different items I have on my plate. What's my best path forward? What should I be thinking about?"

Jaclynn Robinson 8:51
You're really adept at being able to help people think of a Plan B. I've noticed this with coaching, too, and we have so many coaches in the audience. Whenever you get to the final end of your coaching session, you might say, "OK, what's your plan? What's your backup plan going to be, if that doesn't work out for you?" So whether, honestly, you're a manager or you're leading a team, that might be the catchphrase that you use. And then as an individual, you, going back to feeling like you fly with a blindfold on sometimes, when you have that feeling, it's that gut check of, Where do I need to acquire more information and get more clarity so that I can lean into Strategic and know the best path forward?

Jim Collison 9:33
I love that idea of helping others find a Plan B. That also may look like Ideation at times, although it's Ideation with a purpose sometimes.

Jaclynn Robinson 9:41
Yes, that's a good way of putting it.

Jim Collison 9:42
We just kind of generate ideas, and it's like, Hey, let's, let's get as many things on the table as we can. I think Strategic can kind of really help understanding -- and, of course, the other themes play in on this, but understanding what then needs to be done of sorting to that best, that might be the best Plan B for them in the process. In Appendix 2, we have a framework to work through -- again, another tool available for you out of the book, as we, as we look at this framework, a very simple framework. With Strategic, why don't you walk us through that.

Jaclynn Robinson 10:12
Sure is, so Ask Yourself: Is the vision for the future clear to my team? Where or how can I provide clarity? So this is a great question for Futuristic as well; I think we even did it with Futuristic. It's really great for Strategic, because you can also help them see and touch and taste that plan or strategy moving forward. Ask Your Team Members: What parts of your role give you the most energy? You might have seen that, and you can help them find ways to, you know, deflect more from what they don't do well and find areas to do what they do well. And Take Action: Identify the parts of your role that fulfill you the most, and look for opportunities to do them more often. So really, when you have that opportunity to think, to, to strategize when people trust some of your decisions or are open to listening to your decisions, that tends to be when you're at your best with Strategic.

Jim Collison 11:07
Again, that framework again: Ask Yourself, Ask Your Team Members and then Take Action. Very, very simple. We try to keep it simple on these sometimes. Simpler, the more simple, the, I think, the easier -- at least for folks like me, more, maybe a little bit easier to implement. So thanks for walking us through that. With Strategic so high for you, final thoughts, as we think about using this, you know, we're at a different, it's, it's April of 2022. Things are changing pretty rapidly. How's that weighing in on your Strategic? And any final thoughts on how to use this from a wellbeing perspective?

Jaclynn Robinson 11:46
Oh, that's a good one. My mind goes everywhere already thinking about that.

Jim Collison 11:51
You're thinking about the best one right now.

Jaclynn Robinson 11:57
What I've seen, what can be helpful for people that I've noticed, just personally but also professionally, is helping people, going back to that vision. What is the future? What does it look like? What is our best strategy for getting there? But if we need to switch gears a little bit, what's going to be that Plan B? That, really leaning into that Strategic theme for yourself and others helps create stability. It's creating a lot of stability right now where someone goes, OK, even if Plan A fails and, you know, I have that Plan B that, that we can lean into. So I'm seeing that just with changes in the workplace, with more people going in to work now. What does that look like? And I'm seeing that with people just try to balance their workload and their personal life. Because work, now that we have that return to work, I feel like that's just really, people have gone from zero to 100. And now they're at 100 in the workplace; they're still at 100 in their personal life, and they're like, How do, how do I juggle all of this? Well, let's think about the best strategy moving forward for you. And then let's think about a Plan B. If things get overloaded, what can you do to support your wellbeing, so they feel like they have that outlet?

Jim Collison 13:04
Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of the CliftonStrengths Podcast. Make sure you like and subscribe wherever you listen, so you never miss an episode. And if you're really enjoying this podcast, please leave a review. This helps us promote strengths globally.

Jaclynn Robinson's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Strategic, Maximizer, Positivity and Relator.

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