Slow Down to Speed Up – Increasing Team Effectiveness

“Alex! Do you know that sometimes you scare people by how quickly you think and the questions that you ask in quick succession?” I was having a late night conversation with Sarah (name has been changed) about a church activity that our group was organising, and we were have a long discussion on the details of… Continue reading Slow Down to Speed Up – Increasing Team Effectiveness

Singapore’s First-Ever Olympic Gold Medal

Cheers and shouts of joy were heard all around the neighbourhood as exuberance filled the atmosphere.  Today, 13 Aug 2016, we witnessed Singapore making history.  Today, our very own talent, Joseph Schooling, won Singapore’s first-ever Olympic Gold medal in the 100m butterfly event at Rio 2016. Schooling, 21, set an Olympic record with a time… Continue reading Singapore’s First-Ever Olympic Gold Medal

Increase Engagement by Demonstrating Care

“People Don’t Leave Jobs, They Leave Managers” That’s a common knowledge to most managers, or even non-managers. In fact, Gallup’s research shows that 70% of variance in Employee Engagement is attributed to the managers. And one of the elements for increasing engagement is for managers to demonstrate to their people that they truly care. While this is… Continue reading Increase Engagement by Demonstrating Care

How to build relationships effectively with Empathy & Individualization

Empathy and Individualization are my top 2 talent themes, and they have been my go-to talent themes for building relationships, and other times, it can scare people and cause an Amygdala Hijack. In my past 3 years of running my StrengthsFinder Meetup Groups, I’ve often done what I call “crystal ball gazing” with my new members.… Continue reading How to build relationships effectively with Empathy & Individualization

One Powerful Skill for Managing Empathy – Perceptual Positions

At my most recent StrengthsFinder Meetup, we did a Strengths Scavenger Hunt and one of the Talent Themes that was discussed was Empathy.   As two of the participants explored how Empathy showed up for them, both discovered that they were very good at putting themselves in the shoes of others, however the outcome of… Continue reading One Powerful Skill for Managing Empathy – Perceptual Positions

3 Pitfalls to Avoid if FOCUS is Your Dominant Theme

In Singapore, all able-bodied males have to serve in the Armed Forces as part of National Service.  The past 2 weeks, I was recalled to complete my annual in-camp training where we ensure that we are always operationally ready to respond to any threats. A Personal Story Sometime within the 2 weeks, I was reminded… Continue reading 3 Pitfalls to Avoid if FOCUS is Your Dominant Theme

Kickstarting Your StrengthsFinder Meetup Group with Minimum Resources

As of 10 Jul 2015, we have 26 StrengthsFinder Meetup Groups with over 2,800 members globally.  As the Strengths Movement gains greater momentum, more and more people would like to be part of a StrengthsFinder community.  But what if there isn’t a StrengthsFinder Group in your locality?  Consider starting one in your own neighbourhood.  You… Continue reading Kickstarting Your StrengthsFinder Meetup Group with Minimum Resources