Summary:  Want to get the most out of people? Focus on their strengths.

When you lead a team of people, your main goal is to get them to succeed in their position and for the company. However at times we get caught up in the day-to-day and the tasks that need to be completed. While these are important you need to take a step back. If you really want to get the most out of the people who work for you – focus on their strengths!

We have a habit of wanting to correct or fix or develop a person’s weak areas. Which is ok if this area is seriously affecting their work. We do this because we are trying to create the perfect employee without any flaws. Think about it – is it realistic? Are you without flaws? I may not know you personally but I can guess you may have a flaw or two (small ones I’m sure). We can’t help it, we are human.

So instead of trying to make someone perfect – which is an unattainable goal – why not work with their strengths. After all,  their strengths come naturally to them and may only require some fine tuning to work best in our organization.

Try this – look at the people around you and focus on their strength, that which they do so well and it appears without effort. Is there a way to capitalize on it?

Examples:

You have a person who is very good at training new employees. Can this person be either a full-time trainer or work with the training person or train all new employees (when needed).

You have a person who is excellent at collaboration, they work well with other departments and people.  Can they lead the next project?

By focusing on the strengths we don’t fill our heads with negative “they can’t do this” or “I wish they could do this better” etc. Instead our thoughts turn to “how can a person passionate about customer service best help the business” . This perspective will consistently help you find the opportunities.