Friday Focus: Putting strengths into practice

Feb. 4, 2022

— By Julie Queen, vice chancellor for administrative services

The message from the chancellor last week highlighting an effort to “assume best intent” is also currently a topic of discussion in our Administrative Services Director’s (VCAS) team meetings. This idea raises good questions about perception. It is important to self-reflect and consider what people think of us and whether it matches what we think of ourselves (self-awareness); how each of our individual experiences makes up our realities, and how we apply our unique strengths to our roles. 

Our VCAS team recently discussed an interesting concept called “Hanlon’s Razor,” which is summarized as “never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by neglect.” In other words, “We should look to give others the benefit of the doubt.” This concept encourages us to see the world in a positive light, push negative assumptions aside, and strive to improve relationships. 

Coincidentally, I recently practiced this when I got an early morning text from another UAF leader, asking me to please come meet with them as soon as I got into the office. My brain immediately wanted to jump to “uh oh, what have I done (or not done)?” Having just read about Hanlon’s Razor I took a deep breath — there was nothing I could recall that should raise my level of concern. When I arrived in the office and sought out the texter, I was delighted (unbeknownst to them) that it was to have a discussion before an important meeting to be sure we were on the same page. I had nothing to worry about and felt better prepared for the meeting. Whew! 

For me, this is a reminder that knowing more about myself and about those with whom I work is helpful. As a leadership team, we are doing some development work sessions focused on our strengths. The VCAS directors and I have all taken the CliftonStrengths (Strengths Finder 2.0) assessment, and are learning how to use our strengths as tools, both as individual leaders and within our teams. This is such a valuable experience. It helps us better understand one another and is reflective of our UAF values. 

These conversations allow me to think about how we (and I) put our strengths into practice. If you were to ask yourself, “At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best, everyday?” how would you answer that question? For many of us, it may not be easy to identify or articulate what we do best. However, knowing what we do best is one key to our engagement at work. Many times, for fear of sounding like a braggart (or worse), we more commonly default to weaknesses which can lead to worry, disengagement, and negativity. What a tax on ourselves and on the organization! 

Identifying our strengths helps provide us with a language to better articulate what it is we “do best.” According to the assessment and the definitions of each, my Top Five Strengths Themes are:

1. Individualization: intrigued by unique qualities of each person; figures out how people who are different can work together productively
2. Strategic: creates alternative ways to proceed; when faced with a scenario can quickly spot relevant patterns and issues
3. Relator: enjoys relationships; finds satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal
4. Communication: generally finds it easy to put thoughts into words; good conversationalist/presenter
5. Learner: a great desire to learn/continuously improve; the process of learning rather than the outcome, is exciting

Along with my theme’s positive attributes, there are also areas where I (and everyone) can experience ‘blind spots,’ i.e. areas where we may get in our own way, or be misperceived by others. As such, sharing these strengths can be a bit uncomfortable, but is definitely worth it. Greater self-awareness helps bolster the level of trust and confidence within our teams. This shared language also makes it easier to assume best intent, and helps us get our jobs done with higher camaraderie. This is how it should be every day! 

There are other tools that are just as accessible to incorporate into leadership development and practice in simple but meaningful ways. Whatever your preferred approach, when practiced across the organization, this will undoubtedly support our collective experience of inclusion and caring at UAF.

Friday Focus is a column written by a different member of UAF's leadership team every week.