Exploring Strengths: From Cognitive Development to Team Dynamics

In this episode of the Leadership Vision Podcast, host Nathan Freeburg introduces key insights from their course "Seen Strengths from a New Perspective." The course, designed by founder Brian Schubring, delves into understanding and utilizing personal strengths in innovative ways. Nathan plays excerpts from the final three lessons of the course. The first segment discusses identifying and tracing strengths development through various life stages, using the concept of 'arcs of cognitive formation.' This approach helps listeners understand the origins and evolution of their strengths, offering a neuroscience-backed perspective.

The second part of the podcast shifts to comparing strengths with the moon's phases, illustrating how strengths, like the moon, have both a bright, fully-expressed side and a shadow side. This metaphor acknowledges that strengths can vary in their visibility and impact, depending on circumstances. Brian emphasizes the importance of recognizing these fluctuations and being empathetic towards oneself and others during less visible or active phases of strength.

The final segment introduces the concept of 'breaking strengths'. This idea explores situations where strengths can fail or be less effective, often due to over-reliance or overuse. This segment encourages reflection and understanding of the factors leading to such breakdowns, promoting a path towards restoration and balanced use of strengths.

Throughout the episode, Nathan encourages feedback and discussion, allowing listeners to engage further with the course material through their website. The episode concludes with a reminder of the importance of understanding and nurturing personal strengths for individual and team development.

Transcript

Speaker 2: 0:06

You are listening to the Leadership Vision podcast, our show helping you build positive team culture. For 25 years, our consulting firm has helped people become mentally engaged and emotionally healthy. Hello everyone, my name is Nathan Freeberg and today in the podcast I'm going to be playing three excerpts for you from our course called Seeing Strengths from a New Perspective. Now, this course is six lessons presented by our founder, brian Schubering. That is just amazing at helping us experience our strengths, thinking about our strengths and really just I think giving a as a name implies a new perspective on things that perhaps we haven't thought about before, and so the excerpts I'm going to be playing are from the final three lessons.

Speaker 2: 0:51

The first excerpt is about how you can see strengths formed in the arcs of cognitive formation. So, like you know, a little kid to a young adult or adolescent, to through college and all that like how of our strengths shown up and when we kind of go back in time and think about that, what implications does that have for our future? Then the next lesson I'm going to be talking about is how strengths are like the moon, which is sort of a weird thing to think about, but you know how, like sometimes the moon, you can see all of it and it's bright and shiny. Other times you can just see a sliver of it, and sometimes our strengths are like that too. And then the other lesson is about how strengths can break sometimes, how they can just not show up, maybe in the way that we want them to, and what to do about that. So I'm going to play this for you.

Speaker 2: 1:35

I would love it if you'd have some feedback. Maybe think about it. Shoot me an email, nathan, at leadershipvisionconsultingcom. We can talk about it. You can also go check out the course at leadershipvisionconsultingcom slash courses for more information here. It is Enjoy. So here's an excerpt from lesson four, which is the one about the arcs of cognitive formation. And you should know that technically Clifton strengths, it's a psychometric, which means that it's a scientific tool for measuring cognitive formation and function, which is different than like a psychological assessment, which measures more like preferences. Now, being a psychometric, I think it's therefore pretty helpful to understand some basic arcs of brain development. And so in this little excerpt, brian is going to share just a little bit about this kind of big picture idea and talk about how this can help us not only understand where our strengths came from, but also maybe where they're going to go.

Speaker 1: 2:41

Strengths is an indication of how your brain's been formed and how your brain is functioning.

