Want to get to know us? Hear Bill coach Sarah on her Clifton Strengths. This episode gives you insight into Sarah's mind, be careful.
Creators & Guests
Host
Bill Dippel
Bill Dippel is a certified, professional Strengths coach with a 35-year career in nonprofits and higher education. His passion is working with organizations, teams, and individuals to ensure they are performing and communicating at the highest levels. As president of Bill Dippel Strengths Coaching, he travels frequently for large events and public speaking, as well as working with whole companies through their management teams.
Host
Sarah Collins
Sarah Collins is a certified CliftonStrengths coach and founder of Collins Collective, with over 12 years of experience in strengths-based coaching and leadership development. Her passion lies in empowering businesses, teams, and individuals to communicate and perform at their best by focusing on what they do well. As the leader of Collins Collective, Sarah combines engaging workshops, high-impact keynotes, and in-depth coaching to foster growth and connection. Based in Nebraska, she partners with businesses to drive meaningful change and create high-performing teams.
What is Strengths On Fire?
Strengths on Fire is where dynamic strengths coaching meets real, relatable conversations. Hosted by Bill, a Gen X with a wealth of experience, and Sarah Collins, an elder millennial with fresh perspectives, we bring together our shared CliftonStrengths—WOO, Activator, Developer, and Harmony—to ignite engaging and entertaining discussions. Whether we’re laughing, learning, or diving deep into our guests’ top 10 strengths, we’re here to show you how to turn strengths into your secret weapon at work and in life. Expect professional development with a twist—because growth should be fun!
Hey, everyone. It's Sarah, the elder millennial.
Bill:And this is Bill, the infant boomer. Welcome to Strengths on Fire, the podcast for strengths enthusiasts who want to have fun while leveling up.
Sarah:Get ready for a mix of powerful insights, unexpected stories, and plenty of laughs along the way. Hey, Bill. You wanna light these strings on fire?
Bill:Sarah, let's light it up. And good good morning, Sarah.
Sarah:Good morning, mister Dipple. It's a pleasure to be here with you today.
Bill:I am so excited for today. Today is going to be unbelievably fun. We are in the beginning of our podcasting. Right? We're in the we're in the opening throes, I'd say, of our podcasting experience.
Bill:And and today, we're gonna do something special. Are you excited?
Sarah:We are. I am excited. You know, it's not very often I get to sit in the client chair.
Bill:Yes. Yes. For those of you curious what that means, we Sarah and I, in discussing it, had thought, it's just not fair that we talk about your strengths, and you don't know anything about us. Right?
Sarah:So true. So true. Gotta Yeah. Gotta get the water's warm here. People need to get to know us so they know.
Sarah:You're welcome. Come in in. Who are these people talking in my ears?
Bill:Right. Why are we why are we here? What are they gonna talk about? What does a coaching session look like? If you are a strengths enthusiast, giving Sarah full credit for that particular comment, a strengths enthusiast, this would be a really good dive in to understand if you're gonna listen to this podcast, who are the people behind it?
Bill:Why are they putting it together? Maybe I get to know them a little better.
Sarah:And just a quick question.
Bill:Who?
Sarah:What is a strengths enthusiast? I mean, for those people who have never heard that term anymore, how would you classify those people?
Bill:I'm so I would classify it as somebody that is maybe aware of CliftonStrengths, of the Gallup CliftonStrengths system, or you may know it as StrengthsFinders. Maybe they've taken the test, the assessment. Maybe they have even received a little bit of coaching on it, and they are ultra curious about what it means. They are really thinking, you know, I like the idea of this, but I just don't know where else to go with it. Or maybe they've gone further than that.
Bill:Maybe they've received some in-depth coaching over time, and they're like, I want more. I want more of that. That would be my take. What do you think?
Sarah:Yeah. I totally agree. I think it spans the gap to someone who's heard of the assessment and is really intrigued, maybe has taken it and likes it, but wants to know more to the folks that have been doing it. They know about it. They like it.
Sarah:They're just interested. We're really gonna be in here talking to each other, talking to people about how do we get the best out of people. And we really feel like we do that through digging into talent, which is what the Gallup CliftonStrengths assessment, formerly known as StrengthsFinder, is all about. And so we welcome anybody who's been in the strengths seat before.
Bill:Yeah. Oh, I love that. We're we're we're talking about bringing in other coaches for this podcast. We're talking about bringing in some clients. We're, maybe some some friends and family that have we have assessed and worked with.
Bill:We're we're also talking about bringing in some people maybe we don't know that well. So if you're Yeah. If you fall under that strengths enthusiast umbrella, right, that that Sarah has come up with and we've somewhat clearly defined she's done a much better job than I have, as usual. If you feel that way, reach out to us via our email. There's gonna be some information in the header and footer of this stuff that talks about who we are and where where we are easy to get a hold of.
Bill:So we are always looking for some some people that would love to talk about it.
Sarah:Absolutely. You send us an email. You shoot me a DM on my Instagram at Sarah coach Collins. I'm sorry. I'm like a shameless plugger.
Bill:Do it.
Sarah:But I love when the folks find me on Instagram. I'll mostly be posting about my children. I will mostly be posting a little bit about how dirty my house is, and I may or may not post about the cold bratwurst that I ate right before we started this conversation.
