Our Team
Dr. Steve Gahagen
Steve established Play to Your Strengths out of a lifelong passion for developing leaders and creating environments that inspire people to reach their full potential.
Steve earned a doctorate in Strengths-Based Leadership from Bethel University in partnership with the Gallup organization. His training included an intense focus on the Clifton StrengthsFinder, the Seven Demands of Leadership, the Power of Partnership and Employee Engagement.
He is gifted in creating leadership tools that help participants put principles into practice in a fun and engaging way.
Steve recently completed a Master of Business Creation program at the University of Utah. He is an affiliated partner with the University of Louisville Center for Positive Leadership and serves as a part-time instructor in the University of Louisville MBA program.
Steve is an author and recently released the book, Your Greatest Story.
Top 10 CliftonStrength Themes: Ideation, Strategic, Belief, Restorative, Responsibility, Intellection, Futuristic, Relator, Self-Assurance, Command
Founder
Rachael Ingersol
Rachael has 15 years of experience managing projects for non-profit organizations. She has a bachelor's degree in Music and International Studies and a master's degree in International Development from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at University of Denver.
Rachael uses her strengths of Analytical and Responsibility to monitor and evaluate programs and ensure team objectives are completed. With Learner and Input, she enjoys finding resources to share with the team and learning new skills that she can put to use to further our mission.
Top 10 Clifton Strength Themes: Learner, Analytical, Harmony, Input, Responsibility, Focus, Relator, Achiever, Deliberative, Discipline
Consultant
Asalia brings five years of dedicated experience in special education in Title I high schools, providing meaningful support for diverse needs. She holds a bachelor's degree in English Literature and a master's degree in Special Education.
As a Strengths Coach, her strengths in Developer and Empathy help her build strong, genuine relationships and help others realize their full potential. Through Consistency, Relator, and Belief, she focuses on creating structured, supportive environments where everyone feels valued and empowered to reach their goals.
Top 10 CliftonStrength Themes: Empathy, Consistency, Relator, Belief, Discipline, Learner, Responsibility, Connectedness, Positivity
Curriculum Developer and CoachAsalia Alvarez
CoachMelissa Durand develops connections with individuals and groups in the community, and builds partnership opportunities. She is a skilled coach who encourages others to thrive in life as they discover and play to their strengths.
Melissa has a Bachelor of Science in Social Work with a minor in Sociology and Early Childhood and Family Education from Winona State University.
Melissa’s strengths of Empathy and Developer allow her to see the needs and potential of people around her.
Top 10 Clifton Strength Themes: Empathy, Connectedness, Developer, Belief, Adaptability, Positivity, Maximizer, Woo, Individualization, Relator
Melissa Durand
Strengths Ignite was born out of a lifelong passion to develop leaders and build thriving teams.
Our CEO's leadership journey began as a pastor and church planter, where he launched a church with few people and limited financial resources. Success depended on identifying potential in others, empowering emerging leaders, and creating a culture where people could grow and contribute their best. Over time, he helped launch three additional congregations as young leaders stepped into roles of greater influence and responsibility.
Watching those leaders flourish revealed a powerful truth: organizations thrive when people are developed around their strengths.
Today, Strengths Ignite helps businesses, nonprofits, and teams create the same kind of strengths-based cultures where people do their best work and organizations achieve extraordinary results.
Our Story
Strengths Ignite is leadership development with a social purpose.
In response to a youth suicide crisis in 2011, we expanded our strengths-based approach beyond adult teams to serve students through mentoring clubs, retreats, and internships that foster confidence, resilience, and hope.
Because profits from our organizational trainings help fund these programs, every client we serve is not only investing in their people—they are also investing in the well-being of young people and joining the effort to address the adolescent mental health crisis.
When you strengthen your team through Strengths Ignite, you also strengthen the future of a young person. In the last three years our programs have served over one thousand students, with over three hundred students participating in ten-week Strength Mentoring Clubs.
Why Strengths?
Strengths matter for business and organizational teams because organizations don't succeed simply by having talented individuals. They succeed when people understand how to contribute their best, appreciate what others bring, and work together toward a shared purpose.
Here are several compelling reasons:
1. Strengths increase engagement.
People are more engaged when they spend more time doing work that naturally energizes them. Instead of merely trying to fix weaknesses, strengths-based organizations ask, "How do we help people do more of what they do best?"
