By Tania Friedlander
In today's competitive business landscape, the key to organizational success often lies not in individual brilliance, but in the collective power of well-functioning teams. As a leadership and high performance coach, and a Gallup Global Strengths Coach, I've seen firsthand the transformative power of focusing on strengths within a team. At the heart of these high-performing units is a leadership approach that has gained significant traction in recent years: strengths-based leadership.
Strengths-based leadership, rooted in positive psychology, posits that individuals perform at their best when they leverage their natural talents and abilities. Rather than focusing on fixing weaknesses, this approach emphasizes identifying, nurturing, and strategically applying each team member's unique strengths. By doing so, leaders can unlock unprecedented levels of engagement, productivity, and innovation within their teams.
As Don Clifton, the father of strengths-based psychology, once said, "What will happen when we think about what is right with people rather than fixating on what is wrong with them?" This question encapsulates the revolutionary nature of strengths-based leadership.
By shifting our focus from deficits to strengths, we unlock a world of potential that traditional leadership approaches often leave untapped. It's a powerful reminder that our greatest room for growth lies not in our weaknesses, but in the areas where we already show signs of strength.
Central to this approach is the critical task of aligning team roles with individual strengths. When team members are positioned in roles that play to their natural abilities, they not only perform better but also experience greater job satisfaction and personal fulfillment. This alignment creates a symbiotic relationship where individual growth fuels team success, and team achievements drive personal development.
This article aims to provide leaders with practical strategies for forming and managing high-performing teams using strengths-based principles and insights gleaned from almost a decade of coaching executives, leaders, and professionals at Fortune 500 companies. We'll explore how to identify individual strengths, create complementary team compositions, and cultivate an environment where diverse talents can thrive.
Understanding Strengths-Based Leadership
Gallup, a global analytics and advice firm renowned for its research in this field, defines strengths as "the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance in a specific activity" [1]. Strengths are not just skills you're good at, but talents that energize you - the tasks that make you lose track of time because you're so engrossed in them.
The key principles of strengths-based leadership include:
Identifying individual strengths
Aligning roles with strengths
Continuous development
Creating a strengths-based culture
Leading by example
The benefits of adopting a strengths-based approach are profound and far-reaching. According to Gallup's research [2]:
Teams led by managers who focus on their employees' strengths are 61% more engaged compared to teams led by managers who focus on weaknesses .
Workgroups that receive strengths interventions see 12.5% greater productivity.
Employees who use their strengths every day are 15% less likely to quit their jobs.
Organizations that implemented strengths-based leadership saw 14-29% increase in profit.
Strengths-based leadership stands in stark contrast to traditional deficit-based models that focus on fixing weaknesses. While traditional approaches often concentrate on identifying and addressing weaknesses, strengths-based leadership emphasizes amplifying what people naturally do best. It tailors growth opportunities to individual talents and recognizes that peak performance looks different for each individual based on their unique strengths.
Imagine two sales managers, Sarah and Mike, who are both struggling to meet their targets. Their supervisor, Alex, takes different approaches with each of them.
With Sarah, Alex notices her natural ability to build rapport and maintain long-term relationships with clients. Instead of focusing on Sarah's weaker areas like cold calling or closing deals quickly, Alex encourages her to leverage her relationship-building skills. Sarah is tasked with developing a key accounts program, allowing her to focus on nurturing high-value, long-term client relationships. This plays to her strengths and ultimately leads to more stable, profitable accounts.
In contrast, Mike excels at quick thinking and persuasive pitching but struggles with follow-up and administrative tasks. Rather than forcing Mike to improve his weak areas, Alex pairs him with an assistant who handles the follow-up and paperwork. Mike is then free to focus on what he does best: making initial contacts and closing deals. His performance improves dramatically when he's able to concentrate on his strengths.
By tailoring roles and expectations to each individual's natural talents, Alex helps both team members thrive in their own unique ways, leading to better overall team performance and increased job satisfaction.
Identifying Team Members' Strengths
The foundation of strengths-based leadership lies in accurately identifying and understanding the unique talents of each team member. This process is not a one-time event but an ongoing journey of discovery and refinement.
