Ask yourself.
Do you lead a team in Australia and yearn to unlock their true potential but don’t know how?
Leading teams in Australia can be a hassle if you don’t know how to do it properly & smartly.
Strength-based leadership is rapidly gaining traction Down Under, and for good reason!
According to Gallup’s 2023 report, 47% of employees in Australia and New Zealand experience daily stress, and 69% of full-time employees report feeling burned out at least sometimes. This high-stress results in an average 2-day loss of productivity per person, per month, severely affecting businesses and individuals alike. Burnout and stress demand immediate intervention. Governments now treat psychological risks with the same seriousness as physical ones
Psychological injuries like stress and burnout can result in extended absences from work, often lasting months or years. This mental health crisis is damaging Australian workplaces, with psychological injury claims costing the economy between A$12.2 billion and A$39.9 billion annually. Toxic workplace cultures, lack of role clarity, poor manager support, and inadequate recognition are significant contributors.
Managers play a pivotal role in fostering employee engagement and psychological safety. They account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement. Investing in management capabilities and training in meaningful conversational skills is critical. If now is not the time, when is the time to give managers the support they need to help turn these staggering numbers around?
One of the most direct and effective ways to do so is to focus on strengths. Emphasising strengths and what employees do well builds confidence and encourages a growth mindset.
It helps employees leverage their natural talents to achieve their best performance. This approach focuses on what you and your team members do well, rather than on what they need to improve or lack.
In today’s dynamic work environment, leveraging the unique strengths of each team member is pivotal for achieving organisational success. In Australia, strength-based leadership is gaining traction as a powerful method to enhance team performance and morale.
In this blog, we will cover
The top 5 strategies for leading teams using strength-based approaches, providing detailed insights and actionable steps.
So stick till the end. And yes, we will provide you with a free downloadable case study to help you understand how strength-based leadership could help you & your team thrive.
1. Identifying Individual Strengths & Aligning them.
Strength-based leadership or Kingstugi Leadership begins with a solid foundation:
- raising your own self-awareness of your strengths and limitations as a leader and,
- understanding the unique strengths of each team member.
Just as a building requires a solid base with the right scaffolding and data-driven insights for positioning, your dream of creating a high-performing team needs the same level of insight to build a clear picture of individual and collective strengths.
Leaders should utilise strengths assessment tools like CliftonStrengths to uncover where their teammates individually EXCEL! The next step is to align these strengths with appropriate roles and responsibilities within the team.
Good leaders can delegate tasks appropriately amongst their team members to empower them and encourage each individual’s strength. Understanding each employee’s strengths and weaknesses allows the manager to assess who would excel on a specific assignment.
Quick Tips for Identifying Strengths
- Conduct Assessments: Use Strength-finding tools like CliftonStrengths to uncover where your team members excel. Are they natural executers, influencers, relationship builders or strategic thinkers? Work with a strengths coach to help you put these findings into a one-page visual representative called a strengths DNA grid to help you and your team appreciate their own and the collective strengths of a team. Schedule an introduction to strengths workshop to gain valuable insights into what makes your team great.
- Personalised Feedback: Provide detailed feedback and one-on-one sessions to discuss the results, or get your coach to do this for you and provide you with an executive summary on how to get the best out of each team member that is meaning for them.
Open and honest conversations are crucial. Sometimes, it can be easier to express yourself or listen differently with a coach, especially when learning a new concept like the language of strengths. Otherwise, a good starting point is to ask team members “What activities energise you?” or “What tasks do you find come most easily to you?”.
- Strengths Profiles: Develop comprehensive strengths profiles for each team member, outlining their key strengths and allowing them to own areas that they are not great at. When you discover your 34 Clifton Strengths – you also discover your weaknesses. By knowing this – you get to choose how you want to manage it – NOT ignore it. Working with a strengths coach can help your team members come up with strategies on how to manage it or give you recommendations on how to coach your team to do the same using the team strengths grid as your go-to.
PS If you need a comprehensive 34 CliftonStrengths for your team, we have just the perfect one for you. We also provide a full 34 Strengths DNA Report along with a Strengths & Weaknesses Analysis.
Customise job roles to better fit the strengths of each team member. Leading with strengths is a win-win for Australian workplaces. People thrive when they can utilise their natural talents. As your team grows and develops, revisit strengths and roles regularly.
New strengths may emerge, and roles may evolve. Aligning strengths with roles not only improves productivity but also increases job satisfaction and reduces turnover rates.
2. Creating a Strength-Based Culture
Building a culture that celebrates and leverages individual strengths isn’t just feel-good; it’s a strategic advantage. If you’re after an effective and creative company culture, your staff has to be your main priority. Gallup reports that teams that know their strengths are 90% more likely to have better outcomes.
How to cultivate this environment:
- Embed Strengths into Daily Practices: Regularly discuss strengths during team meetings and encourage Strength Buddies where you Pair team members with complementary strengths.
- Recognition Reimagined: Move beyond generic praise. Publicly recognise team members for how they used their strengths to achieve results. This reinforces the value of strengths and inspires others.