Bill:We're about to talk about that. Right? So a brat you so you ate a bratwurst, but so that everybody's aware, we're we're shooting this particular episode, filming, I guess, recording this particular episode, September, you know, it's got a little bite in the air here where I'm at. I'm in Reno, Nevada. Right?
Bill:We got a little fall going on. Football is in full swing. I I can't talk about Sarah's previous podcasting experiences, so I won't. Right? I just there's football is in the air.
Bill:That's all I'll say.
Sarah:Football is in the air. I mean Yeah. I don't know how it is in Reno. I'm in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Bill:Mhmm.
Sarah:We are at the time of year where it is chilly in the morning. You can feel the fall snap. You go outside, and you're like, oh, sixties. But by the afternoon, it is 85, 90 degrees, and you are just sweating. It is the season of layers.
Bill:I love it.
Sarah:Must layer yourself. I have small children. I'm teaching them. Hi. In the morning, you need a sweatshirt or a jacket, but you make sure you bring a bag because you're gonna be able to put that away because by the afternoon, it's gonna be hot.
Bill:That is absolutely correct. You're it's gonna be hot. It's gonna be a time to to dress down a bit and make sure that you are feeling it. Right? That you're you're experiencing.
Bill:Because I sat out out back for, I'd say an hour yesterday doing work in the backyard, early afternoon because the temperature was that perfect. Right? That perfect just relax. However, what I didn't do was eat a cold bratwurst. So I I'm just curious.
Bill:What? Morning time, shooting this in, morning for for Reno, 10 o'clock in, 10 AM in Lincoln, Nebraska. Go, cold bratwurst. I wanna know.
Sarah:Yeah. Here's some things you need to know about me. I come from a town of 234 people. That is not 1,234, known as a village. No stoplights in our town.
Sarah:One stop sign. Okay? So we are country folk. We are blue collar working. Just, you know, salt of the earth people.
Sarah:Okay? Nice. And I also wake up at 5 in the morning. So 10 AM, I'm practically to lunchtime. I've had my breakfast.
Sarah:I've had 2 cups of coffee. I sat outside this morning and looked at the stars because it was still so dark when I got up. So I know we have to record this podcast. I'm feeling a little hungry. I go into my refrigerator.
Sarah:We had brats and hot dogs last night on the grill. Right? Great evenings for grilling. Perfect. See that cheddar bratwurst in there.
Sarah:And I think, yep. I'm gonna grab that and eat it. Can eat it on the go? No bun. No ketchup.
Sarah:Did not heat it up. Just grabbed it cold.
Bill:Wow. Wow. Alright. So are you a relish girl when when they're off the grill? No.
Bill:Wow. So no relish? Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Sarah:So what are your accoutrements to your bratwurst?
Bill:I I like it all. No. I like it I like a I like ketchup. Right? I do like mustard, spicy mustard if possible.
Bill:I do like onions. I do I love good pickle relish. I just Wow. I'm a
Sarah:fan. Do, like, the whole, chili on top? Are you gonna get, like, a chili dog situation or not?
Bill:I have a friend in town that came for my my high school reunion this last week, and we both remembered a hot dog place we visit regularly, so I took them there for lunch. Still there after all these years. I won't say it was my 40th 40th. So that gives you some some context.
Sarah:It's your 40th hot dog?
Bill:Yes. 40th hot dog ever. No. It's my 40th reunion. Right?
Bill:So
Sarah:Wow. You really lost me there for a sec. I was like, they keep track of how many hot dogs do you buy at this place? Interesting. Interesting.
Sarah:Wait. You're talking about 40 years out of high school?
Bill:That is correct. Yes. That is correct. So my 40 and 3
Sarah:year You were in high school when you were 0?
Bill:You just
Sarah:you look way too young to have been out of high school for 40 years.
Bill:That feels I mean, that feels probably fair. Right? I mean, look at me. Look at come on. Right?
Bill:Yeah. Absolutely. And so
Sarah:Would people call you a boomer?
Bill:Oh, wow. We went we just went from I just wanna know about the broad all the way to my age. Is that how did we track to that correctly? So
Sarah:Listen. If nothing else, we will get off topic here.
Bill:Oh, it's gonna happen. So, no. I am a generation x. I know you
Sarah:know Friends. Bill is going to keep telling us he's generation x, but I want you to know he falls 1 year into generation x. So we will think of him as that infant boomer.
Bill:Yep. Yep. I I fall there. I feel good about it. I will fight to the end to to hold my ex.
Bill:Screw you all that don't know it. That say I'm not. Right? I don't but
Sarah:And I will fight that you are a little baby boomer.
Bill:Infant.
Sarah:And infant. Sorry. Jeez. Excuse me.
Bill:Infant. Infant.
Sarah:Boomer. Boomer. But for the ladies and gentlemen listening, we won't really be fighting because Bill and I both have harmony in our top ten. So Yes. The idea of getting in an actual fight will not be
Bill:It will not happen. It'll never all the and now we've just half the people have tuned out. No. I want these 2 in a knife fight. This is gonna be great.
Bill:Right? Yeah. Plus we'd lead and we have so much woo together that, you know, it's just and people right now are like, what is what is that?
Sarah:What does that mean?
Bill:Harmony and woo. Right? So well, before we jump into our coaching session because I picked on you and because you brought up my elderly status, part of the reason we wanted to do this podcast together is because we do come generationally at different ideals, gender wise, geography. There's all these g's as to why we're we're very different. And we're gonna bring that to this podcast and talk a lot about how we see and coach people differently or how the same and and what that looks like.
