People strong in the Woo theme love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person.
You can tell a person strong in Woo by these attributes (source: Dr. Hulme, APU):
- Winning others over
- Capacity to quickly connect with others and generate positive responses from them
- Comfortable with strangers and crowds—always seem to know what to say
- Enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting people to like them
- Rarely at a loss for words
More about Woo:
-
- Needs on a team: To meet people
- As a Leader: To network with people
- In Conflict: Keep people connected
- Partner with: Relator, Empathy
- In academics:
– loves to meet new people – enjoys taking a variety of classes – enjoys new material and opportunities to meet people they wouldn’t otherwise meet – relationship with prof is important – group projects usually appeal
- Needs on a team: To meet people
Where does Woo Theme rank in the population?
- Overall, Woo ranks 24th, occurring in around 12% of the population’s Top Five (12% of Females and 10% of Males)
20 |
24 |
19 |
28 |
Out of your Top 5 CliftonStrengths, it’s statistically:
- most likely to appear with Communication and Positivity
- least likely to be found with Deliberation and Intellection
The genius of your WOO talent involves the impact you can have on other people and the ease with which you can win them over. You have an incredible ability to meet new people and almost magically know what to say in order to draw others out. Other people love the attention you give them and the way that you can affirm a person so quickly. Of course yo love the process and the challenge of meeting new people. And people love it when you connect with them.The genius of this talent is that you cannot only quickly connect with people but you can be a catalyst in helping people connect with one another. Make no mistake about it, when you enter a crowd the crowd will be different because you were there.In fact, you have the capacity to transform a crowd of disconnected people into a group and this is no small accomplishment.
At your best (Balcony):
- outgoing, people-oriented, networker, rapport-builder
At your worst (Basement):
- fake, shallow, does not care about deep relationships
Woo may be one of your signature themes if…
- • You love the challenge of convincing new people to like you.
• WOO people find strangers energizing, alluring, and exciting.
• You enjoy interviewing, asking questions, building rapport, and finding common interests.
• You are never worried about running out of things to say because you enjoy conversation.
• You are confident and don’t mind moving on once a connection has been made.
• You believe there is no such thing as strangers – only friends you haven’t met yet.- Source: Let’s Talk Personality
A more detailed explanation from Gallup:
Woo stands for winning others over. You enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like you. Strangers are rarely intimidating to you. On the contrary, strangers can be energizing. You are drawn to them. You want to learn their names, ask them questions, and find some area of common interest so that you can strike up a conversation and build rapport. Some people shy away from starting up conversations because they worry about running out of things to say. You don’t. Not only are you rarely at a loss for words; you actually enjoy initiating with strangers because you derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection. Once that connection is made, you are quite happy to wrap it up and move on. There are new people to meet, new rooms to work, new crowds to mingle in. In your world there are no strangers, only friends you haven’t met yet — lots of them.
Action Items for This Theme
- Choose a job in which you can interact with many people over the course of a day.
- Deliberately build the network of people who know you. Tend to it by checking in with each person at least once a month.
- Join local organizations, volunteer for boards, and find out how to get on the social lists of the influential people where you live.
- Learn the names of as many people as you can. Build a card file of the people you know and add names as you become acquainted. Include a snippet of personal information — such as their birthday, favorite color, hobby, or favorite sports team.
- Consider running for an elected office. You are a natural campaigner. Understand, however, that you might prefer the campaigning more than holding the office.
- Recognize that your ability to get people to like you is very valuable. Do not be afraid to use it to make things happen.
- In social situations, take responsibility for helping put more reserved people at ease.
- Practice ways to charm and engage others. For example, research people before you meet them so you can find the common ground.
Be ready to:
- Find the right words to explain to people that networking is part of your style. If you don’t claim this theme, others might mistake it for insincerity and wonder why you are being so friendly.
- Partner with someone with a strong Relator or Empathy theme. This person can solidify the relationships that you begin.
- The Clifton StrengthsFinder and the 34 Clifton StrengthsFinder theme names are protected by copyright of Gallup Inc., 2000. All rights reserved.
