Lead with Your Strengths

Dr Steve Bagi, Consulting Psychologist, Teaching Fellow, Bond University

While it is important to understand the areas of leadership in which we need to grow, our success will ultimately come from those strengths that we already possess. Have you spent time considering your strengths and how they help you to be effective in your leadership role? When leaders are strengths-focused they will generally be more:

• engaged and confident in their work.  

  Through their extensive research, the Gallup organisation has shown that the greatest contributor to engagement at work is the opportunity to “play to our strengths” every day. If we can use our strengths, then we will be more energised, engaged and productive in our work.

• aware of the possible “downsides” of their strengths

  Being focused on our strengths doesn’t mean that we neglect the possible negative impacts that they may have on others.

• understanding of how their strengths influence their leadership style.  

  Although there are general principals of leadership that can help all leaders, it is important for leaders not to be constricted to the “cookie-cutter” approach. There should be freedom for leaders to be themselves and carve out their unique style.

• appreciative of the people in their team who have different strengths

  . By an awareness of these differences, leaders can relate to and work more collaboratively with others. Teams are more effective when each person can utilise their strengths effectively and appreciate each other’s strengths.

How can we understand what our core strengths are?

Intuition. Most people already have a sense of what their strengths may be.

By asking others. This will work well if people are honest and open with you, and not just tell you what they think you want to hear.

By completing the CliftonStrengths® online survey.
I have been taking people through this survey for 17 years and consistently find it to be accurate and insightful. If this is something you would like to consider doing yourself or with your team, please feel free to contact me.

Once you gain an appreciation of your strengths, the next question is to see how you can further utilise these strengths.

”People who do have opportunity to focus on their strengths everyday are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life.” Tom Rath

Should you require further information, please contact: e: sbagi@bond.edu.au | Bond University | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia