A Strengths-Based Approach to Work and Life

Cultural norms within our contemporary, Western society can often tell us that we have to be all things to all people or that we need to be perfectly well-rounded in order to be successful. How many times have we received (or even given) performance reviews in our jobs where we hear that the key to professional development is to keep doing what we do well (our strengths) while also focusing on weakness fixing (turning the things that we’re not so great at into strengths)? This cultural and professional pressure can be tremendous and can sometimes lead to frustration and disengagement.

An alternative to this paradigm is to utilize a strengths-based approach in our work and in our lives. Don Clifton, the person responsible for creating the CliftonStrengths assessment (formerly StrengthsFinder) once asked the question, “What will happen when we think about what is right with people rather than fixating on what is wrong with them?” There is something inherently powerful about focusing on who we are and who we were originally created to be, rather than attempting to become something that we are not. 1

A strengths-based approach begins by identifying the areas where we are most talented through an assessment such as CliftonStrengths. The next step is to invest in these areas of greatest talent, the ways that we most naturally think, act, and feel.2 This can include taking intentional steps to practice utilizing those talents, developing related skills, and building our knowledge base. Working with a Gallup-certified strengths coach can also help facilitate this process. The result of these investments is a transformation of such areas of talent into areas of strength, the ability to produce positive outcomes through near-perfect performance in particular areas. 3

In its research, Gallup has found that people who focus on using their strengths are 3 times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life and are 6 times as likely to be engaged in their jobs.4 Gallup has also found that utilizing strengths can be a viable organizational strategy leading to increased productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction.

A strengths-based approach also opens up opportunities for mutuality and collaboration with other team members. Implicit in the recognition that each of us are using our own unique strengths is an acknowledgement that there are some areas that we are individually not quite as strong. As a result, our intentionality as leaders and fellow team members to empower others on our teams to recognize, invest in and utilize their own unique strengths will allow the broader team to function more collaboratively and productively towards the outcomes for which the team was formed in the first place.

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1 A. Winseman, D. Clifton and C. Liesveld. Living Your Strengths. (New York: Gallup Press, 2008), 11.

2 Winseman, Clifton and Liesveld, 7.

3 Winseman, Clifton and Liesveld, 7.

4 T. Rath, StrengthsFinder 2.0. (New York: Gallup Press, 2007).