Tag Archives: Build on your strengths

Podcast Episodes, Positive Risk-Taking, Working with Risk

Podcast Episode 020: Confidence Tricks [2]

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TheStrengthsRevolution_albumart_2-2Positive risk-taking and risk decision-making are challenges that can be achieved with greater confidence if the right conditions are in place. For practitioners in health and social care services, and for others beyond these services, a number of factors can influence your degree of confidence in your decision-making.

Being genuinely person-centred, as we are always dealing with an individual with their unique combination of strengths alongside the problems and risks. Good team-working, and support and supervision, can greatly influence the quality of decisions influenced through the culture of the team or service. The issue of ‘culture’ should also extend to the wider organisation, through the understanding of positive risk-taking and processes of risk decision-making, and supporting people’s decisions irrespective of the outcome if they have followed reasonable guidelines of good practice.

Accessing appropriate tools to guide and influence decision-making, as well as prioritising the time needed for those more complex and challenging decisions.

For the full content of this episode click on the links to iTunes and Sound Cloud (or go to Stitcher Radio):

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/strengths-revolution-steve/id867043694

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/020-confidence-tricks-2/id867043694?i=317753484&mt=2

“When you train your employees to be risk averse, then you’re preparing your whole company to be reward challenged.” [Morgan Spurlock].

Podcast Episodes, Positive Risk-Taking

Podcast Episode 019: Confidence Tricks [1]

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TheStrengthsRevolution_albumart_2-2Risk-taking is part of a healthy way of living, and we make decisions every day. However, just occasionally we are confronted with potential life-changing decisions, such as changing a job, moving our home, expressing feelings for others, marriage, children, divorce, and end of life choices.

How can we face some of these major decisions and make them with greater degrees of confidence? This episode offers a number of common sense tips to help us develop that confidence. Being reflective, checking things out with trusted friends, being aware of consequences, being open to learning not just seeing things as simple as success or failure.

Fir the full content of this episode click on the links to iTunes and Sound Cloud (or go to Stitcher Radio):

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/strengths-revolution-steve/id867043694

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/019-confidence-tricks-1/id867043694?i=317489992&mt=2

“But he learned long ago that a life lived without risks pretty much wasn’t worth living. Life rewarded courage, even when that first step was taken neck-deep in fear.” [Tamera Alexander].

A Strengths Approach, Person-centred working, Podcast Episodes, Podcast Interviews

Podcast Episode 017: Sue Jugon Interview Part 1

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TheStrengthsRevolution_albumart_2-2An interview with Sue Jugon exploring the influences on her practice as a mental health nurse, team and service manager. Looking at the early influences of growing up in a farming background, and coming into nursing from initial experiences within learning disability services.

A strong emphasis emerges about taking opportunities to have a go at things, without being constrained by the possibilities of failure. Sue is a person for whom working with the most vulnerable people is a life-long passion, and her career path has never deviated from the values and principles that remain focused on the needs of the most vulnerable.

She also talks about her own continuing aspirations, and a natural talent for exploring the playing of different musical instruments. Above all else, it is the love of her children that keeps her focused on who she is, and continues to bring out the best of a dedicated person.

For the full content of this episode click on the follow links to iTunes and Sound Cloud (or go to Stitcher Radio):

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/strengths-revolution-steve/id867043694

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/017-sue-jugon-interview-part-1/id867043694?i=316896842&mt=2

Podcast Episodes, Positive Risk-Taking

Podcast Episode 016: Risk Taking v Risk Aversion

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TheStrengthsRevolution_albumart_2-2Are we risk takers or are we generally more conservative in our risk decision making, more risk averse? There is no blanket answer to this question for any of us, as there are different situations and circumstances that influence us in different ways.

Health and Social Care service practitioners may become more risk averse in particular situations, and some will be more risk averse depending on their own experiences. When is it ok to be risk averse? When it is the clearly reasoned decision based on careful consideration of the information available to us.

Risk decisions will be part of everyday experiences within health and social care services across all sectors e.g. mental health, learning disability or older persons services. The same principles apply to all of us in our personal lives, when we are confronted with situations that require a difficult decision.

For the full content of this episode click on the links to iTunes and Sound Cloud (or go to Stitcher Radio):

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/strengths-revolution-steve/id867043694

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/016-risk-taking-v-risk-aversion/id867043694?i=316511320&mt=2

“There is a short window at the beginning of one’s professional life when it is comparatively easy to take big risks. Make the most of that time, before circumstances make you risk averse.” [Joshua Foer].

A Strengths Approach, Podcast Episodes

Podcast Episode 012: An Ordinary Life

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TheStrengthsRevolution_albumart_2-2An ordinary life is an exceptional life in so many ways, particularly if we devote some time to reflecting on who we really are, what we are good at, and what we want out of our normal lives. So, can the idea of a Strengths Assessment as derived from health and social care services apply to everyone else who has nothing to do with being in need of or delivering such services?

