Strength-based Leadership – What Strong Teams Have in Common

IN today’s tough economic environment, strong leadership and close-knit, effective teams are essential for success.

One good way for a leader to improve leadership skills is to take a step back and assess their own strengths.

What are you best at and also, what are your weaknesses?

Do you focus too much on your team members’ weaknesses and not enough on their strengths?

Indeed, as a strong leader, there are many facets to both leading and understanding how to have a successful team.

Workplace consultants Tom Rath and Barry Conchie are two of the world’s most respected experts on strengths-based leadership.

In their 2009 book Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow, Rath and Conchie argue that the most successful teams also possess a wide range of strengths, including:

1. Executing – This is the ability to get things done. A good executor is adept at arranging and controlling tasks, events and people - is consistent and focused - and prepared to take responsibility for jobs

2. Influencing – A good influencer can persuade others to support ideas, projects, tasks, attitudes, or organisational approaches

3. Relationship building – Able to encourage people to work together toward a common goal or ambition

4. Strategic thinking – Skilled at analysing information, making connections, and thinking both ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ the box.

Another thing about strong and successful teams is they do not necessarily have to agree all of the time.

Indeed, Rath and Conchie state that the best teams are often characterised by healthy debate and sometimes heated arguments.

Indeed, they say this volatility is actually healthy in strong teams, as instead of causing team members to become isolated, the debate only serves to develop cohesion and strength.

Also, while some team members may argue, they are still on the same side, and continue to focus closely on the ultimate goal, which is the long-term success and effectiveness of the organisation.

The other thing about strong teams is their team members often remain as committed to their personal lives as they are to their work.

Of course, bringing the same level of commitment and intensity to your family, friends and community may seem hard when you are working long hours and enduring high levels of responsibility.

However, the strongest and most effective team members are quite capable of doing this, and do not let their private lives suffer because of their work responsibilities.

Some successful leaders and team members do this by dedicating their entire weekends to their families, for example.

And most successful organisations these days know that to help decrease employee burnout, it definitely pays to allow their employees to put family first.

Rath and Conchie’s research also found diversity is key to achieving strong and engaged leadership teams.

Indeed, the most effective and successful teams are composed of a diversity of strengths, including those in different leadership dimensions.

This means the most engaged teams welcome a diversity of age, gender, and race, while disengaged teams often do the opposite.

A good start is to hire people based on their individual strengths, not just because their skill sets align with your own

Teams governed by strength-based leadership are also usually magnets for high-performers.

This is because they find such teams stimulating, as well as a good place to both demonstrate their leadership and have a real impact.

Finally, by providing a workplace of transparency and trust, you will encourage team members to really open up about their passions, motivations, and plans for the future, thus adding further strength to the team.