How to Leverage Your Team’s Strengths – Part 1
/How often have you heard managers in organisations say 'Our people are our greatest asset'? A more accurate phrase might be 'Our people's Strengths are our greatest asset'.
Would you like to:
- Identify the talents and strengths of your team?
- Enable your team to understand each other’s strengths and talents to work together more effectively?
- Leverage these strengths and talents for the benefit of your organisation?
Studies by Gallup show that companies who understand and develop their employees' unique strengths, and channel their employees' roles accordingly, are much better positioned to dramatically outperform their competitors. They report:
- Higher productivity
- Greater levels engagement
- Higher staff retention
In their survey just 20% of people reported being able to use their strengths every day.
What is a strength?
Strengths are a combination of your talent, knowledge, and skills.
Why does using our strengths matter?
Focusing on strengths dramatically impacts everyday life at work. We all have tasks at work and home that we love – and loathe!
When I’m using my Strengths:
- I am good at what I do
- My work is energising
- I look forward to my job
- Time goes quickly
- I am enjoyable to be around
- I treat customers, co-workers, friends well
When I’m not using my Strengths:
- I don’t excel at my work
- My work is tiring
- I dread my job
- Time drags on
- I have fewer positive, creative moments
The reality is that we all have to do things that don’t play to our strengths – that’s life. What we’re trying to do is to find roles and ways of doing tasks, for ourselves and our team - that play to our strengths more than our weaknesses. That way, everyone benefits.
How can we identify our team members’ strengths?
The Gallup Strengths Finder® assessment tool is an online questionnaire that measures the presence of 34 talent themes. It provides individuals with their top "signature" strengths. It identifies how a person is wired – the things they naturally do well. By understanding and refining these talents, individuals and teams can find ways to play to their strengths to be more fully engaged and successful in their work. At just £18 per person it is great value and fits easily within a department budget.
"A great team member volunteers his strengths to the team most of the time."
What next?
The next step involves enabling each person to fully understand their strengths and how they use them at work. Conversations with their manager and / or a qualified Strengths Finder coach can assist greatly here. The team can then come together to explore how to understand and leverage their combined strengths for the benefit of the company.
To find out more…
Contact us to find out how we can help you leverage your team’s strengths or see information about our Strengths Finder team sessions and Strengths Finder coaching courses.
Marcus Buckingham 'Leaders in London' Conference, Nov 07