Facilitate a team conversation about personal strengths:
Ask participants to pick from a set of strength card, e.g. one strength each for everyone in the group (or more for small groups)
People take turns to “give” a strength to another team member, share how/when they have seen the strength in the other person and say thank you
Everyone will end up with a set of strengths provided by other team members and feel belonging and appreciation
Roses, buds, and thorns is a quick and simple team exercise that can be performed at the start of a group meeting. The idea is to evaluate a project, team task, or even your day by having each team member come up with a Rose (positive highlight), Thorn (struggle or challenge), and Bud (opportunity for improvement). The goal of this activity is to open up discussion among team members and acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of others. This can allow you to put measures in place to do more of what's going well, and fix what needs fixing. As well, this activity inspires creativity and debate within teams. Discussing Buds can encourage new, creative ideas to come to the fore. Finally, the activity allows you to gain insight from all members of the team as communication and honesty are important for every group!
A playful and reflective group exercise that helps participants recognise and appreciate both their own and each other's signature strengths.
By anonymously sharing top character strengths and guessing which list belongs to whom, the group engages in a positive exchange that promotes self-awareness, team bonding, and mutual appreciation.
This activity is based on the VIA classification of character strengths developed by Peterson & Seligman (2004), and is ideal for team-building, coaching, or personal development workshops.
Strengths Spotting is a reflective coaching exercise in which participants uncover personal strengths by engaging in deep, meaningful conversation with a partner. Using guiding questions, each person interviews the other and listens for clues about their natural talents, motivations, and flow states.
This coaching-style activity boosts self-awareness and is particularly useful in personal development, team-building, or coaching sessions.
A personal reflection activity designed to help individuals discover their core strengths and intentionally apply them in daily life. Using one's strengths is proven to enhance well-being, boost confidence, and increase motivation.
This short but powerful exercise helps participants reflect on their talents and brainstorm meaningful ways to use them more regularly.
Note: You can also replace the first with a quick brainstorm to name 3-5 their strengths, without the list, and it will make a full exercise very short - 3 minutes or so - yet still effective.
Ideal for self-coaching, wellbeing programs, and strengths-based personal development.
Best Possible Self is a reflective visualization and journaling exercise coming from positive psychology that puts in the spotlight participants' positive orientation towards themselves and their best characteristics.
It invites participants to imagine themselves in the future, living their most fulfilling and meaningful life; a life aligned with their values, strengths, and passions.
This activity helps boost optimism, motivation, positive perspective towards self and clarity on values.
It is great in the context of personal development, coaching, goal-setting, personal strengths or wellbeing workshops, as it encourages participants to make a vivid and inspiring picture of their ideal self and to consider what daily actions might help bring that vision closer to reality.
It can be followed by e.g. step-by-step plan towards that future, or goal-setting exercise.
The MPS exercise is a simple, deep reflection tool designed to help participants identify life elements that contribute most to their well-being.
It helps participants gain clarity on how to live more aligned, joyful, and purpose-driven lives. It also gives insights into what truly matters to them, and into their values and strengths.
