This year has undeniably been a challenging one.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to alter the way they operate, government restrictions have placed additional pressures on operations, and your employees have no doubt been impacted in the process.
But all is not lost.
Businesses owners and managers have the power to cultivate a positive and productive workplace by playing to their team’s strengths.
Gone are the days of mismanaging and micromanaging in the workplace. Not only does a constant eye over the shoulder stifle creativity and productivity, but it can also negatively affect the mental health of your employees.
Effective managers fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of every team member, and they equip their team with the tools to thrive autonomously.
But how do you unlock each employee’s true potential to foster collaboration and increase morale? First, you’ll need to understand how to identify those strengths. Here’s how you can do that:
Understand employee attributes
To get the ball rolling, arrange a one-on-one chat with each of your team members.
Considering that routine performance reviews can be a source of stress for employees, the ideal environment for this conversation would be one of low pressure, such as a coffee catch up.
In order to get the most out of the session, management should organise talking points in advance based on the individual employee.
This might include questions about their favourite aspects of their role, tasks they may not enjoy as much, how you can help them manage stress at work, any projects they’re particularly proud of, their preferred communication and/or learning style, and so on.
During the meeting, be prepared to actively listen and prompt your team member to elaborate in areas where needed.
In return, you should be honest and direct, avoid voicing vague cliches, and deliver praise where it’s due.
By ensuring that you both contribute to the discussion, two important pieces of information will surface: a list of currently acknowledged strengths and an equally important list of any neglected talents.
Improve weaknesses versus harness strengths
An age-old management dilemma asks which of the following is more important: improving weaknesses or maximising strengths? The answer is undeniably the latter.
Employees experience a boost in productivity in workplaces that focus on their strengths. And when staff feel useful, it improves their sense of self-achievement and contribution to the wider team.
On the other side of the equation, staff morale and mental health take a hit when leaders dwell on their teams’ weaknesses.
To truly harness strength, management should first take a step back and assess where their team’s strengths lie.
To be a cohesive unit, all parties – from marketing to installation and sales – need to be aware of every colleague’s area of expertise. This sparks opportunity for internal cross-training and more strategic delegation, which ultimately paves a path for your team members to thrive.
Prioritise strengths
An effective leader would seldom assign tasks to team members based on their weaknesses; this would hinder workplace cohesion and leave team members feeling underutilised.
So, how can businesses identify and grow these strengths? There’s no singular answer but there are universal themes: encourage expertise, praise a job well done, ensure goals and tasks are in line with talents, and provide opportunity for continued development.
When professional training opportunities are offered, a good salesman can become an elite salesman, or an experienced project leader can transform into an effective project manager.
Ensure that open discussions are a recurring event in the workplace, either within or complementary to performance reviews.
Consider re-evaluating each employee’s goals to better align with their unique talents, and verify that they feel comfortable using their advanced skills.
If you would like to find out what your strengths are, take this survey.
Focus on the positive
Studies have shown, time and again, that mental health is imperative in the workplace.
Happier employees facilitate a pleasant working environment, and high levels of motivation and satisfaction at work are more attainable when staff are inspired to do what they do best.
Management must strive to be aware of their employees’ strengths and talents, as well their shortcomings.
With a sound consciousness of those traits, a thriving and resilient workforce will be waiting just around the corner.
Would you like to measure the wellbeing of your team or workplace? The Wellbeing Lab is running a survey to see how your levels of thriving and struggle are currently shaping your wellbeing and performance. Take the survey here.