Help Me See What You See”: Communicating Across CliftonStrengths© Themes
At Positive Leadership, we’re always exploring ways to leverage our strengths for personal and professional growth. Years ago, I had an experience that sparked a profound insight about using CliftonStrengths© themes to improve communication and relationships. It all started with six simple words.
The Email That Changed Everything
I sent an email to a close collaborator, asking her to evaluate a web application that I thought could be useful for our program. My email was brief: “Look this over and let me know what you think.”
My colleague wasn’t convinced about the application’s usefulness. But instead of listing her reasons, she responded with something that stopped me in my tracks:
“Help me see what you see.”
This simple request sparked a moment of profound self-awareness about my CliftonStrengths© themes, particularly my number one theme of Strategic.
The Strategic Lens
It had taken me mere seconds to see how the web application could be useful, but it took 20 minutes to type out an email explaining my reasoning. I realized it had been much easier for me to just say, “Hey, look this over and tell me what you think.”
This is a crucial insight about our top CliftonStrengths© themes. We quickly interpret the world through their lenses, making rapid assessments that influence our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. These assessments are obvious to us, but not to others.
The Strength Perspective Gap
We’ve all had moments where we draw conclusions only to discover that others don’t see what we see. For instance:
- To someone with Achiever, it’s blindingly obvious that we need to focus on work and get things done.
- For someone with Harmony, it’s clear as day that we should all behave in ways that minimize tension.
- A person with Futuristic can see the distant shores of an idea and can’t fathom why others don’t.
One of the incredible benefits of CliftonStrengths© is that it helps us understand how we see things and realize that others might not share our perspective. It reminds us that other people feel, think, and behave in ways that might seem foreign to us, causing us to potentially discount their viewpoints.
Bridging the Gap: From Tacit to Explicit
The kind of knowledge that’s obvious to us but not to others is called “tacit knowledge.” Tacit means understood without being spoken. You may grasp something intuitively, but until you articulate it, others may not understand.
To make your tacit knowledge clear to others, you need:
- Self-awareness to slow down your thought process.
- Social awareness to realize that others may not interpret things the same way you do.
- The ability to bridge the gap through effective communication.
CliftonStrengths© greatly enhances this process by providing a framework for understanding our unique perspectives and those of others.
The Power of Empathy in Communication
By consciously practicing empathy in your communications, you’ll not only foster better relationships but also start to see the value in others’ perspectives. This is one of the core ideas behind CliftonStrengths©: recognizing that diverse strengths add richness to our interactions. When we can see that, we begin to appreciate the full spectrum of insights each person brings to the table.
The Power of “Help Me See What You See”
My colleague’s response serves as a powerful call to action for better understanding each other. We need to recognize that others can’t always see what we see, no matter how obvious it might be to us. We perceive things through our own unique vantage points, often without considering whether others share that perspective.
By using the phrase “Help me see what you see,” we invite others to share their unique strengths-based perspectives. This simple request can open up channels of communication, foster empathy, and lead to more productive collaborations.
Putting It Into Practice
To apply this in your own life, start by pausing to reflect on your thought process. Before jumping into a conversation, take a moment to consider how your top strengths might be shaping your perspective. Are you assuming others see the same connections or priorities that you do?
Next, invite others into your thinking. Use the phrase: “Help me see what you see.” By asking this, you’re not only encouraging dialogue but also opening the door for empathy and collaboration. When we take the time to understand where others are coming from, we build stronger, more productive relationships.
Another powerful strategy is to make your thought process explicit. Instead of assuming people can follow your line of reasoning, articulate it step-by-step. For example, if your Strategic theme leads you to a particular conclusion, walk others through how you got there. You’ll be surprised how often this clarification leads to breakthroughs in understanding and alignment.
In Conclusion
As you continue your leadership journey, remember that understanding and embracing the diverse strengths of those around you is essential. A simple question like “Help me see what you see” can lead to deeper understanding and more meaningful collaboration.
At Positive Leadership, we’ve spent years studying what makes leaders thrive, and tools like CliftonStrengths© have played a big part in that journey. In future articles, we’ll keep sharing practical insights and proven strategies to help you grow in leadership.
Keep exploring your strengths, and invite others to share their perspectives. By doing so, you’ll enhance communication, strengthen relationships, and create a space where everyone’s strengths can contribute to shared success.
If you’ve found these insights valuable, we encourage you to explore the additional resources available at Positive Leadership. We provide a range of resources to help you strengthen your leadership skills and make the most of your unique strengths.