Methods for assessing individual strengths include:
Personality Assessments: These provide insights into individuals' natural tendencies and preferences. Strength assessments are a great starting point, they can offer valuable clues about potential areas of excellence.
Performance Reviews: Regular evaluations can reveal patterns of high performance, indicating areas where an employee naturally excels.
Self-Assessments: Encouraging team members to reflect on their own perceived strengths can be illuminating. Ask questions like, "What tasks energize you?" or "In which activities do you lose track of time?"
360-Degree Feedback: Gathering input from peers, subordinates, and supervisors can provide a comprehensive view of an individual's strengths from multiple perspectives.
Behavioral Interviews: Structured interviews focusing on past experiences and behaviors can uncover natural talents and tendencies.
Observation: Pay attention to which tasks team members volunteer for, where they show the most enthusiasm, and where they consistently deliver high-quality results.
There are several tools and resources available for identifying strengths, a few of the best includeThe Gallp Clifton Strengths, VIA Character Strengths, and Kolbe A™ Index.
The Gallup CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder) is an assessment that identifies an individual's top 5 strengths out of 34 themes. It's based on decades of research by Gallup and is widely used in corporate settings. The full 34-theme assessment provides even deeper insights.
The VIA Character Strengths was developed by psychologists Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson, this free assessment identifies an individual's top character strengths out of 24 possibilities. Lastly, the Kolbe A™ Index assessment measures an individual's natural way of taking action in four categories: Fact Finder, Follow Thru, Quick Start, and Implementer.
Identifying strengths is not a one-and-done process. The importance of ongoing evaluation and feedback cannot be overstated. As individuals gain experience and face new challenges, their strengths may develop or shift. Regular reassessment ensures you're working with current information.
I once worked with a client, Rachel, who was initially identified as having strong analytical skills when she joined her company as a junior analyst. Her managers consistently assigned her complex data projects, which she excelled at. However, as Rachel progressed in her career, I noticed during our coaching sessions that she seemed most energized when discussing her interactions with stakeholders and explaining complex findings to non-technical teams.
We reassessed her strengths and discovered that while her analytical skills remained strong, she had developed a remarkable talent for translating technical information into actionable insights for decision-makers. This revelation led to a shift in her career trajectory. Instead of continuing on a purely technical path, Rachel transitioned into a business intelligence role where she could leverage both her analytical abilities and her newly recognized strength in communication.
This change not only increased Rachel's job satisfaction but also added significant value to her organization, as she became a crucial bridge between the technical and business sides of the company. Had we not regularly reassessed her strengths, this valuable talent might have gone unnoticed and unutilized.
This example demonstrates how ongoing evaluation of strengths can uncover new talents, lead to more fulfilling career paths, and ultimately benefit both the individual and the organization.
In addition, individuals may not recognize their own strengths. Ongoing feedback can help uncover hidden talents. A strength in one context might be a weakness in another. Continuous evaluation helps understand how strengths manifest in different situations. Furthermore regular discussions about strengths keep team members engaged and motivated, reminding them of their value to the team.
Aligning Strengths with Roles and Responsibilities
Once you've identified your team members' strengths, the next crucial step is aligning these strengths with roles and responsibilities. This alignment is the key to unlocking peak performance and job satisfaction.
Strategies for matching strengths to roles include:
Strengths mapping: Create a matrix of team roles and required strengths, then match individuals to roles where their top strengths are most valuable.
Job crafting: Encourage employees to reshape their roles to better fit their strengths. Research by Amy Wrzesniewski shows job crafting can increase engagement and performance [6].
Complementary partnerships: Pair team members with complementary strengths for projects.
Stretch assignments: Offer projects that allow individuals to use their strengths in new ways.
Regular strength-role reviews: Conduct periodic assessments to ensure ongoing alignment.
Several notable companies have successfully implemented strengths-based alignment including Best Buy, Facebook, and The Cheesecake Factory.
