[Part of a series exploring the concepts in 12: The Elements of Great Managing
The third element of great managing is matching each person's unique talents, skills and knowledge to the needs of the team. Mid-twentieth Century motivational writers and speakers often told us that anyone could do anything. While that might seem uplifting on the one hand (no limits) it also was unrealistic. No matter how hard he tries, for example, a 5' 4" basketball player is not likely to excel in today's NBA.
Research over the last three or four decades has shown, in fact, that each of us is born with a unique set of talents. To the extent that we develop those innate talents into strengths, and then apply that unique set of strengths to our work, we will be more engaged, more productive and happier. On the other hand, if we focus on fixing weaknesses, we will be less productive, more frustrated, and less engaged.
Gallup's data show a strong correlation between employees feeling like they have the chance to do what they do best every day and business results. The authors claim that managers who focus on the strengths of their employees turn in results that are twice as good as managers who focus on fixing the weaknesses of their employees.
The main story in this chapter is about Klaus Welte, VP and Plant Manager of Stryker's Freiburg plant. I've visited Stryker's headquarters in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and can tell you that they are fully committed to understanding the strengths of their employees and deploying them accordingly.
Klaus and his organization faced a huge problem when testing equipment for hip replacement surgery. The authors tell the story of how Klaus put together a team that solved the problem quickly and completely, in time for the formal launch of the product. Klaus says he asked one simple question as he built this winning team: "Who is the person that has the best ability to fit into that puzzle and fulfill the specific role that we need at this time." And it was based on his understanding of each person's specific strengths.
For more info:
- "Now Discover Your Strengths" is a summary of the book of the same name by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton. That book introduced Gallup's conclusions about strengths psychology. It has recently been updated in a book called StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths
by Tom Rath.
- Read more posts like this in my "Leadership Development" category.
- This post by Michael McKinney highlights a couple of other books about strengths development.
Photo: "Strength" by shimmertje on flickr.
