Amber Williams on Strengths as a Mindset Shift for Student Development

Jon Clifton:
[0:00] What strengths do you turn on to inspire others?

Amber Williams:
[0:03] What a question.

Jon Clifton:
[0:05] At the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, student success is more than a metric. It's a movement. And leading that movement is Dr. Amber Williams, the vice provost for student success. Since 2019, Williams has reimagined what it means to guide students through higher education. By building a campus-wide, strengths-based model, she has rallied faculty, advisors, and students alike around one simple but powerful idea. Potential should be the foundation of progress. The results speak loudly. Four-year graduation rates have climbed by 10 points. Student retention is up by five. And most importantly, thousands more young people are staying on track, earning their degrees, and stepping confidently into life beyond campus. What sets Williams apart is not just her strategy, but her ability to operationalize it, turning insights into action across classrooms, advising, and daily student life. She has shown how data, practice, and belief in human strengths can come together and transform outcomes. This is Leading with Strengths, and this is Amber Williams.

Dr. Williams, great to see you today.

Amber Williams:
[1:09] Hello, I'm excited to talk with you.

Jon Clifton:
[1:11] Now, you built a strengths-based campus. How'd you do it?

Amber Williams:
[1:16] Oh, my goodness. Well, I arrived to the University of Tennessee in 2020, right before COVID hit, so January 2020. And, you know, one of the things that we were really looking at is how can we increase the number of students who return back each year, starting after their first year. So my first semester or first few months, I would say, I met with lots of students and just got feedback about their experiences at UT. And one of the things I heard from them was that they needed support to build their confidence and that they needed to have a better understanding of how to navigate all the resources on the campus. So the first thing that we did was what we call Vol Success Teams, which is a team of professionals, an advisor, an academic coach, and a one-stop counselor, which is really their financial aid advisor, to help them navigate the campus. But then the second thing we needed to do was build their confidence.

And in my previous institution, I had used CliftonStrengths with a group of first-gen, low-income scholars and had great success. And so I was like, let's try to do this at scale. How could we provide the assessment to every first-year student and then also provide them the resources post the assessment to ensure they understood it? So during the summer, I reached out to your team and I said, I need help to train ... it was about 30 or so academic coaches to be CliftonStrengths coaches. And over the summer, we launched that Vol Success Teams, but we launched it through a strengths-based approach, really thinking about how do we minimize deficit framing on our campus and really work towards building our scholars up. And it has worked. I mean, when I arrived at the university, our first year retention rate was 86.5%. And moving into this fall, it's 92%. And that has a lot to do with building the talent and the potential of our students, but also providing really amazing resources so that they understand how to kind of leverage their strengths in multiple ways on campus.

Jon Clifton:
[3:18] Now, you talked about doing interviews with students and also asking about them needing to have something to help support their confidence. But what inspired you to get involved with CliftonStrengths?

Amber Williams:
[3:30] Well, since I had done it in my previous institution and the program that I was working with, again, was first-gen, low-income scholars, we selected them in the eighth grade. And if they did the things that we asked them to do, they got a full-ride scholarship. We found with our scholars, being first-gen, low-income, there's so much imposter syndrome. At times, they didn't always have the academic preparedness, but they had the potential. And so we started using CliftonStrengths for them to help build their confidence, but also to help us build our confidence in them. I think our empathy sometimes showed up as deficit framing. And so it gave us a common language to inspire those young people. And we saw amazing success. 100% of those students that were finishing high school went on to college. And before we started the program, it was only 25% that were going on to college. And then when I left the University of Nebraska, we had an 85% graduation rate in the program.

So I was really interested in how do you do that at scale? And we had that opportunity to do that at Tennessee. And I saw the students feel more empowered to be themselves and also to lead in ways that were important to them. And so I wanted to bring that to the University of Tennessee as well. I'll be honest, I didn't know if you could do it at scale. I mean, there were only about 500 young people in that program. So to move that from 500 to now, we have over 25,000 students that have taken the CliftonStrengths assessment. I mean, that is definitely moving it to scale. And we've learned a lot as we've worked through that process, but it can definitely be done.

Jon Clifton:
[5:08] But could you talk more about what is it that you implemented to actually take it to scale? Because, of course, you know, when somebody learns what it is that makes them great, sometimes that always doesn't create the stickiness that gives them the confidence. There's also coaching. So can you talk more about how do you scale it from a group of 500 students to now where you're doing it with thousands?

Amber Williams:
[5:29] So all of our students take their CliftonStrengths assessment before they start school. So they get a note from me that says, you've got your first college assignment and it is to take your CliftonStrengths assessment. And we talk about how at UT, we want them to feel empowered to be themselves and to be their very best. So they do that even before they come to us. Then every single student as a part of our required orientation process goes through 45 minute session with me and other campus leaders where we talk about how are they going to make a UT bestseller on our campus. And it starts with understanding who they are. So in that session, all first-year students, whether it's first year coming out of high school or our transfer students, our veterans, whoever it might would be, we will introduce the CliftonStrengths assessment as a group. And we talk to them about why it's important.

Right after orientation, all of our students are enrolled in a first-year seminar. Sometimes that's hosted by the college. Sometimes it's hosted generally. But we have two workshops that are focused on CliftonStrengths that all of our young people do. And that is a way for them to, as a group in their small class, to really think through their strengths, learn from each other. But then there's a required assignment that they go meet with their academic coach and have an individual conversation or at least a small group. Because sometimes we've found that also having five or so students in a room in a small group is another way to do it at scale. It doesn't always have to be one-on-one. But that assignment, they all have the same exercise. They bring it to the individual coaching session and they work through their strengths and they set a plan, a success plan is what we call it, for the semester. And so that's how we've started it through the first year to do this at scale.

But then it continues. I mean, we're using it in our career work. Starting our sophomore year during a program called Vol Edge, which is a life career readiness program, we talk with our students about how their strengths apply to their career goals, apply to their individual wellbeing. Our career coaches move into the Vol Success Teams the sophomore year. And so they're starting to talk with students about careers in that space. Then, you know, we've done some really unique things. So, for example, our division of student life is using it with restorative justice. So young people who have maybe made a mistake and they have to go to our community and conduct office. One of the exercises that they do is to think about their strengths and how they may have shown up in an unhealthy way. And that has been interesting to see because students will start to talk about how their strengths, they hadn't thought about, oh, my goodness, I made this mistake. And this is why and connecting their strengths and how their wellbeing is slightly off and in the mistake. And so we are adopting it in so many different ways. But I guess what I would say is it can't be a one and done. It has to be a continuous conversation. And we are building the steps throughout the entire undergraduate experience to help our students consistently understand what's important to them, what makes them special, and how to leverage those strengths.

Jon Clifton:
[8:41] Can you talk more about how do students actually use their strengths on campus every day in the classroom?

Amber Williams:
[8:48] So there's lots of different ways. Sometimes we will have, just so you know, about 500 of our faculty have taken the CliftonStrengths assessment, which is phenomenal. So they're starting to adopt it either as a ways to create positive emotion at the beginning of class by asking young people how they may have used their strengths in a specific way. They're using them sometimes in activities to help students think through how they work in a team with strengths. But one of the things that I've really been doing in some of my courses is helping students to understand their needs and brings. And I'm just in love with that exercise or that tool that you provide us where students can really think about what do I need to thrive? And then what do I bring to a team? I think teaching people how to articulate what they need is very useful and I think can help probably our country in lots of different ways by doing that. So that is an exercise that we've been doing that I just, I think, is really moving the needle on how our students think about who they are and how they show up each day.

Jon Clifton:
[9:55] Now, you've probably coached thousands, literally thousands of students yourself. What are some of the most powerful stories that have emerged from this work?