Best Buy implemented a strengths-based approach in their Geek Squad division, resulting in a 40% rise in customer satisfaction scores [2]. Facebook uses strengths-based development for all employees, leading to 60% of employees changing roles to better align with their strengths, resulting in higher engagement and retention [7]. The Cheesecake Factory adopted strengths-based leadership in their restaurants, leading to a 20% drop in turnover rates and increased sales and profits [8].
The benefits of role alignment are substantial and multifaceted. Research shows that employees who use their strengths daily are six times more likely to be engaged at work, leading to increased job satisfaction. Teams employing strengths-based strategies experience a 12.5% boost in productivity, enhancing overall performance. When each team member's role aligns with their strengths, it fosters an environment of mutual appreciation and respect, improving team dynamics. People working in their areas of strength are more likely to generate creative solutions, increasing innovation. Moreover, when work aligns with natural talents, it feels less like a chore, promoting better work-life integration.
1. Let’s take Sarah, Director of Sales: Sarah's top Gallup strengths are Achiever, Competition, and Woo (Winning Others Over). As the Director of Sales, Sarah leverages these strengths to drive her team's performance:
Leading with achiever: Sarah sets ambitious sales targets and works tirelessly to meet them. She consistently stays late to make one more call or send one more proposal, inspiring her team to push their limits. With regards to her competitive strengths: She implements a friendly competition among sales teams, fostering a high-energy environment where everyone strives to be the top performer. Sarah loves being around people and excels at building relationships with potential clients and partners. She often closes deals by making genuine connections with decision-makers.
By working within her strengths, Sarah finds creative solutions to sales challenges. For instance, she developed a unique client engagement program that combines her competitive spirit with her ability to win people over, resulting in a 20% increase in client retention. Her work doesn't feel like a chore; instead, she's energized by the constant pursuit of new sales records and the thrill of winning new clients.
2. Michael, VP of Marketing: Michael's top Gallup strengths are Strategic, Ideation, and Empathy. As the VP of Marketing, he uses these strengths to guide his department:
Leading with strategic thinking, Michael excels at seeing the big picture and mapping out long-term marketing plans. He can quickly identify the most effective paths to achieve marketing goals. He excels at ideating: He constantly generates new ideas for campaigns and is always looking for innovative ways to reach the target audience. And since Michael leads with empathy; he has a keen understanding of customer needs and emotions, which he uses to craft marketing messages that resonate deeply with the audience.
Michael's strengths allow him to innovate in his role. For example, he conceived a multi-channel marketing campaign that combined data-driven insights with emotionally compelling storytelling, resulting in a 35% increase in brand engagement. His work feels fulfilling as he gets to exercise his creativity and strategic thinking daily while making meaningful connections with consumers.
In both cases, Sarah and Michael are more innovative and find greater work-life integration because their roles align with their natural talents. They don't view their work as merely tasks to be completed, but as opportunities to express their unique strengths, leading to higher job satisfaction and performance.
Fostering Collaboration and Team Dynamics
In a strengths-based team, effective collaboration is crucial for leveraging diverse talents. Leaders can promote collaboration by creating cross-functional teams with complementary strengths, encouraging knowledge sharing and mentoring based on individual strengths, and implementing team-based problem-solving sessions that draw on diverse abilities.
Building a culture of appreciation and mutual respect is essential in a strengths-based environment. This can be achieved by regularly highlighting and celebrating individual strengths' contributions, encouraging team members to recognize and appreciate each other's strengths, and incorporating strengths discussions into team meetings and performance reviews.
Strengths-based teams are well-equipped to handle conflicts when they arise. They can use strengths awareness to understand different perspectives, leverage complementary strengths to find innovative solutions, and focus on strengths to reframe conflicts as opportunities for growth and collaboration.
Optimizing Team Dynamics for Peak Performance
Optimizing team dynamics for peak performance involves creating a strengths-based team structure. This includes mapping team roles to required strengths, assembling teams with complementary abilities, and allowing flexibility in role definitions to maximize strengths utilization. Continuous development and application of strengths can be encouraged through regular coaching and feedback sessions, providing opportunities for strengths-based learning, and encouraging team members to find new ways to apply their strengths.
