Aside working to keep the organization going stronger and better, a leader is also duty-bound to improve the skills and competence of those who work with him. He achieves this by playing to their strengths. This is a tough call because it is much easier to concentrate on what is wrong with an individual with the aim of dumping him or her and opting for a better person. But a good leader does not leave anyone who comes his way the same way he met them; he ensures they get better. So, rather than get bogged down by what is wrong with a team member, the leader looks for what is right with him and works on that to bring out the best in the individual. This is very important because one of the basic functions of a leader is to raise other leaders. One way that this is accomplished is by playing to others’ strengths.
The leader who plays to others’ strengths is not unconscious of their weaknesses, but he is deliberate about bringing out the best in them by playing to their strengths because he understands that what an organization eventually becomes is a function of how its human capital is developed and deployed. Knowing that there are two sides to every coin, the leader knows that everyone on his team comes with both strengths and weaknesses. But he is also aware that whatever he concentrates on will increase. He knows that if he pays attention to a subordinate’s weaknesses, he would never get the best out of him because the weaknesses would get magnified and stand in the way of the team member giving his best. So, he chooses to concentrate on what is important. The member was not employed because of his weaknesses but because of his strengths, so the leader encourages him to make use of his strengths for the good of the organisation.
This strategy is beneficial to both the leader and the individual. When a leader concentrates on an individual’s strength, he provides him with an opportunity to be in his element; to do that which gives him energy, that which drives him, that which makes him laugh and come alive, that which he enjoys doing and never wants to stop doing. Because he loves what he does, he gets better at it, his productivity is enhanced and this will unfailingly result in a boost in the organisation’s bottom line.
What are strengths?
According to Marcus Buckingham, a leadership expert who is also a co-author of First, Break the Rules, a strength is an activity that makes one feel strong. It is an activity which invigorates one. Before you do it, you find yourself unconsciously looking forward to it. While you are doing it you don’t struggle to concentrate, but instead you become so immersed in it that time speeds up and you lose yourself in the present moment. And after you are through with it, you feel authentic, connected to the best parts of who you really are. Strengths are important because when deployed, they put individuals at their best.
Everyone has strengths. According to The Happiness Institute, there are 24 different personality strengths. These strengths are categorized into three; wisdom and knowledge; courage; and humanity. Under wisdom and knowledge, there are strengths such as curiosity, love of learning, critical thinking, ingenuity, perspective as well as social and emotional intelligence.
The strengths under courage are; valour, perseverance and integrity. Those under humanity are kindness and love.
All team members have strengths. It is the task of the leader to find out what these are and help his people to unleash them. It is when these are done that success comes within the grasp of the organization.
Why strengths are important
Finding out about team members’ strengths is very important for two major reasons.
It reduces stress
A recent research has it that 75 per cent of Americans are stressed. The statistics maybe higher for Nigerians. Stress has become so commonplace that even young people are assailed by it. Stress is a product of frustration and frustration can emanate from all manner of sources. However, research has also established that those who operate in the areas of their strengths experience low level of stress. Because they enjoy what they do, because they operate in areas that come to them naturally, they do not experience any undue stress.
It enhances productivity
Studies have also confirmed that when people are encouraged to operate in their areas of strength, their productivity experiences a boost. People give more value, deliver better results and also have more commitment to the organization when they use their strengths than when they operate from areas that are alien to their natural abode.
Between talents and strengths
According to Don Clifton, the creator of StrengthsFinder, a talent is a naturally recurring pattern of thought, feeling or behaviour. A talent is what a person does naturally. It’s the way that he naturally thinks or naturally feels or naturally behaves. It is his default. While a person may be able to train himself to think, feel, or behave in another way, it may be like going against the grain since he is not operating in an area that is natural to him.
Clifton also defines a strength as the ability to provide consistent, near-perfect performance. A person’s strengths are his abilities that have been developed. With strengths an individual can consistently demonstrate peak performance.
Linking the two, Clifton says a strength begins with a talent. When an individual discovers, develops and deploys his talents, he builds his strengths. Talents are a breeding ground for strengths. By starting with talents, an individual can accelerate his learning curve and get more return for the time and energy invested. It’s making the most of one’s innate resources.
How leaders play to others’ strengths
Leaders do not end up playing to others’ strengths just because they so desire; they do so by taking some specific steps.
Recognise that everyone is a distinct individual
The starting point for playing to people’s strength is to recognise that every team member is a different individual. What that means is that reliance on a one-size-fits-all strategy in dealing with team members will not only be futile and fruitless, it will also be frustrating and exasperating for both the leader and his people. Every individual should be treated distinctly. This requires having a sound knowledge of the team members so as to be able to identify their strengths. Knowing the distinguishing attributes of each member of the team is very critical for the leader as it enables him to bring out the best in each of them. It is also important because most people spend their waking moments on the job; in other words, the job is their lives. So, it will be devastating to spend one’s lifetime on a frustrating job. Those who are frustrated on their jobs create a toxic environment which will have a telling effect on others’ productivity. The onus, therefore, is on the leader to play to the strengths of everyone on his team for the good of everyone.
Provide tailor-made opportunities for development
As a follow up to identifying the distinctiveness of every team member, the leader should provide them unique opportunities for development. The trend is to treat team members as an entity and provide them with similar opportunities for development. But that is a disservice to both the affected individuals as well as the organization because that way, both parties are short-changed.
Not too long ago, Accenture, an international consulting firm, came up with what it calls ‘performance achievement’ as against the traditional annual employee performance reviews. With this new approach to performance reviews, leaders are expected to provide timely feedback on an ongoing basis. Added to that is that leaders are also expected to come up with development needs of each of those they supervise on a constant basis. What Accenture has done is the deregulation of the performance review exercise, thus making it a frequent, forward-looking coaching session that helps people understand expectations and build on their strengths.
Don’t assume that employees know their strengths
Leaders should not assume that team members will be able to identify their own strengths; research has shown that oftentimes they can’t. Instead of working on their strengths, most team members want to work on other things and this is a cause of frustration. So, great leaders don’t leave the determination of team members’ areas of strength to them. What they do is to work with each of the team members to arrive on what their strengths are. After identifying the strengths, the leader must then align the strengths with the responsibilities and expectations of their roles.
Encourage team members to leverage everyone’s strengths
The essence of finding out the strengths of each member of the team is to enable the leader deploy the strengths of everyone towards the accomplishment of pre-determined corporate goals. Since the team members are going to work together for the realization of group objectives, it is important for them to know what the strengths of everyone on the team are so that they can leverage these and build synergy. If team members know how their strengths complement others’, the strategic deployment of the strengths for the purpose of achieving corporate goals would be easy.
Last line
Leaders who play to people’s strength create an enabling environment for sterling performance.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…
and then