Jim Collison:
[0:00] Welcome to Season 4 of The CliftonStrengths Podcast, where we'll dive deep into how CliftonStrengths build powerful partnerships and help teams thrive. I'm Jim Collison, Gallup's CliftonStrengths Community Manager.
Jillian White:
[0:09] And I'm Jillian White, Gallup's Subject Matter Expert on Culture and Leadership and our Lead Subject Matter Expert for CliftonStrengths.
Jim Collison:
[0:16] Today's theme is Connectedness. We'll explore what this theme brings, what it needs, and how it fosters collaboration. Jillian, welcome!
Jillian White:
[0:24] Thank you, Jim. I had to smile that we have a lot of people in our live recording today that have high Connectedness. And I have to wonder if there's something in Connectedness that draws us to liking to be a part of a live community. So really fun to get to bring this strength to life today.
Jim Collison:
[0:40] Indeed. And one I really like, a theme I really like. We'll maybe spend a little time talking about that later. But Jillian, let's get a quick refresh on this theme. What is it?
Jillian White:
[0:50] Yes. So Connectedness sees interconnections between things. It believes that nothing is an isolated incident, so everything is interconnected. There's a faith in the link between all things. As a result, you oftentimes feel like there are few coincidences. Everything happens for a reason. There's a purpose, there's a meaning behind things. It is a Relationship Building strength. So we want to remember that it's often used in the context of relationships to help people see that bigger picture to find meaning in things. The image that I like to picture with Connectedness is taking a stone, dropping it into a pond, and seeing all of the ripple effects that come from dropping that stone. That Connectedness has that ability to see how one small butterfly effect, one small thing that happens, can be interconnected and have a whole ripple effect that comes as a result. They see that bigger picture.
Jim Collison:
[1:46] I am drawn to someone who can do this naturally and does it well, weaves a story around it. But when we think about teams in organizations or people working in groups, any examples of where you've seen Connectedness work really well or have coached on that inside an organization?
Jillian White:
[2:06] You know, the one I'm going to pull out for us today is actually a Leading With Strengths episode that we got to see with Arianna Huffington. So founder of The Huffington Post, founder of Thrive Global. One of the companies that we get to partner with does a lot of work with Thrive Global as well. And what I love about Connectedness, remember, it sees that bigger picture of things. So if you look at how she has partnered with her teams to build her company — take her current company that she's CEO of right now, Thrive Global. And you look at, What is that company trying to do? It is actually trying to help look at holistic human existence in the workplace and think about, How do you help people's wellbeing to thrive? And that Connectedness is, it's such a beautiful manifestation of that Connectedness, because you see that honoring of the whole person in how she's bringing a team together. I also, I follow her on LinkedIn, and I look at how she builds a community around her. And so, oftentimes, that Connectedness is a bridge builder. It is something that can bring celebrities to the everyman in an organization together around a common link. And it's really fun to see that in that public example.
Jim Collison:
[3:16] I love that. I think of it as a warm blanket in a cold room. Just kind of, right? Just kind of surrounds you. And you just kind of feel like it, you, this instant response — for me, anyways, this instant response.
Jillian White:
[3:26] Well, Jim, you said this is one you really admire. What, what is it that draws you to it?
Jim Collison:
[3:30] Yeah, that, the, the mission and purpose, usually, like, when we think about there's like, Hey, there's all, there's a reason why these things are happening. And for me, again, I don't know why that emotionally connects with me so well, but I like it. I'm not good at doing it. And I can do, every once in a while, I can. But I am drawn to people who can do it. And I'll listen to those connected — my mother was good at this. She could tell these stories, this because of that, and then this, and then this. And she would actually try to find those connections in you when she met you. I brought her one year, I brought her, we had interns here, and she started talking to the interns. And she was trying to make connections to the interns.
Jillian White:
[4:11] I think that can actually be something, you know, for coaches or champions inside of organizations. They're oftentimes very good at, I see people who are great at qualitative research with this theme. I also see people who are really good at coaching with this theme, because they can hear those interconnections of how someone is showing up in a simple coaching conversation.
Jim Collison:
[4:32] Yeah, we have a new section in Gallup Access, up in the Community tab. It has a, it's got a really cool graphic of how far you can compare yourself to someone else with these themes, if you're sharing those. But in that section are these resources called I Bring and I Need, and they're available for everyone. We want to talk a little bit about that, Jillian, as we think about Connectedness. What does it bring?
