common attributes on great leaders

1. What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows his or her strengths...” (Rath & Conchie, 2008). List your top five strengths as determined by the StrengthsFinder 2.0. Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not? For example, which of the five describes you best? Is there one that surprised you? Are you currently in a job that utilizes your strengths? Explain.

Individualization, Input, Activator, Intellection, and Restorative are my top five strengths according to the findings of the StrengthFinder 2.0 test. In general, but not entirely, I concur with this evaluation. Individualization is my strongest suit. I agree with this talent because I am intrigued with people. I enjoy watching, learning and figuring out how different people are. I try to empathize with people and understand why they act the way that they do. I enjoy lifting people up with praise, there is already enough negativity in the world. I enjoy pointing out people’s strengths and minimizing weakness. I find that most people know where they are weak at but rarely are able to appreciate their strengths. I’ve found this skill to be very helpful in leadership roles as a good leader must have good interpersonal skills and individualize their approach with each employee. In my past role at team leader/supervisor I was able to individualize my colleagues by learning about them, getting a little personal and understanding their story. A quote I use quite often to myself and others is “everyone has a story.” If you get a glimpse into a person life story you’ll better understand why they act and response the way they do. I am not currently in a role that utilizes this skill as often as I’d like but upon completion of this degree, I plan to switch jobs and get back into a more complex position to utilize my strengths.

My second strength was Input. This is definitely true about me. A person with a high Input score has a craving to know more and thrives on collecting information. This is so true about me. I love to travel and explore. During my travel and in everyday life, although I am quite introverted, I am easily able to connect with almost anyone I meet because I usually know something about a topic they are interested in. I love to read and discover more information about a variety of topics even things I don’t particularly like at first. I dated a guy and he love football and tennis, I knew nothing about either, I made it a point to research and learn. I think I became more of a fan and knew more stats then he did toward the end of those 5 years. Unlike most, I actually love school. The best part is reading the textbooks and learning new information. Ironically, even though we see through Individualization above I enjoy writing also, I like writing in my own shorthand dialect. I’m not much of a format person, punctuation, formal type writer, it is quite difficult for me to explain in writing what I’m trying to say without taking a lot of time going over and over to ensure someone else will understand it. A perfect example of this, I wrote notes for a project I was working on at work. Obviously, I understood everything and what it meant, however when it was time to train another individual they insisted I share my notes and sadly, they came back to tell me that absolutely nothing made sense to them. Often my friends come to me when they want to know more about a particular subject. Even if I have no information about it, they know I will research the information and get back to them. Recently, my cousin was diagnosed with cancer, we are more like sisters than cousin’s, when she shared it with me, she was in tears because she had a hard time understanding the terminology the doctors used. So the is where my Input talents come in, I craved information so I spent all my free time for the last three weeks researching for information. I found all the information she needed to know, printed it out for her and we went over it together. Now she was able to go back to that doctor and understand what he was saying.

My third strength is activator. This perfectly describes me because “impatient” should have been my middle name. My family and friends would all agree I am a go getter. I don’t like to sit around and talk or dream about something, I’m all about the action doing. When I say I’m going to do something, it’s not just a thought, I’m going to do it. I make thing happen. This talent have proven to be both an advantage and disadvantage in my life. It’s been good because it has taken me far, I have seen and experienced things that my friends and family just sit back and talk about. Because of my tendency to act, I don’t have time to sit and think about it and change my mind. It has been great in the work setting as I am able to motivate my colleagues to get motivated and make a decision on how to move forward with something. This strength has cause me grief because it can be taken out of context. My impatience and go getter attitude has made other feel like I’m aggressive and trying to take over, when my intent was only to get things moving not take over or be pushy.

My fourth strength is Intellection (Rath & Conchie, 2008). This strength perfectly describes me because I am an intellectual thinker. I am an extroverted introvert. I have no problem thriving in a social setting. However, to recharge, I need my alone time to think. This time allows me to think through things and even talk it out loud in private with myself and my God. I typically get this time in the car, driving home after a long day or once I get home, I go into my office to just think and write down some thoughts and ideas. I tend to thrive on mental stimulation and activity. I tend to write down ideas in a diary. It is rare that I am seen without a pen and paper as it helps me to write things out. When making a big decision I enjoy making lists of pros and cons to help my mind sort out the decision. I always take time to think out things

My fifth strength is Restorative. I disagree with this one as I’m not typically one that enjoys fixing problems. Yes, in my leadership roles I have had to fix problems but it’s not my favorite thing to do and I don’t necessarily enjoy it. I would not purposely seek a problem solving job or advertise myself as a problem solver.

2.Re-read the section of Strengths-Based Leadership that addresses the four basic needs of followers. Evaluate yourself on how well you provide each of these to your followers (even better, also ask an employee or a co-worker to evaluate you). Which come easily to you and which do you need to improve on in order to meet your followers’ needs? Practically speaking, how can you do this?

In evaluating myself I think I provide all four of the basic needs of my followers.

Trust: I tend to be an open book for my followers. I show them that they can trust me. I let them ask me questions to learn more about me. I am honest with them. When upper management has meetings and shares information, I quickly pass that information down to my follower letting them know that I’m not trying to hide anything.

