StrengthsQuest

by Leslie Pendleton and Beth Nahlik

Think about the days you feel on top of your game. Everything is going right and you easily find energy to move onto the next advising appointment or project.  Opportunities to be at our best should happen every day.  How can we make sure that we, and every member of our team, are using our strengths at work?  How can we help our students use their strengths in school?  How can we teach them to leverage their talents in the classroom, in student organizations, in their relationships, their career, and throughout their lives?

Leslie Pendleton, Director

Florida Opportunity Scholars Program

Over the last three years, UF has used the Gallup Organization’s StrengthsQuest (SQ) assessment to do just this.  The assessment, which is widely used in corporate America and higher education, helps students and professionals identify their personal strengths.  The SQ assessment is an online tool that takes only 30 minutes to complete.  Centered on 34 identified talent themes, the SQ reveals each individuals’ top five strengths. 

Student Affairs, the Center for Leadership and Service, New Student and Family Programs, the School of Business, the Department of Recreational Sports, and most recently the College of Dentistry and Office of Human Resources have implemented SQ in various ways.

Beth Nahlik, Assistant Director

Center for Leadership and Service

New Student and Family Programs is using SQ in their work with Preview staffers.  Students’ results are now incorporated into Preview training and feedback sessions, and they are also used as a conversational tool to help staffers get to know each other better.  The School of Business is using SQ in Warrington Welcome (First Year Florida) classes to help students discover their talents and integrate them into their academic and career plans.  SQ training is continued in their Florida Leadership Academy and in business student organization experiences.  The Department of Recreational Sports has incorporated SQ into the UF performance appraisal process and staff meetings.  Cat Cramp, Associate Director for Recreational Sports, says “Focusing on what people bring to the team helps individuals feel valued and we get to learn more about our colleagues in the process.”  SQ can also lend itself to academic advising.  For example, advisors with SQ training can help students identify their areas of high talent which, in turn, can help them select a major or career that will allow those strengths to shine.

Want to learn more about SQ?  The Gallup Organization offers free webinars for those who are interested.  If you would like to take the assessment, you can purchase an instrument for $10 by emailing info@strengths.ufl.edu at the Center for Leadership and Service. If you’d like to learn more about the instrument and how you can use it with your students, or if you’d like to schedule an appointment for you to learn more about your strengths, please contact Leslie Pendleton or Beth Nahlik.  Perhaps one of the greatest benefits to working in higher education is the continual opportunity to learn more about ourselves and to capitalize on what we do best so that we can help our students be their best!  SQ is yet another tool that we can use in this process.