Amber Williams:
[10:04] Oh, first off, it's so much fun to see our students grow just in an hour or 90-minute session is amazing. One of my favorite stories is a young woman named Nicole. And I was doing a workshop for a group. It was probably about 50 or 60 scholars in a room about CliftonStrengths, but really tying it at that time to leadership. And it was an opportunity for them to think about their leadership through their strengths assessment. And during that workshop, she realized that her strengths were showing up in an unhealthy way. She has Achiever as one of her top strengths. And so she reached out very quickly afterwards and said, I love the workshop, but I also learned I need some support. And so she and I have met regularly over the last couple of years. And we've had so many intimate conversations. And really, I've been helping her think about how to leverage those strengths and move it forward. Well, that led to some ways her changing her major, finding her passion. She changed majors to now being a sports management, and then I helped her to land an internship at the Cleveland Browns. So just to see that growth over time is phenomenal.

I would also say we're using with faculty too. And so there are moments when I'm having group exercises or workshops with faculty, which is a ton of fun. But then we'll also see faculty who realize, hey, I'd love to talk about this in more depth. And I've had lots of one-on-ones with faculty as well, thinking about their experience. And I will tell you, in many ways, the experiences of our faculty, most of the time, those who reach out to me are our assistant professors, or there may be some of our teaching professors, and they're usually transitioning to the university. They're newer. And so we find that their transition concerns are very similar to our first-year students of, how do I find my way? How do I manage my time between teaching research and service? I mean, very similar. And so I've enjoyed not only coaching our students, but working with our faculty and our staff and in this experience as well.

Jon Clifton:
[12:18] You know, you look at the frequencies of strengths across Tennessee. Restorative has often been number one for many classes. Have you seen any shifts throughout classes based on strengths? What are they? And what do you think is causing the change?

Amber Williams:
[12:34] It's really interesting. The last four classes, Restorative, Achiever, Competition have been our top three, and the intensity of those are very high. This most recent class, though, that has come in, so the one that just started a month or so ago, they still have Achiever. They still have Competition in there, but they're bringing in more relationship-building strengths. We're seeing Harmony come in. Restorative actually is not in their top five. Developer, Empathy, which is really interesting to us. As we, we're just now starting to look at it because we just got the data a week or two ago and it's about 6,500 students or so that took the assessment or that we have right now. And, you know, I see that and I think that they want to get things done, but they want to get things done that impact people, impact relationships, impact the community. They want to make things better.

So and when I think about this class coming in, you know, if you would have thought of them four or five years ago, they didn't get probably the little middle school graduation because of COVID. They did a bunch of online learning. So I kind of wonder if some of this is they're seeking relationships. They're seeking to want to be a part of something. The last thing I would add to that is already, anecdotally, we're seeing that this class is very active and engaged on campus. They're showing up to our events at high levels, you know, raising their hands and want to be a part of the student government. I mean, so they're really engaged. And that is a really great place to be is to see them engaged and active and eager to want to be a part of something bigger. So I don't know, it'll be interesting to see this class because they are the first one that has a little bit of a different shift for us. So I'm interested to see what they do over time.

Jon Clifton:
[14:34] You'd mentioned earlier deficit framing. Can you talk more about what that means and how currently universities are viewing the world through deficit framing and basically how your leadership corrected for that or how you help prevent that or anyone from going in that direction?

Amber Williams:
[14:54] You know, well, first off, I think it's very natural to our society to want to look at what's wrong first. And it's normal for us in some ways to look at things through that lens. So as educators, I think when our young people come to our classrooms, for example, and they don't understand what a syllabus is, what that language is, we may say, oh, you're not prepared. You're not ready to be here. Or maybe come to class or come to a meeting, an organization, and they're not prepared to take notes and have a pen and paper, all those things. They're not prepared. They're not serious. I don't think it's natural, or I'm sorry, I don't think it's intentional that we think that way. I just think it's normative. And my framing is, let's start with what's going right first, and then we can use that to kind of leverage what's maybe not going the right direction.

And so we're constantly thinking about how do our programs inspire our students to be at their best? Now, that doesn't mean we're not having difficult conversations because we are. We are definitely talking with students, kind of like the example I gave around the restorative justice. I mean, we're definitely talking with students about areas that they need to enhance or improve. But we're doing it through a lens of care and compassion. And I think when you take the time to elevate what is going right and then utilize that information to kind of massage other areas of the life of their lives that are unhealthy, people take it differently, and they take it from a place of compassion versus a place of anger, anxiety, or frustration. And so we're taking a hard look at not only our programs, our policies. We're looking at how we engage with students one-on-one. I mean, sometimes it's just as simple as saying hello that will change how a person shows up each and every day. So I would say that we're intentional about talking about it, about calling it out, but then also, you know, trying to think about how do we reframe to ensure not only that our students are successful, but I think our staff are thriving and our faculty are thriving in new ways by kind of reframing that language as well.

Jon Clifton:
[17:12] Amber, you've had so much success in all the programs that you've rolled out through Tennessee. So I'm curious about your leadership, your top five strengths. But one of the things that we've seen in our research, at least with respect to strengths-based leadership, the four demands, one is about inspiring others. When you need to inspire others in whatever part of the community is, any of the stakeholders that you may have, it could be scholars, it might be members of the board, whoever it might be, what strengths do you turn on to inspire others?

Amber Williams:
[17:43] What a question. Well, first off, I love all my strengths equally. So it's hard to ...

Jon Clifton:
[17:49] Where do you draw the line on your strengths in that activity? Is it after nine of them, 13 of them?

Amber Williams:
[17:56] 10. I usually use 10, but I will say Positivity is like 11 or 12. So I can tell it kind of rolls in a little bit. I lead definitely through a strategic lens. And Strategic is my number five, but between that and the Arranger and Responsibility and Arranger's two, Responsibility's three, those three together, I see them all the time. And so I'm constantly trying to understand what do people need? And then what are my goals or our goals and how do we align those? And so I listen a lot but I'm also quick to take ideas which may seem very separate and seem like there's no alignment and I'll pull them together and say well what about doing this? And people are like oh. You know sometimes I do that too quickly though because I've also got Activator, but you know I would say those three strengths the Strategic, Arranger and Responsibility just have guided who I am as a leader. And I think I really have really kind of changed many organizations and how they function or how they perceive the work because of just those three strengths.

Jon Clifton:
[19:20] What about trust, especially now in higher ed where, you know, we've seen that trust is declining across the country with respect to higher education. But how do you build trust with various communities?

Amber Williams:
[19:33] Listening.

Jon Clifton:
[19:34] Which strength do you use to listen?

Amber Williams:
[19:36] Relator is the number one. So I'm very present as a leader. And so when we are coming up with ideas or, you know, have challenges, I want to show up. I want to listen, but I'm also a leader and people know this. I'm going to take action. I'm going to hold myself accountable. I'm going to communicate with you about what I think we need to do. I'm going to do it and then I'm going to come back and tell you about it. So I think that constant communication and the action part is how I have built trust amongst my team, amongst the leadership on campus, our faculty, our staff, the community even, is that I definitely, if I say I'm going to do something, I'm going to absolutely do it.

Jon Clifton:
[20:22] Now you may have just answered us, but I had to ask you, but you know, people with Responsibility especially when it's unpolished, they take on every assignment and they say that they're going to do it and then they take on too much and they become overwhelmed. How have you mastered that having Responsibility in your top five?

Amber Williams:
[20:37] I used to do that. If you would have talked to me probably 10 years ago I definitely took on too much. Now I, because of the Arranger and the Responsibility, I have, I put things in a box in some ways. And so I think about, and my Strategic strength helps with this as well, I think about what are the goals and what activity or events or responsibilities and help get me at that. So what I've really done is said no to things so that I can protect my yeses. So the things that I do say yes to that I know I can go all in on and that I can do it at my very best because especially with the Responsibility strength and I have Achiever in my top 10. Those get overwhelmed if I commit too much and then I don't meet my expectations of what the work should be.