A fantastic website with insightful discussion of Woo, including
- Building your brand through this strengths
- Strengthening your performance at work
- Tips for managing someone with this strengths
- Partnering with someone with this strength
Woo Power and Edge takes an interesting approach highlight not just what the strength is and how it shows up if you have it in your top five, but also how to navigate the world when this strengths is one of your lesser ones.
More ideas on going deeper:
- Gallup on How You Can Productively Aim Your Communication Talents
- Many universities use the StrengthsQuest Workbook to help you build relationships, more effectively study and find meaning in what you do.
- South Mountain Community College offers up ideas on Applying your Talents in Career Discovery and Applying your Talents in Academics
- Western Texas tells us about Using your Strengths In the Job Search, Interview and New Position
- Weber State University has posted action plan worksheets for each of Gallup’s 34 strengthsfinder talents.
THEME INSIGHTS:
- I am (Being) ———-> socially fast and outgoing
- I will (Doing) ———-> take the social initiative
- I Bring (Contribution) ———-> energy to social situations
- I need (Requirement) ———-> social variability
- I love (Value) —————> meeting someone I haven’t met before
- I Hate (Value) —————> a static or shrinking social network
- Metaphor/Image ———-> hand-shaking politician, building his constituency
- Barrier Label ———-> phony, superficial
THEME CONTRAST:
- Woo: Can build a broad social network.
- Relator: Can build a deep social network.
- ————————————————————————————————–
- Woo: Winning others over.
- Competition: Winning over others.
- Season 1:
- Season 2:
- Theme Dynamics
- Highly recommended: Utilize the Called to Coach worksheet for Consistency as you listen.
- Comparing and Contrasting
- Season 3:
- Season 4:
- Season 5:
- Season 6:
Pressence by Amy Cuddy
- The Art of Woo
- Influence
- To Sell is Human
- How to Win Friends and Influence People
-
Influencer: The New Science of Leading Change, Second Edition, Kerry Patterson (Vitalsmarts)
Worth Watching
Podcast episodes to help you understand and leverage your Woo Strength
- Episode 1: The Power of Persuasion and Connection – “The Art of Charm”
- Episode 2: Building Rapport and Influence – “The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes”
- Episode 3: Strategies for Networking and Socializing – “The Tim Ferriss Show”
- Episode 4: The Psychology of Charisma and Charm – “The Jordan Harbinger Show”
- Episode 5: Embracing Your Social Energy – “The Brendon Show”
- Episode 6: The Art of Charm and Connection in Networking – “The Female Millennial Entrepreneur” (Host: Amanda Kolbye)
- Episode 7: Building Relationships and Influence as a Woman Leader – “Women at Work” (Hosts: Amy Bernstein, Amy Gallo, and Emily Caulfield)
Listen to great Strengths Podcasts
- Theme addicts is a series created by UnleashStrengths to highlight the massive impact the StrengthsFinder assessment through interviews and discussions.
- Lead through your strengths features many interesting guests and Career Q and A about leverage your strengths at work.
- Maximize Your Strengths features interviews and discussion on developing your strengths. She really drills into each of the themes by interviewing real people on how a specific theme shows up in their lives.
- Called to Coach is a webcast resource for those who want to help others discover and use their strengths. We have Gallup experts and independent strengths coaches share tactics, insights and strategies to help coaches maximize the talent of individuals, teams and organizations around the world.
- ISOGO TV promises a lot: So dramatically increase your energy and decrease your frustration at work, that you cannot help but take the Strengths paradigm home to your family. Fueling life-changing stories.
- The True Strength Podcast by Ian Pettigrew (Kingfisher Coaching) features inspiring true stories of how people succeed through applying their strengths and being resilient. It often includes a Gallup StrengthsFinder profile.
- If you are looking to identify and develop your strengths and talents, take calculated risks and make decisions, The Strengths Revolution with Steve Morgan will help your personal development, as well as helping you support your clients, employees, teams and wider organisations. Knowing your strengths will also support positive risk-taking and decision making as part of good risk management.
Go deeper
- Using your strengths in school and college wth great ideas on building relationships, study techniques, class selection, and extra curricular activities.
Sources:
- Balconies and Basements
- Leadership, team and conflict
- The Genius and Beauty of Strengths
- Strengths-based academic Advising
- Strengths partnerships