My books are like my counselors

One of my favourite Gallup strength is Input. And it has served me very well.

If you have not heard of the Gallup Strengthsfinder, it is an assessment that helps you find out what your strengths are and how you can grow your strengths to be even better than what you are already good in.

My third strength in the list is Input and I really enjoy this strength. Input people are collectors and one of the obvious things I collect are books. 

And with that, when I need to think through and work through some issues in my life, I am always able to find the right books to help me. They are like my counselors; and they are like the right counselors at the right time. 

(And if you would like to know if you have the Input strength to build on it, let me know. I am a Gallup Strength coach too!)

Pearlie

How to get myself to exercise everyday

I have posted my 2020 new year resolutions at the start of the year, and I made progress today.

I am good in all the resolutions except this one: exercise.

I know I needed to get active again and so when I made the resolutions, I decided to cycle 45 minutes every evening, but I have not done anything since. 

Until yesterday and today. I got on my stationary bike and cycled for 45 minutes. 

I am one who is very low in discipline. I know that but I did go to the gym every Monday to Friday morning back in 2014 and 2015.

This was because back then, I was always early at work since I need to drop my son at school. But it all stopped when he started college. 

So I thought about it yesterday wanting to get back to that commitment I had. I realised that it was the fact that I like to maximise my time and my resources. 

I had time back then to kill and so it was beneficial that I maximise it with something that I can do and since there is a gym at my workplace, why not. 

What can I maximise now to get on that bike?

Again I want to maximise my time as well but I also like to watch TV and YouTube but I find them a big, big waste of time that I'm prepared to ditch them. 

But what if I can do both, maximise my time and yet get entertained at the same time. 

So I said to myself: no bike no TV, no TV no bike. 

I've done it but only 2 days so far and I do hope it will work. 

And I must say that it is the book that I have been reading and talking about so much that got me here: again it's Sönke Ahrens's How to Take Smart Notes. 

He said, "bring those who really don’t like exercise but know they have to do it into a sustainable workout routine by focusing on one thing: Creating satisfying, repeatable experiences with sports. It doesn’t matter what (they) are doing – running, walking, team sports, gym workouts or bicycling to work. The only thing that matters is that they discover something that gives them a good experience that they would like to have again. Once (they) find something, they are encouraged enough to try something else as well. They enter the virtuous circle where willpower isn’t needed anymore because they feel like doing it anyway."

Fingers crossed this will last a long time. 

I have a TV series to finish watching and so I need to get on that bike. 

pearlie

Input and Maximizer at play

I have completed delivering two modules of training at work and was brushing my next module when I thought I'd come up with an activity that involves creating a poster ad. 

That was when I remembered the last time I went searching for such ads. 

It was during the recent preaching seminar that I have attended. In one of the workshops led by Paul Barker on the applications part of a sermon, he gave us homework. We were to go look for advertisements that portray values, good or bad. 

And it was my Gallup theme strength #3 Input and #7 Maximizer that was at play. My Input pushed me to spend almost an hour if not two till past midnight to scour the internet to find these. And my Maximizer insisted that I only give up looking when I find those that are interesting and unique. 

Here they are:

I thought this Facebook one was cute but not carrying a very positive value but a reality that most of us are so deliberately addicted to social media. 

 

I felt this one minimizes the value of life.

 

At first I did not understand this ad but soon figured out that it's what you eat that causes a war in your stomach. So you would need an Eno to soothe it. The value? Glorifying violence. 

 

This was the one that we picked for our group to present as our chosen ad. Its tagline was "Right the Wrong" and I felt that it minimises sin. It's as easy as whitewashing it and it will be hidden, but it is still there. 

 

Don't you think these ads are brilliant? But not the imbedded values they portray though. 

pearlie 

I completed the course on coaching

I've only signed up for two paid courses and this is the second one I've completed.

I've also completed these without any certificates, bringing to a total of six:


I have two more to complete and after that, I think I will take a break from lectures, though there's one on Early Christianity: The Letters of Paul and one on What is a Mind? which I think are too interesting to pass up. Here's learning getting the better of me, again.

pearlie

My Gallup Top-5 Strengths and Coursera being a big part of it now

My top-5 Gallup strengths are Connectedness, Intellection, Input, Learner and Empathy.

