Unlocking Team Potential: How De Montfort University’s Faculty of Arts, Design, and Humanities Enhanced Collaboration Through Strengths-Based Insights

A strengths-focused workshop fostering understanding and teamwork among academics and professional services colleagues.

Harnessing Strengths for Better Collaboration

For the Faculty of Arts, Design, and Humanities at De Montfort University, fostering strong collaboration between academics and professional services staff is essential to achieving their goals. Recognising the need to better understand individual strengths and how to leverage them in a team environment, the faculty partnered with Strengthify for a Discovery Workshop.

This session, based on CliftonStrengths assessments completed prior, focused on identifying personal talents and potential blind spots. Participants explored techniques for benefiting from their strengths individually and collectively, helping the team enhance their working relationships and productivity.

The session laid the foundation for improved communication, deeper mutual understanding, and a more cohesive team environment.

Creating Cohesion Across Diverse Roles

With a mix of academics and professional services colleagues, the Faculty of Arts, Design, and Humanities faced challenges typical of multi-disciplinary teams. While each group brought valuable skills and perspectives, differences in working styles and limited opportunities to collaborate often hindered alignment.

The faculty recognised the need to:

• Build a shared understanding of individual strengths and contributions.
• Foster better communication and teamwork between colleagues with differing roles and perspectives.
• Develop strategies for overcoming barriers to collaboration.

One participant summarised the challenge:
“We needed a way to connect our unique strengths and explore how they could work together to improve team dynamics and effectiveness.”

The Discovery Workshop Experience

Strengthify delivered a tailored Discovery Workshop to address these challenges. Participants included academics and professional services colleagues who had completed CliftonStrengths assessments before the session.

Aims of the Workshop:

• Develop self-awareness of personal strengths and their impact on work.
• Understand and appreciate the strengths of colleagues.
• Explore practical ways to align strengths with team objectives.

What the Session Covered:

1. Strengths Identification: Participants reviewed their CliftonStrengths results, gaining insight into their unique talents and potential blind spots.

   • “It was eye-opening to see how my strengths shaped my approach to work and how I could use them more effectively.”

2. Applying Strengths: The session explored how individuals could use their strengths to meet team and faculty goals.

   • “Learning how to align my strengths with the team’s objectives helped me see my role in a new light.”

3. Strengths in Teams: Discussions and exercises focused on leveraging the diversity of strengths within the group for improved collaboration.

   • “The activities helped us appreciate each other’s contributions and see how our strengths could complement one another.”

Strengthening Team Connections and Productivity

The workshop led to several positive outcomes, helping participants enhance their teamwork and gain practical tools for improving collaboration.

Key Outcomes from the Workshop:
✅ Greater Understanding of Team Strengths: Participants gained a deeper appreciation of their colleagues’ strengths and how these could work together.

• "100% of the team now feel they have a better understanding of each other's strengths and how these can positively combine across the team."
• “I now have a better understanding of how our strengths can combine positively across the team.”

✅ Improved Collaboration: Insights from the session helped participants break down silos and develop strategies for more cohesive teamwork.

• “We’ve learned how to overcome differences in working styles by focusing on what we each do best.”

✅ Increased Engagement: The session provided a renewed sense of purpose and connection among team members.

• “This has given us a common language to discuss our strengths and build stronger working relationships.”

Feedback Highlights

• Value of the Workshop:

  • 100% of participants agreed the session helped them better understand how strengths could positively combine within the team
  • “The session was very relevant to our team, helping us connect individual talents to shared goals.”

• Impact of CliftonStrengths Assessment:

  • 86% of participants feel they will be able to use what they have learnt from their assessment to make positive changes to their work​.
  • “The CliftonStrengths results were incredibly helpful for understanding my strengths and how to use them better in a team setting.”

• Participant Feedback:

  • “The exercises were practical and immediately applicable to our work environment.”
  • “The session helped us see how small changes in how we collaborate can make a big difference.”

Building on Strengths for Long-Term Success

Following the success of the Discovery Workshop, the Faculty of Arts, Design, and Humanities plans to continue integrating strengths-based practices into their operations. Future steps include:

• Incorporating strengths discussions into regular team meetings.
• Using CliftonStrengths insights for ongoing professional development.
• Expanding strengths-based practices across other teams in the faculty.

One participant shared:
“This workshop has given us the tools to build stronger, more productive relationships. We’re excited to take this forward as a team.”

Discover how Strengthify can help your team work more effectively together by leveraging their strengths.

• Speak to us: Visit our Get in Touch page →
• Join one of our Discovery Workshops: See our Events page →