FaithRalston.com

As a child, I didn't like school. In elementary school, my grades were well below average. Unable to read until 4^th grade, I thought I was dumb. My parents were so concerned they put me in a private school in 5^th grade. In this environment, my performance improved and came up to grade level.

Mid-year, my teacher Mr. Holly scheduled a parent-student conference to talk about my progress. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the results of my standardized tests. Mr. Holly pointed at a graph that ran flat-line at the 6^th grade level until he reached ‘reading comprehension'. Suddenly the graph flew off the page. I tested at the 12^th grade level! That was the first time I had any inkling there was something I did exceptionally well.

Soon the test score was forgotten and I plugged along in school, mainly receiving C's. My high school guidance counselor told me I was not college material and advised me to enroll in a vocational school. Luckily, I ignored her advice and found a college that would take an average student.

Following graduation, I became an elementary teacher. I liked education but found the classroom confining. So I decided to become a guidance counselor. But this meant graduate school. Now I had to find a university that would accept me into their graduate school program.

Finally I found a school and entered their graduate program in counseling psychology. From that point on, I soared all the way through graduate school and earned a masters degree and later a Ph.D. For the first time in my life, school was easy. I loved it and maintained a solid 4.0 average.

What happened? I had discovered a subject area that intrigued me and that I was naturally good at learning. I stumbled upon my talents. Now I've built a career by leveraging the talents that come easily and naturally to me.

Play to Your Strengths® Principles

Like me, you and your employees have natural talents. In my work I've discovered the quickest way to improve performance and results is to free people up to do what they do best. Focusing on talents is the magic bullet for peak performance. Here are 5 principles of success:

Principle #1: Every Person Has Unique Strengths

Every individual on your team has unique strengths. When you tap into these strengths, you improve effectiveness and results. You also increase the energy and enthusiasm of employees. At one time or another, we've all experienced the rush of energy that comes from working on a project that plays to our strengths. We may stay late at work and get too little sleep at night, but our energy level still remains high. Put simply, when a project captures our interests, we have energy to spare.

As a strength-focused leader you pay more attention to what is going right than what is wrong. You do challenge mediocrity and confront performance issues. But you don't waste time trying to fix what you can't change. You refuse to waste time or money on development activities that go nowhere.

Principle #2: Help Employees Recognize Their Strengths

Our talents have been with us since birth. Talents are the skills we are naturally adept at doing. You'll always know when you've identified someone's talent correctly because they'll say, " "Oh, It's easy, or "It's no big deal." Realize when employees say, "It's no big deal" - that this is their talent showing up. As a leader, it's important to let employee know when you see their talents in action. Without feedback employees are blind to our talents.

Principle #3: Leveraging Strengths - and Minimize Weaknesses

Too many leaders have the notion that employees should be well rounded. Knowledge workers are typically not that well rounded. They are specialists in specific areas. Their talents come in all different shapes and sizes. The goal of developing employees is to leverage their strengths - rather than create a prototype of the ideal employee.

When employees take on a new job, they're full of enthusiasm and look forward to the new challenge. But over time they inherit tasks that are not aligned with their talents and abilities. Without proactive attention to talents, employees can drift away from what they love. Staying grounded in our talents makes it easier to learn new things, accept criticism, and address weaknesses. Help employees recognize their talents and stay true to these core abilities.

Principle #4: Manage the Flip Side of Strengths

All strengths have a flip side. Whenever you see an outstanding strength, also realize it can be trouble if overused. One employee might be a visionary, but clueless about immediate actions needed to achieve the vision. Another individual may have a talent for order and structure but have trouble being flexible and adaptable. The physician who excels in surgery may have trouble relating to hospital staff. One of your employees might be the social glue at your office, but inept at getting projects done. Discovering talents should be balanced by the recognition of their flip side.

Principle #5: Seek Feedback on Strengths

One-on-one meetings and performance reviews are too often about tallying weaknesses rather than helping employees discover and develop their strengths. Managers are quick to share bad news and criticism. But when leaders assume that employees are doing well, they don't offer feedback.

In reality, employees actually need more feedback on what they are doing right.

Remember, most employees are blind to their talents. They may not see the positive impact they are having. Strength feedback helps employees recognize their contribution to the organization. Once they know what works, they can do it again, deliberately.

Topics

• Managing Talents and Career