At Mayerson Academy we choose to focus on what is strong versus what is wrong. We believe it is culturally important that we reflect our core values and celebrate our individual and collective character strengths. We all possess 24 character strengths in varying degrees, giving each person a unique character profile. (Take the free VIA Survey to find the rank order listing of your 24 character strengths.) At Mayerson Academy our aim for employees and customers alike is to highlight each person’s distinctive blend of strengths.
Being a strengths-based organization stems from the research done by our education partner the VIA Institute on Character, our Thriving Learning Communities (TLC) work, and our inherent organizational desire to demonstrate how we want be in the workplace and in the world.
We strive to integrate strengths-recognition in our interactions with one another as well as with our partners and contractors—really, anyone with whom we cross paths. We’ve developed “Character Strength Appreciation Cards” to give when we wish to call out a specific strength or set of strengths; we often begin or end meetings with a strength-based activity—at times something as simple as going around the room and saying what we are thankful for that day; we refer to strengths in our employee handbook; and, we’ve begun to emphasize a character strength of the month. For the month of September, we are focusing on bravery. Next month, we will be exploring creativity. We share ideas and blogs about character strengths internally and externally. Right now, we have two new additions to our team who have taken the VIA Survey. We will combine their top strengths with those of other team members, recording everyone’s top five strengths to see how we net out as a team.
Though we recognize character strengths each and every day, we are again joining the global Character Day celebration to be held this year on September 22nd.
“What is Character Day?
…Character Day is a free annual day and global initiative where groups around the world screen films on the science of character development from different perspectives (including The Science of Character, The Adaptable Mind, and The Making of a Mensch), dive into free printed discussion materials, and join an online global conversation around the importance of developing character strengths (resilience, grit, empathy, courage, kindness)–all rooted in evidence-based research. Character Day is one day. The resources are available year-round. Sign up your school, classroom, organization, company, congregation, or family to participate. Signing up takes two minutes and Character Day is completely free!”
We plan to celebrate, elevate, and participate by showing films, visually displaying the 24 character strengths, and projecting relevant quotes on the monitors that are scattered up and down our hallways.
“Enter every activity without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat. Concentrate on your strengths, instead of your weaknesses…on your powers, instead of your problems.” – Paul J. Meyer
How will you celebrate, elevate and participate?