When I first got the results I had no idea what is Connectedness, I don't know why I have Input as one of my top-5, I was proud of my Intellection, I thought Empathy for me was more like a given and I wasn't too impressed with my Learner.

My thoughts about my top-5 has now completely changed as I began to understand more about myself and the five Gallup themes.

My now most troublesome strength is really Intellection. I can lose myself in it and lose you in a conversation. You'll still be talking away but I will be busy thinking about something you have just said. That's bad.

I am most proud of my Input strength. When I finally understand what it represent, I began to see its utility, pun intended (Input is where I collect things because of their utility). This is where my resourcefulness is at its best. Ask my friends and they will attest to the fact that I can usually get them what they need when they ask for my help.

I am still discovering what Connectedness means to me, and this is what I believe is the hugest theme in all of Gallup's 34. Or I may be biased.

There is no change in how I feel about my Empathy theme, in that it's a given for me. Though there will be a time when I discover it more in relation to my values and action.

This brings me to final one of the five - Learner. I said I wasn't too impressed with it. It's like, "yeah, I learn. So what?"

I was in a full learning mode when I was taking my Masters in Christian Studies for 8 long years before. And after that I had wanted to take up something in psychology but I didn't do because I have to manage my family priorities. So in that sense, that left me with not many opportunities to learn. Yes, I read and yes, I watch TEDTalks (though only recently) but those really are just small snippets of learning that never really satisfy me, though I do learn a lot from reading but it's very challenging to find my right next read.

This was the situation till I rediscovered Coursera. I went to it in the mid of this year, and found that since I discovered it in 2013, it has improved a lot and maybe it is also because I'm more ready for it this phase of my life.

Coursera is a dream come true to me as a Learner but I think it will be my undoing as well - because I keep signing up for courses and how I am going to keep with lectures and assignments I have no idea!

So far I have completed one course in Fundamentals of a Project Planning and Management.

I have completed all lectures and quizzes in Conversations that Inspire: Coaching Learning, Leadership and Change, pending a submission of reports on 2 coaching assignments, which is still on-going.

I am midway through Introduction to Psychology. I have started on the lectures in August and almost finished them when they offered the course again in October and I signed up for it. A mid-term exam of 60-question quiz is where I am at the moment. I have not attempted it yet. Sixty questions! Oh boy...

I have just started On Strategy: What Managers can Learn from Philosophy and thoroughly enjoying it. The assignments are really challenging but I find them brilliant. Come to think of it, this course is like an amalgamation of my two strengths - Intellection or Thinking and Learner.

I should be happily settled with learning from these three courses running in tandem but I went and signed up for two more! Most probably I will not be actively following them. They are Introduction to Philosophy and Think Again: How to Reason and Argue.

But then again, looking now at the titles, I might just make time. So now you see what I mean by Coursera is both a dream come true and my undoing.

pearlie

My Coaching Assignment

I began my coaching assignment today as required by the coaching course I am taking under Coursera, using the above Intentional Change Theory (ICT) by Richard Boyatzis. I am obviously incorporating the Gallup StrengthsFinder tool and it went very well. It is helpful to place it in a framework like the ICT.

I am looking forward to my second coachee tomorrow and subsequent sessions for both of them.

pearlie

What Managers Can Learn From Philosophy

I have signed up for this course in Coursera some weeks ago but have forgotten about it. On top of that, I am currently busy following two courses under their signature programme anyway, and so I wasn't actively looking for any new courses to follow.

I was reminded of it by my colleague today and I went to checked it out: On Strategy: What Managers Can Learn From Philosophy.

I spent some time on it this morning and almost finished the first lecture and it is really very interesting.

There is indeed much to learn about strategy and change from the philosophical point of view - the lecturer posits that there are two kinds of change and the one that he is teaching here refers to change in perception, as opposed to change in reality.

I have actually joined in quite late but for this course, I am allowed to readjust my time line and I did just that. I will be finishing the first lecture soon and looking forward to the peer reviewed assignment due end of this week.

