Rosemarie's Strategic Awareness strength helps her zoom out from what's immediately in front of her and see the bigger picture. Trained as a psychologist, she noticed the rise of Positive Psychology and recognized its potential in the workplace before most — which led her to shift into coaching focused on leaders and organizational culture. She brings the same lens to her clients, evaluating not just whether someone needs coaching, but whether she is actually the right fit for what they need.

Her advice: stay curious, ask questions, and trust what your experience has already taught you.

Orla's Persuasion strength starts with a simple distinction: manipulation is about what you want, persuasion is about what the other person wants. As CFO of a growing pharmacy company in Ireland, she helped negotiate acquisitions with owners selling businesses they had spent their lives building — and making people feel genuinely heard is what moved those deals forward. She brings the same approach to coaching and even to parenting, always leading with understanding before offering a new perspective. Her advice: when people feel seen, they become far more open to what's possible.

Gail's Work Ethic is powered by purpose. When she and her colleagues secured $75 million in state funding to build a preschool program for low-income families in Pennsylvania, the work was intense enough to feel like two full-time jobs. She didn't mind, because she believed deeply in what they were building.

Her advice: figure out what matters to you, find work that connects to it, and say yes more than you think you should.

Ellen doesn't see Courage as jumping into the unknown without thinking. She researches, reflects, asks questions, and then decides . When her doctor invited her to join his Pan-Mass Challenge cycling team during a health diagnosis, she wasn't sure she belonged. She said yes anyway, and what started as an intimidating leap turned into one of the most meaningful experiences of her year, full of unexpected friendship and community. Over time she's also learned that Courage isn't always about saying yes. Sometimes it means stepping away from something to make room for what actually fits your life right now. Her advice: do your research, make sure the decision reflects your values, and then trust yourself enough to move forward.

Elyse's Persistence helps her stay committed to the goal while being willing to change how she gets there. During an extended job search, she kept adapting her approach, seeking advice and building new skills until she found a position that was a great fit. Her advice: get clear on what you're trying to accomplish, and be willing to rethink everything else.

Sofia's Change Agent strength shows up in the quiet, intentional moments that shift things forward. As VP of Academic Affairs for her sorority at UC Berkeley, she noticed students were disconnected from alumni and built a speaker series that reached over a thousand graduates — leading directly to internships and career opportunities for students who attended. She's learned over time that lasting change is rarely built through big projects alone, but through small actions: a conversation, an introduction, a moment of genuine listening.

Her advice: stop waiting for a dramatic opportunity and start with the conversation that helps everyone move forward together.

For Jake, Feedback is more than pointing out what someone could do better. It's an act of trust. His Feedback strength shows up in the care he takes to understand how each person is likely to receive hard truths, pairing honesty with empathy and preparation. As a college football player at Bowdoin, he's learned this most directly in end-of-season meetings with his coaches, where the conversation always goes both ways.

For Jake, Feedback is a two-way gift — every time he offers it, he ends up learning something too.

Beth is a strategic consultant to nonprofit leaders whose Emotional Awareness strength lets her notice what isn't being said. Her clients describe her as an "inside outsider", someone who brings outside perspective but earns insider trust quickly by making people feel seen before offering advice.

Her takeaway: ask more questions than you answer, and stay curious about the person, not just the problem.

Jessica's Unconditionality strength shows up in the way she genuinely accepts people as they are. She learned early to look past differences and tune into who they are on the inside. In her eyes, Unconditionality doesn't mean the absence of boundaries, it means honoring someone's humanity while still respecting yourself. Her advice is simple: spend time with people who are different from you and listen before you judge.

Colleen's Personal Responsibility strength is rooted in one simple belief: her word matters. As an educator, she spent time earning her colleagues' trust before ever proposing new ideas, and when she did, they listened. The result was a morning arrival program pairing preschoolers with middle school mentors that has since been adopted schoolwide. For Colleen, following through on commitments is about authenticity. Her advice: don't try to take responsibility for everything, just choose commitments that reflect your values, and follow through on every one.

