I’ve seen it many times when I was a banker, when I was running my own business and now with my clients: strength-based management is the key to success. But the science also supports it too. (Majumdar, 2020)!
Every person – and employee – is different and should be allowed to express him or herself for who s/he is, without feeling judged or vulnerable. We can’t expect the same behaviours and strengths from all our people - and that’s the good news! Having a diverse assorted and inclusive work environment maximises the potential of our businesses and organisations through the people working in it.
We all want our employees to be engaged, dynamic, content and dedicated. In which case we need to encourage them to develop the place where they feel most confident and happy - their strengths. And the results will be astonishing.
Performance and productivity will rise, and so will the mood in the office! So here’s how…
1. Get in Touch
Direct and frequent contact between employees, their supervisors and leaders is fundamental to create a deep professional bond underpinned by honesty and trust. Science says that simply seeing the person you’re making dealing with – whether it be an employee, a customer, or investor – generates greater trust (Broeder & Remers, 2018).
When we show up – even on Zoom - our employees will feel heard and less vulnerable. And this can lead to more open discussion on their personal interests and their strengths. Sharing ideas and suggestions allows them to grow their strengths and their contribution.
2. Freedom
When it comes to micromanagement, research tells us what we already know and feel: nobody likes it, it’s bad for business and it's terrible for morale. (Shuford, 2019) You don’t need to be in control of every move in the office. We need to trust our people and their skills, and enjoy the benefits of taking a step back.
By focusing on employee strengths, once you’ve discovered what they’re good at, just let them get in with it! The extra win? Now you’ll have time to see the big picture, develop innovation build new strategies.
3. Never Neglect
Ignoring a challenge or a problem employee won’t help them magically improve or make the pain go away. Most likely your employees will though, since disengagement and staff turnover are very common when employees feel overlooked or neglected.
According to evidence, strong disengagement occurs among 40% of people ignored by their supervisors and 22% of people whose supervisors are concentrating on weaknesses (Gallup, 2014).
Negative attention is better than no attention at all, but the old school ways of concentrating on weaknesses is pointless and should be avoided.
Employees that focus on their strengths are more engaged, perform better, are less likely to leave and will increase your top and bottom lines!
4. Mix & Match
Both consciously and unconsciously, we may be tempted to think that a homogeneous team makes life easier and gets more done. It's quite hard to really hire someone who’s background or motivation we simply don’t understand. Yet diverse teams are the shown to be the strongest ones (Alaas et al., 2019). Once you’ve discovered the strengths of your people, make sure to mix and match!
5. Oh Captain, My Captain!
Everyone needs a clear direction to follow. Let your employees use their strengths and figure out how, but make sure you tell them the where and the what.
Setting a clear vision, goals and milestones is certainly where to start. Creating a mentoring program can also be extremely beneficial. And if you want to truly maximise their potential then join over 50% of Fortune 500 companies who use coaching as their #1 intervention to maximise performance.
Scientifically, mentoring is proven to be beneficial in stimulating strengths (Chung et al., 2017) while coaching is described as the ‘golden key for success’ (Roshong, 2019).
Make sure to apply these simple moves and let your employees thrive and shine!
Be well amidst these crazy times,
Andrew
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