Bill:And to give you my elderly status, I got up at 6 AM this morning to go take a blood test. So thank you very much. I was
Sarah:Well, I hope everything went well with your blood test.
Bill:I have no idea. At some point, I'll get I'll get some sort of email that says you're alive, I guess. I Well,
Sarah:I can I can confirm that you are alive? Alive. Now how well you are, I don't know. The you know, I'm not that perceptive over space and time video.
Bill:Got it.
Sarah:But you seem well. You got some good color in your face.
Bill:No. Well, thanks for that.
Sarah:Backing down from making fun of me. So things on this end seem fine.
Bill:Uh-huh. So I knowing Sarah well, mother of 3. Correct? Yeah. So you've done a blood test or 2.
Bill:Right? Oh, yeah. Do you like a do you like a happy jovial phlebotanist, or would you just prefer a just get in there and get the job done and walk away?
Sarah:I like a competent one. I really don't care what their personality is as long as they get the vein. So a thing to know about me, when I was in college, I found out that you could get paid for giving your plasma away. And so I said, yes. Sign me up for that because I was always looking to find money, working 3 jobs, doing whatever I could, very self supported, young, independent woman.
Bill:So I was in
Sarah:that chair, donating the plasma. And by donating, I mean, they were giving me money for it. Right. And I have a scar, some track marks right here on my left arm from it. Wait.
Sarah:Wait. I
Bill:I have one right there. Just, yeah, just one from today. Yeah.
Sarah:So whenever I have to give blood, I'm like, right here. There's a nice guide there in my skin of where you can go. And so when I've got a newbie who's not very good, I'm like, oh, because I know that arm is just gonna bruise right on up, and it hurts when they're in there fishing around for your mane. Mhmm. So, yeah, personality, don't care.
Sarah:You can talk to me. You cannot talk to me. I can't handle it all, but could you just get the, you know, the thing in the vein?
Bill:Yeah. I'm gonna I'm gonna give my guy today full kudos. Renown Health in Reno. Right? Went to the lab.
Bill:Didn't even know didn't even know it went in. Didn't even I
Sarah:love that.
Bill:I was like I was bracing for the and by the time I looked around, he was had 2 of the tubes filled. So
Sarah:Oh, yes. That's good. That's good.
Bill:So and I gotta give Renown credit too. They're a client. I work with some of their staff. So Wow.
Sarah:Look at that. I was gonna say not a sponsor, but kind of.
Bill:Almost. Almost. They kind of sponsor us. And and we're we keep joking about things we can see. If you're not watching us on YouTube, you will be shortly.
Bill:We will actually post the videos of these. So a little jump into that. So alright. Shall we? You wanna jump and then by the way, I went to Starbucks immediately after because it was a fasting blood test.
Bill:So off to a sausage and cheddar sandwich and some and some, chai tea.
Sarah:So See, that doesn't sound too much different than my cheddar bratwurst.
Bill:It was hot. Can I just I don't
Sarah:there's something about it? Tomato.
Bill:I disagree. You know what? Put in the comment section, cold bratwurst. Yes or no. Everybody, I am very curious what the feelings
Sarah:are in this. I can't wait to get people just completely divided in the world.
Bill:Cold brat? Fine. Right? I and by the way, cold pizza? I'm all in.
Bill:It's fine.
Sarah:Oh, yeah.
Bill:Even for breakfast. 100%. But cold broad? I'm I'm a little off on. I don't know.
Sarah:Listen. I get it sounds gross, but it tastes fine. And in a pinch, listen. I'm a busy woman. I'm a mother.
Sarah:I'm a business owner. I'm a podcast host. Okay? I need sustenance in this body. Yeah.
Sarah:So I can get going and get things grooving.
Bill:Got it. And plus
Sarah:you just do what you gotta do. Okay?
Bill:Yeah. And you knew I'd be grilling you, so you had to you had to gear up. You were ready.
Sarah:That's right. I needed it. I needed it.
Bill:I love it. I love it. Alright. Well, let's get started. Let's do a little bit of coaching today.
Sarah:Me up. Show me you got.
Bill:So, we are on with the always delightful Sarah Collins. By the way, the best hair in the coaching business. I just wanna point that out.
Sarah:Oh my god. Thank you.
Bill:Again, if you're curious, go to YouTube because
Sarah:I grew it myself.
Bill:That's actually that's weird. You don't have self assurance that high. Anyway, so, let's jump into a little bit of coaching for Sarah. Sarah, I am super excited to work on this with you. We've known each other a long time, but I have never had the pleasure of sitting on a coaching session with you.
Bill:We've never actually coached tangentially or together or side by side. So let's let's come in. Can you remind us and our listeners what your top ten are? And then we'll break those down for the strengths enthusiast that maybe doesn't know what each and every one of those mean.
Sarah:Absolutely. I come at you with positivity, WOO, which is winning others over, communication, harmony, and activator in my top 5, 6 through 10. Now I don't know them in order, so I do know them, just not in order. So don't correct me if I'm wrong.
Bill:Oh, I'm correct.
Sarah:Individuality, individualization, input, arranger, and developer.
Bill:Wow. And you did them backwards, by the way, which was really good. So that was
Sarah:I'm I always tell people the the the order doesn't matter. So, you know, I give myself a lot of grace.
