From The EarthAsylum Leadership Circle Newsletter

What Are Your Strengths?

There seems to be a renewed focus, in some circles, on strengths and “the strengths revolution”. Mostly caused by Marcus Buckingham’s new book “Go Put Your Strengths To Work” and his promotional tour.

I had the opportunity to attend one of his early seminars in this tour and was quite impressed with his passion and his presentation.

One of the more depressing facts that he brought out was that since he and Donald Clifton started this so-called strengths revolution, the numbers have gone down.

For example, in 2000, when asked, “which do you think will help you be most successful?”  Only 41% of the respondents answered “building on your strengths” while 59% answered “fixing weaknesses”.

In 2006, the numbers were 37% and 63% respectively.

A 2005 survey showed that only 17% of people spend most of their day playing to their strengths.

In 2006, the number was 14%.

And here’s the one that really kicked me... When asked “When you talk with your manager about your performance what do you spend most time talking about?” - this is what we see:

Only 24% even talk about their strengths.

It’s surprising, yet it’s not. What I’ve seen is that, when being honest, people can readily tell you what their weaknesses are, what they don’t do well. But ask them what their strengths are, and they really have to think about it to come up with an answer.

Our obsession with weaknesses is so ingrained in us that we can’t break away. It started in childhood - whenever there was something that you weren’t good at in school, it became the focus of your (and your parent’s and your teacher’s) attention. Which gets more attention, the A or the F?

(Here’s a thought for parents... find out what strengths were used to produce that A and then figure out how to use those strengths to help pull up the F – don’t ask “why the F?”, ask “why the A?”).

I’ve spent a fair amount of time talking with people about strengths. Particularly, strengths at work. During my conversations, most people seem to understand the power and benefits of focusing on strengths yet nothing gets done. It’s not today’s priority. It’s not a hot item to work on. Yet it’s been shown time and time that focusing on strengths can increase productivity, increase profitability, increase customer satisfaction, decrease employee turnover, and decrease safety incidents – dramatically!

So we just don’t get it. Or maybe we get it, we just don’t know what to do with it. Many of you may have heard my criticism in the past that all of the books from Gallup and Buckingham that focus on strengths always tell us what we need to do – but they don’t tell us how to do it. I think that’s where we get stuck. It makes sense, but how do we implement a strengths based performance program? What does it mean to “discover your strengths”? How can I focus on my strengths when I have to get this (whatever “this” may be) done today?

I think that maybe the best way I can help answer some of these questions is to share my own strengths and my own observations (positive and negative).

I’ll go through my 5 top strengths – according to the Clifton Strengths Finder assessment – and share some of the experiences I’ve had in regard to those strengths...

(Intellection, Adaptability, Connectedness, Strategic, and Input)

      ...next month.

In the mean time, let me share a few more statistics from Buckingham’s presentation...

Why did you take your current Job?

How often do you feel an emotional high from your work?

Do you have the freedom to modify your job to fit your strengths better?

It seems that conventional wisdom tells us that building on strengths at work may be an appealing theory but it won’t actually work. Too many people would be running to their manager or to Human Resources and complain that they’re hindered from sculpting their job in a manner that best suites their strengths, or that they’re simply in the wrong position and that they should be transferred (say, to CEO, or something more suitable).

However, when a national sample of the workforce were asked what their ideal job is, 60% answered “what I’m doing now with increased responsibility” or “a specialized subset of what I’m doing now”. Only 31% indicated a different job.

Asked why they took their current job and most answer “a greater opportunity to do more of what I like to do.”

Asked how often they feel an emotional high, and 51% say “about once a week.”

Ask them whether they have had the chance to modify their role to fit their strengths and 50% agree that they do.

What this says is that we’re really not that far off. Sure many of us are grossly miscast. But most of us have at least some control over our own activities and most of us are in suitable roles for our strengths.

What the numbers show is that organizations don’t need to re-align jobs and individuals don’t need to hold out for the perfect or “dream” job. Instead, the challenge is: 

“How can we gradually but deliberately increase how often each person plays to his strengths?
How can we get people from ‘once a week’ to ‘most of the time’?

The Abilities of Peak Performers

According to a 19-year study conducted by Charles Garfield, Author of the widely acclaimed Peak Performance trilogy: Peak Performers, Team Management and Second to None,  there are ten make-or-break abilities that all peak performers have.

Mr. Garfield started by asking executives and managers to name the most outstanding leaders in their fields. He then conducted in-depth interviews with the 310 persons who were most frequently mentioned and as a result he identified the following ten attributes of  peak performers.

1. Setting Goals

Peak performer, according to Garfield, set long-range goals and chart-detailed plans to achieve them. They analyze the steps they will need to achieve their goals, and what’s involved in each.

2. Upgrading Goals

Peak performers don’t just meet their goals. They constantly upgrade the goals once they met them. They use a progressive goal-setting method. As soon as one target or quota is met, they set a new, more difficult goal. They are always looking for ways to get out of the comfort zone.

3. Seeking Feedback

Peak performers seek expert advice and feedback more often than the average. They build a far-flung network of experts to rely on. They ask a lot of questions before making decisions and they are not shy in seeking the opinions of other people.

