STRENGTHS
BASED
training
As the 'godfather of the strengths movement' and the founder of the CliftonStrengths© assessment tool Don Clifton put it,
“A leader needs to know his strengths as a carpenter knows his tools, or a physician knows the instruments at her disposal."
40 years of grounded academic and field-based, qualitative and quantitative, peer-reviewed study have clearly shown us that positive psychology and a focus on and understanding of strengths can lead to:
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more productivity and a greater competitive edge (Lufthans, Youssef & Avolio, 2007)
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increased chance of project success (Gallup, 2003)
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higher scores on customer relation appraisals (Harter, Schmidt & Hayes, 2002)
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greater financial earning & fewer health problems (Rath & Harter, 2010)
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more staff endorsements (Gallup, 2019)
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increased customer engagement (>6.9%),
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increased employee engagement (>15%),
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increased profit (>29.4%
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increased sales (>19.3%)
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decreased safety incidents (> 59%) (All Asplund et al., 2016)
And yet only 13% of staff worldwide continue to describe themselves as being engaged at work because we still focus on associates' mistakes, errors and weaknesses. This attention to failure only reduces staff engagement further and, so, reduces productivity.
What might our teams achieve, if we let them work in environments and on tasks, where they could fulfil their potential and excel by using their strengths and talents?
In my workshops, I carefully work as a moderator, assisting my participants in understanding the incredible power of strengths-orientation. I help them identify with their own talents (using the CliftonStrengths© tool) and coach them to focus more on their strengths and to develop the strengths of their colleagues and reports.
Bees look for pollen in the beautiful, live-giving flowers BUT flies search for ....shit! Then, when they find it, they spread it around...
Do you want your staff going through life like
bees or like flies?