Bill:That's good. Well, you
Sarah:know what? Also have a daughter named Grace for the record for that reason. I was like, I have no grace. I need to give myself grace. I'm also not graceful physically.
Sarah:Oh, I So I have a daughter named Grace. She makes up for it all. She's an angel.
Bill:I disagree. I I see grace in you all the time. So especially putting up with the old old man in the podcast. So alright. So let's well, you know what?
Bill:You jumped right to responsibility, which is actually number 9 for you. That was the first one you mentioned out of the top 5. Right? Why do you think and do you wanna talk to me a little bit about responsibility, what it means to you in your life, and and why you brought that one up, you think, first in that group? Why is the one that comes comes to your mind?
Sarah:Yeah. Well, I'll just preface this. Sorry. I'm gonna be the worst client ever because I'm a coach.
Bill:Perfect. Perfect.
Sarah:I took the assessment in 2011 when I was starting grad school. And, obviously, back then, my life was different. I was 24, had no responsibilities for the most part, and took the assessment. So I feel like today, I'm 38. I have 3 children.
Sarah:I own a business. We own a house. I have a husband. You know, this whole operation. While I still feel like my top five are very representative of who I am, I know it's the responsibility theme that keeps me accountable.
Sarah:As an executing theme that it is the way I get stuff done. And if I tell someone I'm gonna do something, I will bend over backwards to do it. I really hate being late. I always wanna be early. And if I'm on time, it gives me anxiety.
Sarah:And if I'm late, I panic. And I think that's that responsibility. If someone is expecting me to be somewhere, then I am going to meet that. So I just feel like that's such a driver for me and how I can lean on it on my talents to get things done. Because without that, I'm just sort of like a pool of happiness, but I wouldn't really go anywhere.
Bill:Yeah. Perfect. Absolutely perfect, breakdown of responsibility. And, for those enthusiasts in the group, responsibility people, generally, if they're gonna put their name on it, they're gonna do it. Yep.
Bill:Generally speaking, if they say it, it's going to happen. And, a big part of using CliftonStrengths correctly is to not only know your own strengths, but to know the strengths of the people around you. So I will tell you that one of the things that I do all the time with Sarah is ensure she has the link for us to get together on podcast early. It will never be 2 minutes past the time we're supposed to start. Right?
Bill:Because she will I'll get I will get blasted. Text, email, are we on? Did I miss something? What's going on? Where are we at?
Bill:It is that super responsibility stepping in. Thoughts? Absolutely. Thoughts on that?
Sarah:Absolutely. I expect this of other people.
Bill:Mhmm.
Sarah:I have the responsibility. And when, for instance, when people are late, it feels disrespectful. It feels like this is not a priority. This isn't important to you. And it it hurts me personally too.
Sarah:You know, I think that even plays with that woo, the winning others over. Absolutely. Somebody is not honoring the commitments that we've made, then it also feels like, well, now what's happening? Do you not like me? Do you not respect me?
Sarah:It feels personal even though I know most of the time it's not.
Bill:Right. Right. And I love that you fall into that responsibility for me as number 11. So it it's I would call it in my floor. It's one of the tools I can reach down and grab, and it hits me pretty hard.
Bill:Right? It definitely is one that I I share with you. Like, I get that that feeling of, are you disrespecting my time by, you know, I'm respecting your time. I'm here. I sent you this.
Bill:Right? Or I'm here at our meeting at this specific time, and why aren't we doing that together? So we actually share that right at the right at the bottom of that, you know, top ten, right at the beginning of the floor. Yep. And I love that.
Bill:And again, for me, I have found really frequently that when you can share certain themes together, and we share, I think, 5 of our top 10. Did I do that one correctly? We share 5 of them. There she goes. She's counting.
Sarah:Yes. We share 5. But if you look at your I always tell people and, Bill, I would be interested in what you say. I always tell people they can claim up to 15 as their dominant strengths depending on where they feel like those hit for them.
Bill:Yep.
Sarah:Your 11, 12, and 13 are in my top 10. So you have responsibility, communication, and positivity.
Bill:Mhmm.
Sarah:So depending on where you feel like your dominance end, we even share more.
Bill:Wow. So I love that you brought it up. Right? Do we go to the floor? People will be asking, well, do we you know, it's top 10 and then we fall off a cliff.
Bill:And the answer to that, particularly when we're coaching is no. Right? We Mhmm. None of us really stop at 10. I run some of my clients through a process where we go through and we read continue reading 11, 12, 13, 14.
Bill:I did that myself when I first assessed. I actually go to 17.
Sarah:Oh, I love that.
Bill:Yep. And then I fall off like I fall off brutally. Like, it's a cliff for me. I go to 17. I'm doing good.
Bill:And then, man, I get right to adaptability and the right up around adaptability, and I'm it's it does not resonate with me in the slightest. So
Sarah:Well, I love that. Can you explain for me and everyone else? When you say the floor, what are you referring to?
Bill:Yeah. So we we coach quite frequently around, your 1 through 5 all the time. Right? You're really living in those. Right?
Bill:1 through 10 most frequently are used. You can absolutely lean in with 6 through 10. They're for you. They're natural and reoccurring. However, they also are very, very good maybe at supporting the 1 through 5.
Bill:They're pretty they're pretty dominant for you, but they might be a little bit more in the supporting role. But we look at those as tools on a tool belt. Right? I got my screwdriver, I got my hammer, I got my right, they're right here. Yep.
