Leveraging Strengths Gives “Life” to People and Organizations
People think coaching is about fixing problems. It is sometimes. Coaching is most powerful, however, when it is used to leverage strengths.
The more I coach leaders, the more convinced I am of the power of leveraging strengths. Everyone has a unique approach to what they do. Everyone can get better by exploring their strengths in detail, understanding them and leveraging those strengths. It seems obvious, I know. Few people do it in enough detail to truly leverage their strengths. Even fewer teams, business units or organizations do it well.
How much detail? Excruciating detail. This means, when you really "nail" something, you examine it. -Why are you so proud of this particular piece of work? -What energizes you about this piece of work? -What does this piece of work tell you about your leadership? your values? your personal unique abilities? -What are the best pieces of this work? Which pieces might you do differently next time? You get the picture. Spend time analyzing what you are good at and proud of so you can repeat it. We tend to quickly forget what went well and dwell on gaps. It can be human nature to focus on what is incomplete or unsatisfactory -- sad but true!
Organizations (whether they be small teams, business units or whole companies) can also leverage strengths. Forget SWOT analysis. Focus on what your organization is truly great at and what gives it life.(For a detailed approach to this, click this link to look at Cooperrider's work).
In your next team building or business planning session focus on the following questions: -Tell a story about a time when you were most proud of your organization. What specifically made you proud? -What does this story tell you about what your organization is good at? What does it tell you about the values that define your organization and give it life? The trick of doing this for organizations is collecting enough of these stories from enough people. Collecting the stories creates energy, re-enforces positive behavior and shows significant trends. The trends are the gold. So forget SWOT. Leverage your organizational strengths. Mine your organizational gold.
Sandra Oliver - January 16, 2008
Filed under:
coaching,
leadership,
teams
Sandra Oliver
Sandra Oliver Sandra Oliver is a leadership coach and consultant with more than 17 years experience in Corporate HR leadership roles. Her expertise includes change management and succession planning. Sandra is the founder of IMPACT Consulting Inc.
