There are many ways to encourage people. The Foundation aims to share the strengths approach. It aims to provide a stimulating resource that people, teams and organisations can use:
-
To build on their strengths
-
To set specific goals
-
To achieve their picture of success.
The Foundation provides many vehicles for taking these steps. These include, for example, The Strengths Commons, Strengths Stories, Strengths Books, Strengths Philosophers and Strengths Practitioners. But the overriding philosophy remains the same. It is to pass on knowledge that people, teams and organisations can use to build on their strengths and achieve ongoing success.
Please take the ideas you like and use these in your own way.
People
The initial groundwork for the Foundation was done by Mike Pegg. This resulted in the following people starting The Strengths Foundation. In addition to all being co-founders and continuing to contribute to the Foundation's work, some also have additional roles that are listed below.
Please let us know if you would like to contribute in any way to the work of the Foundation. We will try to work out a way that is fulfilling for you and also contributes to sharing the strengths way of encouraging people.
Mike Pegg – Founder
Mike has spent the past 40 years helping people, teams and organisations to build on their strengths and achieve their picture of success. He has written several books on the topic. These include The Strengths Way, The Art of Mentoring, The Super Teams Book and Strengths Coaching In 90 Minutes, the latter with Sue Moore.
Mike loves to pass on positive models and practical tools that other people can use to achieve success.
Kate Lavender – Managing Director
Kate has worked as Managing Director, COO and Customer Service Director in both large and small organisations. She has vast experience of translating visions into reality and making things happen. She builds high performing teams that deliver great customer service and, where appropriate, boost the bottom line. Kate's style is warm, decisive and practical with an emphasis on delivering results.
Stephen Rust – Non-Executive Chair
Stephen believes in building organisations that are structured, stimulating and successful.
Coming from a finance background, he rose to take CFO roles in the media, marketing and design sectors. Stephen believes that every organisation needs a compelling story. But this can only come to life with the right people implementing the right strategy in the right way.
Bearing this in mind, he moved into the CEO role in a pioneering digital communications agency. Stephen acts as the guardian of an organisation’s purpose and principles. He also build teams that ensure the strategies are translated into practice. People trust Stephen. He acts as a rock during difficult times and creates the foundation that enables people to deliver great work.
Nicki Hayes – Curator
Nicki works as an independent storyteller for people, teams and organisations. Her clients include Microsoft, Waterstone's, Stratus Technologies and many other companies. She also works with individuals.
Nicki focuses on their gifts, what makes them special and what they give to others to do great work. She brings their stories to life in a compelling and real way that resonates with other people.
Sulynn Choong – Chief Engagement Officer (Asia-Pacific)
A pioneer Master of Applied Positive Psychology from UPENN, Sulynn founded the Asian Center for Applied Positive Psychology. She is passionate about engaging and inspiring people to aspire to their best lives in pursuit of meaning and purpose, enjoying everyday good life experiences.
Sulynn believes that change starts with awareness, and works from a strength base to increase self-understanding and mastery, in individual and corporate contexts. Read her research on strengths and psychological types.
Philippa Snare – Non-Executive Marketing Advisor
Philippa has worked in the internet industry for over 17 years and is a qualified web developer and MBA Graduate. She began at Scoot, building a dotcom business in the Classified Ads area before being offered a role at Yell as Business Development focusing on distribution with multi-national and global partners. In 2000, Philippa joined Microsoft in MSN and grew online Services by 300% in advertising revenue, she has subsequently managed PR, Marketing and Strategic initiatives for Microsoft in the UK and continues to demonstrate thought leadership and driving positive change.
In her spare time, Philippa is passionate about technology, horse riding, and travelling, she currently plays Polo for Ascot Park in the UK.
Sue Moore
Working with leading international organisations Sue helps organisations build strengths based businesses.
80% of her time is spent in one to one mentoring sessions principally with CEO’s and business leaders, helping them craft and reach their picture of success.
The other 20% is spent with top teams – looking at how to get the right people pursuing the right strategy and, most interestingly in the 21st century, doing it in the right ‘way’.