Bill:But then we get through 11 through maybe 15, and for me 11 through 17, those are tools that we look at and they're sitting on the floor around my feet. So, I can use them. I can lean in with my positivity. You and I share that within within this top. And hopefully for those listeners or people watching, you can spot that positivity right away when you look at Sarah.
Bill:So I I lean in with my positivity. I tend to be pretty positive about it. But those those are really mostly for me supporting ends, right? Because I'm a big woo, a big developer. But I that positivity steps in for me in a different different way.
Bill:Right? I might for me, it might be about winning others over that that positivity leans in. So when I say the floor for me, it's that it's 11 through 15, 11 through 17, where it's a tool. If I want to use it, I gotta reach down a little bit. I gotta go grab it.
Sarah:Mhmm.
Bill:And then once we get past 17, it's just not a tool that I I'm gonna have to go into the garage and and dig for it. So
Sarah:Actually, let me continue your metaphor because I've never heard the floor thing before. So I also say 1 through 10 are in the tool,
Bill:belt. Yeah.
Sarah:I love the floor thing with 11 through 15. Yeah. I always say the middle, wherever you claim that. Right? So for you, like 18 to probably 20
Bill:Mhmm.
Sarah:Something. Yeah. Those are in the toolbox. So they're over there. They're harder to get to.
Sarah:It's not as easy. It's not as quick. But if you had to absolutely access that, you could get access to it. Mhmm.
Bill:And
Sarah:then I say the bottom, 5, 6, 7, whatever you feel like is really a stretch. Yeah. Those are in the tool shed, and it's locked. And there's probably spider webs around it, and you don't know where the key is. And so instead of breaking into the tool shed to try to get one of those strengths, you're better off to go to your neighbor's house and borrow one of those tools.
Bill:Oh, so that's good.
Sarah:The bridge to teamwork.
Bill:That's good. I might even so I've used the go to a neighbor. Right? But you don't know if your neighbor's home. You don't know you're not positive if your neighbor's willing to loan you some tools.
Bill:I would also say there are times where for me way down on the bottom there's competition, right? Way down there and significance. And context is the very bottom for me. And when I'm looking for that, it might be better for me if I'm thinking context, which is the ability to really use the past to define what I'm doing today. Right?
Bill:Or look at the past and be able to make relevant ideals around the past so that it it communicates what I need to do. Mhmm. Instead of going to my neighbor, I may I might step in and say I need to up my restorative today. I might need to up my developer. I might use a totally different tool to get the job done.
Bill:Absolutely. Because I'm not positive for my neighbor's home or likes me anymore. So
Sarah:And I love that you said that. That's how I coach people too. I'll say, let's look at what is the actual outcome you wanna get. Right? Because people get hung up.
Sarah:It's the human nature to get worried about the things at the bottom of your list. We're always
Bill:being
Sarah:taught to practice makes perfect, and you can do anything you set your mind to. And the CliftonStrengths philosophy is essentially, like, that's not true. You actually can't do anything and practice doesn't make perfect. If you're practicing those things that are not in your talent zone, the best you'll ever become is mediocre. So if that's good enough for you, then, like, by all means, But why waste your time?
Sarah:Instead, spend your time on your talents so you can actually achieve excellence, which I think most of us would rather do. So when someone comes to me, like you were just saying with your context and says, well, how do I do this? I need to be able to do this. I'll say, what's the outcome? What is the outcome you feel like you need?
Sarah:And then how can we go to your top ten to use your strengths and talents to get the same outcome? So what you were saying about your restorative, I love that. Exactly right. Find a tool that you have to get the same outcome in the world that you're looking for.
Bill:Yeah. I'm gonna work hard to find that. And I I love that everyone listening today, they're getting a joint, coaching session right out of the gate. Right?
Sarah:I told you I'm gonna be a terrible client. Oh, you're
Bill:a great client.
Sarah:Can't shut my mouth.
Bill:Look. Here's here's the great thing. You're getting double coaching today. Right? And and Sarah's not doing anything that coaches don't do normally.
Bill:Right? We're always coaching ourselves. We rely on each other. I have other coaches I deal with. And quite often I'm doing a lot of the, a lot of the self discovery that you're watching Sarah or listening to Sarah do this morning.
Bill:So I love that. I love that you're there, you're doing it. It doesn't make you a bad client in the slightest. I think it makes you worthy of the best best title of hair and coaching ability I know. So I love it.
Bill:Thank you. So, I'm curious. Can you tell me previous testing? Right? So we get the questions a lot around CliftonStrengths.
Bill:Why Clifton? What why are you using it? What, you know, what is the benefit? More often than not, I love to ask people and I guess if you're listening to this and you're an upcoming client, you're gonna know all my secrets, so that's great. I like to ask people, tell me about your previous testing history, Myers Briggs, DISC, Anagram, Kolbe, all of the ones that we know that are out there.
Bill:Have you gone through any of those? Have those affected you?
Sarah:Yeah. You know, I think the first one I probably ever did was Myers Briggs, and I can never remember what my Myers Briggs is. I just remember an online assessment told me my Myers Briggs was the same as Mary Poppins. So anytime someone actually wants to know my my Myers Briggs, I have to be like, what is Mary Poppins Myers Briggs?
Bill:I love that you're the same as a fictional character. This is great.
Sarah:I know I'm an e.
Bill:Oh, no. Really? Extroverted? No.
Sarah:I I find that shocking.
