Core message:
- The centrality of strength-oriented leadership: This approach is playing an increasingly important role in the modern understanding of leadership and leads to superior leadership skills that can be applied to all target groups.
- Self-leadership as a foundation: In contrast to other leadership models, the focus is on self-competence and self-management. Recognizing and accepting one's own strengths and downsides is crucial before devoting oneself to leading others.
- Six strategies for effective strengths-based leadership: The article presents six effective strategies, including self-reflection, intensive individual and team development discussions, choosing between homogeneous and complementary team strengths, identifying preferred and overlooked strengths profiles, supporting team members' strengths and anchoring strengths-based communication in everyday leadership.
What is strength-oriented leadership?
Strengths-based leadership is playing an increasingly central role in our understanding of leadership today. This can be explained by the impressive successes achieved through this approach. The resulting leadership competencies clearly outperform other approaches and can be transferred to all target groups.
At the heart of this approach is the conviction that every person has individual strengths which – if applied correctly – lead to the full development of their potential. Otherwise, the shadow sides of these strengths can dominate and lead to stress, which is then perceived as weaknesses. Targeted development and growth is therefore particularly possible where existing strengths are further developed. This applies to both the manager and the employee being managed.
Focus on self-management
What is special about strengths-based leadership is that, unlike many other leadership models, it does not focus primarily on leading others. Instead, the focus is on self-competence and self-management – you could also call it self-leadership. In strengths-based leadership, it is therefore of central importance to recognize and accept one’s own strengths and their accompanying downsides before devoting oneself to leading others.
To give you an effective introduction to strengths-based leadership and optimize your leadership skills, I present six effective strategies. Each of these strategies is explained in detail in in-depth articles that will give you a deeper insight into the respective topic:
1. promote your self-reflection
Successful leadership begins with self-leadership. The first step is to consciously identify your own strengths and weaknesses. Regularly examine your own behavior, thought patterns and reactions, both at work and in your private life. Reflect on what works well and what you can improve. Self-reflection is an essential, continuous process on the path to strength-oriented leadership. It is more than just a snapshot, it is a constant exercise and an essential part of developing your leadership skills.
Advantages of self-reflection
- Better understand your own strengths and weaknesses
- Recognize your own behavior patterns and adapt your behavior
- Change leadership practice positively
- Increases self-awareness and self-regulation
- Promotes emotional intelligence
For a deeper insight into the practice of self-reflection and instructions on how to carry it out, we recommend this comprehensive article. Er enthält zahlreiche Beispiele und Handlungsempfehlungen, die Ihnen dabei helfen, Ihre Selbstreflexion zu vertiefen und zu verbessern
“Employees who embrace the new and those who prefer stability complement each other perfectly and ignite a superpower that enables innovation without losing balance.”
2. conduct intensive individual and team development discussions
2. conduct intensive individual and team development discussions
It is essential to regularly make time for intensive, content-rich one-to-one and group discussions with your team members. These discussions not only allow you to recognize the individual strengths and development potential of each person, but also to drive team development and establish a culture of strength-oriented leadership in your team. You should not only focus on achieving goals and overcoming everyday challenges.
Go one step further by creating space for conversations that focus on the individual strengths and associated challenges of team members. Feel free to use the practical guides for strength-oriented one-on-one conversations and strength-oriented group conversations (coming soon).
3. decide between homogeneous or complementary team strengths
Have you ever asked yourself whether your team should consist of members with similar strengths (homogeneous) or members with different, complementary strengths (complementary)? This important question is often neglected, even though it plays a decisive role in the success of the team. Although you cannot simply change the composition of existing teams, there are usually always changes in the personnel structure.
When selecting new team members, you should therefore consciously decide whether your team will benefit from homogeneous or complementary strengths. Base your team composition and strategy on this decision. You can find a detailed article to help you decide between homogeneous and complementary team strengths here (available soon).
4. identify your favorite and overlooked strength profiles
As a leader, you may tend to favor certain strengths and strength profiles while overlooking or even avoiding others. It is therefore crucial to recognize and reflect on these tendencies. This means that you need to develop an awareness of which strengths you tend to value and which you may neglect. Are you more attracted to leadership styles that are proactive and direct, or do you tend to favor introverted and analytical leadership styles?
Use your findings to improve your leadership skills and formulate your team strategy. For example, you may find that your team has a variety of strengths that you have previously overlooked and that could contribute to a more balanced and effective team.
One tool that can help you do this is to categorize strengths by strength colors. This method can give you valuable insights into where your preferences lie and which strengths profiles you may be neglecting.
A detailed article to help you better understand the strengths categories and use them effectively in your leadership practice can be found here (coming soon).
5. support the strengths of your team members
It is essential to adapt your leadership behavior to the individual strengths of your team members. Supporting strengths means not only recognizing them, but also taking targeted measures to enable their further development. Create a working environment that offers space for individual strengths and their development.
When allocating tasks, consider which activities are particularly well suited to the strengths of your team members.
Offer further education and training that is tailored to the strengths of the individual team members. Create an open feedback culture where strengths are recognized and encouraged.
Finally, don’t forget to celebrate the success achieved by leveraging individual strengths. This recognition motivates and boosts your team members’ confidence in their abilities.
For detailed guidance on how to create a strengths-enhancing work environment and effectively promote your team members’ strengths, read this article (coming soon).
6. anchor strength-oriented communication in your day-to-day management activities
Strengths-based communication is a crucial building block for successful teams and should be firmly anchored in your daily exchanges with your team members. This means not only focusing on the individual strengths of team members, but also shaping the forms and means of communication accordingly.
Use regular team meetings to highlight progress based on the use of individual strengths.
Share successes and recognize the contribution that each individual has made. Give targeted and constructive feedback that focuses not only on areas for improvement, but above all on strengths and how best to use them.
Encourage strength-oriented communication among team members. This includes, for example, peer feedback sessions in which team members share their perceived strengths with each other.
A strengths-oriented communication culture can help to increase the self-confidence, motivation and commitment of team members and establish a sustainable culture of strengths orientation.
You can find instructions on how to implement a strengths-oriented communication culture in your day-to-day management in this article (available soon).
Conclusion:
Strengths-based leadership is more than just a method for increasing commitment, productivity and satisfaction within the team. It is also a powerful tool for improving your leadership skills. It offers you as a leader the opportunity to fully utilize the individual potential of each team member, keeping in mind that strengths can only be fully effective if they are used in the right context and in the right way.
By using strength-oriented leadership, you can not only increase the performance of your team, but also improve the job satisfaction and motivation of your team members.
This also has a positive impact on your leadership skills, as it allows you to build a deeper connection with your team and gain a deeper understanding of each team member’s individual strengths and weaknesses.
So if you’re interested in improving your leadership skills and maximizing the potential of your team members, strengths-based leadership is your key to success. Start implementing strengths-based leadership in your daily work today and watch how you can take your team to a new level of effectiveness and cohesion. You will soon see the positive impact on your leadership skills and your team’s performance.
Now it’s your turn!
Have you already gained experience with strength-oriented leadership? What approaches and methods have you used? I invite you to take part in an intensive exchange in the comments. Share your experiences, ask questions or offer advice for others. By exchanging ideas together, we can learn from each other and develop effective approaches.
Don’t hesitate – let’s dive into the discussion together!
