May 31, 2022

Have you ever wanted to know a bit more about how your people ‘do the do’ each day?

How one day they can fly through tasks with a spring in their step and how at other times they seem to come up against obstacles whichever way they turn?

Back in April on our My Mustard strategy day, the team and I were lucky enough to spend some time with Gretta Acton from Peer2Peer, who took us through a Contribution Compass workshop; I had no idea what that meant or what to expect. 

Each of us were given a booklet with a colourful compass on the front cover, broken into four quadrants: Activating, Inspiring, Sustaining, Refining. As the workshop continued, we learned that these are our different natural energies. 

• Activating Energy – Wanting to speed up and ignite change. Likes to learn visually.
• Inspiring Energy – Kindling the growth in others. Likes to learn auditorily
• Sustaining Energy – Nourishing the ideas of others. Likes to learn through experience.
• Refining Energy – Refining through analysis and precision. Likes to learn analytically.

Within each of the four energies was a different profile based on what energies you possess the most of individually:

• Catalyst – Mainly Activating Energy
• Champion – Activating, Inspiring Energy
• Coach – Mainly Inspiring Energy 
• Connector – Inspiring, Sustaining Energy
• Custodian – Mainly Sustaining Energy
• Cultivator – Sustaining, Refining Energy
• Conductor – Mainly Refining Energy
• Calibrator – Refining, Activating Energy

After the workshop, Gretta sent us all an invite to discover our Contribution Compass Profile; you basically had to answer a series of questions about work scenarios and how you would feel or react to certain situations, and then their system would work its magic and tell you which profile you best suited. 

Gretta told us, “I love seeing the value that Contribution Compass brings to individuals and their team. To achieve team success a team must be in flow with its team members in positions that leverage their individual natural energy for maximum returns. 

Creating alignment between team talent and their role is a key success factor. If a team member isn’t in the right role for their profile, it’s a lost opportunity. They can feel frustrated and may even become disruptive in the team.

A successful team requires diversity in its skills, abilities, and profiles so that the whole team can achieve more than the sum of its parts.”

So, I completed all the questions, and, within a few days, I received my profile report. The results are in… I am a Connector!

Straight away, I wanted to find out what that meant about me, so I read through the report, and I learned that I am a person who brings people, ideas, and resources together. My favourite description of a connector is ‘a lake into which all rivers flow.’ It made me feel good knowing that I’m a bit of an ‘all-rounder,’ apparently with good communication skills.

I’m not the only person who benefited from this. My colleague, Imogen, told me: “I really enjoyed learning about the contribution compass. It helped me align my natural energy with the roles that I enjoy doing. This gave me a clearer understanding of why I put off certain jobs and leave some tasks until the last minute.”

I would definitely recommend the Contribution Compass to any business because it allows you to clearly identify the ways in which your employees can achieve the most.

If this sounds like something your company would be interested in – and why wouldn’t they? – get in touch with Gretta here.