Bill:Stunning. Shocking. Yes.
Sarah:I also do Enneagram, and I have some coach friends who are Enneagram coaches. So if anyone out here is looking to do more with Enneagram, hit me up. I've got some great referrals. So I've done coaching with a few of my friends that do Enneagram, and I am a 3. And I would love to actually talk about this because I do not have Achiever in my top ten for CliftonStrengths.
Sarah:Correct. And I do not identify with the CliftonStrengths theme achiever.
Bill:Correct.
Sarah:But I am a 3 on the Enneagram.
Bill:It's 22 for you.
Sarah:Just so 22.
Bill:Right. Sorry.
Sarah:And but, on the Enneagram, the 3 is the achiever. And so I think it's really interesting because Enneagram is as far as I know, I'm not a coach in the Enneagram, but it is really looking at, like, your motivation. And a lot of that comes from childhood, and CliftonStrengths is looking at the talent that you're born with.
Bill:Yeah.
Sarah:And so I like to do good work. Again, this is why I think I like that responsibility theme so much because it pushes me to achieve. But it's because and this is part of the woo and all of those relationship building, influencing themes I have. I do want people to notice the work I did. And if you know Enneagram in threes, I want the recognition.
Sarah:I want people to say, this is a good job. She did a good job. Now let me say, this is embarrassing for me to admit. I do not wanna go out here and tell the world, yes. I would like everyone to notice me and shower me with compliments, but I have done enough work to know that that is true.
Bill:Well well, you're I mean, it's it's it's a great point. Right? We one of the q twelve questions is have you been acknowledged? And q twelve is Gallup's research into employee engagement. Right?
Bill:And one of the questions is always based around, have you been acknowledged for something that you've done positively in the last 7 days? Right?
Sarah:Right.
Bill:And it's one of the questions I talk about a lot in coaching because we do get asked about it, and I'll even bring it up frequently because it's a pretty easy metric to hit, but at the same time, it means so much to everybody. And many of the people I talk to are, like, well, I don't need to be patted on the back once a week. I'm just doing my job and it's great. And if you really break it down for them and they start talking about what would it mean to you if you got an email that said, hey, I saw you doing that and, man, that rocked. Thanks for doing that.
Bill:Forget the acknowledgment, just the fact that you did something correct and maybe that makes your job a little more fluid, a little more knowing where you're going. And by the way, yeah, you got acknowledged. Right? There is an acknowledgment there. I'm like you.
Bill:I I'll tell you straight up. When I have a client come up and go, this meant the world to me. Right? I'm all in. I Wow.
Bill:Literally.
Sarah:Yeah. Well and and to echo what you said, what I say to my clients is recognition is water, not champagne. We need recognition every day, every it needs to be often frequent. It is our lifeblood. We do not need to save recognition for just the big, amazing, splashy things.
Sarah:Right? And this flips some people on the head because some people really feel like recognition should only be doled out when something fabulous, excellent has happened. But if we look at the psychology of humans, if we are constantly berating people and getting on them for what they do wrong, you didn't do this good enough. You need to improve this. You gotta get better.
Sarah:Yeah. For a little bit, you can rise to the occasion. But after a while, it beats you down. Your morale goes down. You're you're not getting better under constant just nitpicking and and negative seeking.
Sarah:What makes people better is when we lift them up through saying, I see you. And that's why I love CliftonStrengths is because it gives us language to recognize what people do well. Because inevitably, a leader will say to me, Sarah, this is great in theory, but I have an employee and they're not meeting expectations. And you want me to recognize them? For what?
Sarah:And I say, you can find something. Look at their assessment. See what their strengths are. So, yes. Maybe they're not meeting their job expectations, But you notice that they have high communication, and they were able to show up to the meeting yesterday and articulate the project really well.
Sarah:You sending them an email saying, hey, your communication was really on point in that meeting. That is recognition.
Bill:Absolutely perfect.
Sarah:Noticing that. And what I love is CliftonStrengths can turn criticism into recognition. Yeah. Because instead of if we flip this on the head where you could say, if you take the communication theme, which is often getting what's in here out, which I also have as you may notice.
Bill:Mhmm.
Sarah:If you said to someone, Bill, in that meeting, you were just talking nonstop. Seriously. Like, you need to pull it back. That's criticism. But if I know you have communication, which you do at 12
Bill:Yes.
Sarah:And I said to you, hey. Yesterday in that meeting, that communication was turned up a little high. I would love to see you turn it back and lean more into your restorative next time. That is recognition. So we just took a potential criticism, and we flipped it on its head to recognize someone for the talents they had while still giving them feedback on how to get better.
Bill:Absolutely. Yeah. And and we love coaching around the concept of having discussions around strengths. What's a great discussion you can have? How do you perform recognition?
Bill:How do you step in and and have a discussion around what you're doing well? And exactly what you just said, it is a wonderful tool for having hard discussions. Hey, I noticed x. Right? How can I make this better for you?
Bill:I noticed that your focus was ultra intense and you ignored or something fell off the plate yesterday. How can I get us to understand when focus is really high for you and you're hitting on that level, and I need to bring up something else? I need to bring up your arranger, which is number 3 or, you know, another of your strengths at that moment so that that doesn't fall off the plate again and we hit it. Right? We make sure we're hitting on those levels.
