New Software Maps Personal Strengths
Mind Mapping Software Creates Personal Strength Maps for Individuals, Builds Talent Pools for Team Building with the Strengths Best Suited to Accomplish Goals.
Spokane, WA (July 9, 2009) /PRNewswire/ — StrengthsMapper™, a new software add-in for Mindjet® MindManager® is the first application to combine the advantages of "Strengths Based Leadership" with the graphic power of mind mapping into a versatile and powerful tool. Especially in today's tough economic environment any tool which will help you create a more productive team environment gives you a significant edge. If you work with individuals or teams of talented people and want to facilitate working to best strengths every day; then, StrengthsMapper could just be the solution for you.
"Mind Mapping was such an amazing breakthrough over things like position papers and plain text in communicating important concepts and ideas," explained StrengthsMapper developer P. Mike Taylor, "then when the Gallup Corporation rolled out their revolutionary, evidence-based concept of Strengths Based Leadership, putting that together with Mind Mapping was a natural fit. For StrengthsMapper™ Basic, my thoughts centered on how best to discover, grasp, express and share people's very best strengths. Why not mind map a person's strengths; help hone them with an action plan; and, share them with a poster? That is a dynamic and powerful tool kit. In the Pro version, we effectively extended and enhanced those techniques to a team and organizational level."
Taylor has been an avid mind mapper for years. He found that mapping and sharing complex concepts really facilitated learning and understanding. Using the 'left and right brain' capabilities, communication was both enhanced and simplified.
When developing StrengthsMapper™ (www.strengthsmapper.com) Taylor chose MindManager® as the platform. With almost 75% market share, Mindjet's product was the undisputed industry leader. MindManager's power, ease of use, versatility, and vivid graphics are outstanding. With StrengthsMapper as an add-in to MindManager, he reasoned "Anyone can make a terrific exhibit."
StrengthsMapper offers two levels of capabilities—Basic and Pro. StrengthsMapper Basic is a personal growth and development tool for individuals. It provides a visual representation of their five top strengths identified in the results of the online questionnaire found at on the Strengths Finder web site. These results are easily transferred into StrengthsMapper; and, a Personal Strengths Map graphic is produced similar to the attached example.
StrengthsMapper Basic not only graphically depicts top strengths, but it also provides a handy Action Plan wizard to help develop and hone those strengths. With customized input, the user develops a personalized action plan that is portable in a variety of venues. The plan can easily be updated as action items are mastered and 'stretch' goals are set.
One of the best capabilities is creating a personalized poster from the basic Personal Strengths Map. The power of visualizing to help actualize ideas has been well established. By using the graphic power of MindManager; and, the base graphics of StrengthsMapper's Personal Strengths Map, a vivid, colorful, and dynamic poster is easy to make and to share with friends, colleagues or direct reports. Using photos, quotes, and clip art really makes the strengths come alive. Whether it's used on a purely individual basis or as part of a group or team strategy, StrengthsMapper Basic really enhances personal or professional development.
StrengthsMapper Pro steps the growth and development tool up to a team and organizational level. It has all the features of StrengthsMapper Basic but adds a Team Building Module. StrengthsMapper Pro gives a manager the ability to create and customize a 'talent pool' using the Personal Strengths Maps of employees, colleagues and/or consultants. Recognizing that strengths cluster into four basic Domains of strengths (1. strategic thinking skills, 2. striving skills, 3. relationship building skills, and 4. skills for influencing others), the manager uses a handy wizard to assign the types of domains appropriate to fulfill a particular task, project or function. They then draw from the talent pool to build a team with the exact strengths needed to accomplish their goals. Or create a team map of your existing team for some valuable insights on the strengths and the dynamics of your current team.
When creating a team map the manager can quickly see if there are key strengths missing or over represented. They can change out team members or modify specific assignments based on the best individual strengths of team members. A typical team map might look like the attached example.
"Not only is it intuitive that people work better when they are working to their strengths, but years of research have demonstrated its effectiveness time and time again," continued Taylor. "StrengthsMapper is the first software tool designed to facilitate this concept. Whether it's used for personal development, team building or analyzing your existing team, it is the only tool combining the power of Mind Mapping with the effectiveness of Strengths Based Leadership."
Initial reaction to the software release has been favorable with beta testers and other evaluators giving positive reviews. Software developer and entrepreneur Charles Guerin of I and A Research noted, "I think it's an absolutely fantastic product that every HR department in the world should enforce the use of, and every project manager should have in their toolkit."
About StrengthsMapper.com
A free 21-day trial of StrengthsMapper can be downloaded at www.strengthsmapper.com. StrengthsMapper is perfect for managers in all types of organizations who need to build and manage effective teams of employees to accomplish critical tasks.