Jillian White:
[4:53] Yeah. Jim, you've been referencing this already in what you admire in high Connectedness. It brings that bigger-picture perspective. It's that person who helps you find meaning and purpose when you're partnering with them. They help you see how this isn't just a moment in time of something that's happening, but how it's going to either be used for good or how there's bigger meaning and purpose behind it. They oftentimes leave us with a little bit of wonder and awe. They have a bit of awe for just the mystery of life. Everything is interconnected, but we don't always see all the interconnections, but we know they're there. So they can leave us with a little bit of increased faith between the links between things.
Jillian White:
[5:33] I also think what they bring is, I'm going to call it the "golden thread." And the example I'm going to use with this is when, last year, I was co-hosting the Summit, the Gallup at Work Summit, with Jeremy Pietrocini, who many of you know, does a lot of different keynotes with organizations. And I was listening to Jeremy and thinking, Why is he so good as an emcee? He's got high Connectedness. When you listen to how he does that, he pulls this thread between everything as he's emceeing. And he has this ability to take something that someone mentions over here, something that this speaker talked about, and tie it all up with a bow around it. So finding that "golden thread" is oftentimes something that is a characteristic of a partner with that high Connectedness.
Jillian White:
[6:18] And then final thing I'll mention, Jim, is you talked about it feeling like a warm blanket, but because they do believe there is meaning and purpose, and there's not coincidences, oftentimes they bring a calm in the middle of chaos. So you might be going through something difficult, but that person is able to be calm and say, "You know what? Like, this will work out how it's supposed to." And that faith in that moment is oftentimes a source of strength and calm for others around them.
Jim Collison:
[6:48] Jeremy's Connectedness may be why we're here today. Like, when we think about it, he was in the early phases of doing these podcasts.
Jillian White:
[6:55] Oh, I don't think I realized that.
Jim Collison:
[6:57] He and Curt were involved in this.
Jillian White:
[6:57] Thanks, Jeremy, if you're listening.
Jim Collison:
[6:58] Yeah. No, no, and has remained a good friend. I appreciate that about him as well. We often think about what Connectedness brings, but what does it need? I'm interested. I'm going to learn here from you on this. What does it need?
Jillian White:
[7:11] Yeah, give us a couple things to think about. Think about what it's good at, and where it needs space to do it. Connectedness needs opportunities to build bridges. They need opportunities to connect the dots. So if I'm thinking about partnering with somebody that has that, I want to give them space to create community around them, to bring people together around something.
Jillian White:
[7:34] They also need recognition of being a part of something that is bigger than themselves. Remember, they love to see that connection to the bigger picture; they don't see something as just an isolated incident. So if we're working with them, I brought this up when we were talking about with Belief as well. But if you're partnering with Belief, you want to make sure you're bringing the mission and purpose. If you're partnering with somebody with high Connectedness, give them space and even help draw out how what they are doing is connected to a bigger picture and something bigger than themselves. There's, there's a desire to want to have that positive ripple effect that oftentimes comes with Connectedness. And it's going to feel really fulfilling to them to know that they are having a positive ripple effect through their work.
Jim Collison:
[8:18] I take away recognition of being a part of something bigger than myself in that, and giving someone that opportunity to do that. And I think that — because I can't do that, but they can. And I love that. In the new Top 5 report, we've got this idea — not a new idea, but this idea of Theme Dynamics, two themes together. We're going to look at it individually and then what it can, what it can look like maybe in a team setting. So as we think about Connectedness, what does it most commonly pair with out of our database?
Jillian White:
[8:48] The one it most commonly pairs with is Learner. So Connectedness and Learner — let's think about some of the connections there. Connectedness has a little of that awe and mystery, belief in the connection between all things; Learner loves to continuously improve. So there's a little combined mystery in this, that you love to learn, but you're never going to know it all. And you realize that with that high Connectedness. So I think of this as being somebody who's probably very growth-oriented, because they're going to look at every experience and every moment as a learning opportunity in the bigger picture.
Jim Collison:
[9:22] As we think about teams with this idea of Theme Dynamics, talk a little bit about how you could use this in partnership and collaboration.
Jillian White:
[9:31] Yes. If you are looking for strong partners as high Connectedness, think about what's going to light up that strength in you. Someone else who helps find meaning and see the bigger picture is likely going to just catalyze that strength in you. Partnering with somebody who has Belief with a strong mission orientation or that Learner that can help you learn — those can help amplify that Connectedness. You might also think about partnering with somebody that can give a voice to seeing the bigger picture. a strength like Communication could be a great partner there.
