Strengths Academy» Strengths Academy

3 tips for educating people to ’see’ things in a professional situation

Mike Pegg — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:18:51 +0000

Peak performers ‘see’ things quickly in their area of brilliance. They have what is called ‘personal radar’. Going into a situation, they quickly scan it to see patterns and then extrapolate those patterns. They seem to know ‘what will happen before it happens.’ Each person has good radar in specific areas but bad radar in [...]

3 tips for ‘never walking past a quality problem’

Mike Pegg — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:28:08 +0000

An MD taught me the meaning of ‘never walk past a quality problem’. Sitting in the reception area of his company’s offices, I saw him park his car and begin walking toward the main entrance. Suddenly he dived into the hedge and emerged with an empty Coke can. It was 7.30 in the morning and [...]

3 tips for being a ‘deviant who delivers’

Mike Pegg — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:57:08 +0000

Creativity calls for doing things differently. But organisations have a love-hate relationship with people who are different. So how can you survive - and even thrive - by doing things your own way? “If you are going to be a deviant, you have to deliver,” is the rule. Otherwise you will live dangerously. Sometimes this is [...]

3 tips for understanding John Dewey’s work on strengths

Mike Pegg — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 04:41:06 +0000

1) Philosophy and Background. John Dewey is often seen as the proponent of ‘learning by doing’ – rather than ‘learning by passively receiving’. He believed that each child was active, inquisitive and wanted to explore. How to capitalise on these drives? Dewey set up the ‘Laboratory School’ which were allied to the University of Chicago. Children [...]

3 tips for learning from positive models

Mike Pegg — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 04:29:36 +0000

Who have been the people you have admired - your positive models? What did you learn from these people? How did you integrate the learning? How can you continue to find people – and projects – that you admire? Let’s explore how you can learn from such models in your life and work. 1) You can [...]

3 tips for rating your team’s chances of success

Mike Pegg — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 04:00:44 +0000

Imagine you are a leader. Before taking the leadership role, you considered all the factors involved and rated the team’s chances of reaching its goals. You believed this was at least 7/10 - otherwise you would not have taken the role. Since then the realities have become clearer, so it can be useful to take [...]

3 tips for re-taking charge of your feelings, finances and future

Mike Pegg — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:20:17 +0000

“My career seems to be successful, but something strange is happening,” said one person. “The higher I climb the corporate ladder, the less control I seem to have. Previously I spent my time with customers, shaped teams and got great satisfaction from hitting targets. The closer I get to the ‘centre’, however, the less control [...]

3 tips for coaching somebody who you see in action

Mike Pegg — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:03:21 +0000

Imagine that somebody has asked for your help as a coach. They may want to develop their interviewing skills, learn how to give tough messages to a team member, make a presentation or whatever. Here are three steps you can take to help them to achieve success. 1) Seeing the person in action. You need to watch [...]

3 tips for focusing on your beliefs, behaviour and brilliant results

Mike Pegg — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:00:23 +0000

Belief is the foundation for producing great results - but this must be an authentic belief. It must be based on reality and something you feel in your gut. So let’s explore how you can clarify your beliefs, translate these into behaviour and deliver brilliant results. 1) You can focus on beliefs. Belief is the starting point [...]

3 tips for making a clear contract with your team

Mike Pegg — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:45:08 +0000

Imagine you are a team leader. One of your first jobs will be to make a clear working contract with the team. People must be clear on: a) The leader’s responsibilities; b) The team members’ responsibilities. The contract should cover both the psychological and practical responsibilities of working together. Here is one approach you can [...]