Bill:Help me make sure that I understand when I need to ask about another strength and and pushing it forward with you. Because then we've taken a defensive conversation into a positive, I wanna help, I wanna work with your strengths conversation. So and I love that you're hitting that. And I'm so right now, for those listeners, I should point out Sarah has developer number 6. Right?
Bill:Developer people, it's very high for me too. I'm a developer. Is. Number Yes. And developer people, weird, we're strengths coaches, fuel on helping other people get better at what they do.
Bill:We Yeah. Really love seeing other people get better and better and better. And we just heard a 5 minute breakdown of why Sarah wants everyone to get better and better. Sarah, talk about developer and how it affects your coaching.
Sarah:Yeah. I think it's just what you said. Developer's a relationship building theme. I think of it as the coach, the mentor, the teacher. You don't actually have to be that job title.
Sarah:But you see potential in people, and you get excited to bring that out. And I think that's why I love this work. I also have high individualization, which is noticing the uniqueness in people, thriving on that. And so I think they play together. So if I am leading a workshop, which is what we do a lot in this work, then, yeah, I can pull out my woo.
Sarah:Right? I have the strengths that can show up. My activator loves to be on the spot. But when I'm sitting down for a 1 on 1 coaching, I am tapping more into that individualization, that developer. I'm listening to be like, what do I hear?
Sarah:What is it about you? I really care about people's stories because I feel like that tells me everything I need to know about a person. But I have to make them comfortable enough to tell me their story. I wanna know your story about where have you been. I wanna know the story you're telling yourself about where you're going.
Sarah:I wanna know what's happening day to day with the work you're doing and how you're feeling and in my coaching, this is I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but a lot of people get very emotional and they really open up quick. I mean, they can be people that I just met. And within an hour, they're telling me some of the most personal things for them, and it brings up a lot of emotion. And I think that's because that developer in me, that individualization, I am so curious in knowing who people are, like, truly inside. Because then I feel like if I know that, I can pull out the good because I have that positivity.
Sarah:So I'm always looking for how do we make this better? How do we get this better? How do we help?
Bill:Excellent. And, as Sarah mentioned, individualization is high for her. It's number 1 for me. Again, you and I, is it any mystery you and I bonded when we started talking about cohosting a a podcast? And then a common term was being bantered around the room, and you and I kept looking at each other when the term would be bantered in the in this large group of 70 or so coaches, and we would just giggle.
Bill:Right? Because individualization for us means we know what it means to a lot of people and what it means to us. And, and the and the inside joke was just too much fun to have. So I absolutely love that you're leaning in with your developer. I know you well enough to know you have to know a person.
Bill:Right? But from a coaching side, I have to know we all, as coaches, have to know them at some level. I agree with that. You really wanna dive in and get to know them. Like, you you've gotta get all the way down, right, as far as you can get.
Bill:That individualization fuels that. That developer really hits that. Harmony is kicking in, which is another relationship theme. Right? Having that harmony side.
Bill:So while all of those fuel and get you moving forward and getting you to really dive in and understand people, and I love that you you do that, Talk to me about a dumpster fire. Talk to me about a strengths on fire that has turned into a dumpster fire for you. And I'm not gonna pick one for you. I think it's important. You tell me which theme it is and where where it gotten your way.
Sarah:Yeah. I think the 2 themes that get my way the most that caused the biggest dumpster fire in my life are communication and activator. Both influencing themes. These are I think of, you know, when we think of our strengths, whether it's your top 5 or somewhere in your top 10, there are some that are just so core to us that we cannot turn off even if we wanted to. You read the description and you're like, yep.
Sarah:That's exactly me. You know? I definitely do. You might have to be like, wait. What is this one?
Sarah:How does it show up? Some of them, you're just like, yep. A 100%. Communication and activator for me are in my blood. There I cannot deny them.
Sarah:And so I can word vomit that communication. I just, like my husband jokes that I have a word quota I have to meet every day. So if we go to bed at night and I'm, like, gabbing at him, he'll look at me and be like, did you not hit your word quota today?
Bill:Love it. I love it. That's so good. The word quota hasn't been hit. Your your watch didn't vibrate that you hit your goal.
Bill:Nice.
Sarah:Exactly. And so sometimes I will leave a social situation. I've gotten a lot better at this because I'm more in tune, but it still happens. And I'll be like, oh my god. Did I talk the whole time?
Sarah:Did you know, because especially in our work we do, I'm constantly asking other people about them and learning about them, but I love to talk. Yeah. So if I'm with my girlfriends, sometimes I have to be like, Sarah, it is rude to talk these times. So I feel I I can feel this, like, social awareness of, like, okay. Talk chill back.
Bill:Chill.
Sarah:And then the same with activator. I love to just be like, yeah. Let's do this. Let's go. Let's do it.
Sarah:And my activator gets me into trouble with work because if I'm with a group of people and they say, we should start this thing. We should start a podcast. I'm like, yeah. Let's go. And then my responsibility is sitting in the back going, excuse me.
Sarah:Excuse me. I don't think you'll have time to commit to this, ma'am. So I have had to really work on not letting activator start my life on fire in a bad way, turn my life into a dumpster fire because I've now over committed. And in the past, I used to over commit to doing a ton of free things. Hey.
Sarah:Do you think you could come do this workshop totally for free? I'll be like, oh my god. That sounds so fun. Absolutely.
Bill:I'm so excited. Yes. I want to do that. Right? I love the activator responsibility dichotomy because I was gonna ask you about it.
