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Strengths Based LeadershipA Process for Self-Discovery
Executive Leadership Institute
Graduate School of Banking at Colorado
Westminster, Colorado April 2015
What is Strengthsfinder 2.0?
Strengthsfinder 2.0 is a tool to seek out your dominant strengths and a program to focus on capitalizing on these strengths.
Four books: Now, Discover Your Strengths Strengthsfinder 2.0 Go Put Your Strengths to Work Strengths-Based Leadership
Best Boss Ever Activity
What are the characteristics or traits you
observed with this person that made them so
special?
What causes you to follow a leader?
What causes you to choose not to follow a
leader?
The Gallup Research
50 years of research – most admired leaders
20,000 in-depth interviews with senior leaders
Studies of more than one million work teams
Study involving 10,000 followers
Key Question: Why do you follow this person?
Three Key Findings
The most effective leaders are always..
1. Investing in their “Followers” strengths
2. Surrounding themselves with the right people
& maximize their teams.
3. Understand their “Followers” needs.
Why People Follow – According to Gallup
Need leader to provide solid foundation – hope
Can count on in times of trouble
Need to know leaders core values are solid
Growth/Change is good, also need stability =
confidence
Confidence in financial stability = 9X greater
chance of engagement
Wh
at is a
stren
gth
?
Consistent,
near perfect
performance in
an activity
Strength
The ability to provide near perfect performance in a given activity.
Strength =
Definitions
Talents: a naturally recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied.
Knowledge: what you know as a result of either formal or informal education
Skill: the basic ability to move through the fundamental steps of a specific task.
A Simple Formula
Talent X Investment = Strength
What is his
strength?
A Shift in Thinking…
Typical or traditional theory tells us that we learn from our
mistakes.
If we want to learn about our successes, we must study success,
not our mistakes.
What Are Your Strengths?
“Most Americans do not know what their
strengths are. When you ask them, they
look at you with a blank stare, or they
respond in terms of subject knowledge,
which is the wrong answer!”
Peter Drucker
What Do You Believe?
Each person’s room for growth is in the area of his or her greatest strength.
The greatest human growth potential is in the area of greatest weakness.
Strength Building Paradigm Weakness Fixing Paradigm
Some behaviors can be learned, many are nearly impossible to learn.
The best in a role deliver the same outcomes, but use different behaviors.
Weakness-fixing prevents failure. Strength-building leads to success!
To have success, we should try to replicate the behaviors of the best performers.
All behaviors can be learned, if a person applies him/herself.
Weakness-fixing is the key to success!
Focus on Weakness Culture or Paradigm
What happens when managers focus only on
developing followers weaknesses?
Weakness or Non-Talent?A weakness is something that gets in our way, or the
way of others.
What can we do about weaknesses?
Putting the Themes to Work
We need to learn how to take our existing job
and reshape it around our themes; make our
jobs play to our strengths.
Establish a new framework for work:
Pinpoint what invigorates & what depletes you
Stay in control of your hours
Explain what you are doing
STRENGHTSFINDER
THEMES
Activator
Adaptability
Analytical
Arranger
Belief
Command
Communication
Competition
Connectedness
Context
Deliberative
Developer
Discipline
Empathy
Fairness
Focus
Futuristic
Harmony
Ideation
Inclusiveness
Individualization
Input
Intellection
Learner
Maximizer
Positivity
Relator
Responsibility
Restorative
Self-Assurance
Significance
Strategic
Woo
Four Domains of Leadership
What Makes A Great Leadership Team?
Four Domains of Leadership Stength
Executing
Influencing
Relationship Building
Strategic Thinking
Executing Influencing Relationship Building
Strategic
• Achiever• Arranger• Belief• Consistency• Discipline• Focus• Responsibility• Restorative
• Activator• Command• Communicati
on• Competition• Maximizer• Self-
Assurance• Significance• Woo
• Adaptability• Developer• Connected• Empathy• Harmony• Includer• Individual• Positivity• Relator
• Analytical• Context• Futuristic• Ideation• Input• Intellection• Strategic
Four Domains of Leadership
Questions…You might ask yourself
Are there any obstacles to building my strengths?
Why focus on these themes?
Is there significance to the order?
Will I become too narrow if I focus on just my signature themes?
Group Activity Share your strengths with the group, one
strength at a time.
Provide a brief description of the strength.
Provide and example of a time when the
strength worked for you.
Provide an example of a time when the
strength may have hurt you by over using it, or
mis-applying it.
Speak Up
Continually voicing the concept of
strength-based leadership will lead to
greater utilization of the principles
Discuss strengths when assigning roles &
responsibilities
REMEMBER: The goal is to approach
your work the majority of the time from a
strength perspective; attempting this all of
the time is likely unattainable
Managing Strengths
“Mediocre managers assume (or hope) that their employees will be motivated by the
same things, driven by the same goals, desire the same kinds of relationships, and
learn in roughly the same ways.”
What percentage of the US
workforce is actively engaged at
work and believe they are doing
what they do best?
16%
Developing People
The best way to develop people and net the greatest return on investment in
their growth is to identify their talents; then help them add the skills and
knowledge that build strengths -- the ability to provide consistent, near-
perfect performance.
Thank you for your attention and participation!!
Questions?