Tips for Reclaiming Company Strengths

Last week we talked about the importance of leveraging strengths when strategizing for the future. However, we tend to give minimal attention to strengths, especially when distracted by looming challenges and threats. Biologically our brains are hard wired to hone in on the negative, what still needs to be done, and how we are falling short. This bias was essential to our early survival. In our modern world, though, the tendency to be negative can easily go into overdrive and become counterproductive.

It’s important to fight this inclination, however, because acknowledging your organization's strengths is an important power move that can bring numerous benefits to your team.

Here is just a sampling of what recent Gallop research revealed about the power of knowing and naming strengths in the workplace:

People who know and use their strengths are

• Happier

• More motivated

• Better able to achieve their goals

• Eight percent more productive

• Fifteen percent less likely to quit their jobs.

Team members who know each other's strengths

• Interact more effectively

• Have fewer conflicts

• Experience increased group cohesion

• Enjoy enhanced engagement and performance.

Company leaders, thus, would be wise to promote strengths and establish a strengths based approach as part of the organization’s culture. Here are a few ways to do this:

• Identify individual strengths: Actively assess and recognize the unique strengths of every team member. This can be done through performance reviews, one-on-one meetings, or strengths-based assessment tools.

• Align roles with strengths: Assign employees to roles and tasks that coincide with their natural talents and skills.

• Structure teams based on strengths: Create teams of individuals with complementary strengths and a balance of different skill sets. Encourage members to capitalize on each person’s strengths as they work together.

• Provide development opportunities: Offer training, mentorship, and opportunities for employees to further enhance their strengths.

• Acknowledge and celebrate strengths: Integrate “strengths checks” into regular meetings. Recognize when strengths were used to complete a project or tackle a problem.

• Get an outside perspective: Sometimes when we’re in the thick of things our vision is skewed. Consider getting a third party to help you evaluate your strengths and discover new ways to leverage them against challenges.

In a world that constantly pulls our attention to what’s missing or what’s wrong, choosing to focus on strengths is a strategic and empowering shift. Taking time to build a strengths based culture doesn’t just help people feel better. It will also help the company perform better.

G2 Solutions has helped many organizations gain clarity and solidify their strategic efforts by doing comprehensive assessments that emphasize company strengths. Give us a call to learn how we can make a difference for your organization.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash