Strengths On Fire

In the season one finale of Strengths on Fire, Sarah and Bill welcome the remarkable Liz Volker—homeschooling mom, strengths enthusiast, and graduate of Sarah’s “Strong as a Mother” program. Liz shares how discovering and intentionally applying her top 15 strengths has been truly life-changing, not only for her but for her family. From household systems and values walls to bedtime journals and emo...

What do you get when you blend strategic brilliance with quiet empathy and a deep love of Dungeons & Dragons? Anne George. In this episode, we sit down with Anne, the powerhouse behind the curtain at Bill Dippel Strengths Coaching, to talk about what it means to build a business and a coaching practice around your strengths—and why leaning into your own talents (and hiring for your gaps) isn’t...

In this episode of Strengths on Fire, Sarah and Bill welcome Lizzie Vietz—strengths superfan, marketing strategist, and the official “Mother of the Arsonists.” With warmth, humor, and incredible insight, Lizzie shares how her strengths have evolved through college, career pivots, marriage, and grad school. The trio dives into the power of knowing yourself, setting intentional goals, and embracing...

In this episode of Strengths on Fire, we welcome the radiant and wise Jennifer Doyle Vancil of Communicating Strengths—career coach, facilitator, and soon-to-be author. From navigating job transitions to helping clients make meaning of their strengths, Jennifer shares how she blends positivity, communication, and strategy to help people create fulfilling careers (not just impressive résumés). We g...

This episode is a heart-filled, strength-fueled reunion between Sarah, Bill, and one of Sarah’s former career coaching clients turned certified CliftonStrengths coach, Alex Philipps. Alex shares her powerful story of transforming her career by leaning into her strengths—going from feeling unfulfilled to pitching and landing a role that didn’t even exist yet. Today, she’s bringing strengths to life...

In this energizing and heartfelt episode, Sarah and Bill sit down with internal Gallup-certified coach Alyssa Thelen, whose strengths-packed combo of Woo, Communication, and Positivity lights up every room—especially this podcast. Alyssa shares her journey from the cornfields of Nebraska to coaching leaders at fast-growing startups, how her talents fuel her both personally and professionally, and...

What do a photographer-turned-entrepreneur, a free CliftonStrengths coaching session, and a boomer with futuristic vision have in common? This episode of Strengths on Fire brings all that and more. You’ll hear how Peter Lars, founder of a wildly creative photography company, uses his top 10 strengths to lead with fun, spark innovation, and build a company culture people want to be part of. Whether...

Have you made the leap from corporate life to entrepreneurship and now you’re realizing there are some serious gaps when it comes to sales and marketing? This episode with strengths coach Lisa Cummings is for you. She joins Sarah and Bill to share her journey, lessons learned, and how she leveraged her strengths to grow a thriving business. From the push-pull of Significance to the magic of Indivi...

In this episode of Strengths on Fire, we chat with Karen Senger from the Food Bank of Northern Nevada and she’s a total strengths rockstar. Karen shares how she’s built a successful career in fundraising and leadership without any Influencing strengths in her top 10 (yep, really!). She gets real about how her strengths like Connectedness, Developer, and Input help her lead with heart, mentor her t...

Never make a decision when you're Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired (HALT).  Those amazing words come from our very special guest today Maika Leibbrandt.  How did a 6th grade teacher set a long term direction for Maika?  How does Maika promote "take stock in where you are and be the best of it"?  What does the term "Pandemic Classroom" mean and how did it shape the future of one of the amazing voices...

Today our guest is Lindsay Bradley of Guided Arrows HR Strategies.  She is a veteran of providing HR outsourcing resources and helping startups understand what they need to succeed.  It all started with a bad boss, listen to find out how Lindsay realized that people leave bad managers, not jobs.  How does a Maximizer thrive in the warehousing industry?  Lindsay has some thoughts. She will also tou...

Does taking the Gallup CliftonStrengths Assessment hinder some people from exploring their Strengths more?  Brea Roper, today's guest has some strong thoughts on the matter.  Brea is a Strengths Coach that leads with some very strong themes (Connectedness/Woo/Activator) that often will get her to ask people she meets for the first time if she can see their wallet or purse.  How does that work and...

