Strengths Based Leadership

by Don Harkey

Several weeks ago, I wrote an article on "Personal Current". In the article, I recommended a book called "StrengthsFinder 2.0". The book includes a code the owner can use on the internet to access a 45-minute test. The outcome of the test is the owner's top 5 strengths. The book gives terrific detail and advice on each strength. If you haven't done this yet, I highly recommend it. Knowing and working within your strengths is a key to being successful.

While "StrengthsFinder" is a great personal tool, it lacked a lot of information on how teams function with differing strengths. That is why I was so excited a couple of weeks ago when a friend told me about a followup book by the same authors called, "Strengths Based Leadership". This book addresses the functions of a leader and the needs of a team. The book also contains the code to take the StrengthsFinder test.

The conclusions of the book are pretty simple, but powerful. The 34 strengths identified by the Gallup information can be divided into 4 categories. These categories are Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, and Strategic Thinking. It turns out that individuals do not need to be "well-rounded" with strengths in all 4 categories to be effective. In fact, there is some indication that many strong leaders have multiple strengths in one category. However, an effective team has members with strengths in all 4 categories.

These findings, based on thousands of surveys and personal interviews, are exciting and intuitive. Does your team have the right people? Now there is a simple way to find out.

I was able to see this information at work just last week as I observed a team within an organization working on strategic planning. The team was discussing several different avenues regarding marketing. One member of the team sat quietly and didn't speak for the first hour and a half. Finally, she had something to say, and it was simple and very actionable. To some people, it looked like she hadn't been paying attention. Some would not include her on future teams because of her apparent lack of input. However, if you look at strengths, you will discover that she is an extremely important team member.

Her strengths fell mostly (3 of 5) within the "Executing" category. She spent the first part of the meeting listening and deliberating all of the information and ideas being passed around. She was not going to talk until she had achieved a level of clarity in the discussion. Once it was achieved, she was able to translate it into something actionable. Have you ever been on a team that talks big and walks small? Your team is lacking the "Executing" strengths.

My strengths (4 of 5) fall in the "Strategic Thinking" category. My role in many meetings is to take the information being presented and organize it into something that makes sense. I am likely to go up to the board and start drawing boxes and arrows. I am the one who will likely be asking about "the big picture" and guiding our discussion toward careful consideration of the future.

If your team ever plans on taking its ideas "on the road", you will need someone with "Influencing" strengths. The role of this person is to get buy in from outside the team. They are the best champions for your team and they are very good and keeping the team focused on what outside people are thinking or how they will will react.

The "Relationship Building" team members are the "glue" for the team. They are constantly working to get the most out of the team. They are the ones who are likely to summarize what the team has been talking about being careful to validate points made by individuals in the room.

All of these strengths are critical to team success. Now you have another reason to get your people to take the StrengthsFinder test! Not only will individuals better understand what makes them tick, team members will better understand their larger roles on the team!

Lack of Clarity Leads to Pointless Conflict

by Don Harkey

Have you ever sat in a meeting, or with a group of friends, and listened to an argument over nothing? It's like an episode of Seinfeld without the laugh track. I've even heard heated arguments by two people debating the most important factor in a decision, even though both parties agree on the decision itself. Think of the old beer commercials... "I drink it because it's less filling." "I drink it because it tastes great."

Another strange phenomenon that happens within teams and especially large groups is the silent majority. I've seen this happen in organizational meetings. The room will have 100 people waiting to vote on an issue. Two people will argue against the issue and two people will argue for the issue. The few people talking will go back and forth over and over again and get quite passionate. Then the vote will occur and it will be a landslide. The people who argued for an hour for the winning side ask those around them who were silent, "why didn't you speak up?"

These are all situations we can relate to. They are uncomfortable moments that make us tense up and start to watch the clock. These are not a healthy exchange of ideas. What causes this?

The bottom line is that these types of arguments are caused by a lack of clarity. Think about our beer example. If the group is trying to decide whether to drink the beer or not, is it really important which reason is most important? What is your group trying to accomplish? What is the purpose for the meeting?

In large group settings, especially in non-profit groups, people will speak for a variety of reasons. They may have a personal issue with someone else in the room. They may disagree with a specific point that was brought up. They may like to hear themselves talk. The leader (or moderator) of the discussion must keep the group focused on the task at hand.

A common mistake of teams that muddies the water is the desire to create a consensus on everything discussed in the meeting. If the decision is Path "A" or Path "B", the goal of the group is to bring out all of the relevant information and make a judgment call on which path to take. The discussion should pass through a continuous filter of "is this important?" and "is this fact or opinion?". If a person disagrees with taking Path "A" for judgment reasons, but the group is definitely leaning toward Path "B", it is better to simply agree to disagree.

When in a meeting or a discussion, remember the purpose of the discussion. Make sure to bring out all of the information so that the team members all have the same information. Discuss the logic different people have in making their decision, and then make the decision. It is not about winning or losing an argument. It is not about building consensus. It's about clarity, which is really the role of leadership.

As a leader, go over an issue before a meeting or discussion repeatedly until the issue is as clear as possible in your head. Organize your thoughts and determine what the key decision factors will be and guide the team into focusing on those factors. Maintaining clarity in team events will make these events more productive and much less painful!