In June, the Kiwi Strengths Enthusiasts Meetup community hosted a webinar on “Keeping Strengths Alive in Teams“. Many of us who attended were coaches or leaders /managers of teams wanting to make sure they were investing well in their team to keep the strengths-based journey alive and kicking!
You can download a copy of the slides here. We talked through the journey that teams go on through different stages, and crowdsourced ideas (on a giant Miro online whiteboard!) of things we could try at different stages that a team is in, i.e.:
- Awareness building (learning)
- Appreciation (loving)
- Application (living)
Did you know that nearly 130,000 people in New Zealand have completed a CliftonStrengths assessment (as at November 2020)? That’s 2.7% of our population. In terms of the propensity of a nation’s population completing a CliftonStrengths assessment, we come a close second to the USA (with 3% of their population having completed an assessment).
“So what?” I hear you ask…
It’s all very well “doing” a CliftonStrengths assessment, and getting those “warm fuzzies” when you read your report (“oh, this is sooooo me!”).
It’s quite another thing to actually integrate strengths-based approaches in your work and life. The integration of strengths in the workplace can remain solely in the ‘awareness bucket’. I call these teams ‘strengths saturated’. If you want to actually reap the benefits of strengths-based approaches in your work (i.e. higher productivity, increased engagement, improved wellbeing in your people – read the evidence here), it does take a little time and energy to invest in your individual and team strengths. Teams have to go through the phases above (learning – loving – living) to actually result in seeing the positive outcomes for your team.
What are you doing to invest in the strengths of your team?
I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to drop me an email or connect with me via LinkedIn to find out more about how I can support you and your team invest in your strengths.