- Learning for Growth: Encourage continuous learning, but with a strengths twist. Support opportunities for individuals to develop their existing strengths and explore new areas that complement their natural talents.
For smaller teams, group problem-solving could be a great team-building activityimplemented in brainstorming meetings where people from diverse backgrounds and abilities need to collaborate.
Check out our deep post on How to Foster a Strength-Based Culture When Leading Teams in Australia.
3. Strengths-Based Feedback and Development
Ditch the “Good Job” – Leading with Recognition and Feedback in Australia
Publicly acknowledge team members for how they utilised their strengths to achieve results. For example, instead of saying “Great work on that presentation,” highlight how Grace’s “communication strength” kept the audience engaged.
When addressing mistakes, focus on building strengths. Ask, “How can Grace leverage her communication strength to overcome this obstacle?”
Offer constructive feedback that builds on existing strengths, like suggesting additional presentation tools to enhance her already strong communication skills.
Leading Training increases productivity by 25%. Ongoing coaching and development are vital to helping team members refine their strengths and address any areas of improvement. Leaders should provide regular coaching sessions and development opportunities tailored to individual strengths.
By investing in strengths-based coaching and development, leaders can help their teams reach their full potential and drive long-term success.
In case you are a manager looking for Strength Programs for Teams, we have you covered through our embrace The WE framework. that enables you to level up the true strength of your team.
4. Continuous Learning with Strengths: Learning that Lights you & your team up.
Think of learning and development (L&D) as the gym for your team’s strengths. We all know the importance of exercise, but wouldn’t it be more fun if you could target specific muscles and actually enjoy the workout?
That’s the power of a Strength-Based L&D approach!
Ditch the one-sise-fits-all training and focus on what energises your team.. In fact one-sise-fits-all is a MASSIVE MANAGER MISTAKE which you must avoid to build your high-performing team dream.
For example, support your public speaking expert with a course, or find a fun online data visualisation workshop for your brainstorming guru who struggles with spreadsheets.
We can even apply Strength Gamification to make it more fun & engaging for everyone to collaborate.
Focus on building existing strengths while adding complementary skills to create a well-rounded, supportive team.
5. Measuring and Celebrating Success – The Strengths Way.
How to Know the Success of Your Strength-Based Team Strategy:
- Engagement Explosion: Are your meetings livelier? Are your team members jumping in with ideas and taking ownership of projects? That’s engagement on steroids – a sure sign the focus of your strength is hitting the mark.
- Productivity Powerhouse: Is your team churning out work faster and with better results? Strengths-based teams tackle tasks with their natural talents, leading to a serious productivity boost.
- Achievement All-Stars: Are you celebrating more wins and hitting those project milestones with ease? A strengths-based approach helps teams leverage their collective power for stellar achievements.
Remember, leading with strengths isn’t about micromanaging results.
It’s about creating an environment where your team can truly shine.
By tracking these success signals, you’ll know your strengths-based strategy is on the right track, leading to a happy, higher thriving and higher-performing team, with way more high fives delivered.
Conclusion
Implementing strength-based leadership strategies is a powerful way to lead teams in Australia and grow a positive work environment. Leaders can build high-performing teams by focusing on strengths.Aligning strengths with roles isn’t a one-time event; it’s an ongoing journey that continuesly embraces your team’s potential, focuses on strengths, celebrates wins, and empowers growth to make your team the best version of themselves.
If you need support, we offer dedicated team-building services for Teams as well as individuals.
By following these steps, you’ll unlock a powerful formula for success:
Engaged individuals + Strategically utilised strengths = a High-performing team.
And in case, you don’t want to do it alone and without any experience, we have dedicated team-building services for Teams as well as individuals.
FAQs
1. What are the benefits of using a strength-based approach in team leadership?
A strength-based approach enhances team performance by leveraging individual strengths, leading to increased productivity, job satisfaction, and reduced turnover rates. It fosters a positive work environment where team members feel valued and motivated to contribute their best.
2. How can I identify the strengths of my team members?
The most direct and effective assessment to gain a Strengths DNA grid for your team is to use the CliftonStrengths assessment where you can choose either a report revealing a team member’s Top 5 strengths or a full comprehensive 34.
3. How do I align team member strengths with their roles?
Customise job roles to fit individual strengths, assign projects based on these strengths and remain flexible to adjust roles as needed. This ensures team members are in positions where they can excel and contribute effectively.
4. What are some effective ways to foster a strength-based culture?
Promote a strength-based culture by incorporating discussions about strengths into team meetings, leveraging it as a part of your onboarding program, establishing recognition programs, and encouraging continuous learning focused on enhancing individual strengths. This creates a supportive and motivating work environment.
5. How can I measure the success of strength-based strategies?
Measure success by developing key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect the outcomes of strength-based initiatives, conducting regular performance development reviews, and organising events to celebrate achievements. This helps maintain momentum and demonstrate the value of strength-based leadership.
BONUS:
Explore Sienna’s journey of resilience and self-discovery, as she overcomes career challenges and reignites her passion through the ‘Discover your ME’ program.
