Start Unleashing Superpowers: A Better Way to Build Winning Teams

We've all heard it before: "Focus on your weaknesses." It's drilled into us during performance reviews, job interviews, you name it. But what if this obsession with fixing what we're not good at is holding us back? What if the secret to building truly winning teams isn't about making everyone equally good at everything but letting individual strengths shine?

This idea—the importance of focusing on individual strengths—isn't new to me. I've embraced it for years. But it was unexpectedly reinforced twice last week. First, a friend was telling me about their new manager. Then, I stumbled upon a video of David Letterman interviewing the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir. Two seemingly unrelated events, one powerful message: Winning teams aren't built by forcing everyone into the same mold. They're built by leveraging unique talents.

My friend's story hit home. Their new boss had zero interest in what individuals had done before or where they thrived. The group was treated as 100% interchangeable. It's a recipe for demotivation and, frankly, mediocre results.

Bill Walton's UCLA teams wouldn't have won back-to-back NCAA Basketball Championships if the big Red Head was moved to shooting guard from his center position. In the 1973 championship game, he scored 44 points almost entirely under the basket.

In the Letterman interview, Garcia described a "flow" that happens when the right group of people comes together—with each member contributing their unique talents to create something greater than the sum of its parts. He even mentioned Bill Walton saying something similar about championship basketball teams. "Flow" isn't magic; it's what happens when a team of individuals gets to focus on what they do best.

In business school, I found some subjects effortless, achieving top marks with minimal effort. In other topics, I wasn't as proficient while watching classmates perform with ease. Then a professor shared a pivotal insight: "You're not here to be experts at everything. You're here to learn enough to work with experts." This simple comment transformed my understanding of how winning teams operate—they're made up of individuals with complementary skills who know when to lead and when to hand off to others.

This focus on strengths isn't just my personal view. In his 2010 book, "Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance," the author Marcus Buckingham emphasizes the importance of focusing on your strengths rather than trying to fix your weaknesses.

Here's the gist of Buckingham's thinking:

1. Understand Your Strengths and Weaknesses:

• Strengths: These are the things that energize you. You're good at them, they feel natural, and you see real growth and satisfaction.
• Weaknesses: These drain your energy and make you feel less competent.

2. Prioritize Strengths, Manage Weaknesses:

• Focus on growth: Pour your energy into developing your strengths. That's where you'll see the biggest gains.
• Strategic management: Don't waste time trying to become great at things you're just not wired for. Find ways to minimize the impact of your weaknesses—delegate, partner up, or use tools to help.

3. Optimize Your Environment and Habits:

• Create the right setting: Look for roles and opportunities that let you play to your strengths. Delegate tasks that don't.
• Build supportive habits: Make your strengths a regular part of your routine. Set goals that leverage your natural talents.

4. Communicate Effectively:

• Open communication: Talk to your manager and colleagues about your strengths and weaknesses. This helps create a team where everyone can contribute their best.

When I first read Buckingham's book, it changed how I approached work. I found that focusing on my strengths made me happier and increased my engagement and feeling of fulfillment. I worked with my managers to take on more of what I was good at and less of what drained me.

As a team builder, Buckingham's ideas have shaped how I lead. I spend more time figuring out what energizes each person on the team and then try to get them to do more of what energizes them. I want to know where they want to go, and what they want to grow into, so I can expose them to projects that further develop those interests. And it is not a one-and-done approach, because sometimes they learn that what interests them is not a strength.

This strengths-based approach to leadership isn't a new concept. In his book "Zapp! The Lightning of Empowerment," William Byham describes two types of energy in organizations: "Zapp" (energizing, empowering) and "Sapp" (draining, demotivating). Byham observes that "most managers spend too much time trying to eliminate what's wrong with people and too little time building on what's right with people." This deficit-focused management style creates "Sapp," draining both individual and team performance. This perfectly aligns with my experience. When managers instead focus on strengths, Byham argues, they create "Zapp"—a surge of energy that transforms both individual and team performance. It's not just about making people feel good; it's about creating an environment where talents flourish and weaknesses become irrelevant. As Byham puts it, "People who are excellent at their jobs got that way by building on their strengths, not by eliminating their weaknesses." By creating opportunities for natural talents to shine, teams can achieve a surge of energy, creativity, and performance that transforms results.

The Bottom Line

Building a winning team isn't about forcing everyone into a uniform mold. It's about creating a space where individual strengths can shine. When people feel like they can contribute their unique talents, they're more engaged, more invested, and more fulfilled. And that fuels success for the whole organization. By celebrating individual strengths, organizations unlock performance where passion and purpose propel everyone forward.

References and Additional Insights

• Video (4 minutes): Marcus Buckingham explains Investing in Your Strengths
• Book Summary: “Zapp! The Lightning of Empowerment” by William C. Byham
• Marcus Buckingham's Books on Goodreads
• William Byham's Books on Goodreads