Strength Intervention: defining our role as interventionists

What is a Strength Interventionist? The definition of intervention is “to enter an existing set of circumstances with the purpose of creating greater alignment.” We believe this is a helpful way to define our role in working with others to build strength-based lives.

As you consider your role as a strength interventionist, the following questions can be useful. What is your purpose for being a strength interventionist? Why is it important for you to become an strength interventionist? Your Top 5 themes might be able to help guide you in this matter: How can each theme lend to your performance in this task? Could your themes inhibit your performance? Do you possess the specific skills that you need in order to execute productively?

The following theory is based on the work of Chris Argyris. The concept of an interventionist helps gauge how effective your daily performance is and how it reflects in your environment. The 3 requirements of an interventionist tell us when we are doing the right job- and this is more reliable than going by client feedback, which can be either positive or negative for a variety of circumstances beyond our control. Client feedback is an after-the-fact indicator, but the 3 requirements of an interventionist give me a before-the-fact guide. There are 3 basic requirements for the job of an interventionist. First, it is importatant to be an agent of reality by providing accurate and useful information. Without valid information, a client’s problems cannot be properly addressed. Some examples of valid information include the client’s situation, their goals, concerns, contrast and alignment. These facts would then connect to CliftonStrengths© (34 themes, talents, etc.). The second requirement is to offer actionable insights by providing free and informed choice. Free and informed choices preserve the client’s autonomy, generate options for what’s possible, then the client selects the best option. The third requirement is to create client ownership by inspiring internal commitment to the choices they make. The result is in transition of the interventionist, who eventually departs and the intervention must remain.

There are different forms of intervention. With individuals- coaching (drawing information from inside the individual and bringing it out) where managing/advising/or mentoring (draws information from the outside in.) Think about it like this: “If you’re only tool is a hammer then every problem appears as a nail.” If someone says “I am a coach” then that is the tool, the hammer, they will apply to most situations. But not all situations benefit from a coaching approach. It’s about engaging the right mode of intervention that will best serve the client’s needs. Some modes of intervention are designed more for individuals. Other modes are designed for groups. Some modes are about information that only the client has and must be drawn outward. Other modes are about providing expertise to the client they do not currently possess. An effective interventionist matches the mode to the client need.