By Robyn Murray
“What will happen when we think about what is right with people rather than fixating on what is wrong with them?”
That question was posed by Don Clifton, a psychologist, University of Nebraska–Lincoln professor, chair of the consulting firm Gallup and creator of the CliftonStrengths assessment, a psychological test used all over the world. Clifton, who died in 2003, was considered “the father of strengths-based psychology and the grandfather of positive psychology,” by the American Psychological Association.
Today, the Clifton Strengths Institute at UNL continues Clifton’s work. Tim Hodges, Ph.D., executive director of the institute and Joan Heiser Endowed Presidential Chair, said focusing on strengths helps students realize their potential.
“A lot of people lead by imitation, where they follow someone in a role and want to be like that person, and that’s OK,” Hodges said. “But it’s better if you figure out who are you when you’re at your best, what’s your potential, and how can you lean into that potential and really grow and develop over time?”
To understand how that works, we took a closer look at Hodges’ top five Clifton Strengths. Find yours here.
Maximizer
“Maximizers like to take something that’s working and see how much better they can make it,” Hodges said. “In many of our programs, we sort through students who apply to be coaches or Clifton Builders, and we choose students who have a lot of potential and desire to leverage the talents that they have. It’s a joy to invest in them and help them lean into their potential. It’s taking an A and seeing if you can make it an A-plus.”
Hodges’ Maximizer strength relates most to the impact of the presidential chair, a $2 million gift that provides annual revenue for the program. “The donors’ generosity has created a long-term view of what we’re doing,” Hodges said. “We’ve got that level of support that will last forever, and it creates a little more room for us to be creative and to be able to say yes to things.”
Relator
“Relators like a close circle of friends that they can really go deep with, and I love that,” Hodges said. “In my Clifton Builders classes, I have the same students for two semesters, so we get to know each other well through a lot of one-on-one and small-group interaction. Building those deeper relationships with a few is exciting for me.”
Belief
“Belief is my passion theme,” Hodges said. “Belief is the theme that causes me to say, ‘Does this really matter? Does it align with my values?’ One of my core beliefs is helping people see their potential and grow and learn. It’s not just transferring the content, but it’s helping unlock who the person can be into their future.”
Woo
“Woo is about winning others over,” Hodges said. “I love the first day of school when I walk into a lecture hall with hundreds of students and help them feel welcome, and be a little bit charming if I can, and help them feel a part of what we’re about here at the university. Almost every student in this building, at some point, has had my class, and so walking around the hall and knowing that we’ve had at least some kind of a connection is exciting, right?”
Positivity
“Positivity is a lot about bringing energy to a situation,” Hodges said. “I love to walk into a room and see if I can pep things up a bit. Students rarely fall asleep in class when I’m leading the class, and if they do, we have a little bit of fun with them, and then they probably don’t fall asleep again.”