Jillian White:
[10:02] Flip side of this, you know, I always like to look at the complementary partnerships. So remember, Connectedness, because it can see those interconnections, it has the faith in the link between all things, there's a bit of intuition that comes with it. It believes it will all work out. But remember, not everybody is wired that way. So sometimes partnering with somebody who can help quantify what you're intuitively feeling. Think about partnering with Analytical or Input, right? Also remember, with Connectedness, they can accept things as they come, but they might want to think about partnering with somebody who can push and take some agency in situations. The little bit of danger with Connectedness is, you know what, it will happen like it's supposed to, and I don't step in and take agency. So partnering with somebody like Achiever, Competition, Command, Self-Assurance — those are all strengths that are a little more wired to take agency and can help really pair well with that Connectedness.
Jim Collison:
[10:59] Oh, I like that phrase, "Take agency." We've said that before, but in this context, I like the way that fits in there. Let's look at leaders now. How can leaders recognize and harness Connectedness in their teams and in their organization?
Jillian White:
[11:14] Yeah. Once again, just look for people who love being a part of something bigger than themselves. They're probably building communities around them. Position those people to be the glue on your team. Let them be bridgebuilders. We just had some conversation with our live audience before this about places where you might see silos inside of an organization. Your high Connectedness folks are going to be great bridgebuilders to help build relationships and connections where there might be silos. Utilize those individuals when you need that bridge-building and when you need that interconnection between groups.
Jim Collison:
[11:52] In the notes, I read it as cross-department 360s, and I thought, what a great concept of allowing depart, you know, various teams to do 360s, not only for themselves and thinking like, Hey, how are we connected to these other teams? Sometimes we'll use the Team Grid for that concept, where you say, Hey, this team is shaped this way, and this team is shaped this way. Then what do we have to do or how do we connect in the middle? Imagine someone with high Connectedness being able to take all that and turn it into a, you know, into a Department 360, so to speak.
Jillian White:
[12:27] Yeah. Ooh, yeah, Department 360. That's a, that's a creative idea with that. But where the 360s actually came from is, right now, I just got back from working with some leaders yesterday in North Carolina, and we were doing a lot of 360 work with these leaders where it's, you know, one-on-one, really helping to look at how their leadership is showing up. And I will say, a common theme I feel like I see across organizations is siloing, right? Especially if you're putting metrics in place that incentivize one department performing against another department. So oftentimes, we have to be a lot more intentional about how to build those bridges. You can do it through things like creating combined incentives and things like that, but you can also use the talent of people like those with Connectedness that are just natural bridge builders.
Jim Collison:
[13:14] Yeah. In this session, we've talked about teams a lot. So maybe a little wrap on this, but what should teams know about working with someone who has this theme high?
Jillian White:
[13:23] Yeah, Connect their work to the bigger picture. And I would say, Ask them what threads they're seeing. Remember, it's really good at finding that common thread between things. So they're likely the ones who are spotting things that others might not be. Ask them what threads they're seeing in your work, what interconnections they're seeing, or where there's opportunity to build bridges. They're going to be much more aware of that.
Jim Collison:
[13:44] So let's do some final thoughts and connect it all together for the individual. Jillian, final thoughts, as we kind of bring it back to this theme.
Jillian White:
[13:54] If you have high Connectedness, remember, you see interconnections that others might not see. Remember to give a voice to that. It will help build bridges with other people. It will help build bridges between ideas. Lend your Connectedness to your partnerships to help them find meaning and purpose and see those bigger connections in the work that you're doing together.
Jim Collison:
[14:18] Love that. With that, we'll remind everyone to take full advantage of all the resources we do have available — all the connected resources we have available — in Gallup Access. Head out, log in, choose the Resource tab, upper left. Then, there's a search bar. Just put "Connectedness" in, and you'll see all the resources we have available —a bunch of podcasts, a bunch of written stuff available for you now. You can continue to learn and grow in this area. If you're joining us live, hang around for a little bit of a postshow. If you're listening to this as a podcast or on YouTube, chances are we have another one that's maybe just 3 seconds away. Click it. We'll see you on the other side. With that, we'll say, Goodbye, everybody.
Jillian White's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Input, Learner, Belief and Responsibility.