Semper Vita Institute

What Is Woo?

Harry and George entered the room of business people. Harry loved the monthly breakfast meeting. He usually brought someone. This time it was George. After signing in, Harry and George went inside. Harry scanned the room to see if there were people he knew. He and George joined a group of colleagues. After a quick hello and some pleasantries, Harry excused himself. He spotted another group of people, most of whom he didn't know. He said "hi" to his one acquaintance then introduced himself to the group. He learned everyone's name and profession. Soon he was laughing and joking with this new group. Afterward he caught up with George who asked him about his friends. "Friends?" Harry asked. "Oh, I just knew Cheryl from the last meeting. The rest of them I just met." George looked at him quizzically. Harry noticed, "What? That was fun." George shook his head, "Better you than me."

Harry clearly has the talent of Woo. It's last on the list of 34 themes...but don't worry. A person with the talent theme of Woo, which stands for Winning Others Over, sees it as an opportunity to show you how being last is a good thing. It's an opportunity to talk and invite you to his or her point of view. That's just Woo.

The person with Woo looks for opportunities to connect with you and find something that you have in common. Why? Not to be best friends necessarily but to find a mutual interest as a launch point for a discussion. After all, how can you be won over if there's no connection?

To those without Woo, these people might seem flighty and inauthentic. Not so. For a person with Woo, getting to know people is a genuine passion and focused task. This person is authentic and sincere. They would really like to stay and chat...but the problem is that there are always more people to meet.

A person with Woo typically knows a lot of people and knows a little about a lot. Most people with Woo are gifted net-workers, socially comfortable, and great evangelists for your cause or brand.

Do you have Woo in your Top 5? Do you suspect a person you know of having Woo?

Maximizing Your Top 5 Talent Themes

Most of us would love to win, be the best or reach our peak performance. (Of course for those with the theme of Competition winning is non-negotiable. You know who you are!) However, the question we might ask is: "But how?" How do we cross that finish line of success?

According to the Clifton StrengthsFinder, it's all about your top themes. The top five (or dominant themes) provide the greatest potential for peak performance. In fact, with training and practice, your top five themes can become strengths. What is a strength? It's the ability to deliver a near perfect performance almost every time.

At Semper Vita Institute, we want to help you find your Top 5. Those dominant themes really unlock your potential for being your best. But we don't stop there. We want to help you zero in on your functional top 2. Why? We believe that sorting out how your themes work for you lets you uncover your true key to reaching your personal peak performance.

How T’s and F’s Respond to a Hurt Girl

Decision makers use both their heads and their hearts. For a T, the head rules the heart. For the F, the heart rules the head.

Once I attended a meeting with six people with a preference for T and two with a preference for F. In the general course of the meeting, the differences weren’t too noticeable. Then it happened...

Our conference room looked out on the parking lot. We heard people outside but that was normal. The meeting continued.

Suddenly, two team members stopped, looked outside and were very concerned. They had witnessed a little accident. A dad and his little daughter were practicing her bike riding in the parking lot when she fell off.

We all looked around once we saw the concern on our colleagues’ faces. There was some commotion outside and we heard crying. The little girl had skinned her knee.

The six of us (with a preference for T), after we looked outside, saw that she fell and hurt herself slightly. We all quickly realized she was OK and being helped up by her dad. We turned back to the meeting and were ready to proceed with the topic at hand.

However, not all of us were ready to move on. The other two team members (with a preference for F) were completely absorbed by the scene outside. They were distracted by the girl’s discomfort and were focused on her well-being.

After a while, we all turned back to continue our meeting. I commented on the incident and stated that it was clear who in the room had a preference for T and who had a preference for F.

I really think that F’s are nicer people, don’t you?

My I Doesn’t Get Your E!

Know what I’m talking about? These are two letters describing one of the Myers-Briggs preference pairs: "E" and "I" refer to Extroversion and Introversion. Talkers and quiet people? Maybe. This preference pair actually relates to energy development and maintenance.

Everyone rebuilds and manages their energy. So where do you get your energy from? Extroverts (E’s) get it from the outer world around them. That means people, activity, external stuff. Introverts (I’s) get it from the inner world. That means alone time, reading a book, watching TV, thinking.

After a tiring day, the I wants to go home and be alone to rebuild the energy reserves. The E wants to go out with friends and refill the energy stores through interaction and conversation.

The I doesn’t get the E..."What? More people and conversation? I’m exhausted! I need to curl up with a book." The E doesn’t get the I..."What? Be alone? I need to hang out with friends."

Which one are you? If you’re energy tank is low, do you grab a book or do you grab the phone to connect with friends?

The Rewards of StrengthsFinder at Work

I love StrengthsFinder. This tool facilitates the unleashing of individual and group potential. The 34 strengths can bring possibility and variety. In other cases, it explains the harmony and simplicity.

One of the rewards comes from realizing how the differences in the strengths can maximize the potential for your team or your company. What do I mean?

Well, imagine what would happen to your team if everyone understood what they do best. Take it one step further: Imagine if you or they could get paid for that. What if your reviews measured you based on what you’re gifted to do?

Example: Putting a Project Team Together

A team of five people gets a new project. There’s a lead (Dave), an assistant (Sherry) and three co-workers (Bill, Nancy and Alex). Normally, Dave plans and organizes, Sherry worries about all the details and the others divvy up the work evenly. The output is good, but not great.

Now bring in strengths. Dave is great at assembling the team, starting things and motivating folks, but he's not a planner nor is he strategic. Bill is very strategic and likes to think things through. Nancy loves gathering data, learning about what needs to be done and getting things done. Alex wants to understand the facts, test the information and be responsible for his part of the job. Sherry likes to ensure that standard operating procedures are followed and that people are cared for.

What if the project was organized according to their strengths? Dave would bring the team together and cast vision. Then he would ask Nancy to gather the necessary information and learn all there is to know. He would ask Bill to evaluate the alternative approaches and recommend the best approach. He would let Alex work with Nancy to gather the facts and then let him set up metrics for the project. Sherry would establish the group, project and team rules, and make sure everyone has what they need for optimal performance. 

This project would be off to a running start with everyone loving their part. What’s next for this team?

Seize the Opportunity to Be Your Best

You are absolutely unique. There’s no one like you today. Among the 6 billion or so people on earth, there’s no one exactly like you. Isn’t that amazing? In fact, there’s never been anyone like you and there never will be. You’re the only you we’ll ever have!

It’s true - true for every person. Take a moment to enjoy the realization that you’re truly one of a kind. Then consider that with this reality comes a responsibility: We will never have another person like you in our lives. So shouldn’t you become the best you possible? After all, you’re IT!

We’d love to help you explore what that means. At Semper Vita Institute, we exist to unleash your best you. Because for us, it’s about you. And, it’s about them experiencing and enjoying the best you.

Will you join us to start a revolution? Join us so that each one of us will strive to become our best for the betterment of ourselves, our families, our work, and our communities. Imagine that version of our world. That’s a change we can believe in and achieve.