Strength-Building > Weakness-Fixing

"You cannot be anything you want to be — but you can be a lot more of who you already are.” — Tom Rath, author, “Strengths Finder 2.0.”

It’s a refreshingly honest quote that contradicts a dominant cultural narrative. At the same time, it conveys a fundamental truth that, once embraced, is extremely impactful.

As a girl, I wanted to be a world-class gymnast. Try as I might, that dream was not in the cards.

What I did have was a tendency to excel in certain academic pursuits like English, debate and art, coupled with a passion to lead and help others. For me, being “a lot more of who you already are” meant acknowledging my true talents and making the most of opportunities to grow in those areas.

Thankfully, I had several people who pointed me in the right direction and encouraged me along the way, including family, teachers, coaches, supervisors and mentors.

As leaders in the workplace, we must instill a similar culture that focuses on building strengths instead of attempting to fix “weaknesses” or areas of lesser talents. We must meet people where they are and tap into what they’re good at.

Instead of devoting the majority of our energy to weakness-fixing, which only prevents failure at best, strive for excellence by developing your strengths, and the strengths of those around you.

Talent x Investment = Strength

Strengths-based leadership draws heavily on the work of experts Tom Rath, Barry Conchie and Don Clifton, the father of strengths psychology.

Strengths-based leadership draws heavily on the work of experts Tom Rath, Barry Conchie and Don Clifton, the father of strengths psychology.

They describe how:

Talent (a natural way of thinking, feeling or behaving) x Investment (time spent practicing, developing your skills and building your knowledge base) = Strength (the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance).

When we nurture this “Talent x Investment = Strength” formula, employee engagement shoots through the roof. Research has found that employees who are given opportunities to leverage and focus on their strengths daily are six times as likely be engaged on the job and three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life.

Conversely, managers who primarily focus on weaknesses or lesser talents can expect to have 22% of their employees in a state of active disengagement.

The most effective leaders are always investing in strengths, understand their employees’ needs, and surround themselves with the right people and then maximize their team.

Assessing Strengths

According to Strengths Finder 2.0, over a decade Gallup surveyed more than 10 million people worldwide on the topic of employee engagement (or how positive and productive people are at work), and only one-third strongly agreed with the statement: “At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.”

That means two-thirds of workers aren’t seeing their strengths fully utilized. And that’s not just unfortunate on a personal level, it’s bad for business.

Which might lead you to ask: How do I find my strengths and/or the strengths of my team members?

I’d suggest the CliftonStrengths assessment. It lists 34 themes that can be sorted into four domains: executing, influencing, relationship building and strategic thinking. 

Taking this assessment has helped many companies, including my own, gain insight into each person’s unique values, needs and styles, as well as the “motives” behind their thinking and behavior.

It’s a fun, highly productive exercise. And you’ll definitely learn a lot more about yourself and the talent DNA of your workplace. For example, my main strengths are connectedness, positivity, achiever, restorative and strategic.

Closing Thought

The book “Strengths-Based Leadership” describes how a Gallup research team asked more than 10,000 people what the most influential leaders contribute to their lives.

The most commons answers were:

• Trust: Honesty, integrity and respect.
• Compassion: Caring, friendship, happiness and love.
• Stability: Security, strength, support and peace.
• Hope: Direction, faith and guidance.

When developing your strengths, let these four values be your guiding light.