Meet our number one listener Mark Ellison, affectionately known and self identifying as a proud arsonist.  We are very proud to have Mark Ellison of Keltic Fish electric on our podcast to talk about why he's listened to every single episode (and Sarah would call this discussion very meta) and most of them more than once.  More importantly, why is he rolling our coaching through Bill into his busin...

Frank Eastham is a coach, COO, good guy and clearly one of the best dressed guests we have ever had.  Listen in as we break down how bringing Strengths based work in schools fueled his passion for what he does and why buying donuts for a crowd after a single request can backfire on high Individualization.  We will also learn how Developer themed people can hold others accountable and how his love...

How would strong Influencing themes play out for the CEO of a law firm?  Meet Tara Paulson, CEO of the Rembolt Ludtke Law Firm of Nebraska.  How would 50% of her top ten themes in the Influencing domain bring her to being a lawyer or become the managing partner?  Listen to find that answer, along with why her group chose her to structure a law firm more like a traditional business, hence the CEO t...

He's written a couple of books, successfully coaches groups and individuals, and lives across the pond.  He also reads his own top 10 themes like a British "best of" radio show!  Between traveling and writing travel related books he uses his Empathy, Woo and Maximizer to create high performing teams.  How does that happen?  Dive into this episode and find out how those themes got him dancing with...

Are you a leader who suddenly finds everyone comes to you for advice?  Join Jeff Jewell as he talks about his career in banking and how his leadership skills found him at a very young age.  When he realized he was getting good at it was when he realized his time was being used more and more to help others. Jeff chooses talents over skill sets, and his mature use of the Significance theme explains...

Charlotte Blair is a coaches coach.  She has helped hundreds of Gallup Strengths Coaches with perfecting their offerings and abilities.  In this episode of Strengths On Fire, she also breaks down why she is a serial committee member, why scallops work and walnuts do not, and how setting the costing around coaching services can be so agonizing.  If you might be wondering how your favorite dish to e...

Have you ever wondered what a river clam is, or if you should eat one?  Or perhaps how Gordon Ramsey might step on (or get won over by) someone with a high Positivity theme?  Our guest today Gretchen Kelley Bietz answers these questions, along with how Woo, Communication and Connectedness helped her meet 5 women in parking lots years ago, discuss a community need and form a non-profit helping powe...

If you have ever needed to be a guest on a podcast from a borrowed RV, this episode will sound familiar!  Tyann Osborn joins us from an RV in west Texas and rocks it with the best description of Strengths based emoji's, how Competition protects the group and what her "Magnificence" looks like.  Sarah overcomes the perfect storm of technical failures to hear how Tyann sent us notes about previous p...

Sarah Peterson, Assistant Vice President of Alumni Relations at Creighton talks about her Ideation, Self-Assurance, Maximizer and Ideation near the home of Gallup.  How have these themes changed her career, her personal life and brought Friday energy to her daily routine.  Come listen to a high Communicator talk about it. Sarah’s Petersons Top 10 CliftonStrengths 1) Strategic 2) Communication 3) A...

If you have ever wondered what being Strengths aware as a junior or senior in high school, or how knowing your students strengths as an educator would look like, you have come to the right place.  Join Sarah and Bill as we interview fellow coach Dr. Brady Janes and she highlights how her Harmony theme helps her teach science, and how her Individualization sees every student differently.  Then get...

Matt loves his daily team huddles about Strengths, rolling into podcasts with great hair and the idea of turning conflict into praise.  Sarah and Bill dive deep into Matt's usage of Ideation and how this motivates him, but also blows past some people.  We also get to hear how Ideation, Input Futuristic and Learner all shaped his education, particularly when it came to two critical comments from hi...

Renea Dippel is possibly the most prepared Gallup Strengths Coach imaginable.  Listen to her high Strategy themes define how she coaches, and how CliftonStrengths set her free from worrying about what was wrong with her to shifting her focus on what is right with her.  How does she bring this revelation to clients? Listen in to find out. And, be warned, there is a lot of Taylor Swift worshiping at...

Ali of Ali Alden Strategy + Marketing is a master of aligning clients with their critical outcomes to be successful in business.  She talks about how using Gallup CliftonStrengths with her clients helps make her more successful as a business strategist. Ali tells us why her Futuristic is usually her Dumpster Fire strength. Sarah also discusses the word Doppio and her obvious coffee problem. Find A...