Do you know your own strengths?
For any team, an awareness of not only your own strengths but those of your team members is crucial to success, productivity, and growth. Knowing what you’re good at, what you’re not so good at, and where others are better equipped means you can make solid, informed decisions and ensure that all jobs are done by the right people.
Working with your natural aptitudes is a better return on effort investment! Knowing where your weaknesses lie does present an opportunity for self-development, but learning into your strengths will have you working more efficiently and effectively.
A strengths-based approach has diverse benefits
Whether you’re in a boardroom, a classroom, a medical setting, a strengths-based approach is beneficial. This has been demonstrated in different contexts:
Employees whose managers focus on their strengths are more engaged, more productive, and have improved health and wellbeing outcomes.
In this case study of health outcomes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, a strengths-based approach was more likely to promote positive change.
This literature review concluded that a strengths-based approach to mental health treatments.
This literature review concluded that a strengths-based approach to mental health treatments can put patients on the road to recovery.
It’s logical: leaning into yours and others’ strengths is an efficient way to work in just about any field.
One metaphor passed on by Strengths Network is that of a tradie on a job site prioritising how they carry or store their tools. At any given time, they might have one tool in their hand, five or six in their toolbelt, a dozen or more ready to go in the van, and the rest locked away back at home or at the depot. Some are easily accessible, while others are more of a hassle to get to. Similarly, in your own line of work you should have your biggest strengths in hand or in your toolbelt, ready to go—as these are the ones that come most naturally to you. Some other abilities might be less accessible to you, and in that case it’s probably easier to (and excuse us for slipping back into the metaphor here) ask another tradie on site to borrow their tool. Keeping your strengths close and prioritising the work that uses them will maximise the results of your effort. If you’re working within a team, tasks can be divided up accordingly.
Awareness of strengths will boost your leadership
For educators, effective leadership skills are crucial. Teachers are leaders by the very nature of their jobs, and most have other leadership roles outside of the classroom. The ICT changemakers we often work with, in roles both official and unofficial, are tasked with guiding varied and diverse groups of colleagues towards effective use of digital technologies in their teaching. It’s a big ask.
An awareness of your own strengths and weaknesses is a major asset in leadership. It forms a basis for informed decisions about what to delegate, how to approach discussions or conflict, what tasks to sign up for, and which ones to pass on to others. Additionally, it presents an opportunity for vulnerability with each other as you acknowledge weaknesses and rely on other team members to fill gaps.
Importantly, knowing your own strengths can direct you to a leadership model that suits your natural abilities and tendencies. As discussed in this blog post that compares the Kotter model with Māori leadership styles, there are different ways to approach leadership which can suit different people and contexts. While the style you choose should fit with your audience, it should also fit with you.
“My strength is sitting with complexity, untangling it, seeing how it fits together, and identifying what tools can be brought to bear on a problem; then helping people to see order in the chaos and feel like the goal is achievable, and working with individuals to lead their own way through.”
-Stephen, Director of Think e-Learning
The ability to identify strengths not only in yourself but in other people—or to help others discover their own strengths themselves—is another asset. Successful delegation is a key responsibility for those guiding a team; an understanding of each person’s strengths is a roadmap to that destination. A good leader plays not only to their own strengths but to those of a team.
Discovering your strengths
For the Think e-Learning team, CliftonStrengths is the tool of choice for identifying strengths in a work setting—the categories and insight it provides are comprehensive and useful.
A 30-minute assessment will provide a personalised report that dives deep into what you do well, what makes you powerful. This assessment alone provides significant insight, and it’s also a fantastic starting point to build upon with targeted mentoring.
Stephen, our director, recently completed his CliftonStrengths coach training with the Strengths Network team, and has added the tool to his mentorship kete. Being able to incorporate this into his work with clients can make mentoring sessions more targeted and more effective. You can check out his profile here!
If you’d like to take advantage of his strengths-based mentoring, take a look at our strengths-based packages.
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