The Importance of Strengths-Based Management
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” -Albert Einstein
Einstein’s quote above doesn’t just apply to how smart you are. It also applies to how well you work. If a fish got a tree-climbing job, it would fail miserably. Just as if a monkey got a job that required it to swim underwater for significant periods of time, it would fail. In the end, both would end up discouraged, hating their jobs, and probably eventually quitting to look for better opportunities. And that is why having a strengths-based management approach is so important – to avoid the consequences of trying to make a fish climb a tree.
The Before
Let’s imagine the above situation with a typical management approach. Fish and Monkey, two enthusiastic new employees, are hired to work on a team of crop acquirers for a company which farms bananas and seaweed. One day, the boss needed somebody to pick some bananas. He arbitrarily chooses Fish, because picking crops is a part of his job description. Fish spends hours and hours trying to climb the tree, but is ultimately unsuccessful and therefore unable to complete his task. Seeing this, his manager lectures him: “Why weren’t you able to climb that tree? You must have been slacking. You should be more like Monkey.” Discouraged, Fish resolves to do just that. He spends all his time learning to be more like Monkey, but becomes frustrated by his lack of success. One day, the company needed someone to pick seaweed. The boss asks Monkey to do it, because Fish has seemed depressed lately, the quality of his work has decreased significantly, and he’s been missing deadlines. Monkey tries as hard as he can, but he just isn’t able to stay underwater long enough to pick enough seaweed. Disappointed in the quality of his employees, the boss lectures Monkey on how he should be more like Fish, and the vicious cycle begins again.
The After
Now let’s imagine the same situation, except with a strengths-based management approach. When the boss needs an employee to pick bananas, he asks Monkey to do it. Monkey has resounding success and is praised for his excellent work. Later, when the company needs someone to pcik seaweed, the boss recognizes that the job is within Fish’s strengths, and asks Fish to do the work. Again, Fish succeeds with flying colors and due to Fish and Monkey’s continued impressive work, the company turns record profits.
While this metaphor is clearly exaggerated, and it’s unlikely that strengths will ever be quite as clear as they are in this story, it’s easy to see how strengths-based management can be a powerful tool and a huge advantage for your company. So next time you see an employee struggling with their work, consider their strengths – what are they? Are they currently using them in their work? If not, maybe you should reconsider how you divide up tasks so that they are.
Jennifer Titche is EmployInsight’s community outreach specialist and is interested in the people part of business and human resources. She believes in making personal connections whenever possible, doing what you love, and never settling for anything but the best.
Photo Credit: Flickr/comingstobrazil