And so I'm, you know, I'm pretty clear about this is what success looks like for me. I will communicate it to others. Even just the other day, some students asked me to sponsor a student organization. And I was just very honest that I don't have the capacity to be the leader you need as an advisor. I'm happy to help you find someone that can do that. But I explained to them, I mean, I'm a mother of children in elementary school. I want to be a good mother. That's important to me. I want to be a good partner to my husband. That's important to me. I also want to be a good vice provost. And I sit on board. So I don't want to overcommit and then, you know, feel like I'm not doing my very best and then beat myself up for that. So I'm really specific about what I get involved in now. And again, I will communicate to others if I'm not involved. It doesn't mean it's not important, but when I think about my priorities, it maybe doesn't align directly with what I want to do today.

Jon Clifton:
[22:32] If you didn't know somebody, but you wanted to make sure they saw you for a particular strength, or at least that they knew that that strength existed, which one?

Amber Williams:
[22:43] I want people to know that I care. Yeah, that I care. And that I care about who they are, where they want to go, and how they're going to get there. And I really try to take intentional time, whether that's in small groups. So, for example, I have these luncheons with everyday Vols. These are just, you know, just amazing students. They're not your student leaders all the time, but just students that I sit down and just have lunch with. And I get to know them. There's five or seven of them in the room. And I listen to every one of their stories. I do the same thing with staff. So whether it's our entry-level staff or staff across the campus, I have lunches with them, five or so people. Because of that Relator strength, I want it to be small. And I just get to know them and what inspires them.

So I would say that the Relator strength is what helps guide the others, because honestly, a lot of my ideas have come from talking to those everyday Vols. It's identified some areas that we maybe need to enhance. And also with the staff, I don't get a lot of opportunity to spend one-on-one time with entry-level staff. And that has also helped me to better understand what's happening on the ground and how can I eliminate barriers that impede them from being at their best. So that Relator strength kind of guides all the rest, you know, the range of the Responsibility, like the Ideation is Strategic. Listening to people, understanding who they are, understanding their story helps me to figure out what kind of goals and outcomes do we seek and how do we get there.

Jon Clifton:
[24:22] When it comes to Ideation, where do you get your inspiration? I mean, the ideas, I actually asked somebody recently that has Ideation. I said, is there a limit? And they said, no. Only time. But is there a place where you get uniquely inspired? Is it a place you go? Is it something you see? Is it music? Where do you get inspired to say, this accelerates my Ideation like nothing else?

Amber Williams:
[24:46] I really like listening to people's stories, their dreams, their ideas. And the more I listen to other people's ideas, the more ideas I have. And I think about that, whether it's through a podcast, whether it's through a conversation with my husband, my children, even. I think they inspire me to think differently. So yeah, I would say absolutely it's people.

Jon Clifton:
[25:10] Is it something specific that when you're with them that they're talking about their dreams, they're talking about problems? What is it specifically that when you're engaging with them where you go, that's when my Ideation flourishes the most?

Amber Williams:
[25:22] It's definitely when someone is challenged by something or they have a dream that they want to get to and then I'm helping brainstorm how to get them there. I think that's where I thrive the most. I will also say, though, as a leader and as a mother and as a partner, I have to think about what do they need at that moment, though, because sometimes it is not, they don't need a solution. They just need to be heard. And so, again, as I've matured in my understanding of myself, I will sometimes just ask, if I can't clearly ascertain what a person needs at the moment, I will specifically ask, what do you need from me? I mean, do you want me to listen? I'm happy to do that. If you want me to give advice, I'm happy to do that. So I think also providing that clarity, both for them and me, helps the relationship and the conversation.

Jon Clifton:
[26:17] When you build teams, and of course you have big goals everywhere you've been. When you build teams, what strengths are you using to build the right team in order to hit that goal as quickly and as effectively as possible?

Amber Williams:
[26:30] So I think the Strategic and Arranger really think about what do I need in that leader or in that whoever's leading that organization? What kind of skills do they bring to the table? Understanding what kind of leader I think will thrive with the team they're managing. So those two are really important. But then I would also say my Activator Responsibility move. So as soon as I've kind of determined what I think is important, I'm putting it on paper very quickly, and I'm moving that search forward as fast as I can to find the right leader. I would also say the Strategic strength will say, if you don't find the right leader in a particular search, pause. I'd rather have a short-term inconvenience than a long-term problem. So finding the right leader is very important. If I haven't found it, then I'll take a pause and I'll go a different direction.