I am very happy for these MOOC programmes now so readily and easily made available to us. With the Learner theme (under the Gallup StrengthsFinder) as my #4 strength, this is really like a learner's dream come true.

I will soon have 4 completed programmes under my belt and looking out for more.

pearlie

Social connectedness as the key to success

Okay, okay - more TED Talk videos. I suppose this weekend has become a TED Talk weekend for me.

I enjoyed the learning and I like the speaking styles of some of the speakers. They were mostly excellent talks, but I've only ever clapped my hands—literally, that is—for two. One was Joseph Foer's talk I've watched and blogged about a month ago.

And here's the other one:

Why it's time to forget the pecking order at work

by Margaret Heffernan

It is about how an organisation can be successful. It is not from competition between employees or teams. It is not about picking superstars, or the brightest people and giving them all the resources and all the power. The results of such is usually aggression, dysfunction and waste. She said, "If the only way the most productive can be successful is by suppressing the productivity of the rest, then we badly need to find a better way to work and a richer way to live."

Instead, what brings success is social connectedness to each other. It means that "what happens between people really counts, because in groups that are highly attuned and sensitive to each other, ideas can flow and grow."

I agree with all she said here and it was mostly what I have been thinking about lately, except of course, she articulated it all so well. When I see at the end of the video that she has written a book on it, I quickly got a copy, especially at the mention of the topic of organisational culture.


Beyond Measure, The Big Impact of Small Changes
by Margaret Heffernan

I finished the book in one day. It is very interesting, though I do have some reservations and would need to take more time for a re-read. She did qualify it by stating that she does not provide a formulaic or a step-by-step answer to the issue. There is none. The matter is most complex and would require much thought and experimentation.

However, if I were to see her from a Gallup strengths point of view, I think she has the same themes as I do, which is probably why I seem to so readily agree with her. From her writing, I can see Connectedness, Empathy and Intellection as her top Gallup strengths. If that is so, would her proposal still be valid for company leaders with Gallup themes that are different from hers?

I wonder.

I plan to make this book a reading requirement in my work team, and hope to find some answers, especially in these two topics: (1) the High Potential talent group and (2) forced ranking of employees in their performance.

She has convinced me that it might not be a good idea to identify and acknowledge a group of employees as "high potentials" in light of the Pygmalion effect. I've had that same conclusion with why I disagree with the "Employee of the Month" award. And now I see the same with high potentials too.

And I have always been against forced ranking, but I have yet to find another way to replace it. She did not give any suggestions.

So it's back to the thinking block for me.

pearlie

The Flip Side of Talent

I read an interesting albeit old article today: The Flip Side of Talent.

It is a fact that when you are doing what you are good and most natural at, you'd be happy and motivated. On the flip side, if you are having experiences of mind-numbing boredom and hair-pulling frustration, you must probably would be doing something that is not your talent.

I spent time building a training deck this evening and I was totally in the zone.

What makes you energized? What would you do even if no one paid you?

pearlie

Gallup Theme: Input

I watched this Gallup Theme Thursday video today on theme Input, and absolutely love it. It's like he is describing most of what I do and what I feel about the subject. It's about reading, books, ebooks, e-readers, language, tech and apps and more. All those put together is so me!



Note: I must add here that sadly, Curt Liesveld has gone home to be with the Lord on 16 May 2015. He was my Gallup trainer last year and I have enjoyed tremendously the sessions I had with him. Here is his obituary. Rest in peace, Curt.

pearlie

Think with reasonable thinking

I continued with NT Wright's After You Believe for my devotion reading this morning and it was about the renewal of the mind, in Romans 12:1-2.

I like to think. Well, it is the number two theme in my Gallup StrengthsFinder report. And so I learnt a lot from this short portion of his thoughts on the topic, and I like what he said, interpreting Paul: "what matters is thinking...Don’t overthink what you ought to think, but think with reasonable thinking."

There other interesting quotes from my reading are as follows:

When Paul talks about the “mind,” he is not ranking Christians in terms of what we would call their intellectual or “academic” ability. Some Christians have that sort of mind. Plenty of others don’t.

