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 just good advice, it’s the whole game. We explore how Anne’s uncommon combo of analytical + empathy gives her both edge and heart, how she manages different personalities with surgical precision, and why every hybrid event needs an empathy-fueled co-coach to make it work. Oh, and we build a strengths-based D&D party while we’re at it. This episode is full of practical tips, real-life laughs, and serious appreciation for the people who keep things running smoothly.

To contact Anne:
https://billdippel.com/

Takeaways

• You don’t need the Communication strength to be a great communicator—you just need empathy, strategy, and intention.
• Anne’s rare blend of analytical and empathy is her secret weapon—and her greatest inner tug-of-war.
• Building a strengths-based business means knowing your gaps and filling them with the right partners.
• Strategic thinkers like Anne shine brightest when they’re given space to prep, noodle, and plan.
• When you lead with empathy, your coaching doesn’t just connect—it transforms.
• Being able to adapt your communication based on someone else’s Top 10 is like having a social superpower.
• Recognition and thoughtful delegation are rocket fuel for intellection-heavy team members.
• Hybrid events work so much better when someone is dedicated to engaging the virtual side.
• We all think differently—but CliftonStrengths gives us the language to explain how and why.
• Sometimes the thing that looks like a conflict (like empathy vs. analytics) is actually your unique edge.
• Coaches don’t need to be experts in everything—they just need the right team.
• Strategic thinkers often have an internal map—so be specific when giving directions!
• Relationship-building and strategic thinking don’t have to clash—they can create the ultimate coaching combo.
• Invisible labor (like thinking, planning, and preparing) deserves just as much recognition as loud accomplishments.
• Developer and intellection together mean Anne’s always thinking about how to help others grow—then circling back to make it even better.

Sound Bites

• I read my Top 10 and thought “am I the villain?”
• You don’t need the strength of communication to be an incredible communicator.
• Strategic gave me the map, but empathy made me look for who was being left out.
• I think a lot of people know we process things differently—they just don’t have the language to explain it.
• If you try to be great at everything, you’ll end up being mediocre at everything.
• My task wasn’t to do anything—it was to think. And that filled my bucket.
• Before strengths, that would have been a fight. After strengths, it was just understanding.

Anne’s Top 10 CliftonStrengths
1) Analytical
2) Learner
3) Relator
4) Strategic
5) Empathy
6) Developer
7) Intellection
8) Responsibility
9) Individualization
10) Arranger

Bill's Top 10 CliftonStrengths 

1) Individualization

2) Developer

3) Activator

4) Woo

5) Restorative

6) Empathy

7) Harmony

8) Connectedness

9) Relator

10) Learner

Sarah's Top 10 CliftonStrengths 

1) Positivity

2) Woo

3) Communication

4) Harmony

5) Activator

6) Developer

7) Input

8) Individualization

9) Responsibility

10) Arranger 

Official Strengths On Fire Website:  https://strengthsonfire.transistor.fm

GET MORE FROM BILL AND SARAH:
Bill's info:
https://billdippel.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamdippel/
https://www.instagram.com/billdippelcoach/

Sarah's info:
https://www.wearecollinsco.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcoachcollins/
https://www.instagram.com/sarahcoachcollins/