Clarity of Talent

I would like to think that Ember treats talent a little differently than most. Values that I think our organization should embrace include ideas like "In every apple, there is an orchard" [from Alan Hirsch, meaning every Christ-follower is capable of world transformation] and "the best way to find leaders is to grow them" [from a lot of various people, I think]. Deliberately unleashing people is a learned skill.

There's also a high value in knowing these leaders have talent built into them already - they come to us with skills, experience and knowledge. That's why we take our interns through the StrengthsFinder assessment. If you've read this blog for a while, you know what a big fan I am of the assessment [here, here and here for instance.]

Ember is incredibly fortunate to have the resources of Dale Swinburne, one of our board of directors, who coaches people and teams through the assessment. He's done this kind of coaching for hundreds of people and teams in the nonprofit and faith based world and if you know him, you know this kind of stuff is generative to him, based on his, ahem, strengths. Believe me - it's like he's using a crystal ball to look into your life.

That crystal ball, along with other experiences with Ember and without, hopefully informs our students with some clarity into their gifts and passions and talents. The StrengthsFinder is fast pass into leadership self awareness and understanding your team better.