How Do Your Strengths Show Up During the Holiday Season?

In this episode, we discuss how our Strengths show up during the holiday season and give some insights into ourselves, to each other, and about how we see ourselves. Enjoy!

How Our Strengths Show Up During the Holiday Season

Our team gathered in Brian and Linda’s recording studio to discuss Strengths during the holiday season. We asked each other, how do your Strengths show up during the holidays? and What Strengths of yours work together to help you navigate the holiday season?

Linda Schubring

The genesis of this question came from wondering how Strengths help us navigate during the holidays. When I thought about the busy-ness of the holidays, good or bad, I started to think about my Strengths of connectedness, individualization, and structure. One of the things I do is I anticipate the holidays, how it’s going to feel, who’s going to be there, the different meals that we will share, or places where we will give or receive presents.

Brian Schubring

For me to enjoy the holiday seasons, I really have to turn off my Strength of futuristic. I have such a hard time being in the moment that the Strength of futuristic is causing me to really look beyond and skip over the month of December to get the new year started. For me, the holidays are really a way for me to get more grounded, settled down, or finishing things. It goes without saying that my Strength of correctness is really strong during this season because it is a time of family, a time of gathering, a time of celebration. I think the Strengths that help me navigate are my Strengths of intellect and competition. And yes, it’s about gift-giving, and That sounds so trite, but it’s true!

Melissa Hiatt  

I think one Strength that I have to tone down is when it’s geared towards me is strategic. I’m very practical. Sometimes being the receiver of gifts is hard for me because it doesn’t seem practical, and so I have to let that go so that I’m a good receiver.

I also love making things meaningful. One of my favorite Christmases was telling the kids that we were going to go to Disney world. It was such a fun Christmas and it created such anticipation for the future. It was like the gift that kept on giving. I love how much our families have enjoyed traditions that we started. For example, I made Cinnamon rolls one year for Christmas, and then all of a sudden it was a tradition that I had to keep making cinnamon rolls every year. There’s something about that time of the year that just creates these wonderful traditions.

Amy Rollinger

One interesting thing that happens when I have a lot going on and then become overwhelmed is I find myself doing this, “Okay. Okay. Okay.” And what’s funny about this is that my sister does it, too. My sister-in-law jokes with us about it as well and we caught my mom doing it! When I hear myself doing that very thing, “Okay. Okay. Okay.” I know, it’s time to use my Strength of focus and make a list and put it on paper because then I don’t have a fear of forgetting it and frustrating someone or disappointing them. Once I write it down, it doesn’t have to just keep spinning around in my head. I think that’s my Strength of focus. Whether it’s who’s bringing what food to the holiday or a list of gifts for someone. Another part of the reason for that is also consistency.

Nathan Freeburg

I can really see my Strengths of maximizer and adaptability showing up. This will be the eighth holiday season we’ve hosted both Thanksgiving and Christmas with my in-laws. Even though I am juggling all the logistics of the different families, the different dietary needs, etc. I always run it to be a really fun experience. I do things like, plan a Thanksgiving 5k in the morning and all of this other fun stuff, but also need to hold somewhat loosely with my adaptability because none of my itineraries are probably going to happen. Dinner is late or it’s sleeting and we can’t get outside for activity. I basically see from November 1st through the first of the year, my adaptability has to be front and center constantly to adapt to all of the different family dynamics and other things that come into play over the holidays. Last year was actually awesome because we didn’t get together with any family. It was very enjoyable.

How Do Your Strengths Show Up During the Holiday Season?

One of the reasons we have behavior-based Strengths questions is because our lived experiences are our best teachers. When we pause and we look at our lives and see Strengths popping up, it’s an opportunity to adapt, put it on the shelf, or turn up the volume on those Strengths. How do you see your Strengths show up during the holiday season?

If you have questions about anything you heard in this episode, reach out to Amy at connect@leadershipvisionconsulting.com. We’d love to hear from you!