Steve Lee, PhDGraduate Diversity Officerfor the STEM Disciplines

Succeeding through your

trengths&

F ailures

Succeeding through your

Strengths & Failures

Assess your strengths and weaknesses accurately

Apply your strengths and weaknesses strategically

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Achieving success is likenavigating along a path

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Achieving success is likenavigating along a path

But how do you navigate?

Where are you headed?

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Let’s discuss!

What’s your ideal destination,and your definition of success?

How will you know when you get there? How do you measure

success?

The “rules for success” in science …

are usually too simplistic, and

don’t consider your unique strengths.

1.)

2.)

3.)

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All students at ABRCMS …

Why not?

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have been successful,

and want to succeed,

but not all succeed.

Marshall Goldsmith points out …

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How will you growto get from here to there?

Main Message:

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To achieve success, you must:

� assess your strengths accurately

� apply your strengths strategically

Key questions for today:

� What exactly is a strength?

� Don’t most people know and use their strengths?

� How can you apply your strengths strategically?

� What’s the current research in assessing and applying strengths?

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What exactly is a strength?

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Our strengths are where skill and joy combine,and so where we want to grow.

strengths

Don’t most people already know and use their strengths?

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� In a Gallup

survey:

� Many don’t assess their strengths accurately

� Survey: do you have

“the opportunity to

do what you do best

every day” at work

� Most aren’t using their strengths regularly

36% India

15% Japan

32% USA

97% said their leadership skills

are at or above average (!)

14% China

13% France

26% Germany

Most students aren’t aware of their strengths and weaknesses

Kruger and Dunning, 1999 and 2003.

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0

20

40

60

80

100

Bottom

quartile

2nd

quartile

3rd

quartile

Top

quartile

%

Actual Test Score

Perceived Test Score

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We can improve our metacognitive skills by:

� being aware of the context of our peers,

� and by improving our competence.

Many don’t assess themselves accurately, but there’s hope!

Kruger and Dunning, 1999 and 2003.

Addendum to Main Message:

Your chance for success is improved when

you assess and apply your strengths …

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which is not trivial, but can be developed

by sharpening your metacognitive skills.

What metacognitive skills do I need to develop?

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� Personal Competence

� self-awareness

� self-regulation

� motivation

� Social Competence

� empathy

� social skills

You can assess your strengths with the Myers-Briggs types

How do you prefer:

● to relate to people?

● to gather information?

● to make decisions?

● to relate to the outside world?

○ Extroverts or E-types○ Introverts or I-types

○ Sensors or S-types○ Intuitors or N-types

○ Thinkers or T-types○ Feelers or F-types

○ Judgers or J-types○ Perceivers or P-types

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How can we apply our strengths?

Discuss the case study and respond to the questions with your neighbors

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Main Message

Assess yourself and others accurately

Adopt a learning stance to understand yourself and others.

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Apply your assessments strategically

Discuss with others how to strategically apply your assessments to help you grow.

Let’s now consider

F ailures

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Understanding our responses to failure can help to assess weaknesses and to grow.

Discuss within groups:

� Discuss a recent situation where you (or friend) overcame a difficult challenge.

� What internal characteristics helped to overcome the obstacle?

� Compare this to similar situations when you failed to overcome the challenge.

� What internal characteristics hinderedsuccess?

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How do you respond to failure?

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Carol Dweck proposes 2 different responses:

� I’d look at what was wrong and resolve to do better.

� I’d start thinking about working in a different way.

� stay in bed

� get drunk

� I’m a total failure

� I wouldn’t bother trying hard next time

Fixed mindset Grow h mindset

Summary of Dweck’s Mindset

Fixed vs Grow h

ability is static

avoids challenges

gives up easily

sees effort as fruitless

ignores useful criticism

threatened by others

ability is developed

embraces challenges

persists in obstacles

sees effort as necessary

learns from criticism

inspired by others’ success

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Examples of Different Mindsets

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Losing equals death You get better whenyou lose

What are the consequences of the different mindsets?

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What are the consequences of the different mindsets?

Those who werepraised for their:

intelligence

effort

to reinforce a:

fixed mindset

growth mindset

chose to work on:

easier problems

more challenging problems

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What are the benefits of

a grow h mindset?

