Leadership Portfolio

Strengths

Purpose

1. To learn to recognize people’s strengths

2. To gain an understanding of the role of strengths in the leadership process

Directions

1. In this exercise, your task is to observe a leader in action. The leader can be a teacher, a supervisor, a coach, a manager, or anyone who has a position that involves leadership.

2. Based on your observations of the leader in action, identify areas in which the leader has strengths and areas in which the followers have strengths.

Questions

1. Based on the virtue-based strengths listed in Table 3.3, identify two strengths you observed the leader exhibit. How did these strengths affect his or her followers?

2. Discuss what strengths group members appeared to exhibit and how these strengths may complement or distract from the leader’s leadership.

3. Do you think the followers in this situation would feel comfortable expressing their own strengths to others? Discuss.

4. If you were coaching the leader in this situation, what specific things could she or he do to create a positive environment where the expression of people’s strengths was welcomed?

Reflection and Action Worksheet

Strengths

Reflection

1. For this exercise, you are being asked to interview several people you know about your strengths. Instructions:

• First, identify three people (e.g., friends, coworkers, colleagues, family members) from whom you feel comfortable asking for feedback about yourself.

• Second, ask each of these individuals to do the following:

a. Think of a time or situation when they saw you at your best

b. Tell a brief story about what you were doing

c. Describe why they thought you were performing well in this situation

d. Based on this story, describe what unique benefits you offered others in this situation

• Third, from the answers the individuals gave, identify two or three recurring themes. These themes represent your strengths.

2. What is your reaction to what others (in Step 1) have identified as your strengths? Are the strengths others identified about you consistent with your own perceptions of your strengths? In what way are they consistent with your scores on the Leadership Strengths Questionnaire?

3. This chapter suggests that it is important for leaders to reveal their strengths to others. As a leader, how do you feel about disclosing your strengths to others? How do you react when others express their strengths to you?

Action

1. Based on the questionnaire in this chapter and your own insights, create a business card for yourself that lists

your five signature strengths.

2. Of the four domains of leadership strengths (see Table 3.2), which are your strongest? Describe how you could

solicit support from followers to complement these areas of strength.

3. Imagine you are the leader of a classroom group required to do a semester-long service learning project.

Identify and discuss specific things you could do to create a positive climate, positive relationships, positive

communication, and positive meaning.