Jim Collison:
[0:00] Welcome to Season 4 of The CliftonStrengths Podcast, where we'll dive deep into how CliftonStrengths themes 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:
[0:15] Today's theme is Restorative. We'll explore what this theme brings, what it needs and how it fosters collaboration. Jillian, as always, welcome.
Jillian White:
[0:23] Thank you, Jim. I know this is one that for both of us is a little bit lower in our profile. So it's always fun to do one for me that is not one I know as much about personally, but get to see in others and have a little strength admiration for.
Jim Collison:
[0:38] No, right on. And I think one we both learn from as we go through the process. So I appreciate you guys being patient with us as we do that. Let's back up the truck a little bit, get a refresh on this. What's this strength look like?
Jillian White:
[0:51] Yeah. Let's remind ourselves at the heart of somebody who is wired with strong Restorative is really a heart for problem-solving. These are individuals, they see problems. They do not want to have a band-aid solution. They want to diagnose those problems, get to the root cause of what is creating the issue. And then the joy for that Restorative is restoring. So bringing something back to a fixed or healed state. It's an Executing strength. So people execute based on where they see the problem. The joy comes from fixing it. The image that I was picturing on this one is almost like an HG fixer-upper show. You know, it's almost this image of a house that just looks like it is in disrepair. And someone goes in there and they fix the staircase and they fix the roof. And by the time it is done and finished, it just looks like new. Everything has been fixed. So that, that fixing element, that problem-solving restoration element of that strength is really neat to see in a picture like that.
Jim Collison:
[2:00] There's been a lot of, I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos, there's been a lot of chalets in France that have become available. They were run down and folks are buying them; the price must be right on them. And then restoring these, you know, these 200- or 300- or 400-year-old chalets, different than castles, like, you know, in that sense, just beautiful. So I love that fixer-upper show idea. You know, we don't have a lot of older properties like that here in the United States. Like, they just haven't been around as long. So it's fun to see some of those older ones get done as well. It's one that I'll remember as we go forward. In your consulting work, certainly, you've seen this in the workplace. There seems like there are probably a lot of opportunities for this. What are you seeing out there in your consulting work?
Jillian White:
[2:46] There are. You know, I always like to just think of different applications, whether it's a leader, a team, a partnership, a company. I was actually thinking of a company on this one. And this is an organization that we work with, a technology consulting firm, you know, with 800,000 employees. And because they are one of our strengths-based culture award winners, we get to see strengths at an aggregate level across the company. And what's really interesting is as a company, they have high Restorative. So when I think about how that shows up, even within the industry, you know, this is an industry where in technology, oftentimes you're launching new systems, you need to, you need to test these systems, you need to find the bugs, you need to fix everything that could go wrong. That strength thrives in that environment. And so it allows them to do what they do with greater excellence because they are not afraid to get in there and solve complex problems. I will say what's interesting, though, is we have had to do some coaching with leaders of the teams with high Restorative who maybe didn't have that same strength. Their leadership team leads a little more with Maximizer. So really thinking about if the people who are on the ground doing all this have high Restorative, how do you really reframe things in terms of the issue we're solving or the opportunity to restore something or to solve a problem? And learning to lead in a way that positioned problem-solving really lit up the people who were doing that hard work on the ground of restoration.
Jim Collison:
[4:20] Yeah, it's certainly, I love the way you think about when you get Census data from an organization, and those themes begin to roll up, and you can really start to then begin to see, and we talked about this in a podcast in the past about values, and then thinking about, OK, how does this organization bring value? And seeing that Restorative in the organization can certainly bring some insight, right, to them as they make sure.
Jillian White:
[4:49] I have seen a lot of leaders that have this too. In fact, maybe just to add that in, we had just this past week, I was hosting a group of sales reps in our office. And one of the sales reps had Restorative in their top strengths. And when I looked at some medical device, when I looked at how they led with that, the words they said to me were, I love messy situations. And when I go in to meet with a doctor about our product, I ask them about all the issues they're having with their current device. And I talk about how what we have to offer can help solve that, and I problem-solve with them. So it's really fun to just hear that show up in that love of making other people's lives easier by solving their problems.
