Strengths, Weaknesses, and Employee Engagement

What engages you most, building on your talent or overcoming what you see as some "gap" in your inherent abilities?

Where do you get the bigger payoff?

David Zinger's "Employee Disengagement" post is crisp, to the point, and should lead each of us to think about those questions. David cites a Gallup Management Journal article showing these findings:

   1. If your manager primarily ignores you your chances of being actively disengaged are 40%

   2. If your manager focuses on your weaknesses your chances of being actively disengaged are 22%

   3. If you manager focuses on your strengths your chances of being actively disengaged are only 1%

I think these factoids are powerful in their simplicity. They point the way to what managers and their people should be paying attention to if they're really concerned with being engaged.

First: Managers would be wise to initiate conversation and discussion with all of their people. Otherwise, the numbers show that they'll lose the active commitment of nearly half.

Note to employees: I know that you know that your manager is supposed to know this. Well, clearly they may not. If you aren't getting attention, initiate a conversation with your boss about how important it is to you. Some people, by nature, don't initiate those things. Then, if you find out that this isn't a department or organization where you can flourish, you have some  solid information for making career decisions. And if you do make a difference by initiating the discussion and see it continue, you've helped at least two people.

Second: Here is a way to start thinking about where to invest energy: Building Strengths or Overcoming Weaknesses.

I'll use a sales example:

Let's say you are a sales rep who has a track record of getting appointments and a presentation with 60% of the people on whom you call.  But  your  ability to close the sale is  25%.  You have been a sales rep at different companies for 18 years.(Stick with me, I've been a sales manager).

What you now know is that you're strength lies in building the initial relationship and being able to get in front of the client. No matter how hard you've worked at closing the sale, you've never gotten above 25%.

As your sales manager, I'd start thinking:

If I help you focus on getting appointments and presentations--and you improve just 10%--then I have someone who can get us in front of a prospective client 66% of the time. If I start focusing on your closing deficit and you manage to improve 10%, you still only get to a 27.5% success rate.

So I decide that I --or another "closer" with a high percentage of success--will come along to the presentations. You become the "star" door opener and we find another "star" closer.

I'd be crazy to spend my time and energy focusing on your weakness. It would be the same as telling Yo Yo Ma "You're a phenomenal musician. I know you are a cellist, but we're going to put all of our energy into making you a pianist."

Let's talk with people about "What They Can't Not Do."

Comments

[David Zinger]

Steve:

I appreciate your sales example. Good use of numbers. Why always have someone try and close the door when they are so good at knocking and having someone let them in?

Of course, this does not work so well if you are talking about 3 teenagers who leave the house with the front door wide open and you live in Winnipeg in January and the temperature is minus 30.

David

[steveroesler]

Hi, David,

a. Have you thought about moving to the Caribbean?

b. Have you thought about just moving the teenagers to the Caribbean?

c. Have you thought about moving to the Caribbean and leaving the teenagers in Winnipeg?

There are probably even more possibilities. However, the possibility of actually having them close the door is probably about the same as the temperature.

As always, thanks for checking in as well as the always-informative posts.

[Viji]

Hi Steve, very useful post and good point to note, focus on your strengths. Viji

[steveroesler]

Hi, Viji.

How is the cuisine blog working out for you? We have enjoyed the ability to actually see the photos and read the directions step-by-step.

[Viji]

Thanks Steve for your compliments. Learning many new things through my blog. When it comes to take picture, I a make sure that it is presented well. When it comes to write the recipe, i make sure it is simple and brief and also in an orderly way. So this food blogging helps me sharpen my skills further and I could see it at my office work also.Appreciate your interest. Viji

[Phyllis Roteman]

Hi Steve,

I saw strengths guru Marcus Buckingham speak last year. I also know that research (and common sense) confirm that focusing on peoples' strengths has a positive affect on morale, engagement and the bottom line.

But as with any approach (or new idea), focusing on STRENGTHS can go overboard in organizations, causing many negative side-affects. Some I've seen:

- Using the "strengths" research as an excuse for managers to avoid uncomfortable performance discussions with employees. ("Everyone knows that James is difficult to work with and shirks his responsibilities. No one wants to work with him and clients complain about him...but he's a really good analyst. Let's not rock the boat.")

- Hiding behind strengths as an excuse for bad behavior. For example, "I'm sorry that I snapped at you and called you a bumbling idiot. I have a short fuse. That's just how I am. Sensitivity is not my strength. You'll just have to accept that."

- Dumping mundane tasks (like paperwork, administration) on others because "it's not my strength." (For example, "Anne, you're SO GOOD at making the office coffee, cleaning out the pot and using the fax machine. Would you mind? I'm not good at that kind of stuff.") All jobs require doing some things we don't like, or aren't particularly good at...and most companies can't afford to give all of their employees an assistant to dump work on. Sometimes we just have to suck it up and do something, even though it's not our strength.

All of that said, I'm still a huge believer in focusing on strengths. I just get alarmed when I see a good concept spin out of control and become destructive. Phyllis

[steveroesler]

Well, Phyllis, that's just so true. As we've discussed before, a concept emerges and it becomes the "total" solution. Not that it was intended to be used that way, but that it becomes a shield of sorts in the ways that you mentioned.

Maybe it's time to do a book that emphasizes Building Strengths AND Closing Performance Gaps. I'm not quite sure how to say what I'm trying to say, but you are certainly onto something that would be helpful if deliberately addressed.

Thanks, as always.