Speaker 1: 2:47

But why is it so important to consider the arcs of cognitive formation and strengths? Looking back over your life and seeing indications and the development of strengths through the arcs of cognitive formation can be really helpful in reinforcing the importance of understanding why the language of strengths can help you better understand yourself and those around you. Understanding the importance of the arcs of cognitive formation. It's a helpful exercise to remind people that their strengths come from somewhere. They come from somewhere that's historically rooted. It really helps people understand that, as much as they try, they may not be able to really undo the strengths that they might want to, because a strengths genesis, the strengths origin, the birth of strengths, is so intertwined with someone's life that this process of helping people move back in time and ask themselves when was the first sign of strength? This is so important. And when you use the arcs of cognitive formation, when you're really applying what Clifton Strengths actually is, you're applying Clifton Strengths as a psychometric and that psychometric, that whole idea, is rooted in neuroscience and brain development. When you put those two things together, it can become incredibly eye-opening for an individual to think back and what were some of these early experiences of strengths and how that strength was reinforced and practiced over time. There are many different ways to categorize the arcs of cognitive formation, but for leadership vision, just for practicality purposes, here are the arcs that we use to interpret strength development Infancy, from birth to two years old. Of course we don't really pay attention to that much not really much going on as far as that goes. Then you have early childhood, ages three to six. Childhood next arc of cognitive formation, ages seven to nine. There's preadolescence that could be nine or 10 years old to 12-ish Adolescence, age 13 to 20. And then early adulthood, ages 20 to 24. How is it that we can use these arcs of cognitive formation to inform us to the early shaping experiences, to the people and the relationships to the movement or the static parts of our life, and how did that impact the formation of who we are? And then, in turn, how can we then discover when some of our strengths were really emerging and really taking shape in that process? Some of these influences were actually shaping the early demonstrations of strength at that particular age.

Speaker 1: 5:34

What were some of the strengths that you were really at play, some of the strengths that were really dominating when you were in college. What was happening, where were you, who were some of your friends, what were some of the experiences that you were having, and how was that shaping your strengths, or what strengths were shaping those experiences and those relationships? What strengths were at play in high school? What strengths do you think were motivating you to not do your homework ever? What strengths were motivating you to hand in your assignments on time, or what strengths were really behind you connecting with that teacher the way that you did, or forming the relationship you had.

Speaker 1: 6:12

Do you see what we're doing here? Then you can keep going back so eventually you get to seven tonight. Give someone the permission to understand that it wasn't always them that had the upper hand, or it wasn't always them that had control of the environment and how they're the other influences that shaped who they are. And the language of strength can help you understand by using this arc of cognitive formation mentality to walk people back in time, to identify when their strengths were emerging, when their strengths were evolving and when their strengths were truly generative. Strengths can be seen and discovered in each of the arcs of cognitive formation. This can be a very helpful strategy, but the success of the strategy is determined by the willingness of the participant to actually walk back in time and follow your guidance.

Speaker 2: 7:06

Do you ever feel like your strengths have to be bright and shiny and always on and just full of life and operating at an 11 on a scale of 10? Well, in this excerpt here, brian is going to be talking about how it's not always like that, like for a variety of reasons. Sometimes our strengths are big and bright and shiny and hopefully that is the case, but other times people just don't experience that and we don't feel that. So enjoy this clip and let us know your feedback.

Speaker 1: 7:41

If you can imagine yourself looking at the moon, we are only seeing one side of the moon, and that's what I wanted to talk about today is how we can use the sight of the moon that we see as a way for us to understand how strengths are generative and how strengths are showing up. It's helpful for us to understand that there are times when our strengths are so generative, so alive, and so in the light, that is akin to the full moon, the full expression of our strengths. And then to the other side of the equation, there are times where there's just that sliver, just that small, little crescent of the moon that's showing, and much of the moon is in its shadow, and that's also sometimes how our strengths are generative Like there's just a small fraction of the generative expression of our strength. It's still light, it's still bringing life to others, but more of our strength is more in the shadow, and that's also okay to understand, because that also gives all of us permission to understand that there are times when our strengths are full and they're vibrant and they're full of light, and there are other times when our strengths are just fractionally lit and even then it's still beneficial and it still advantageous. There is a light side to strengths and there's a shadow side to strengths and there are parts of a person's strengths that are simply in that shadow area. There is just a natural harmony, a natural balance that's found in every one of our strengths as they express themselves in this natural characteristic duality, the dynamic nature of strengths. They're changing, they're forming, they're evolving, they're expressing themselves in new ways every day, and that can go in seasons as well. And to know that there's a likelihood of change coming to our expression just like the moon changes its different expressions, so too do our strengths.

