About this Video

• Video Title: Relator: Learning to Love All 34 Talent Themes -- Theme Thursday -- S1
• Channel: CliftonStrengths
• Speakers: Jim Collison, Kurt Lefeld, Brian Brim
• Duration: 00:43:11

Introduction

This video is part of Gallup's "Theme Thursday" series, focusing on the CliftonStrengths theme "Relator." The episode features a discussion with Dr. Brian Brim, a Gallup senior practice consultant, to explore the Relator theme's characteristics, impact on personal and professional life, and how it interacts with other themes.

Key Takeaways

• Relator Defined: Relator is about building close, authentic, and sustainable relationships based on trust. It's a relationship-building theme, often taking time to develop deep connections.
• Relator Characteristics: Keywords include friend, confidant, trusted advisor, family member, colleague, companion, partner, and teammate. Relators often prefer informal, personal, mutual, transparent, and one-on-one interactions. They're selective about relationships, valuing long-term connections.
• Relator in Professional Settings: Relators can leverage their skills in building strong client relationships, fostering loyalty and trust over time. The combination of Relator and Achiever can be particularly powerful in professional contexts.
• Relator Theme Dynamics: Responsibility frequently pairs with Relator. Woo and Command are less likely pairings. Themes like Achiever, Strategic, Learner, and Belief enhance Relator, while the lack of relationship themes might be compensated by influencing themes like Significance.
• Relator Challenges: Relators may sometimes struggle with breaking the ice initially or might prioritize existing relationships to the point of hindering other opportunities. Openness and communication are key to overcoming this challenge.

Here are the answers based on the provided transcript:

1. Relator in Parenting: The video suggests that a parent with a strong Relator theme might schedule regular one-on-one time with each child to deepen their individual relationships, giving them undivided attention. This is described as "dates with their kids individually."

2. Themes Paired with Relator: The theme most often paired with Relator is Responsibility. The themes least likely to be paired with Relator are Woo and Command. The video doesn't explicitly state why these pairings are common or uncommon, but it implies that the nature of Relator (building deep, trusting relationships) aligns well with the responsible approach, while contrasting with the more outwardly initiating (Woo) or directive (Command) styles.

3. Woo vs. Relator in Relationships: Dr. Brim describes Woo as the "courtship" phase of a relationship and Relator as the "marriage" phase. Woo focuses on initiating and building relationships, while Relator focuses on deepening and sustaining them.

4. Relator's Impact on Dr. Brim's Professional Relationships: Dr. Brim explains that his Relator theme has been critical in developing long-lasting client relationships spanning many years. He describes his relationships with clients as informal and friendly, almost like friendships, where he knows about their families and what's important to them, treating them as people rather than just clients. He gives an example of a client jokingly calling him her "best friend at Gallup."