by Leslie Ford –
Think about the following words: athletic, practical, analytical, curious, efficient, sensitive, adventurous, assertive, generous, patient. Which, if any, would you use to describe yourself? On Thursday evening, October 22, this activity was part of the lifelong learning workshop, Discover Your Treasures, facilitated by Seeds of Strength member Peggy Cloud. When Pat Donica introduced Peggy, I learned that Peggy holds a Masters Degree in Human Resource Management and has extensive experience in adult education, career counseling, and training. But it wasn’t until she began her presentation, that I fully appreciated what a caring and inspiring woman Peggy is. “We are all unique”, she began. “The more [we] learn about [our] value, the more [we’ll] be willing to share with others.”
The group was asked to think back to our younger days; to remember being asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Peggy shared that when she was eight years old, she wanted to be an elevator operator, which drew warm laughter from the group. (I’m still trying to picture Peggy wearing an elevator operator uniform, opening the gates that were part of older elevators, and asking me what floor I’d like!)
Next, we were encouraged to shift our paradigm and to think of “growing up” as a journey. “Growing is constant, it does not end,” said Peggy. As long as we are alive, we are always growing up.
Each participant received a folder containing materials designed to guide us through an exploration of our “treasures”. As I skimmed through the handouts, I thought, “Uh, oh. This is going to be a lot of work.” But the process was actually a lot of fun. My favorite part was when Peggy took us through Holland’s Code–RIASEC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland_Codes. The letters stand for:
R – Realistic (Doer’s),
I – Investigative (Thinkers),
A – Artistic (Creators),
S – Social (Helpers),
E – Enterprising (Persuaders),and
C – Conventional (Organizers).
Nobody falls entirely into just one of these categories, so Peggy asked us to identify our top 3. My first choice was “Investigative” because the descriptors in this category sounded like me. In addition, the handout listed professions that I had worked in and enjoyed–education, research and development, and writing. I selected my second and third categories, and then, “voila”! I realized that the categories I chose were completely aligned with the work I do on the Seeds of Strength Communications Committee.
This interactive workshop took us on a thought-provoking journey; designed to help each of us identify our skills and strengths. Peggy ended her presentation with this inspiring quotation:
A Vision without a Task is but a Dream,
A Task without a Vision is Drudgery,
A Vision and a Task is the Hope of the World
from an inscription on an old English church
How might you use your “treasures”?