Speaker 1: 9:33

When a strength is generative, not all of your behaviors and not all of your unique talents of that strength are actually at play or actually lit up. We had this expectation that everyone shows up and that when their strengths are generative, when they show up, it's like everything is lit up, and that's just not the reality. Most of the time it's a fraction of the whole expression that people are actually seeing, or it's a fraction of a potential expression that we're bringing to this situation, because maybe that's all that is needed for that time. It's okay to have part of that strength in the shadow, and that's perfectly okay, depending on what the context is A more, dare I say, mature expression of their strengths, when they realize that they're just parts of who they are that need rest, that need restoration, that need regeneration. And then, in times like that, it's like you're only bringing part of yourself because you just need to be at rest. What do you need from others when you need that time of rest? Once we demonstrate to ourselves that we need this time of rest and we also need the time to be in the full light, we can then express that same type of understanding to other people, maybe think to ourselves maybe they're not fully on today, maybe there's a reason for them, maybe they are intentionally stepping back because they know that they need to be more alive or more engaged or more aware somewhere down the road. And that's how I feel, like this metaphor of thinking about the light side, the shadow side of strengths, that can be really helpful in understanding other members of your team, because we can't all be full volume, full gas all the time.

Speaker 1: 11:12

Teams that do it not so well, they have an expectation that everyone's going to show up fully bright every single time, even to the point of maybe shaming people for not being fully prepared. And there's this expectation that this meeting is the most important thing of your day, regardless of what's going on in your family, what's going on in your relationships or whatever else you're dealing with. There's this expectation that you're full moon, like you are just fully bright all the time. That, I think, is kind of rigid. It kind of taps at an inhumane way of expecting from people something that they just don't have the capacity for.

Speaker 1: 11:52

I also know that there are teams that we've worked with where they seem to be very generous in their understanding that people have a lot of complexity going on in their lives and that they may or may not be bringing their best self, not because they don't want to. Maybe it's because they're unable to at the moment because something else is going on. With this metaphor of the moon is an empathetic understanding that people are showing up to our teams. They're showing up in relationships. There's so many dimensions to their life that may be impacting why they feel so light and alive and free, or they may feel more cautious, more repressed, more slow, and there could be a reason for that too. I just think that this idea of bright half moon crescent that could be a helpful way of understanding just how someone might be showing up. Know yourself well enough to even give yourself the permission to say I'm not ready or this is just not my time.

Speaker 2: 12:55

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt totally out of control and you didn't know how to proceed or even respond? Well, it's possible that your strengths broke and they're failing you. Yes, strengths, believe it or not, can break and I think sometimes they can be fragile and under the right circumstances, they cannot do what they're supposed to do. In this final excerpt here from the final lesson of our new perspectives course on strengths, Brian's going to just share a little bit and help us understand how this is possible and like how to work with that and what the process is like for restoration and getting the health and function back of broken strengths so that you can use them when you need them.

Speaker 1: 13:39

Enjoy. Although strengths, you know they're generative and they bring life, we tend to rely on them in ways that we're conscious of or unconscious of. I really believe that there are times, no fault of our own or no fault of someone else, that they just snap or they maybe just fracture, and that snapping, that fracture, that breaking, is an indication that maybe we've gone into a state of overusing that strength, of over relying on that pair of strength, and then that this kind of just they just break down. When we lean on something too much, when we rely on something too much, when we overuse anything too much, there's a likelihood that it can break, to be aware that, you know, if we are tired, there may be a time for rest, and if something has broken, there may be a time for healing and restoration, you know, and therapy or something to get us back on track again. And that's just what it means to be human Breaking as a metaphor to indicate that there may be a time for us to like, dial back, you know, to rest and to recover. But also, the metaphor of strength break is that we may have pushed ourselves too much and more may have relied on a strength too much, and if something goes wrong, there's a reason. Why something is going wrong is because maybe something in that strength, this, isn't functioning as it should anymore. It's an indication for all of us that we may need to pay more attention to how it is that we're relying on some of the things about ourselves that actually bring us life and bring others life.

