Strengths-Based Leadership

Essentially, we live in a “weakness fixing” culture rather than a strengths building culture. For instance, when a child comes home with a report card that has one F, two As, and one C, what do you think the parent focuses on first? Exactly, the F.

This mindset is fundamentally flawed because individuals gain more when they build on their talents, than when they make comparable efforts to improve their weaknesses. In the workplace, when employees give a 20% effort in developing strengths, they receive an 80% ROI. Contrarily, when they give an 80% effort in developing their weaknesses, they only receive a 20% ROI. Despite the impact, many companies have not adopted a strengths-based culture. In fact, Gallup research shows that employees in the US spend only 17% of their workweek utilizing their strengths. This creates a major impact on the organization in terms of productivity, engagement and retention.

To create a cultural shift, leaders can start by asking one simple question. What would happen if we focus on what’s right with our people rather than fixating on what is wrong with them?

First, a leader needs to identify their team’s strengths. I recommend working with a consultant, like myself, to administer the StrengthsFinder assessment for an entire workgroup. The assessment provides an objective report that ranks an employee’s 34 strengths in descending order. Another option is to have 1-1 meetings with employees designed to answer the following questions:

• What tasks or areas of your job do you look forward to the most?

• When do you feel the most effective at work?

• What makes you feel fulfilled at work?

The answers to these questions will uncover an employee’s natural talents. They will also guide the employee and manager in deciding which skills the employee should invest energy in developing. Perhaps, a receptionist always looks forward to posting on social media. A manager could allow more time during the week to do this activity and could invest in communication and social media marketing training. After talking to a struggling sales rep, a manager learns that he/she enjoys and excels at analyzing data. Rather than firing this person, he/she could be moved to the Production or Accounts Receivable function of the company. The possibilities are endless.

Strengths-based leadership does not imply that employees shouldn’t be held accountable for poor performance or that they can dismiss any job duty that they don’t find fun. Rather, it advocates for utilizing the collective strengths of a team to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. When all team members are spending the majority of the time working on things they excel at and enjoy, it changes the landscape of the company. Thirty years of research shows that workgroups realized 29% increased profit, 19% increased sales, 72% less turnover, and 7% higher customer engagement. In addition, Gallup found that employees at strengths-based companies are 3x more likely to report having a higher quality of life and 6x more likely to feel engaged in their jobs. All of these factors impact the bottom line and create a workplace where people can thrive and produce measurable results.

In conclusion, weakness fixing prevents failure. Strengths building leads to success.

Learn more about Dr. Jessica Stahl in her RCS Directory. 

About Dr. Jessica Stahl

Dr. Jessica Stahl is the owner of Ignite Results, a management consulting firm that specializes in scaling roofing companies by building systems and developing leaders that produce measurable results. She is an Organizational Psychologist who was spent the last decade partnering with Fortune 100 companies and small businesses to attract, hire and retain talented team members.  She is an internationally published researcher, author, coach and university professor. Her methods are proven to decrease turnover by 20%, enhance sales by 17%, and increase employee satisfaction by 12%. Her leadership philosophy is simple: 

“Invest in your people as they are the foundation of the company and your only unique resource.”