"The way the world is" is a powerful, insidious force, and it takes all the energy of new creation, not least of faith and hope, to remind oneself that the age to come really is already here, with all its new possibilities and prospects.

The antidote to the power of the present age, then, is to have the mind renewed so that one can think clearly about the way of life which is pleasing to God, which is in accordance with God’s will, good and acceptable and (here it is again) “perfect,” teleios, complete.

Abraham is the beginning of the truly human person. He is the one who, in faith which Paul sees as the true antecedent of Christian faith, allows his thinking and believing to be determined, not by the way the world is, and not by the way his own body is, but by the promises and actions of God.

For Paul, the mind is central to Christian character: virtue is the result of thought and choice.

I believe, is that talk about the freedom of the Spirit, about the grace which sweeps us off our feet and heals and transforms our lives, has been taken over surreptitiously by a kind of low-grade romanticism, colluding with an anti-intellectual streak in our culture, generating the assumption that the more spiritual you are, the less you need to think...I cannot stress too strongly that this is a mistake. The more genuinely spiritual you are, according to Romans 12 and Philippians 1, the more clearly and accurately and carefully you will think, particularly about what the completed goal of your Christian journey will be and hence what steps you should be taking, what habits you should be acquiring, as part of the journey toward that goal, right now.

pearlie

My day in connectedness

I had wanted to blog about my #1 Gallup theme Connectedness but I couldn't quite put it in place until now.

People with the Connectedness theme do not really take coincidences as given. We can almost believe that coincidences does not exist. Everything happens for a reason and almost everything and everyone is connected in one way or another.

Something quite significant happened with my #1 and #2 themes today - Connectedness and Intellection.

I was blogging yesterday about my exceptionally busy start to the new year at work and these two words came to mind as I wrote. I do experience cases where words I seldom or may have never used just come and I would wonder where it came from.

Two simple words - let up - not used so frequently to me and when it came to me yesterday, I did check the dictionary to ensure I was using it accurately. I was. I had described the fact that my busy days would not let up and with that, I'm almost drowning.

That was yesterday.

This morning, as I was doing my devotion, the same two words was used in the materials I was reading.

I was reading on Isaiah 33 where the prophet was lamenting on the stubbornness of the Israelites who would not obey or trust in God.

The Assyrians were coming against them but they disobeyed God and looked to the Egyptians to save them. It was like going back to their slave masters for freedom. What irony.

When the Egyptians were of no help, they thought the could buy the Assyrians off. They withdrew money from the treasury, stripped bare the temple doors of gold to be given to the Assyrians to leave them alone. The author rightly stated that it was humiliating to Judah and doubly dishonoring to God. The people treated God as their worthless ally and then make God pay for their disloyalty!

Then the author said, "But they don’t see it that way. Not yet. What they see is hope: “Finally those Assyrians will let up on us! This will all be over soon.” So there goes God’s money, God’s honor, and their integrity in the form of payment to the Assyrian mafia." (emphasis mine)

When I read that sentence, it stopped me short. I felt that this was no simple coincidence, there must be something to it and I immediately asked the Lord what the lesson here for me would be.

It was a simple connection.

My busy days were not letting up. The Assyrians were not letting up. The Israelites had not trusted God. Have I trusted God? I was complaining. I was frustrated.

I reassessed my situation and realised that my busyness may never let up, however much I complain. What I need to do instead is to trust in God. That it is not by might, nor by power but by His Spirit.

As a result, when I committed it all to Him, I had more fun at work today in spite of my busyness. So much so that I was contented to stay back late into the evening in order to clear my inbox before I call it a day, before I call it a week.

I thank God for his promptings. I thank God for his everlasting Word that will never fail us.

He is faithful and good.

pearlie
Source: 'Isaiah: God Saves Sinners' by Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr., R.Kent Hughes, General Editor

My 2015 Goal: A Year of Fervent Prayer

Ok, I'm at the moment quite gung-ho in my wanting to be serious about prayer. I only hope it can be sustained throughout the year and throughout my life.

