When I first became a manager, my mentor told me to “make sure I surround myself with strong people.” I thought that meant to make sure the people that were on my team were the most knowledgeable, the most experienced and performed well. Last week I learned a new way of looking at that statement.
My leadership team participated in a training last week focused on identifying individual strengths and how those strengths contribute to the team. The training was based on CliftonStrengths created by Don Clifton (Rath, 2017). CliftonStrengths incorporates an assessment to identify the individual’s top 5 strengths out of 34 possible leadership strengths (Rath, 2017). This approach to leadership is a hybrid of the skills and trait approaches to leadership. The skills approach focuses on the abilities of a leader that can be developed or learned, such as human skills or technical skills (Northouse, 2016). The trait approach focuses on those characteristics of a leader that are innate, such as self-confidence and determination (Northouse, 2016). CliftonStrengths further breaks down traits and skills to identify the characteristics that contribute to the various strengths (Clifton, 2007). For example, the trait approach states that determination is a key trait for leaders and defines it as the ability to achieve goals (Northouse, 2016). While CliftonStrengths does not have determination listed as a strength, however achiever is similar and is defined by Clifton as “a constant need for achievement” (Rath, 2017).
This approach to leadership goes on to say that the focus should be on what we do well, what comes natural and not on what we need to improve or develop which may take time or be difficult to learn because it is unnatural (Rath, 2017). This approach is also similar to the psychodynamic approach as it brings awareness to the individual and how that individual operates within a group (Northouse, 2016). After we completed the individual assessments, we talked about the top 5 strengths that were identified in each of us and how we have been able to utilize those strengths in our leader roles. The next phase of the training, we conducted exercises to see how those strengths worked within our team environment. It was in these exercises where we started to learn the strengths of others and how each individual contributed to the overall performance of the team.
Finally, the training facilitator mapped each of our strengths on a grid. It was surprising to see that we all had some similar strengths and some very different strengths. What was most surprising was our leader had strengths that none of us had, as did some of the other team members. It was in those strengths that were different than our own which gave a clearer picture of how the team can perform better as a whole than as individuals. For example, one of the team members had a strength of “communicator,” which is the ability to bring events to life using lively words and stories (Clifton, 2007). One would think that in a room full of directors and vice presidents, we would all be strong communicators, but only one person had this as a strength. The strength of “communicator” isn’t about how well or how often or even how comfortable a communicator is. Its about the words the person uses to paint a picture for the audience and the emphasis the person puts on being able to tell the story (Rath, 2017). Knowing that we have a person on our team that has a strength of “communicator,” we now can go to that person for assistance in developing communications when it is vital to get our point across or when we are facing challenges in reaching the audience.
We are far from done in learning about how to utilize the strengths of our team. We have created awareness for the entire team to see the tools and resources that we have on our team that can be drawn upon in different situations. I gained the most value from this training, not only in understanding where my strengths lie, but also knowing that others on the team possess strengths that aren’t necessarily my strengths but that I can partner with in order to become a stronger leadership unit.
So when I look at the statement “surround yourself with strong people,” I no longer think only about the experience or skill set of the individual, I think about how that person’s ability complements my abilities. What strengths does that person possess that I need on my team in order to perform better. By surrounding myself with people that have strengths that are similar and unique to my own, I am creating a team of individuals that can accomplish more as a unit than they could as individuals.
References
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Seventh Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Rath, T. (2017). Strengthsfinder 2.0. New York: Gallup Press.
Natalie Kopes says
CliftonStrengths sounds like it is a program taken from one of the chapters of our textbook. I can already imagine Northouse going over the strengths and criticisms of the program. A strength I noticed right away was what you stated about the program: it is a mix of the trait approach and the skills approach. I feel that mixing these two approaches makes a lot of sense if one were to figure out what type of leader they are. A second strength is that it involves a lot of self-reflection, which is great for leadership.
I wonder if this program emphasizes any part of the role of the follower. Northouse continuously criticizes approaches which do not focus on the follower (2016). I also think the idea of seeing everyone else’s strengths for this program is interesting. Perhaps it would be a good way for a discussion to start about who is more suited to be a leader. Like you stated in your piece, it is good to surround yourself by strong people; this idea would be perfect to begin a dialogue for leadership focus.
References
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Seventh Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.