YCL Staff Reflections: Strengths-Based Management

This week, our reflection is delivered by Pragya Dawadi, YCL Program Manager.

“Our strengths are what energize us and constantly focusing on weaknesses can be draining and unproductive.”

“Our strengths are what energize us and constantly focusing on weaknesses can be draining and unproductive.”

Youth Climate Lab is in an exciting period of change and growth, and we're navigating it by focusing on our strengths. Recently, our managers were coached by Alyssa McDonald through a 5-week personal and professional development process to help us recognize and harness our unique abilities (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTKn3vL1qZQ&ab_channel=StrategicCoach) as we build a resilient organization based on strengths. Below you’ll find some of the insights and lessons I learned from these coaching sessions.

Lesson 1: Focus On Your Strengths

“What is your greatest strength?” has always been one of the toughest interview questions for me to answer. Ask me about my weaknesses, though, and I could write you an essay. While I believe I have valuable strengths, I, like most others, have spent my career in a "fixing" environment. I've constantly concentrated on the weaknesses I could improve rather than the strengths I currently have and can build on. It’s a big mindset shift when we are often told that we need to improve on our weaknesses and fill the gaps rather than use our strengths and unique abilities to accomplish things in our own way.

On top of that, I was not confident with how to communicate my strengths in a way that aligned with my values. Because of this, I was excited to learn that our coaching journey would start with identifying and recognizing our strengths. We reflected on our strengths and the environments in which we strive using personality tests, including the Kolbe A Index (https://secure.kolbe.com/k2/show_takeIndex/indexType_A).

“It was eye-opening to discover how much of my perception of self was impacted by negative self-talk and harmful perfectionism.”

“It was eye-opening to discover how much of my perception of self was impacted by negative self-talk and harmful perfectionism.”

Lesson 2: Connect Through Our Strengths

While YCL has always had a remote working environment, we have had some in-person team events. The pandemic took this already limited in-person time away from us, causing feelings of social isolation. In this mindset, we were running out of ways to creatively communicate and collaborate.

Our coaching process helped us work through this with individual coaching and team reflections, including sharing our strengths with the rest of the team. A collaborative art-based exercise was one of my favourite sections. With a focus on our skills and the strengths of those around us, the team came together to define team and organizational-level goals. 

“Being able to connect with the team in this environment, where we could be vulnerable and dream, was extremely fulfilling.”

“Being able to connect with the team in this environment, where we could be vulnerable and dream, was extremely fulfilling.”

Through this process, we took the first steps to building an organization where staff are connected and able to support each other through new projects, roles and organizational shifts, even without the physical time together.

Lesson 3: You Don’t Have To Be Good At Everything

Another hard pill for me to swallow: learning that I can’t be good at everything, and shouldn’t have to be. With a little reframing, I realized it really means that I can excel at the things I’m already good at and rely on others with strengths that fill in the gaps. 

With a deeper understanding of our individual and team strengths, we began to identify the complementary skills we need to fill in the gaps at YCL. This will let us continue to build on our existing strengths and avoid a “fixing” environment as we continue to scale our impact. These conversations will continue to act as a guide as we grow our team and our organization to create a just, climate-resilient world.

 

About Alyssa

Alyssa McDonald is a freelance coach and consultant with a passion for inspiring personal development, community and sustainability wherever she goes. Over the past 10+ years, she has worked in sales and marketing for innovative, purpose-driven companies, began a Master’s in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, and rocketed herself into a career in sustainability and management consulting. Want to learn more about her work? Check out alyssamcdonald.com and/or connect with her on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssaammcdonald/).

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YCL Staff Reflections: Personal Ecology

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YCL Staff Reflections: Equity-Centred Community Design