Measuring and tracking team performance based on strengths utilization is crucial. This involves setting strengths-based performance goals, tracking strengths usage and its impact on team outcomes, and regularly reviewing and adjusting team composition based on strengths data.
To implement strengths-based strategies effectively, leaders should start with self-awareness, understanding and leveraging their own strengths. This approach can catalyze personal and professional growth, as illustrated by my experience with a client named Sarah, a mid-level manager at a tech company.
Initially struggling with imposter syndrome, Sarah felt overwhelmed by her responsibilities. Through our coaching sessions, we focused on identifying her core strengths using assessments and reflection exercises. We discovered that Sarah excelled in strategic thinking and relationship building. Armed with this self-awareness, she began to consciously leverage these strengths in her role.
Sarah initiated cross-departmental collaborations, utilizing her relationship skills to break down silos within the organization. Her strategic thinking allowed her to propose innovative solutions to longstanding problems. As she leaned into her strengths, her confidence grew, and her team's performance improved dramatically. Within six months, she secured a promotion to senior management and reported feeling more fulfilled and authentic in her leadership style.
To build on this approach, leaders should communicate the value of a strengths-based strategy to their team, invest in strengths identification tools and training, and make strengths discussions a regular part of team interactions. It's important to be patient, as building a strengths-based culture takes time and consistent effort.
However, leaders should also be aware of common pitfalls. These include overlooking weaknesses entirely (while the focus is on strengths, critical weaknesses still need to be managed), pigeonholing team members (avoid limiting individuals to roles that only use their top strengths), and neglecting team balance (ensure the team has a diverse mix of strengths).
By understanding and embracing unique talents, as Sarah did, leaders can enhance not only their own performance but also positively impact their entire team and organization.
Tying It All Together
Strengths-based leadership offers a powerful approach to building high-performing teams. By focusing on identifying and leveraging individual strengths, aligning roles with talents, and fostering a culture of collaboration and appreciation, leaders can unlock unprecedented levels of engagement, productivity, and innovation.
The benefits are clear: increased job satisfaction, enhanced performance, improved team dynamics, and ultimately, better business results. As you embark on this journey, remember that implementing a strengths-based approach is an ongoing process that requires commitment and patience.
To start implementing strengths-based leadership in your organization:
Assess your team's strengths using a reliable tool like Gallup CliftonStrengths.
Begin conversations about strengths with your team members.
Look for opportunities to align roles and responsibilities with individual strengths.
Foster a culture that celebrates and leverages diverse strengths.
By taking these steps, you're not just optimizing for performance – you're creating an environment where people can truly excel and find fulfillment in their work. This is the essence of strengths-based leadership, and it's the key to building teams that don't just perform, but truly thrive.
Sources Cited:
[1] Wrzesniewski, A., & Dutton, J. E. (2001). Crafting a job: Revisioning employees as active crafters of their work. Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 179-201.
[2] Gallup. (2013). State of the American Workplace Report.
[3] Facebook. (2016). People Analytics: Using Data to Drive HR Strategy and Action.
[4] Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (2016). First, break all the rules: What the world's greatest managers do differently. Gallup Press.
[5] Gallup. (2015). Strengths-Based Employee Development: The Business Results.
[6] Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., & Hayes, T. L. (2002). Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(2), 268-279.
[7] Buckingham, M. (2007). Go put your strengths to work: 6 powerful steps to achieve outstanding performance. Simon and Schuster.
Tania Friedlander is an ICF and Gallup Certified Global Strengths coach who specializes in leadership & high-performance coaching. She has worked with 350+ executives and emerging leaders from Google, Facebook, Salesforce, Neiman Marcus, Morgan Stanley, and The Federal Reserve among other leading companies. A former champion athlete and attorney by training, Tania is driven by her passion for helping individuals break through their professional or personal challenges to find clarity and direction, leverage their strengths, achieve their goals, and become the best leaders and professionals they can be. Tania has presented at the JWE conference and her insights have appeared in publications such as Fast Company and The C.E.O. Magazine among others. You can learn about working with Tania at: www.higherworkcoaching.com
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