Dr Barrie Hopson
Barrie Hopson’s current portfolio career includes…
- Chairman of Axia Interactive Media
- Director of Livehappier.com
- Writing 39 books including 12 Steps to Success through Service, The Lifeskills Teaching Programmes, Build Your Own Rainbow
- Most recent book And What Do You Do? 10 Steps to Creating a Portfolio Career, with Katie Ledger
- He set up the Counselling and Career Development Unit at Leeds University in 1976
- Founded Lifeskills International with Mike Scally and was joint CEO and Chairman until 1999
- Barrie has devoted his professional life to helping people become architects of their own future.
Katie is a communications coach and mentor who enables people to share their stories in a compelling way. She encourages people to be real and communicate their messages in ways that resonate with their audiences. Katie spent 13 years as a TV News journalist for the BBC, ITN and Channel 5. She has since created a portfolio career. This involves blending roles such as communications consultant, conference host and keynote speaker. She has worked with organisations such as Microsoft, Sony, Xerox, 3 Mobile, Metropolitan Police, Waterstone's & HMV.
Katie is a passionate advocate of new technology and portfolio careers. This spurred her to co-author with Dr Barrie Hopson: And what do you do? 10 steps to creating a portfolio career. She spends much of her time enabling others to use their strengths to create the 4 F’s – fulfilment, flexibility, finance and ultimately, freedom.
David Pilbeam
David enables people and teams to deliver peak performance. Blending his experience as an Operations Director with his background in educating leaders, he provides commercial insight and practical tools that deliver the goods. David has vast experience leading teams in the hospitality, health and other fields. He has also worked in many different cultures, with experience in Asia, Africa and across Europe. As a practitioner, he is able to see what works. At the same time, he is an excellent facilitator.
David equips people to own and drive solutions that deliver ongoing success.
Kajsa Berglind
Kajsa enables people to achieve success. Starting her own business as a teenager, she was invited to run nationwide courses for young entrepreneurs in Sweden. This led to her first book, Find Courage and Gumption. Moving into established organisations, Kajsa was MD for a local commercial television station. She then published another book called There's a Hole in the Hamster Wheel. This showed how people could find space to be real without getting on the treadmill.
Kajsa then bought an old cultural heritage spa called Satra Brunn with a group of entrepreneurs and turned it around. This resulted in another book To Love A Well. On the back of this success, she also led a team that transformed Sala Silvermine into a top tourist attraction.
Kajsa then expanded her repertoire by studying various forms of healing. She continues to combine her business and other activities in ways that enable people to make full use of their talents.
Dan Kerkel
Dan began his career by working on pioneering engineering projects. He then moved to enabling organisations to build encouraging cultures that delivered exceptional results. He is currently responsible for ensuring QVC has an effective culture and business strategy.
This involves working with the executive team to shape the future and then helping functional teams translate these strategies into action. Dan does this by focusing on the core values and using these as principles for achieving success.
Prior to QVC, Dan worked for technology focused manufacturers in progressive management roles including operations and R&D. Dan is also a working member of Broadcast Skills Strategy Group. This was established through Ofcom, BETR and Skillset to ensure the UK’s broadcast industry has the skills needed to compete effectively in the creative media industry.
Annelise Cruickshank
Annelise has worked as a management and training consultant for the last 18 years. Prior to that she worked in business operations and recruitment, placing great emphasis on developing high levels of customer service. She has a passion for the strengths approach, which she marries with both psychological and business mindedness.
She has a Masters degree in Coaching and Development. Whilst continuing to work as an Executive Coach, she also designs and delivers training programmes that meet organisational needs. Annelise's approach is caring, insightful and, most of all, extremely practical.
Jens Bachem
Jens is the Managing Director and Co-Owner of Digital Outlook. This is an ideas-led agency that helps clients connect with today's family – teens, kids and their parents. Clients include Disney, Xbox, Chorion, Children's BBC, LEGO, P&G, NBC Universal and The Department for Transport. Based in London, the company works with clients on a global basis. Jens' personal driver is to help people to achieve success.
Emma Jenkins
Emma is a digital entrepreneur who has always been passionate about encouraging people to succeed. A 12 year career at Proctor & Gamble saw her leading digital and marketing innovations. These led to business success, but even more satisfying was the development of people in these pioneering teams. Emma actually started mentoring whilst still at school. She worked with younger students, helping them to believe in their talents. This theme of talent spotting has continued throughout her career – both within company environments and as a frequent member of judging panels for marketing awards. Emma now combines running her own digital business with providing marketing and mentoring services for organisations. She is now even more passionate about enabling people to succeed.
