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By
Penny Rempfer
 Dr.
Penny Rempfer is a Software Process Architect at Boeing Information
Technology and is a Dependable Strengths Facilitator. She
received her Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership
from Seattle University in June 2005. Her dissertation focused
on the experiences of participants of a Dependable Strengths
Facilitator Workshop held at the University of Washington
in March 2005.
Of the 13 participants in the March 2005 DS Facilitator Workshop,
8 agreed to participate in the study by completing two surveys
and an in-depth interview. The study participants represented
fields of Career Counseling, Teaching, Program Coordination,
and Life Coaching — in Community Colleges, Technical
Colleges, and Private Industry — from Washington, Oregon,
and Michigan.
Dependable Strengths are self-reported strengths based on
perceptions of participants as they evaluate experiences they
feel they do well, and are proud of, and enjoy doing. The
findings of my study indicate that DSAP is very effective
for validating and affirming self-concepts. Those findings
have positive implications in career counseling, positive
psychology, leadership development, and organizational development.
As reported, the aspects of the DSA process that contributed
to positive self-concept were, in order of priority, the following:
1. Being affirmed and validated and empowered
2. Experience with Quads changed how they thought about
themselves
3. Writing the Dependable Strengths Report
4. Gained clarity of skills and assets
5. Ability to verbalize strengths and worth
6. Transforming the way I think about myself
7. Self-discovery – learned something new about self
8. Process to assist with self-concept
9. View self as a whole person
10. Feel good about myself
11. Increased self-confidence
12. Self-acceptance
13. Plans for future and new possibilities
14. Individual and unique
15. Healing process
A DS Facilitator Workshop is presented in two parts. In Part
One, facilitators-in-training experience the Dependable Strengths
Articulation Process firsthand as though they are clients.
In Part Two, participants take an objective, analytical look
at the methods modeled for them in Part One. In addition to
asking participants to consider the contribution of DSA to
positive self-concept, I also asked them to characterize their
experience of each part of the workshop.
Part One of the DS Facilitator Workshop was characterized,
in order of priority, as follows:
1. Being affirmed and validated for their strengths
2. Writing their description of their best self from a whole
person perspective
3. The Quads were affirming, validating and a Good Experience
a. The participants bonded quickly with their Quad members
b. They felt acceptance in a very short time
4. The Job Magnet was a Good Experience
a. They did the Job Magnet so they could teach it
b. A good networking tool
5. Process for believing in self-concept and belief in self
6. Learned new things about self
7. Felt empowered
8. Reality Test – prove strengths to self
9. Learned something new about self
10. Definition of Good Experiences caused discovery and
learning
11. Team Building
12. Felt honored by the process
13. Being a participant was difficult
14. Felt transformation of thought
15. Ability to let go of activities that are not their strength
16. Enjoyed the process
Part Two of the DS Facilitator Workshop was characterized,
in order of priority, as follows:
1. Learning how to teach the DSAP
2. Learning history and theory of DSAP
3. Focus on how participants will teach this process themselves
4. Interest in application of DSAP to different populations,
cultures, and age groups
5. Eyes opened to new opportunities for teaching process
6. Respect for Haldanes and honoring Haldane’s process
7. Jean’s presence was appreciated and inspiring
Many of you have taken DS Facilitator training and your feelings
may be reflected in the themes gathered from participants
in the March 2005 workshop. I know mine are. I was trained
as a Dependable Strengths Facilitator in 2003, and it was
a transforming experience for me. I am hoping that the results
of this study will encourage others to do more research and
to continue to extend the knowledge of this wonderful process
to as many people as possible. I so enjoyed this opportunity
to study the DS process in greater detail. Please let me know
if you have questions about my research. You may contact me
at: penny.j.rempfer@boeing.com.
In November 2005, Penny was invited
by the International
Leadership Association to present her dissertation research
findings at the ILA seventh annual Global Conference in Amsterdam,
the Netherlands.
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