Compassion: I tend to show compassion to my followers because I know how it feels to be a follower. I am and empathetic person and because of my individualization skills I enjoy getting to know my followers on a more personal level. I show them that I know they have more worries then just this job. They have families and friends to care about. They have other stressors. I try to reach out to each of my followers and genuinely show that I can by asking about their families by name. I individualize my interactions with each employee (Rath & Conchie, 2008).

Stability: If I have to admit lacking in any of the four it would be in this area of stability. I try to support my followers by giving them a peace of mind and always showing strength and support. However, admittedly, in certain situations my strength has not been as strong as it could be. In the past I have let fear in. Working a contracting job often times, companies lose their contracts and therefore we lose our jobs. That happened in my last leadership position, my followers looked to me for support and stability. Sadly, I had nothing to give them as we were all losing our jobs and I was just as fearful as they were.

Hope: I give my followers hope. I had one employee that shared with me that he always wanted to lead but he feared it, so I helped encourage him to go for it. I shared everything I knew and today he is and has been a supervisor for two years. I gave him hope and showed him that I believed in him.

3.In the Additional Resources section of the book, strategies for leading in a way that meets followers’ four basic needs are presented. (Note: You only need to read the pages that address your top five strengths.) Do any of these suggestions resonate with you? Which strategies do you believe would make the biggest impact if you implemented them at work?

Indeed, some these suggestions resonate with me. For instance, it is true that I need to build trust with the employees if I am to positively influence their commitment to their work (Walter, 2013). It is necessary for me to keep strict confidences on matters that pertain to a given employee as this will serve to reinforce their loyalty to me. Treating each employee individually will serve to communicate the immensity of their efforts in the subject institution. I also feel that the need to show compassion is critical in securing the trust that my followers have in me. I should be willing to encourage the others to speak about themselves and open up on issues that may be beleaguering them. It is also necessary for me to create a sense of hope around the people that surround me. I will use my skills to ensure that I influence people towards positive initiatives and opportunities which will allow them the freedom to further their potentials.

I think that most effective strategies in the workplace will include building trust and providing stability (Rath & Conchie, 2008). In the workplace, the employees need to know that they can count on me. Consequently, through my actions, I have to ensure that I appeal to their sense of trust. By extending them information that is accurate and up to date, I will be allowed the opportunity to reinforce their trust in me. The employees’ productivity will significantly improve when they become aware that I would never go behind their backs to achieve personal goals. Their confidence will further be cemented when they are aware that I would never deliberately jeopardize their positions in the subject organization. Building trust will further entail informing the employees of the ways through which they can further their skills by helping them identify opportunities for growth.

Alternatively, providing stability in the office setting will be effective given that it will reinforce a sense of responsibility among the employees (Yukl, 2015). Employees become more responsible when they are assured that the decisions that I make in the office are intended for their betterment, the progress of the organization and not my own personal interests. Providing stability in the setting will reinforce the confidence that the employees have with regards to their initiatives in the office setting (Beatty, 2010). By availing information when it needed, the employees will develop a positive which is critical in solving the problems that may pose a challenge to the progress of the organization. Providing stability involves allowing the employees to undertake their duties by facilitating the efficiency of their efforts by creating frameworks that enhance the efficiency of their productive activities (Walter, 2013). It does not translate to constant supervision as this will discourage initiative and innovation.

4.According to Rath and Conchie, how are team members typically selected? Why is this problematic? What do leaders need to understand to build an effective team? Use the chart on page 24 (How the 34 themes sort into the four domains of leadership strength) to identify what you bring to a team. For example, do your strengths fall primarily into one category or are they spread out over several? Are you actively and consistently using your strengths on your team? Explain. Is your team balanced (i.e., are all four domains covered or are everyone’s strengths in the same one or two categories)? Discuss. Remember, individuals don’t need to be well-rounded, but teams do

According to Rath and Conchie, team members are often identified based on their knowledge or competence (Rath & Conchie, 2008). This is usually problematic given that such individuals may not be in a position to complement the strengths of the subject team which in turn hinders the efficiency of the subject team. The primary goal of an effective leader should be to draft individuals who “have the right mixture of unique strengths” (Rath & Conchie, 2008).

Personally, my strengths are spread out across the four categories. I bring responsibility, communication, self-assurance, empathy, individualization, positivity and intellection into the team. Similarly, I constantly and actively use my strengths in the team. I undertake my duties fully and seriously approach the tasks that I am expected to oversee. This is a reinforcement of the responsibility that I have towards my duties. Similarly, employ open communication channels in transmission of information that relates to the office setting which cements trust in the office. I also show empathy towards the personal tribulations that the employees may be incurring. I allow them time off to attend to pressing family matters such as burials or maternity leaves. Alternatively, I use individualization, intellection and self-assurance to promote confidence in the employees. This initiative inspires innovation and develops positive attitude.

Lastly, my team is indeed balanced. The division of labor necessitates the need to draft individuals who can think strategically, promote intellection, encourage individualization and augment self-assurance which is pivotal in furthering the goals of the team. Essentially, every individual is encouraged to speak their mind which enhances the efficiency of execution.

References

Beatty, K. (2010). The Three Strengths of a True Strategic Leader. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/2010/10/27/three-strengths-strategy-leadership-managing-ccl.html

Rath, T., & Conchie, B. (2008). Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Walter, E. (2013). Four Essentials of Strength-Based Leadership. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ekaterinawalter/2013/08/27/four-essentials-of-strength-based-leadership/#48a43a0a64c9

Yukl, G. (2015). Leadership in Organizations. Boston: Pearson.