Legacies

I am always amazed at the power of language and the messages that are conveyed through another’s perception and interpretation of what they hear.  It’s interesting to find out what sticks.  And, there’s definitely proof to the fact that, if you say it enough times, it does stick.

On two separate occasions recently, I had the opportunity to connect with former colleagues.  In both conversations, they noted the continued value of my advice to “lead with positive intent.”  While I wish I could take credit for that nugget of wisdom, it was nice to know that some of the work we did with Strengths stuck.  In discussions with those I evaluated and mentored, I focused on that particular guiding principle probably because I needed to make myself focus on it.

Quick tutorial on Clifton Strengths – there are five guiding principles:  Themes are neutral; Themes are not labels; Lead with positive intent; Differences are an advantage; and People need one another.  We all have unique strength themes, and the focus of Strengths-based work is to leverage those to be our best selves.  The premise behind leading with positive intent is that how we view a person affects our interactions with that person.  We can’t grow in a negative environment and it’s hard to help someone we don’t appreciate or respect.

If that’s one of the legacies I left behind, I’m feeling pretty good about that.  I also suspect it’s the universe giving me another slap upside the head to lighten up.  When messages come in threes – you’d better listen.  Things come full circle sometimes.  My third reminder of positive intent came from Saint Mother Theodore Guerin at this year’s St. Mary-of-the-Woods reunion.  The opening to a video at the awards ceremony lead with her quote, “Love the children first, then teach them.”  Hard not to remember the message, the video was about me.