2. Teams become more collaborative.
One person's strengths often complement another person's. Differences become assets instead of frustrations.
3. Trust grows.
Teams become healthier when members understand one another. Instead of assuming bad intentions, they begin recognizing different ways of thinking, deciding, communicating, and solving problems.
4. Innovation increases.
Diverse strengths create better ideas.
5. Performance improves.
When everyone plays to their strengths, the entire team becomes stronger.
6. Leaders become storytellers.
Leaders help shape the stories employees tell about coming to work every day.
A strengths-based organization helps people believe:
"My strengths matter here." "I belong here." "Together we're building something meaningful."
Engagement is fueled by belief and belonging, and strengths provide a practical way to create both.
Why Strengths Ignite?
We help organizations thrive by unleashing what is right with people.
And every partnership helps young people who face obstacles discover the same truth about themselves.
1. We don't just train teams. We ignite people.
People don't leave saying, "That was interesting." They leave saying, "I see myself and others differently."
2. Every partnership creates social impact.
Teams become stronger. Leaders become more effective. Employees become more engaged. And because the profits of Strengths Ignite are reinvested in youth, young people discover their strengths, building confidence, resilience and hope.
3. We bring both research and real-world experience.
The training and experience of our CEO
Decades of helping thousands of people discover their strengths and develop as leaders
4. We focus on application, not awareness.
Many people know their strengths. Few people know how to use them.
We help people answer these questions:
How do I lead with my strengths?
How do I work better with others?
What unique contribution can I make?
How can I live my greatest story?
5. We create experiences people remember that have enduring value.
We create powerful moments of learning and reflection. We provide simple tools for you to use following the event so that the experience has enduring value.
6. We can customize training events to your team’s needs.
No team is the same. Though we have core training events, we can adjust the content and timeframe to meet your needs. Our desire is to help you accomplish your objectives.
What People Are Saying
-
“We have had the pleasure of having a couple of different workshops at our company. Our employees learned a lot about themselves and each other. From a management perspective, we were able to put members of our team in a better position to succeed after learning about their strengths and applying them to their role in our company. I would definitely recommend this training for your team!”
— Tim Urness, President of Royal Business Forms & Printing
-
“… with Dr. Steve Gahagen’s pertinent questions and discussion, I began to see how the strengths that had helped develop my successful marketing career could lead me beyond that to bigger dreams... Play to Your Strengths Ignite coaching helped me not only dream bigger, but make those dreams happen.”
— Dianne Novak
-
“Your presentation was excellent and totally hit the mark to keep that group engaged. I appreciated how you made a few subtle tweaks to relate the presentation to them and keep them in the game… you have no idea how hard that is to achieve, so WELL DONE! We’ve never had this much participation in a training event.”
— Janet Broadway, Sands Anderson Law Firm
-
"You were great Steve! We so appreciate you sharing your talents with us. It made for a great day with a bright future, filled by integrating strengths."
— Margaret Murphy, CEO of Bold Orange
-
"We can't thank you enough for your time, energy and inspirational messages. It was a great day full of learning and laughter for everyone."
— Kelly Rongstad, Director of HR at Bold Orange
-
"Great session! I highly recommend this workshop to any leader or organization looking to strengthen team performance and help individuals discover how they contribute at their best. Thank you for such an engaging, insightful, and practical experience. I truly appreciate the opportunity and look forward to putting these lessons into action."
— Ken Howard, Dynamic Thought Leader of Positive & Progressive Change | Strategic Consultant/Pastor
Organizations We’ve Worked With
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Before quoting a price, we want to learn more about your team and objectives. The number of people participating in the training event is also a factor.
Our events include Top 5 assessment codes, personalized signs, and training resources.
We provide discounts to small businesses and nonprofits.
-
There are a variety of reports you can order for your team.
Most teams use the Top 5 Assessment Report, which is $25. Reports specific to sales, managers, and leaders are $50. We charge you the same price as Gallup.
-
We make this easy for you. Once you provide your team’s emails, we send the assessment directly to each person. This saves you time and allows us to get the results so we can provide a personalized report for your team.
-
It usually takes around 20-25 minutes to create a profile and complete the assessment.
-
We recommend 3-4 hours for a half-day event and 6-7 hours for a full-day event. We can adapt to the needs of your team.
-
Yes! We offer virtual training options for all of our training events.