Jim Collison:
[5:31] Yeah, right on. And a great use of the team grid, right? That's just one of those things where we think about, what it can really bring out is to begin to see some of these trends and then ask some questions. Let them answer those. Don't diagnose it before you've talked to them. That's, but spend some time getting from them. How is this playing out for them? We have a new section, well, relatively new. We changed Community to Connections. It's an opportunity to share your theme results, your strengths, reports with others. In that section, we got a new resource around on “I Bring” and “I Need.” I've gotten a lot of questions lately about folks wanting to know where that's at. And that's where it is. If you haven't checked it out yet, you can do that today. We're going to practice that a little bit when we think about Restorative. What does it bring, Jillian?
Jillian White:
[6:18] Yeah, I always like to think if I'm partnering with somebody who has that high Restorative strength, what can I expect on the other side of that partnership? These are people who, first of all, are going to notice problems. They are wired to see the problems, right? They are people who, as a partner, they are going to love that problem-solving. They do bring a solution mindset. They want to fix things. You're going to feel that in your partnership. They bring an ability to diagnose situations. Almost think of it as like, you know, almost like a scientific method where it's like they're trying to get to the root of what's really behind something. They don't want those band-aid solutions, like I said earlier. I also think these are individuals who are going to bring a sense of calm in maybe crises or broken situations because that's actually where they thrive. They can help bring something back to life. They can help. They're not intimidated by problems. If anything, it actually energizes them.
Jim Collison:
[7:16] Yeah, my neighbor was trying to fix his mower, and I was over there watching him the other day. This is how you know I have low Restorative. He's like, he's messing around for like five minutes. I'm like, I got to go. Like, I just, I didn't want to watch it. I'm like, and he was really digging in on trying this and trying that and get this done. And so I don't know if he has high, you know, if he has high Restorative or not. But it was a good example for me, as you think about this, bringing this tenacious desire to move and fix and go forward and make it great. So I always appreciate that. It does have needs, however, though. So what does, what does this need? What does Restorative need?
Jillian White:
[7:53] I'm going to give a simple one to start with. Restorative needs problems. So if you are working with somebody who has high Restorative, you're partnering together, they need problems to solve. They are at their best when they have that. That's why when I worked with that leadership team with a lot of Restoratives reporting to them, we talked about identify the problems, get people on that, right? They also need freedom to get to that root cause. So even the example you just shared of the lawnmower, there might be a little patience that's needed from the other side while they are doing the digging to get to that root cause. But that is a gift that they're bringing. They need recognition for the problem-solving. They might need support in not feeling defeated if a problem is unresolved. They may also need some help seeing beyond the problems because they notice problems right away. They might not always notice with Restorative itself where something is either working with excellence or where we can celebrate it. So having a perspective that balances it and helps see beyond the problems can be helpful in a partnership as well.
Jim Collison:
[8:59] And for folks like me, they need our patience. They just, it's just going to take time to work through things as well. We have a new section in our new Top 5 report, if you haven't checked it out, Theme Dynamics, what two themes might look like together. It's been a very popular section in that when we think about, you know, when we think about Restorative, what does it partner, what most commonly does it partner with?
Jillian White:
[9:21] Yeah, most commonly partners with Responsibility. So think about how that shows up in someone. I think those are people who feel very responsible to fix things. And so even just reading the statement that we have in our report, you are willing to sacrifice and serve so that something or someone broken can be made whole. But isn't that a cool picture of almost that sense of service that comes with Responsibility at being aimed at fixing or making something whole or restoring?
Jim Collison:
[9:51] I love that. I hear Curt's voice in the sacrifice and serve as he wrote, as he wrote those statements. That's a good legacy. So I always appreciate that. How this idea of Theme Dynamics, as we think about partnerships and collaboration, how can we bring it to that?
