Strength Spotting: Building Relationships to Prevent Bullying

Taking a proactive strategy to address bullying is a best practice. We need to provide students, classrooms, and teachers with the tools and resources to build stronger relationships. Fostering positive classroom environments will create a greater sense of belonging for everyone in the school. Research shows that positive relationships can be a protective and preventive measure against bullying. Relationships are also a critical aspect of well-being. But how can we foster positive relationships to prevent bullying? By leaning into strengths!

What Are Character Strengths? 

Character strengths are the positive parts of our personality that impact the way we think, feel and behave. Decades of research in positive psychology have identified 24 character strengths valued across cultures and time (such as hope, bravery and kindness). Every person has a unique set of character strengths. The first step is to become aware of your uniquely powerful set of strengths. Shining the light on what is right with us and those around us tremendously impacts well-being, relationships, confidence and engagement. 

Imagine if every student was aware of their strengths and the strengths of their peers. Suppose every teacher knew each of their student’s strengths and could spotlight them when they saw their strengths in action. Creating a sense of belonging and building meaningful relationships can shift the way students interact with one another. Each of us has a biological need to be seen and appreciated for who we are at our core—in other words, our signature strengths. Character strengths give us a framework and language to show others who we are at our best—and to recognize others at their best, too.

Strength Spotting as an Antidote to Bullying 

Knowing and understanding the character strengths in ourselves and others is the first step to taking a strengths-based approach to preventing bullying. The next step is intentionally spotlighting the strengths in yourself and others. The evidence-informed happiness skill, strength spotting, supports naming, explaining and appreciating what is right in yourself and those around you. Research shows that people who know their strengths and utilize the practice of strength spotting experience enhanced well-being and stronger relationships that can act as a protective factor for bullying.

At its core, bullying often arises from a breakdown in relationships—a lack of compassion, understanding or connection. When we don’t know someone or can’t see their value, it becomes easier to view them as “other.” However, strength spotting flips this dynamic; It allows us to look for, appreciate, and celebrate what is right in ourselves and others. 

It’s hard to bully someone with whom you have built a relationship, especially when you actively work to see and acknowledge that person’s strengths. When others see and notice your strengths, this positive feedback loop leads to strengthened relationships, which can act as a buffer against potential bullying. 

Three Steps to Incorporate Strength Spotting into the Classroom 

Here’s how you can incorporate strength spotting into your day-to-day classroom environment: 

1. Discover students’ unique set of signature strengths.  Become aware of your strengths and the strengths of others. Start by having students take the VIA Character Strengths Survey (there is one that is age-appropriate for elementary students, too). Students can then display their character strengths on their desk, on a classroom bulletin board or on the classroom door—have fun and get creative! Try this comprehensive Character Strengths Unit Study as you explore all the ways character strengths can be incorporated into the classroom.

2. Create a strength spotting shoutout bulletin board. Put up a bulletin board or poster in your classroom where students can spot strengths in others; do this every day. You can download and use this printable character strengths poster and these strength spotting shoutout cards to help guide the activity. 

   

3. Teach strength spotting with a comprehensive unit study. You can use these free teaching slides and activities to teach your students all about strength spotting! 

These strategies also be used in the workplace to build community, strengthen relationships and increase compassion among colleagues. Consider how you might add strength spotting to a team meeting or during an all-staff training session.

This Bullying Prevention Month (and every month), we encourage you to embed strengths into the daily fabric of your classrooms, schools and workplaces to create a world where well-being wins for all. In the wise words of artist, poet and author Cleo Wade: “Don’t be the reason someone feels insecure. Be the reason someone feels seen, heard and supported by the whole universe.”