From yesterday's post, I've actually finished reading Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God, it's not long, and I loved it! It will be useful to refer frequently to what I have highlighted to remind me to always live from the center of Christ.


A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Priorities from Paul and His Prayers
by D.A. Carson

I've also just started reading D.A. Carson's A Call to Spiritual Reformation, albeit from a print copy, which will be a challenge. And since I've named my 2015 goal as A Year of Fervent Prayer, I would like to post my learning on prayer as much as I can here.

My first lesson comes from a section in Chapter 1 Lessons from the School of Prayer: much praying is not done because we do not plan to pray.

This is an important as well as a difficult lesson for me because I'm not a good planner and worse than that I'm weakest as far as discipline is concerned (#34 in my Gallup Strength theme sequence). However, since I have used my Maximizer (a strong #7) successfully in making me go to the gym every workday in most of 2014, I will also use it to help me to plan my prayer and to keep the schedule, which I suspect will still not be so fixed or scheduled.

Carson said, "We do not drift into spiritual life; we do not drift into disciplined prayer. We will not grow in prayer unless we plan to pray. That means we must self-consciously set aside time to do nothing but pray...Wise planning will ensure that we devote ourselves to prayer often, even if for brief periods: it is better to pray often with brevity than rarely but at length. But the worst option is simply not to pray--and that will be the controlling pattern unless we plan to pray. If we intend to change our habits, we must start here."

With that, I want to start small and this is what I plan:
1. Say a brief prayer the moment I wake up before I get out of bed
2. Pray when I'm commuting alone
3. Begin every workday with 15 minutes of prayer (need to find a place though since I'll surely be disturbed in my cubicle)
4. Spend 15 minutes in prayer before I retire in bed at the day's end

Ooh...that sounds like a lot! I'll see how I will fare and will give a report in a week's time.

It will however be a good thing to be reminded of what Brother Lawrence said in his Ninth Letter of The Practice of the Presence of God: "One does not become holy all at once."

And Carson says this, "If God is the one 'who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose' (Phil 2:3), then of course he is the God who by his Spirit helps us in our praying."

Amen to that!

pearlie

Ideation

One of the 34 Gallup StrengthsFinder themes that fascinated me today was Ideation.

I have seen it in action in a couple of my friends who have Ideation in their Top-5 Strengths and it was very fascinating to observe. They can practicality and simply connect two or more unconnected items into one brilliant idea without much of an effort.

I have it as my #8, not a Top-5 but nevertheless still one of my dominant themes. It does come into play when I put my mind to it. And I find it easier when I am in conversation with people.

I found this quote. As much as I like it, I'm not sure if it jives with what Gallup has with the Ideation theme. What do you think?



pearlie

I'm now a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach!

I have made it!

It all started on 10th April 2014 when I attended a breakfast talk on the topic "Achieve Higher Level of Performance through Strengths Based Development" where I was really attracted to the Gallup philosophy and concept.

I took the assessment on 17 April 2014, attended the Gallup Strengths Accelerated Coaching Program from 2 - 6 June 2014, passed my coachee evaluations on 14 Aug 2014, took my examination yesterday and received a pass today!

So I am now a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach. And it has just been four months!

The first thing to do will be to develop a profile to post it in Gallup's list of coaches. I am very excited, and looking forward to more coaching sessions for anyone who is interested.

pearlie

On my way to be certified!

I got this in the mail this morning:

Congratulations for having been successfully evaluated by the individuals you have coached. You clearly have the ability to effectively coach others and help them improve their lives via strengths-based development.

Woohoo! But I was surprised as I do have two more to go, whom I will still coach and have them evaluate me because I have promised and committed to them.

In fact, I have five and maybe six more coachees to coach. And I am looking forward to it.

And I am going to prep up myself to complete the exam this coming Monday. And if and when I pass the exam, I will then be a certified Gallup Strengths-Based Coach.

Yay!

pearlie

Coaching Session #3: This is All Me!

I had another session of coaching with a very good friend this evening, and it was a really interesting and enjoyable one. By the way, she is always enjoyable to be in company with, and now I know why: Positivity is her #4 talent.