Jon Clifton:
[27:22] When you're thinking, when you're training, when you're advising on the science of teams, what do you do? How do you do it around strengths?

Amber Williams:
[27:30] One of the things I do in my workshops is that, of course, we spend time thinking about teams. And so we use the team grid. And I always use this analogy of how the team is going to build an airplane. And so I utilize that to kind of help them understand how the strategic themes really think about what needs to be in the plane, why, when, where, and that the plane needs to be built in general. The strategic people then throw it to the executors who are like, hey, these are the 10 things we need to get done in order to make the plane a reality. Who then throw it to the relationship people who are like, okay, these are the 10 things. Who do we need to talk to in order to make sure that our plane gets built? Who do we need to partner with? And then we throw it to the influencers who sell the plane, who convince, you know, one company to help build us with one widget versus helping another company, who are going to negotiate the prices. I mean, so we talk about that. And so what I do then, I walk through this analogy and then I will bring the team grid up and I'll say, how's our plane looking? What's the plane look like? And people are like, oh, gosh, you know, they'll talk about, well, we're not selling the plane. The plane's not getting sold. And so we utilize that. But it's a really fun way to think about teams and how every part is important.

And then if we identify that there's a theme that is not as salient with the group, then we'll think about, okay, what other strengths can we utilize to fill that in? What are some guiding principles that you all can have as a team as you make decisions or whatever that might look like? Like, so I love the team grids and I think it's just a real opportunity for you to think about what are you naturally strong in? And also how can some of those natural strengths could potentially be a hindrance to the team too, but then also to think about where do you need to lean in or where do you need to elevate the voices of people who, if you only have one or two people on the executing side, how do you elevate their voices in those conversations? So yeah, that's, that's how we kind of utilize team grids. And I love using the analogy of the plane because everyone can like see themselves in it and it helps people to understand in a really salient way of how the entire team is important and every group is important to like getting something done.

Jon Clifton:
[29:52] What about constructive feedback? I mean, performance reviews, what strengths do you draw on in order to do it in a constructive way?

Amber Williams:
[30:00] I have a really strong relationship with the leaders who report to me and I've always had that over time. So that means that I can give constructive feedback regularly, and they can also give me constructive feedback. I really empower my leaders to tell me if there's something that they don't agree with. And I think adding that level of transparency and just having a relationship with them that we can both be honest, that helps. So that the constructive feedback isn't just one way, it's both ways. Now, that doesn't mean I'm going to always agree. And I may say, hey, I hear that, but I want to do this. But I always want to give the space and the place for that to happen. And to be honest with you, a lot of times when people provide that constructive feedback, it has made whatever idea I've had better. And it sometimes has even helped me sharpen my argument more. And so, yeah, constructive feedback, I would say it's just a normal part of any relationship I have with any of my leaders.

Jon Clifton:
[31:07] What's the biggest idea you're working on right now?

Amber Williams:
[31:11] Oh my goodness. You know, the biggest thing we're working on is trying to, the confidence that we've built for our students on campus, how do we help them relay that to their future careers and their future goals? And so we're spending a lot of time thinking about how do we empower and continue to build their confidence post-UT as an alumni. And we've got some great ideas in that space. We're definitely moving down that track. But that's what right now is important to me. I mean, we're moving through really thriving groups of students. And just I want to make sure that we're setting them up to be their very best post-UT.

Jon Clifton:
[31:51] Dr. Williams, thank you for everything that you do for young people, for education, and for this country.

Amber Williams:
[31:58] No, thank you. This is so much fun. Thank you for inviting me. And I will tell you that your assessment has made me a better leader, and it's given me voice to who I am and self-awareness and purpose in some ways. So I'm grateful to what you all do, and I'm a huge advocate for just lifting people up, and this is a tool that does that. So thank you.

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