Mandy Herold and Garreth Ewing, Gallup Certified Strengths Coaches

Three Ways CliftonStrengths® Transformed Our Leadership at Home

We are Mandy Herold and Garreth Ewing, and we’re partners in every sense of the word: Husband and wife, parents and business.

We are both Accredited Performance Coaches and Gallup Global Strengths Coaches. Mandy has more than 20 years experience in schools and school leadership, and works with high performing teams and individuals, with a focus on connection and emotional regulation. I have 17 years of experience in elite sport up to Olympic level and focus on high performance leadership and teams, helping those who already excel to do even better.

In 2021, three years ago almost to the day, Mandy and I sat with Peter Turner of 2bLimitless and discovered how our Gallup CliftonStrengths® profiles combined as a couple.

We had an idea that we were compatible. Our relationship was “easy” in the sense that we enjoyed each other’s company and didn’t really disagree about anything. During the traditional pre-marriage counseling we had immediately before getting married the counselor said she’d never seen a more compatible couple based on the questionnaire she had us complete (she might say that to every couple she spends time with).

Post our discovery of, and subsequent immersion in, Strengths we were curious to understand what our profiles would suggest about our relationship. The insights we discovered with Peter were fascinating, and were the start of our journey towards Strengths Partnership Coaching.

Let’s look at our profiles:

Mandy: Positivity Activator Maximizer Adaptability Connectedness

Garreth: Restorative Responsibility Ideation Learner Command

Mandy leads with Relationship Building and Influencing (orange and blue). Lots of energy-giving Strengths that lean towards people, spontaneity and emotion.I lead with Executing and Strategic Thinking (purple and green) with some Influencing thrown in for good measure. Problem-solving, information gathering and generally getting things done.

Two pretty different profiles in terms of where our energy comes from, and how we interact with the world.

We’re a partnership: Romantic, parenting and business.

Understanding how we show up through our Strengths in these three spaces help us deploy our unique talents in support of each other. Importantly, it also helps us manage our expectations of the other because if we know ahead of time how we will respond in specific situations, it helps us know how we can scaffold each others’ Strengths – and also fill in the gaps where necessary.

In any Strengths-based team profiles can either dovetail, stack or clash (clashing is not necessarily a bad thing). For Mandy and I:

  • Activator and Responsibility DOVETAIL – Mandy gets the ball rolling in a positive way, I make sure we follow through and do what we say we’re going to do.
  • Command and Maximizer STACK – even though they are different, they come from the same Strengths domain, and Mandy’s “how can we do this even better” stacks with my “take charge of the situation” to make sure that things really do get done even better.
  • Restorative and Positivity CLASH – One identifies problems and works to solve them, the other is contagiously upbeat, finding the upside irrespective of the situation. One brings a dose of reality to finding the best possible solution and the other brings conviction that the glass is half full no matter what problems have been identified.

We like to use this example in our coaching, especially when it comes to how we parent:

Mandy’s Empathy at six on her CliftonStrengths® profile helps her connect on an emotional level with our daughter, to experience exactly what she is feeling as she experiences the ups and downs of teenage life. It allows Mandy to respond warmly and intimately, and to spend time with feelings. My Empathy at 34 means I’m not going to naturally spend any time on feeling what the other person feels. More likely I’m going to come in with my Restorative and explore how my daughter’s problem can be solved as quickly as possible.

Neither response is right or wrong, but understanding where each is coming from helps us not to judge each other in terms of how we wish the other person would respond, and rather allows us to anticipate and appreciate how the other will show up. 

Transformational.

Imagine a partnership where there is knowledge of the unique attributes each person brings to every situation; where misunderstanding and projection is replaced with consideration and predictability. 

If we can understand what our unique combination of Strengths will bring, then we will know exactly what our partners – in life, work, parenting, leadership – can contribute to a situation, and we will better be able to deploy our Strengths to ensure success.

We know how Strengths has enhanced our partnership, in all the ways we Connect, Communicate and Create, and we look forward to sharing this Strengths journey with you. 

×