Play to Your Strengths

 
The president of a small manufacturing firm called me to work with hisleadership team. His staff wasn't working well together or meeting theirbusiness goals. A week before our first session took place, one of his teammembers, Ron, hit the wall. Ron had stood up in a meeting and yelled at thegroup, "I've had it. You will not give me one more thing to do!"

Successfulteams possess four essential talents:

• DIAMOND talents to generate new ideas.
• CLUB talents to set projects up for success
• SPADE talents to organize and complete tasks
• HEART talents to ensure teamwork and positive climate

Diamond's want to be creative
Diamondtalent individuals want to create innovation. At Apple Computer, founder SteveJobs flurry of ideas was too discomforting for the establishment-mindedleadership. The company offered him a VP position at Apple. But Jobs wasn'tinterested in playing small. He turned down the job and launched a new company called NeXT Computer - which Apple laterbought from him for $400 million. Diamond talents thrive in organizations thatsupport innovation and risk taking.

Club talents want to climbmountains
Club talents are natural change agents. Clubs often meet resistancesimply because they are making waves. But making waves is the Club talent'sstock and trade. A Club leader will have few qualms about outsourcing a wholedivision if that's what's needed. The Club knows that implementing a new systemoften means clearing out the old. Successful Clubs learn how to engage othersand minimize resistance to change. They use their Club power to reach out andengage the right people. Club talents thrive in organizations that want growthand change.

Heart talents want a positive workclimate
Heart Talent individuals can get short shrift in a rapid fire, "makeit happen" organization that‘s focused strictly on the bottom line. In thisenvironment, Hearts find it hard to contribute in a meaningful way. There is scant recognition for the time andeffort they spend motivating, developing, and inspiring their staff.

Spade talents create efficiencies
Spades are busy getting things done. The challenge for Spade talentsis when they work in a culture believes in working crisis to crisis. The Spademay feel undermined when they try to bring order to the mess. Spade talentsneed to feel respected and have their ideas and suggestions heard. They want toreceive the support necessary to solve the problems see.

Spade Talent can also be overlooked. Their long hours and hard workcan easily be taken for granted. Others assumed the Spade will dig in and getthings done. Once in a while Spades need to look up and see where they aregoing - and even call attention to the good work they are doing. Be sure torecognize their contribution and hard work. The Spade talent thrives in aculture where their ideas are heard and actions are taken to remove barriers toperformance.

The leader's role is to help employees orchestrate the right mix oftalents to achieve the goals. At anypoint you might have too much of one talent or not enough of another. Forexample, you may have too many Hearts Talents on a team. When this happensmeetings and discussions can become too emotional and process focused. Everytopic is subject to endless rounds of circular discussions. Lots of energy isdevoted to how everyone is feeling. However, not enough energy is directed at the task at hand and movingthe agenda forward.

Conversely, a team comprised primarily of Spade talents concentratesexclusively on the work itself. They don't see why they should meet at all.When Spades do come together, they often run through a series of checklistsasking, "Is this done? Is that done?" Spade discussions are about tactics.Dialogue about the vision, employee morale, and personnel policies arefrequently not on the agenda. It's the work itself that motivates and propelsSpades. But Spades types can miss important issues of sustenance.

Hold a meeting dominated by Club talents and you'll see a lot ofwheeler-dealers who design plans for the future. However, an overabundance ofClubs can mean that immediate issues are not being addressed. For Club Talentindividuals, the here and now concerns are not fun and take precious time awayfrom bigger plans.

Diamond talents add innovation. But too many Diamonds on a team cancreate more ideas than can possibly be implemented. Diamonds can also disruptprojects that are already underway by throwing in their latest bright idea. Diamondsneed to be aware of when suggesting one more idea is not helpful and interfereswith progress.

Balance Mix of Talents
There's a right time and place for each talent contribution - the right balance is essential for success.The following chart outlines the contribution of each talent and identifieswhat happens when there is either too much or too little of a talent type. Tobe most effective, leaders need to strive for the right balance and mix of thefour talent types. Notice when you have too much of any one talent:

It's especially important for employees to associate with others whoare strong in their weakest talent. Typically, employees are weak in one or twoof the four talent areas. Connecting with others who have skills that theydon't increases their perspective and sensitivity to what's needed for projectsuccess.

Eliminate the "It's Not My Job!'Mindset

To a Spade, the Diamond's work of designing plans five years into thefuture is not real work. The Spade is dealing with projects that are due nextweek-not next year. To a Diamond,thinking about the mundane details of daily logistics is not ‘real work'-whereas, landing a big account or developing a new product is.

A Spade Talent who is doing Heart Talent work-such as team building--willfeel as if it's all a big waste of time. They think, "When is this goingto be over so I can get back to my real job?" The truth is that all talenttypes are necessary and each does real work. All talent types are necessary fora strong team. Employees need to appreciate the perspectives and priorities ofother talent types.

Ensure accountability

Everyone must be responsible for the end-goal. Just becauseindividuals do their part, doesn't mean they're off the hook. You must helpknowledge workers recognize that once they do their part, they're not done. ADiamond might think, "I've just made an incredible breakthrough! Why do I needto get bogged down with the mundane details?" However, the Diamond Talent stillneeds to ensure a smooth handoff to someone else.

There's a strong tendency for each talent types to see theircontribution as the most important. However, it's the lively exchange andcombination of talents that brings the greatest value - not any one talentalone. As the leader, you can help employees see the value of different talentsand avoid overusing their best talent.

Topics

• Leadership
• Managing Talents and Career