Before our session, she texted me saying that her disagrees with her top 5. I replied saying, "Hmmm...interesting. Can't wait for the session. It will certainly be interesting."

And indeed it was.

When we met, she gave me what she thought was her top 5, after going through the materials she printed out.

Her Gallup StrengthsFinder results were:
1. Ideation
2. Relator
3. Significance
4. Positivity
5. Achiever

And she felt she has these instead:
1. Positivity (#4)
2. Achiever (#5)
3. Empathy (#26)
4. Responsibility (#9)
5. Developer(#22)

But after I explained to her what Developer and Empathy were - the rest are her dominant themes anyway - she understood it a bit more. I have basically explained how she thought those were her strengths in relation to her top 5. It was soon clear what she thought she had in Developer and Emphathy were evident in her Relator, Significance, Positivity and Achiever talents.

And so we moved into naming and claiming her top 5 by going through her report.

I made a mistake in using her Insight Report rather than her Top-5 report, which I usually use in my first coaching session. I only noticed it halfway but the good and interesting thing was, it became the highlight of the session.

By the time she finished highlighting what she felt represent her in the report, she has highlighted E.V.E.R.Y S.I.N.G.L.E sentence! She was embarassed by it, but I assured her it is a good thing. It meant that she was able to identify and claim them as her talents. Moreover, when I asked her to share a success story after going through each of the top 5, the stories were top notch, especially the one on Ideation. It was brilliant.

The session was supposed to be an hour long, but I spent two hours with her.

Excellent. Three coachees done, three more to go.

pearlie

Coaching Session #2: What a set of talents!

In my effort to get accredited as a Gallup Strengths Coach, I need to coach six people and receive good evaluation from them. I have stepped up in my coaching appointments, as the initial few who agreed to want to be coached weren't so forthcoming in even setting a date to meet.

As such, I even managed to get three appointments set for today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, which is absolutely wonderful.

I just completed one a couple of hours ago, and in the short time it was arranged, my client was only able to complete the assessment this morning, and she had not shared it with me until I reached her place.

But with one look at her top-5, I went, "Wow!"

As much as all the Gallup themes are neutral, there is no one theme better than the other, her combination of top-5 is pretty impressive.

They are:
1. Strategic
2. Futuristic
3. Analytical
4. Relator
5. Achiever

I must say four of those are what every corporate professional desires to have. And these talents serve my client well, being the wife of a business professional. She assists him in the business and spends her time also managing her kids' and their education.

She has big realistic dreams, she knows exactly which is the best to strive for, she knows how she can get there, she makes sure she achieves it in phases, and it is all for the success of herself and her family.

Our first coaching session lasted one and half hours today, and I am certainly looking forward to our second session next month.

pearlie

Gallup Strength: Input

When I talk about the Gallup Strengths these days, and was asked about my take on it, I tend to end up talking about my Input strength.

When I first got the assessment results, of all the top-5, this was the one that befuddled me the most.

What? Me collect things? No way. But soon I realised I actually do, and a lot of it. Maybe I am so natural about it, it didn't register.

I think a better word for Input is Resourceful. I have checked with several people who knows me and with whom I worked with and they agree that I am someone who is pretty resourceful.

Need something? Need an idea? Need a tool? Need a solution? Need information? Need anything? I will surely find you something. It may not be exactly what you are looking for but I would hope to give you enough options to find something useful or for you to have an idea where and what to be resourceful yourself.

I have been subconsciously aware of this strength of mine because it has been awhile now that I am mindful to hold back every time I thought I have discovered something to share. Whilst I may feel satisfaction and energy in discovering things, I feel others may not want to be inundated with stuff that is not (yet) relevant to them.

Whatever it is, it's a strength I'm most proud of and one which I keep noting that I'm practicing.

pearlie

I never learn

I find myself always jumping into something without first deliberating if it is the right move.

Well, if you know about the Gallup Strengths, Deliberation and Strategic aren't high on my list. I must do something about it and figure out how to compensate for my lack of it.

But for sure, I must be more mindful and think before I leap.

pearlie