Everyone has strengths. Unfortunately, for most of our lives, the focus was weakness.
In school, you focus on your weakest subject. You may have excellent marks in all other subjects, yet the emphasis is upon the weakness. You go to your first job. At the time of review, the focus is on weakness, what you are doing wrong. You try out for a sport or audition for a part. Again, the focus is weakness.
I find few supervisors, parents, coaches or mentors actually spend time developing and leveraging strengths. Yes, core competencies should be met, but often they are met at the expense of diminishing a strength. Your job as a supervisor, parent, coach or mentor is discovering strengths, leveraging them, and praising them in an employee, child, or player. Think about it. Most people who perform at the most elite levels spend time developing and leveraging strengths while addressing weaknesses with core competencies, rather than trying to make a weakness a strength.
In business, the focus on performance reviews is usually weaknesses. Every year, supervisors and staff sit down and conduct this agonizing ritual called a Performance Review. You talk about strengths and weaknesses with a focus on what is wrong. People have the same weaknesses every year. If the weakness is hurting the employee and not yet developed into a core competency, then a personal improvement program is needed. Annually pointing out a weakness without a willingness to develop the employee is unproductive.
We often ask people to focus on a weakness instead of leveraging a strength. When was the last time you were reviewed on how well you leveraged your strengths for the organization? A weakness may need addressed for better job performance. However, what would happen if every team member of an organization focused on leveraging strengths for the benefit of the greater good?
Your Staff Would Feel Happier and Valued
People want to play from a point of strength. When you discover and leverage strengths, some staff are surprised how far they can actually go. They feel validated and alive.
Your Staff, With Your Help, Would Find the Right Place on the Bus
Now, when they come to work, they are energized about walking in the door knowing their strengths are maximized and they can succeed, both individually and corporately.
You Would Retain Staff
When staff are happy, valued and leveraged for strengths, they want to stay. Amazon recently implemented a voluntary severance package. If you don’t want to work for Amazon, you don’t need to work of Amazon. How much better to implement a retention package! There is a tremendous cost to business for turnover.
Your Company Would Prosper
Many business leaders do not fully understand Human Relations. Humans are the greatest resource of any company or non-profit. For humans to flourish, they need relations/relationships. Business leaders who understand human relations, how to get the right people, get them in the right places, then leverage their strengths, find unlimited potential.
Genesis Human Resources is a unique outsourcing HR firm which partners with employers to maximize the strengths of their staffs and create a drama-free workplace. We would be honored to partner with you in leveraging your company’s strengths.