Jillian White:
[10:07] Yeah, let's start with those catalyst partners. So those are partners who are likely going to light up this strength. Think about what we know so far from what we've talked about. That Restorative really enjoys diagnosing, really helping to get to that root cause. Think about strengths that might help them with that. Analytical could really ask the tough questions and look at cause and effect. Input could ask great questions to get deeper. Learner could really pick up on what's happening. Those could all be fun strengths that just help really get a strong diagnosis. Deliberative could be helpful for problem prevention. That could be a great partnership. I think Harmony and Restorative. You know, this might be preventative relationship problems. So somebody who's very good at thinking about how to create peace amongst people and either address problems to bring peace or to prevent problems. So those are neat ones to look at on the catalyst side. Flip side of this, so complementary, these might not feel quite as natural, but they are going to be ones that balance out the strength. So what do we know about Restorative? It does tend to look at the problems. Pairing it with something like Positivity could bring some balance to say, where do we find the silver lining? Where is there something that's working? Pairing it with something like Maximizer. So Restorative notices the problems. Maximizer doesn't tend to love problems on its own. It wants to start with something already in a good place and take it to better. So that pairing could be really powerful. You got to push for excellence from the Maximizer and the problem-solving from the Restorative. Those could be really neat to just see how they show up together. And then finally, I think having somebody who could bring an innovative approach to solving problems, so maybe Strategic, Ideation, that could help come up with your best route to solve a problem. And that would be a good complementary partnership as well.
Jim Collison:
[12:04] As we wrap this up, we have some tips for leaders, teams and individuals around this. So let's talk about leaders first. How can leaders recognize and harness Restorative in their teams or organizations?
Jillian White:
[12:15] Yeah, spot it first. Look for those people who are always bringing a problem to you. Look to those people who are always solving something. Remember, you got to give them problems to solve, frame things in terms of the issue to address. They will light up when you do that. I would ask, I always like thinking with these strengths, if you are a leader working with somebody who has a sort of partner, what's a good question to ask them? So ask them what kinds of problems they love to solve. Is it people problems? Is it system problems? Is it process problems? That's going to help you know how to position that person in their work on your team or in your partnership. And you're likely going to get some clues to what types of problems they like to solve by looking at their other strengths around it. So, you know, if it's Restorative and Empathy, it likely likes emotionally being there to help people with people problems, right? If you've got something like Restorative and Discipline, it's more systems-based. So you can get some clues from looking at that. Remember, recognize them for their problem-solving as well. Help recognize when they bring something from a broken state back to whole.
Jim Collison:
[13:21] I would often ask, are you interested in thinking about this for me? You know, now, bringing problems, of course, right? Like, hey, I've got this thing, I can't quite figure it out. Are you, here's the problem, are you interested? And then let them off the hook. If they, they're like, ah, not really, OK. But giving, getting that permission, or giving them permission to, to, to join me in that. I love that. What about teams that are working with someone with high Restorative, maybe even in an onboarding situation?
Jillian White:
[13:51] Yeah. You know, I always think, how do you tell the story of your company differently, depending on who is sitting in front of you? And if you have somebody joining you who's high Restorative, I would be open with sharing current challenges with them. And say, hey, here's some current challenges we are working through with our clients, or here's current challenges we're working through on our team. They will likely be able to help think about some ways to help fix or improve those. I would also make sure that you are giving them resources to diagnose problems. So even asking them that, hey, what are you working on right now that you're trying to help solve? What's your most important problem you're solving right now? What most important problem would you like to solve in our company? Wouldn't that be a cool question to get to ask them? And then make sure they have the resources to help do that as it aligns with their role.
Jim Collison:
[14:41] Yeah, that'd be a great manager question for professional development, right? Thinking about, tell me some of the things that you're currently working on that you hope to resolve, right, in some of the things you're doing. What about collaborating or partnerships around Restorative?
Jillian White:
[14:55] I always like thinking about just what's the gift you bring with the strength in your partnerships, right? So I think an easy way to look at the strength is how can you remove barriers for the people who you are partnering with? You are going to be able to just fix some things that make the partnership or the work easier. You could even ask that, hey, you know, what, what is really bothering you right now that if we could fix it would make our work go smoother or our partnership better? Help fix the things that make the lives and the work of those you partner with easier. And that's a gift you can bring.
Jim Collison:
[15:33] I think with that, we'll remind everyone to take full advantage of all the resources we have around Restorative inside Gallup Access. Log in, hit the Resources tab, and then put Restorative in search bar. All the podcasts, all the written content out there for you to continue this conversation, for you to continue to learn around it, whether for you yourself or for coaching, appreciate you doing that as well. For those of you who are listening live, stay around, we'll do a smidgen of a post-show. For those of you listening on the podcast or there on YouTube, I bet click Next and there'll be another one ready for you as well. Thanks for coming out with that. We'll say goodbye, everybody.
Jillian White's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Input, Learner, Belief and Responsibility.