Lets leave the idea of paperwork tools and unnecessary bureaucracy in its rightful place (the bin?). The concept is perfectly applicable to all of us when we think of it as our own informal subconscious way of adapting our personal values and principles to situations we find ourselves in throughout our lives. A strengths approach can provide a guide to the path we follow, whether that is a rocky rooad or a smooth highway at different points in time.

Thinking about and applying our strengths happens in every situation… moving home, changing jobs, developing new relationships or bringing up children. We draw on our accumulated experiences and resources, as well as taking a few risks along the journey.

We don’t normally confront a challenge by seeking out and applying our weaknesses. We actually draw on what we can do, what we are good at, apply our skills, adapt to circumstances, and call on others with the necessary expertise to help us accomplish the challenge. We work to our strengths!

For the full content of this episode click on the following links for iTunes and Sound Cloud (or go to Stitcher Radio):

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/strengths-revolution-steve/id867043694

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/012-an-ordinary-life/id867043694?i=315238335&mt=2

“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” [George Eliot].

A Strengths Approach, Podcast Episodes

Podcast Episode 011: Nuts and Bolts

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TheStrengthsRevolution_albumart_2-2When should we be starting to build up a Strengths Assessment, including within health and social care services? The answer is ‘immediately’, it should be a natural default position to how we connect with people and think about who they really are.

Searching for and using peoples strengths should be equally relevant when someone is acutely unwell or going through a period of crisis. It is not something that we just set aside a one-off time slot to complete; it is an on-going fluid conversation. The picture has to emerge over time if we are to have faith in it as an accurate positive picture of personal resources.

It requires a different mindset of practitioners working with clients/patients/service users. Medical approaches focus on the issue of identifying the diagnosis, as a descriptor of problems. It requires degrees of self-disclosure in order to engage a stronger therapeutic relationship.

Paperwork has a place for prompting and capturing the detail; but bureaucracy has no place in a picture of positive practice. We are ultimately helping people to build a positive picture of themselves, and of the resources they can personally apply to exert more control over their own experiences.

For the full episode of this podcast click on the following iTunes links (or go to Sound Cloud or Stitcher Radio):

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/strengths-revolution-steve/id867043694

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/011-nuts-and-bolts/id867043694?i=314851263&mt=2

“To create something exceptional, your mindset must be relentlessly focused on the smallest detail.” [Giorgio Armani].

A Strengths Approach, Podcast Episodes

Podcast Episode 010: Paint a picture of this

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TheStrengthsRevolution_albumart_2-2Building a Strengths Assessment is like painting a picture, requiring careful attention to the detailed layers of its construction. From the broad brush of the different parts of our lives, to the strokes and touches that represent the fine detail of who we are.

Nobody’s life is simply black and white, we all have colours, contrasts and textures that help to define us. But don’t expect the canvass to give up its secrets lightly, a Strengths Assessment requires attention and passionate inquiry of a life lived and a future one hoped for.

The detail of a Strengths Assessment addresses the core questions of what is going on at the moment, what do you want to change, and what resources are needed to achieve that change? It is based in a few very practical principles that are outlined in this episode.

See the full details of the episode on iTunes at the following links (and on Sound Cloud and Stitcher Radio):

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/strengths-revolution-steve/id867043694

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/010-paint-a-picture-of-this/id867043694?i=314295917&mt=2

“The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail.” [Charles R Swindoll]

 

A Strengths Approach, Podcast Episodes

Podcast Episode 009: Strength out of adversity

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TheStrengthsRevolution_albumart_2-2Death has a strange way of focusing us on the good times, on the positive experiences of the deceased, whatever the bigger picture may have looked like. In this episode Steve reflects on the recent sudden death of his ex-wife, but this is more of an emotional tribute to the ways in which the two children of the former marriage cope with difficult circumstances. In adversity we can sometimes draw on a well of personal strengths and qualities that we may have been unaware even existed. There are many way in which we identify and use our strengths.

For the full content of this episode click on the following links to iTunes (also available on Stitcher Radio and Sound Cloud):

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/strengths-revolution-steve/id867043694

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/009-strength-out-of-adversity/id867043694?i=313470880&mt=2

“While I thought I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die.: [Leonardo da Vinci].

“The idea is to die young as late as possible.” [Ashley Montagu].

A Strengths Approach

Podcast launches

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TheStrengthsRevolution_albumart_2-2‘The Strengths Revolution’ weekly podcast show was launched on the iTunes Store on 22nd April 2014. It is established to offer and discuss all things ‘Strengths’ focused. Please do access this free resource, subscribe and review episodes. The following link will take you to the area where the episodes are hosted:

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/strengths-revolution-steve/id867043694