4. Risk Taking

Most good managers begin by researching a risk thoroughly. Some also turn to their support network asking for advice. The peak performers, however, go two steps further. First, they identify the worst possible outcome of taking the risk and see if they  can live with it. This helps them to move ahead without having self-doubt. Secondly, they ask what would be the worst thing that could happen if they didn’t take the risk. Having these two questions answered is most helpful in making the decision.

5. Self Confidence

Garfield says, “Interestingly, I never heard the word ‘failure’ during my research. I heard ‘glitch’ or ‘screw up’ but never ‘failure.’ Peak performers develop a higher self-confidence because : 1. They so thoroughly prepare for all consequences. 2. They keep a running inventory of their strong points, and think back of times when their strengths helped them come through.

6. Pushing Ideas

Peak performers push longer and harder to get good ideas implemented. They don’t take the first, or second, no for an answer. The reason for this is that they have done sufficient research to be committed to their stake in the idea.

7. Responsibility and Control

Peak performers are always on the prowl for ways to expand the boundaries of their job well. They look  for new ways to do their, and others’, jobs better.

8. Solving, Not Blaming

When something goes wrong, the average manager rushes to find a culprit, and affix blame. The result is that people around her/him become adept at protecting themselves. The peak performer approaches problems with a focus on solutions, not punishment. This encourages creativity in people.

9. Rehearsing

Peak performers rehearse much more than the average performers. “The actor who has rehearsed it 50 times is more likely to give a winning performance than the one who has gone over it three times.”

10. A Sense of Mission

without exception, the peak performers Garfield studied had a strong sense of mission. It isn’t money, fame, or glory they’re driven by. Rather, the most immediate impetus is a deep enjoyment of their work. A passion for work is what fuels true greatness.

Leadership Lessons from John and Elizabeth Edwards

When Senator John Edwards, who is running for the office of the President of the United States for the 2008 election, stood beside his wife Elizabeth to announce that her cancer has returned and reached her bones, many Americans who watched the news conference were impressed with the way the Senator and his wife acted and communicated.

They decided to continue the campaign, which was clearly the wish of Elizabeth. We know that the qualities of leadership become most acute at times of crises. It seems that the Edwards' courageous and classy way of facing this challenge has actually helped their quest for the White House. Here are the lessons of leadership we learned from observing John and Elizabeth Edwards:

1- Candor

The Senator and his wife struck people as naturally honest and forthcoming in talking about their critical and personally painful situation, a quality not seen to that level of honesty in many, if not most, politicians. A leader must, before anything else, be authentic, so that followers can be assured that the vision they are committing to by supporting him or her is a real and possible one.

2- Courage

The courage exhibited clearly by Elizabeth Edwards as she faced her approaching mortality was truly inspiring. She said that she decided not to go to a corner and start dying. She wanted to live a useful life to the last breath. She seemed to feel that continuing her husband's campaign was both a personal fight-back approach for her and an important mission for the couple. Since they have two children ages six and eight, the family challenges and sacrifices are going to be huge. Having the courage to face these challenges and bear the sacrifices is an important quality of leadership.

3- Love

Love might not be often associated with leadership. But having the ability to love someone other than yourself, and love a mission that seems important to others as well as to self, is a capacity only great leaders have. The way Senator Edward talked about and to his wife, and the way she talked about and to him, during that news conference and subsequently in a 60 Minutes interview showed a strong, yet tender, capacity for true love between two human beings. People want to see that their leader is human and can relate to the way they feel, aspire, and suffer as human beings.

4- Role Models

Another almost extinct quality of many public figures in politics and business today is the ability to be a role model for others. Upon watching them on a more human level as they faced their personal challenges, people saw a couple that seemed to be suited to be a role model. While many leaders in politics and business have indulged in personal or ethical scandals and misbehavior, the Edwards seemed to exhibit qualities of decency, honesty, and tenderness. You don't see in their campaigns, past or present, the type of negative, aggressive, and nasty streaks that people find in most other campaigns. They offer a different vision for America, with a different definition of leadership and public service.

What a Dumb Idea!

Many things we take now for granted, were conceived as undoable, ridiculous or useless ideas.

Below are what people from the past said about some innovations that we use daily and can't imagine our life without them. The lesson? Don't be so fast in giving a negative evaluation of a new idea, even if it sounded ridiculous to you. Instead of a negative comment, ask: How can we possibly make this work?

Computers:

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."

- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."

-Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year."

-The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

"But what ... is it good for?"

-Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."

-Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

Telephone:

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication."

-Western Union memo, 1876

Airplanes:

"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible."

-Lord Kelvin, President, Royal Society, 1895.

"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value."

-Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.

About The EarthAsylum Leadership Circle

The EarthAsylum Leadership Circle is a business networking, support, and educational association started in January 2006 by six friends and family members who wanted a way to develop their own and other's leadership abilities.

We strive to understand and develop leadership skills and talent in a way that transcends trends and looks beyond short-term goals. We see our mutual role as supporting individuals and organizations in achieving effective and transformational leadership through life affirming and supporting practices.

Find out more at www.EarthAsylum.org...

Also, discover the EarthAsylum Fusion network -- an on-line, interactive forum for news, articles and discussions.

Find out more at www.EarthAsylum.net...

The EarthAsylum Leadership Circle has a lot to offer to its members, and each new member adds to that offering. Please consider joining us. We value your knowledge, insight, and participation.

Download Our Flyer (4pg PDF)