The Talent Radar Part 2: How Teams Leverage Strengths-Based Tools

Did you know, according to Gallup, there’s a 29% increase in overall team satisfaction within the first 6 months of leveraging Strengths-Based coaching frameworks?

Once you know a team member's specific strengths as a leader, you can talk about their unique abilities.

Whether it's their strength in activating action, their ability to form deeper connections, or their relationship-building skills, this gives us a common language to better collaborate.

You can also identify what I call a "fit partner."

If you’re weak in an area, you can pinpoint someone on the team who's naturally strong in that area, creating a more balanced team environment.

I once worked closely with a colleague who had complementary strengths. I love speaking to people, presenting on stage, and leading from the front.

She loved being behind the scenes. She excelled at analyzing data, diving into spreadsheets, and understanding why things were happening, or not happening.

So, we leveraged each other's strengths.

I'd handle the front-facing tasks, and she'd take charge of the data and analysis. We weren't using or manipulating each other; instead, we worked together to complement each other's natural strengths.

The results were clear: We experienced significant growth and our projects achieved better outcomes by becoming a dynamic duo.

Examples like this are why I love Team Mapping. It allows you to identify where individuals align well together, where they might need additional support, and where there are gaps in your team.

As your organization grows, team mapping helps you determine what strengths are needed for new roles, ensuring that your team remains balanced.

One client brought me in to do this with his team. Their team was very service-driven. 

We had a team of mostly incredibly positive people, but none of them knew how to communicate expectations with team members that weren't the "glass half full" type. 

This meant strong team members, who brought an important critical counterbalance, were leaving. Because they were in the dark half the time!

So we highlighted some frameworks that helped them to be bolder in addressing issues as they came up, especially with people who didn't have the "positivity " strength. 

This allowed them to become far more transparent and proactive, and they're already seeing a boost in overall engagement in just a few weeks.

Mapping allows us to see how to leverage each team's unique make-up and overcome any barriers through the lens of their strengths. 

Not only is this much more effective than just telling teams to "try harder," it gives each person ownership to lean more into what they're already great at.

Lead Boldly,

- Michael