December 2013 Leadership Connect

Are The People You Lead Working In Their Strengths?

"The self proclaimed "experts" who spend their time telling others what's wrong with them never win with people." ~John Maxwell

"I would much rather hire experience than knowledge any day of the week." ~Paul Martinelli

"The praises of others may be of use in teaching us, not what we are, but what we ought to be." ~August W. Hare

"All players have a place where they add the most value. That place is their "strength zone." ~John Maxwell

A fact based on research states that: Every person can do at least one thing better than ten thousand other people. The trick here is to locate within yourself what your own strengths are. What do you enjoy? What are you good at? And then take it to the next level and help those you lead, do the same.

In his book Good to Great Jim Collins talks about the idea of getting the right people on the bus, and getting the right people in the right seats on the bus. This is such powerful information because we see that it is important not only to hire the right people, but to also know their strengths so that we can place them properly.

From a survey that was taken across the United States, we learn that 85% of those interviewed said that they could work harder on the job. More than half of them claimed that they could double their effectiveness if they wanted to. These are huge numbers. Why would that be we ask? It is because so few people are actually working in their areas of strength. What about you? Do you get excited and feel motivated when asked to work in your weakness? I certainly don't.

Understand a powerful truth. When someone is working in their area of strength, they do not need much external motivation. It's like they take off and skyrocket in terms of effectiveness and production. A successful person finds the right place for himself or herself. But a successful leader is able to find the right place for others. How do you get unbelievable results from a person? Have unbelievable expectations about that person and help them discover and work in their strengths.