� Those with a growth mindset:

� achieved higher grades in a General Chemistry course

� had a more accurate sense of their strengths and weaknesses

� had lower levels of depression

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Do people really grow?

Before and after a 5-day art course:

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For further reading:

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to understand mindsets to learn how to change

Try these practical exercises:

� Journal about your strengths and failures; do you think you have a fixed or growth mindset?

� Ask friends & mentors for honest feedback about your strengths & weaknesses

� Try new approaches using the growth mindset when you encounter challenges

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Take-Home Message

Assess:

Apply:

� Adopt a learning stance

to understand yourself

and others accurately.

� Apply your assessment

strategically, using a

grow h mindset

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I’ll leave you with thisquestion & challenge:

What’s your ideal destination,and your definition of success?

Dream big and beyond yourself.

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Succeeding through your trengths & ailures:

Assess and Apply Your Unique Strengths toward Your Ideal Career Steve Lee, PhD - Graduate Diversity Officer for the STEM Disciplines

at University of California, Davis; stnlee@ucdavis.edu

ABRCMS in San Antonio, TX – November 12, 2014

• Case Study – Joseph and his research advisor

o Joseph has been having trouble understanding his research advisor’s expectations and goals for

his research. This is particularly frustrating for Joe, because he’s very friendly and gets along with

most people. He has weekly meetings with his advisor, where he tells her all about his ups and

downs from his research progress, along with complications and successes. Joe is aware that he’s

communicative and talkative, so he believes that he’s doing a good job with informing her about

his research progress. But recently his advisor has asked him questions that surprised him,

because he didn’t realize that she had wanted something else. He just wishes that she would

explain more clearly what she wants and expects, so that they can work better together. But his

advisor doesn’t seem to say much during their meetings, and seems withdrawn from his

perspective.

Questions:

1) From the case study, do you think Joseph is an introvert or extrovert? Explain your reasoning,

referring to specific details mentioned in the case study.

2) Do you think the professor is an introvert or extrovert? Explain your reasoning.

3) How might Joe adapt, to work better with his professor? How can he improve his understanding

of her expectations for his research?

a) How might Joseph use his strengths to help resolve his problem?

b) What underdeveloped type skills (see tables below for some ideas) might Joseph need to

address as he considers how to improve the communication with his professor?

4) How would this relationship differ if Joseph and his professor had their opposite types? This is a

tough, but important question!

a) How might conflicts and miscommunications arise?

b) How can they effectively address or avoid their conflicts?

• Success Types by John Pelley < http://www.ttuhsc.edu/SOM/success/ >

Well-developed skills & Positive perceptions Underdeveloped skills & Negative perceptions Extraversion

Active approach

Bring breadth

Introversion

Reflective approach

Bring depth

Extraversion

Hyperactive

Superficial

Introversion

Withdrawn & secretive

Overly serious

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What the Types Can Offer Each Other EXTRAVERTS

• Provide the outwardly directed energy

needed to move into action

• Offer responsiveness to what is going on

in the environment

• Have a natural inclination to converse and

to network

INTROVERTS

• Provide the inwardly directed energy

needed for focused reflection

• Offer stability from attending to deep

ideas, and listening to others

• Have a natural tendency to think and work

alone

Summary of Carol Dweck’s Mindset

Fixed Mindset Grow h Mindset

ability is static ability is developed

avoids challenges embraces challenges

gives up easily persists in obstacles

sees effort as fruitless sees effort as necessary

ignores useful criticism learns from criticism

threatened by others inspired by others’ success

• References: o Marshall Goldsmith’s “What got you here, won’t get you there” o Justin Kruger and David Dunning. "Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing

one's own incompetence lead to inflated self assessments." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1999, 77, pp 1121-1134.

o Dunning, Kruger, et al; Curr Directions Psychol Sci, 2003, 12, pp 83–87. o Daniel Goleman’s “Emotional Intelligence”

o Carol Dweck’s “Mindset”

• Thanks for coming to my workshop! I hope that it was helpful. • My presentations and handouts are available at < www.slideshare.net >.