Today on the Leadership Vision Podcast, Brian Schubring and Nathan Freeburg talk about how, why, and when we use the four domains of Strength in our work with clients. Domains organize the 34 Themes of Strengths into four major categories, which are Thinking, Relating, Influencing, and Executing. They allow us to get a broad understanding of Themes before going deeper. Listen now!
Have you ever felt frustrated with a friend or colleague because their Strengths were different than yours? Maybe you didn’t have the language of Strengths, but there was something fundamentally different in how they communicated, organized, or related to the world from you. Too often we just find ourselves growing more and more frustrated and annoyed with those people, rather than taking the time to see how our differences may actually benefit one and other. Steph writes about one simple way to overcome this.
In order to provide a foundation for team development, continued growth in Understanding the Talents expressed in each of the Themes of Strength, and to establish a common language from which to move forward as a team, we believe a Strengths-based team or culture should start with an education around each of the 34 Themes of Strength. Here’s why!
The single most important factor in determining your success as a Strengths Professional is your ability to hear and identify the talents and behaviors of Strengths. Without the ability to discern the nuances and uniqueness of Strengths, we miss the transformational potential Strengths may have. The next time we are helping someone understand their Strengths, strive to identify the Talents first and name the Strength second.
One of the ways StrengthsFinder gets misused is in the hiring process. Hiring good people is hard. Sometimes, to short circuit the process, employers try and use StrengthsFinder as a way to find the “perfect” person with the “perfect” Strengths to fill a role. In our opinion, StrengthsFinder was never intended to be used this way.
When we work with clients who are on the journey to becoming Strengths-based organizations, we remind them that when it comes to hiring, the first step is less about the StrengthsFinder language and more about cultivating a culture focused on what’s right about people. The positive foundation shapes the rest of the complex, people-focused work.