How to Be a Transformative Leader

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Recently, my daughter joined her school’s cross-country running team. Unfortunately, the first couple of weeks of practice were a bit of a mess. Weather-related issues led to a couple of practices and even the first meet being canceled and rescheduled. We missed one practice due to a routine dental appointment but failed to contact the coach, mistakenly thinking it had fallen on a day that was canceled due to weather but, in fact, it was not. The coach was mad—and suddenly she took an extra interest in my daughter, but not in a good way.

The next thing I knew, my daughter was having to run extra laps for not having the right shoes. She had brand-new sneakers, but unbeknownst to me, they needed to be a specific color, so she was out of uniform. Then she was late to a rescheduled track meet because it had been rescheduled at a time that conflicted with my work schedule and, even doing the best I could, we could not make it on time. I received a nasty call for that one. Ultimately, my daughter hand-wrote an apology letter to try to get back into coach’s good graces. But I don’t think we were ever the favorite family on that team.

We’ve likely all experienced a similar life event: We make one mistake, which leads to a spotlight being put on us, amplifying any other mistakes, and suddenly it feels like we can’t do anything right despite our best efforts. Maybe you’ve even experienced this in a job.

Strength-Based Lens

The lesson here is one of perspective. Imagine if, in contrast to the example above, my daughter’s coach had taken a strength-based approach, focusing on her potential rather than her slip-ups. In business, this approach can be just as transformative.

A strength-based approach stems from the fields of psychology and social work. It originated to shine a spotlight on the "well part" of the patient. A strength-based lens has since expanded to several other fields, including education and case management, among others, though it has not historically been linked to the field of business management. However, we can borrow lessons learned in psychology and other fields to bolster successes in management.

In psychology, a strength-based approach has been used to complement traditional psychotherapies that tend to take a deficit-oriented approach. While a deficit-oriented model has been shown to help the treatment of psychopathology, some have argued it creates a negative bias and that a consideration of a client’s strengths can help to improve treatment outcomes. In the field of education, using a strength-based approach has been shown to increase student academic achievement, engagement, and well-being outcomes.

This begs the question, what does a strength-based approach look like for managers and those charged with overseeing and leading teams in a business setting?

7 Ways to Transform Your Leadership With a Strength-Based Approach

1. Identify Team Member Strengths. It’s impossible to incorporate a strength-based lens without knowing your employee’s strengths. Luckily, it’s easy to identify key strengths. Ask team members to complete a free strengths assessment like one offered through High5Test or use a paid service like Gallup’s Clifton Strengths or StrengthsFinder. Encourage team members to self-reflect and share their strengths in a one-on-one and be intentional about observing team members to identify areas where each person excels without much effort.

2. Align Roles With Strengths. Whenever possible, delegate tasks to employees based on their specific strengths. For example, if one of your team members excels at data analysis but struggles with public speaking, assign them projects where they can showcase their analytical skills while pairing them with a more extraverted teammate for presentations.

Aligning tasks and responsibilities with personal strengths will optimize performance and increase job satisfaction. Allowing team members the freedom and flexibility to customize their roles to projects to fit their unique skills will also help individuals feel a greater level of autonomy, which, in turn, helps to benefit the team.

3. Provide Strength-Based Feedback. As a leader, it’s important to recognize employees' strengths regularly, not just at formal meetings like an annual review. Provide specific, positive feedback that highlights how the employee’s strengths contribute to the success of the team. This could be through contributions to a task or project, or even personality-related feedback that contributes to boosting employee morale. When annual reviews are conducted, focus on how your team members can build upon their strengths, rather than solely addressing weaknesses.

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4. Encourage Strength Development. Create opportunities for skill-building. Provide professional development training that allows employees to further hone their skills. One way to do this is through the facilitation of mentorship communities where team members with complementary strengths are paired up and encouraged to cross-train and learn from each other, leading to mutual growth.

5. Promote a Strengths-Based Culture. Create a culture in the office in which team members are encouraged to recognize and celebrate each other’s strengths and contributions. Rather than creating an environment characterized by competition and rivalry, look for opportunities to promote and highlight the unique strengths each person brings to the team.

6. Address Weaknesses Through Strengths. Reframe annual evaluations. Rather than focusing on weaknesses, find ways to minimize their impact by leveraging the person’s strengths in other ways. Minimize the impact of weaknesses by pairing individuals whose strengths can offset each others’ weaknesses to work together on projects, ensuring overall balance in team dynamics.

7. Model Strength-Based Leadership. Demonstrate how employees can leverage their strengths by doing the same in leadership decisions and processes. Leading by example is a powerful tool in teaching employees and setting the norms for the office. Engaging in self-reflection and encouraging others to do the same in self-assessments of strengths will normalize the process of identifying and amplifying one’s strengths and encouraging others to do the same.

By leading with a strength-based approach, you’re not only fostering a more positive, productive environment; you’re unlocking the true potential of your team. Start today by identifying your team’s strengths and see the impact it has on performance, satisfaction, and retention.