Speaker 1: 15:24

One of the early indicators that strengths may be about to break or that that's right are getting towards the edges. When you begin to see changes in your attitudes, your feelings, your beliefs and your motivation, when you begin to see some of the edges on those things get fuzzy, or when you're leaning into something and it's not quite clicking, that could be an indication that you're getting close to the edge. Let's say and so there are some ways of being self aware that you know that I may be pressured, being aware of some of the sounds and the senses and the feelings that we have when we're being pushed to our limit. Sometimes our strengths, they can show up and be demonstrated in different ways, but each one of our strengths have the capacity to break. But we also can be aware that we all have different capacities and resiliency to kind of weather the pressures, sometimes, regardless of the circumstance, something might just break. That's human, that's normal.

Speaker 1: 16:26

It's our chance to pay attention and also, with other people, something that we're not aware of may have caused something to break in in their life and they aren't quite showing up, they aren't quite representing the same way as we've been known to rely on them. Their attitudes, their beliefs, their feelings, their motivations aren't coming off quite the same as always. Maybe you think to yourself I wonder if something broke? We have a tremendous opportunity to use strengths as a language to invite us to reflect, and when we think that something has broken, it's an opportunity for us to practice reflection on how do we get here?

Speaker 1: 17:05

What was the situation that brought me to this place? Were there certain types of people that we were responding to? What are the indicators that we may be coming to an end? We are human and sometimes we don't always see all of what's happening, even within us, and others have a different vantage point, a different perspective on our behaviors that we just miss. This is also an invitation for us to be of same help to other people where, as we're observing other people, maybe we are sensing that they're leaning in too much or the aperture has gotten really, really small and they're getting super focused or they're getting really emotional. Maybe it's our turn. Maybe come alongside of them and to help them slow down, or to help them practice reflection.

Speaker 2: 17:51

How would someone approach someone else or a group, or even start that conversation to say hey, why don't we all grow in this thing together? Here's an idea of how to do that.

Speaker 1: 18:02

Well, I think this one's really easy. I think it's just. It is maybe like a team leader or a facilitator, a strengths professional who's working with the team, just setting up the idea that it's even possible that strengths can break and then simply asking have any of you experienced a strength breaking?

Speaker 2: 18:27

I hope you found that helpful and maybe got even just one little nugget of information and maybe think about your strengths in a new, in different way. If you'd like more information about this course, you can go to leadershipvisualconsultingcom slash courses, where you can read all about it, get more of an overview on each of the different lessons, then check it out. If you have any questions. There's also an info box you can click and send us. Send me your questions and I'll get you an answer. It's been really fun as we have had a bunch of people go through this course here in the last year on our online community to not only hear how people are interacting with the material and reflecting on the reflection questions and going through each lesson, but also the questions that have come up that we hadn't even thought through, the questions and the way that they're wrestling with things that are related to the lessons, related to the ideas proposed, but have also taken them in ways that we didn't necessarily think of or hadn't intended to. You know any educator, their job, our job, is essentially put something in front of you that you can then pick up and apply it to yourself and then take it to another level, take it to your context, to your you know, your job, your family, your community, whatever and implement it in ways that are life-giving to you and others. So we hope you found value in this. You also may not have realized this, but the first three lessons I did in excerpt on as well.

Speaker 2: 19:52

There's a link in the show notes if you wanna go back and listen to that podcast episode. And thank you for listening to the Leadership Vision podcast, our show helping you build positive team culture. Our consulting firm has spent the past 25 years investing in teams so that people become a mentally engaged and emotionally healthy. If you have questions about anything you heard here today or anything else related to positive team culture, please email us at connect at leadershipvisionconsultingcom or visit us on the web at leadershipvisionconsultingcom and please review our podcast on Apple Podcasts, spotify, wherever you get our podcasts. Follow us on all the social channels. Subscribe to our email newsletter. I'm Nathan Freeberg, on behalf of our entire team. Thanks for listening.