Bill:I'm like, how often, they're high for me. I'm an activator too. So how often are we as activators saying, hey, this is a great idea. And then our because when we say it, we're gonna do it, does it lead towards burnout? Does it lead towards disappointment?
Bill:I didn't complete it. Right? How how how does that affect so the fact that you're linking in, you know, your communication and activator as the ones that are dumpster fiery, I, you know, I I would absolutely get it. And for those of you that are curious on a coaching session, right, most of the time, the coach is the one that needs to take the back seat. Right?
Bill:Our job is to ask the question. You want the coachee to be going over all of this and talking about it. We are just so fortunate today because Sarah not only is a great person to talk to about coaching, herself, but also is very adept at doing it. So we're getting this from a couple of different angles, and I I love that. I I
Sarah:was gonna say, is this you telling me my communication is running out in front of us?
Bill:I I'm saying your communication is on point and engaging and your woo is all over it. And, you know, I often have to ask in my coaching world because, again, with high developer and positivity and individualization and woo, I wanna talk. Right? I wanna solve the problem. I wanna dive right in.
Bill:And and in the next episode, if you're curious about my life, Sarah's going to coach me, so we'll hear a whole different take on this. But if you're, you know, quite often for me, the acronym is WAIT, WAIT. Why am I talking? Right? I I need to ask a question and then think, yeah, oh, well, wait.
Bill:Oh, no. No. I know how to oh, I oh, that fits in with wait. Right? Why am I talking?
Bill:And I I have to, in the coaching world, really spin that in my brain and make sure I'm following that advice. So I love that I love the ones you're bringing in. I love I love that they are where where you're at. So so we've we've hit on your strengths. We've hit on a dumpster fire component today.
Bill:We've talked about a couple of them, developer being one of them. Right? We were curious about how your activator comes in. You've hit on your communication dumpster fire. I don't think anyone listening or watching this has missed the positivity or woo in any way, shape, or form.
Bill:So I I absolutely adore and love working with Sarah. I love being on a podcast with Sarah. I love talking about, getting to the next stages with Sarah and and building a podcast. When we built this out, the 2 of us went, yes. This is a great idea.
Bill:Our activators kicked in, and I think it's fortunate, I know for us, hopefully, for the listeners as well that our responsibility didn't crush us to say, why are we doing this? We don't have the time. So thoughts? Anything you wanna close on? We're gonna we're gonna wrap this up so we can, we can get back to our day.
Bill:What do you think?
Sarah:I think it was great. Thanks for coaching me and letting me just spew out everything in my brain about CliftonStrengths. You can see my positivity loves the positive psychology of this. Mhmm. I just love focusing on what is right with people.
Sarah:I especially love focusing on what's right with me.
Bill:As a coach, I like focusing on what's right with other people too. So this is a wonderful relationship, right, watching you watching you, Luana. I love it. And there is so much right with Sarah. It is just fun to work with.
Bill:So I love it. Alright, Sarah. We're gonna we're gonna bounce out of here. Any final thoughts? Anything else we wanna we wanna click on before we get out of here?
Bill:Like and subscribe this podcast, my friends. We are new to doing this.
Sarah:Subscribe this podcast. My friends, we are new to doing this and your positive reinforcement for this will fuel us clearly to keep going. So would it, you know, give us some social affirmation. So we keep going. If you like this, please tell us.
Sarah:If you don't, please keep those thoughts to yourself.
Bill:Put it put it in the comments. Too much positivity. I can't take this in the morning.
Sarah:I can't take it.
Bill:Well, you
Sarah:can listen to it in the afternoon. Okay.
Bill:And and I think on a follow-up, we'll be talking about show notes and what the, end vote was on cold cold brats. We will have it.
Sarah:Listen. Don't hate it till you try it. And if you tried it and you hated it, don't tell me.
Bill:I'm probably gonna get I'm probably gonna get more hates for pickle relish, to be honest. I think it's
Sarah:No. People love pickle relish.
Bill:I don't know. It it seems to be divisive. So, Sarah, I love working with you. I love working
Sarah:with you, Bill.
Bill:We'll jump in. We'll have another one here coming up. Sarah's going to coach me. So if you're curious how curious how the, how the infant boomers in our world see the world, jump into the jump into that one. And I we will talk to you soon.
Sarah:Alright. See you, everyone, on the flip side.
Bill:Thank you for joining us on Strengths on Fire. If today's conversation sparks something in you, be sure to subscribe, share, and leave a review. We're here every other week, bringing you fresh insights to fuel your growth and ignite your potential. Remember, your strengths are powerful, so let's keep the fire burning.
Sarah:And if you're looking to transform your organization through strengths based strategies and coaching, reach out to Sarah Collins, founder of Collins Collective, or Bill Dipple, founder of Bill Dipple Strengths Coaching. Connect with Sarah at wearecollinsco.com. Follow her on Instagram at sarahcoachcollinsoremailher@sarah@wearecollinsco.com, s a r a h. You can reach bill@billedippel.com, bill, dippel.com, or on Instagram at billdipplecoach or email him at bill@billedippel.com.
Bill:Please note the opinions, views, and interpretations of CliftonStrengths expressed in this podcast are solely those of the hosts and the guests. They have not been approved, sanctioned, or endorsed by Gallup in any way.
Sarah:Until next time. Keep your strengths on fire, and let's light up what's possible together. Bye, Bill.
Bill:Bye, Sarah.