Why focus on strengths?

The first question I want to consider is, “Why should I focus on strengths?”

There are a couple of ways to answer this, depending on whether you’re asking for yourself or for a subordinate employee. These principles will also hold true for other relationships, such as marriage, children, peer-to-peer relationships, etc. I’ll approach this blog from a work standpoint, and you can apply it however it fits your individual situation.

If you’re thinking of yourself—and we all should once in a while, shouldn’t we?—consider what would help you feel more fulfilled in your job. Let me give you an example based on my own experience:

A few years ago, I was the call center manager for a replacement window company. The job I was hired to do was to be the link between the marketing group and the outbound telemarketers. The Marketing group would tell me, for example, that they wanted to send direct mail to customers who bought five-to-seven years ago, and I would provide a list. I would then have my outbound staff call those same customers to follow up on the letters they were receiving.

Great concept, right? My strength, in this case, was in being able to manage the customer data I had access to. I was good at giving Marketing what they wanted. I was also good at getting my staff to call the people they should be calling. I set goals and expectations for them to meet. I had contests and incentives. I had sales training meetings. I encouraged my staff, and I listened to their challenges. We had a good rapport.

The CEO of the company had a different plan for how I should manage my staff. I wanted to treat my staff like adults until they proved that I shouldn’t. He wanted me to treat them like they were weasels who were trying to cheat him. I wanted to encourage them to try harder to meet expectations. He wanted me to punish them for having a rough night. I could go on.

The CEO was trying to force me to behave the way he would if he were in my position. The result? I was miserable. He was miserable. Many of my staff were miserable. I left a short time later, and reports are that he left the company shortly after I did.

The bottom line? Trying to turn someone into something that they don’t want to be—“fixing” their weaknesses rather than developing their strengths—makes the workplace a frustrating place to be. And we spend so much time there, shouldn’t we be in a situation we enjoy?

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