Katharina's Adventure strength shows up in the way she approaches life. When COVID hit, rather than holding tight to certainty, she left her job to travel without a plan, which ultimately led her to launch her own legal consulting practice. What surprises people is that Adventure doesn't leave her feeling unsettled, stretching beyond her comfort zone is actually where she feels most grounded and alive. Her advice: start small, take a breath, and just go for it, because most of the fears we imagine never actually materialize.

Rita spent sixteen years as a risk manager helping organizations adapt when things went wrong . When something doesn't go as planned, her first question isn't "why did this happen?" it's "what do we do now?" She's learned over time that not everyone is ready to move forward as quickly as she is, and that sometimes people need space before they're ready to adapt.

Her takeaway: Adaptability is about trusting that you can find your way forward, and choosing to learn from what happens rather than dwell on what can't be changed.

Zeke's Empathy strength shows up in the way he naturally tunes into what others are experiencing. When a workplace misunderstanding left a coworker feeling left out, Zeke took the time to consider their perspective and initiated a second conversation that deepened their trust. But he's also learned the downside: absorbing emotions that aren't his own, like feeling a stranger's disappointment at missing a train as if it were his own.

His takeaway is simple: pause before reacting, and remember that caring for someone doesn't always mean carrying their feelings yourself.

Brittany prevention strength shows up in the routines, systems, and habits she builds to keep her family grounded and prepared. For her, it's about the long game — when she reminds her kids to stay safe on their bikes, she's planting habits she hopes will carry into adulthood when the stakes are higher. Over time, she's learned that prevention is about balancing thoughtful planning with flexibility.

Her takeaway: Prevention works best when it creates peace of mind, not pressure.

For Laura, Humility meant staying open to learning, even from those with less experience. During her final trial, a young DOJ attorney she was working alongside caught a critical issue in a filing Laura had missed. Rather than brushing it off, she leaned in — giving her colleague meaningful courtroom responsibilities throughout the case. At Laura's retirement celebration, that attorney credited the experience as pivotal to her confidence.

Laura's takeaway: Humility isn't about stepping back. It's about being secure enough to recognize that everyone has something valuable to teach you.

Susan's Action strength is simple: when something needs to happen, she moves. She's learned that if she doesn't act immediately, she probably won't — so she responds to emails, sets things up, and gets groups moving before anyone has to ask. That same instinct shows up in her coaching, where she pays close attention to whether people are translating insight into motion. She's also self-aware enough to know when to pump the brakes — bigger decisions get more space.

Her advice: notice where you're holding back, because one small step is usually all it takes to build momentum.

Sean's Improver strength means he rarely stops at good enough. Whether he's building a website, developing a newsletter, or supporting startup founders, his instinct is to keep refining until something is genuinely stronger. That same energy shows up in how he works with people — asking questions, challenging thinking, and pushing others toward their best work. He's learned to recognize when something is ready to move forward, but the pull to keep improving never really goes away. His personal goal: 1% better every day.

Roscoe's Pride strength is rooted in personal standards and his quiet confidence of knowing he gave something his best. That mindset was shaped on the ice, carried into a demanding career in medical device sales, and shows up in how he parents his two kids. He's noticed that when you hold yourself to a high standard, it tends to raise the bar for everyone around you too. His advice: approach every interaction like you're putting your name on it — because you are.

Meredith moves through the world noticing things others miss — subtle dynamics, patterns in behavior, the reasons behind what people do. She's decisive, but her decisions are shaped by reflection that happens slowly and on her own timeline, sometimes taking days or weeks before clarity arrives. That same thoughtfulness made her a trusted voice at work, where her ability to step back and see the full picture meant her feedback carried real weight.

Her advice: give yourself time to think, and your understanding will always go deeper.

Sam's Enabler strength shows up in knowing when to step back. Early in her career she'd jump in and do things herself. But she noticed that when she held back, people grew in ways they wouldn't have otherwise. Today she's intentional about engaging with people rather than directing them, giving them ownership and trusting them to rise to it. Her advice: resist the urge to do everything yourself — the impact is always greater when you let people figure it out.