Empowering Medical Educators: How Dumfries and Galloway NHS Trust Unlocked Potential Through Strengths-Based Training

A strengths-based workshop fostering reflection, teamwork, and resilience for GP trainers and medical educators.

Fostering Teamwork Through A Strengths-Based Approach

The GP Trainers at Dumfries and Galloway NHS Trust work in individual surgeries but collaborate regularly to address shared goals and challenges. In contrast, the Medical Education Team works closely together, managing a variety of services that require balancing workloads while delivering innovative solutions and offerings. Both groups have experience with psychometric tests in the past, but this workshop provided a fresh perspective by focusing on leveraging strengths to enhance collaboration and address the unique demands of their roles.

To support this, Strengthify delivered a Team Workshop tailored to their needs. Using CliftonStrengths assessments completed beforehand, the session helped participants reflect on their strengths, understand how these fit into the wider team, and explore ways to lean on each other’s talents for support and success.

The workshop offered valuable insights into teamwork dynamics, highlighting how even a room full of people in similar roles can have distinct approaches and strengths.

Balancing Individual Roles and Team Collaboration

The GP Trainers and Medical Education Team faced several challenges, including:

• Balancing demanding clinical responsibilities with the need to provide quality training.
• Supporting trainees with diverse needs while managing personal workloads.
• Limited opportunities to collaborate as a group, despite working towards shared goals.

One participant explained:

“The CliftonStrengths results gave me a new perspective on how my strengths contribute to the team and how we can support each other better despite working in different settings.”

A Strengthify Team Workshop

Strengthify’s Team Workshop provided a space for reflection and collaboration. The session helped participants uncover their strengths and explore how these could be applied individually and collectively to meet the challenges of their roles.

Aims of the Workshop:

• Encourage self-reflection to boost confidence in personal strengths.
• Help participants understand how their strengths align with those of their colleagues.
• Explore strategies for using collective strengths to support team and trainee needs.

What the Session Covered:

1. Strengths Discovery and Reflection:
   Participants explored their strengths to identify key talents and areas for growth.

   • “It was fascinating to see how differently we all approach the same role and how those differences are a strength.”

2. Strengths in Action:
   Practical discussions and exercises focused on how to apply individual strengths in challenging situations, such as supporting struggling trainees.

   • “The session gave me practical ideas for using my strengths to balance my workload and support others effectively.”

3. Building Team Resilience:
   The workshop highlighted ways to use the team’s diverse strengths to foster resilience and collaboration.

   • “Knowing we can lean on each other’s strengths makes our challenges feel more manageable.”

Improving Collaboration and Building Resilience

The workshop provided participants with tools to better understand their colleagues and work together more effectively.

Key Outcomes from the Workshop:
✅ Increased Confidence in Strengths:

• “The session helped me see my strengths as valuable assets, which has boosted my confidence in handling difficult situations.”

✅ Stronger Understanding of Team Dynamics:

• “100% of participants agreed they now have a better understanding of how their strengths complement those of their colleagues.”

✅ Practical Tools for Collaboration:

• “The exercises showed us how to work together more effectively, even when we’re not physically in the same place.”

Feedback Highlights

Value of the Workshop:

• 100% of participants rated the workshop as extremely or very valuable​.
• “The session was incredibly relevant to our daily challenges and gave us a framework for thinking about our roles differently.”

Understanding Team Strengths:

• 100% agreed the workshop helped them better understand how to use their strengths to improve team outcomes.
• “The CliftonStrengths results gave us a shared language to discuss how we can work better together.”

Impact on Confidence and Teamwork:

• “The session has given us new ways to support each other and manage the challenges of our roles more effectively.”

Sustaining Strengths-Based Practices

The Dumfries and Galloway NHS Trust Medical Education Team plans to build on the workshop’s success by:

• Embedding strengths-based discussions into regular team meetings and training sessions.
• Using CliftonStrengths insights to guide professional development for GP Trainers.
• Exploring opportunities for further collaboration across practices.

One participant shared:
“This workshop has given us the tools to better support each other, our trainees, and ultimately the patients we serve.”

Empower Your Team with Strengthify

Discover how Strengthify’s Team Workshops can help your team overcome challenges, build resilience, and work more effectively together.

1️⃣ Speak to us: Visit our Get in Touch page →
2️⃣ Join one of our Team Workshops: See our Events page →