Imagine focusing energy and resources on nurturing the strengths of your employees rather than ‘fixing’ their weaknesses.
An international authority on performance in the workplace, Dr Tim Baker explains that the focus on overcoming weaknesses is the path of most resistance and that instead, boosting employees’ innate strengths is more worthwhile – for them and the business
Mary entered Sandra’s office with some trepidation, knowing that she was about to be appraised for her performance on the job after six months. Mary was concerned about Sandra’s appraisal of her work. Sandra is an accountant in a professional services firm.
Sandra began with the question, ‘Now that you have been in this job for six months, what are the tasks you enjoy doing the most?’ Mary was blindsided; she wasn’t expecting this kind of question first up. She thought carefully for a moment and responded, ‘I guess most of the time I like dealing with our clients.’
‘Approximately how much of your day is taken up with clients?’ Sandra asked. ‘Not too much; maybe one in eight hours,’ replied Mary. ‘What is it about the client contact that you enjoy, Mary?’ probed Sandra. ‘I enjoy communicating with them to provide solutions to their problems. I find that it energises me and I feel useful.’ ‘Yes, I agree this is one of your strengths, Mary. I get great feedback regularly from some of our valued clients.’
‘How can we work together to provide you with the opportunity to do more of this?’ asked Sandra. ‘Could I delegate more of the routine accounting work to one of the administrative assistants in the office and move you into a client liaison role? Perhaps we could make you the first point of contact for client requests, and that may entail you being out on the road more. That won’t happen overnight but we can work toward this,’ said Sandra positively. ‘That would be great, Sandra,’ replied Mary. ‘I would really appreciate that opportunity!’ 
The world of work, which mirrors society at large, is obsessed with spotting and overcoming employees’
Mary entered Sandra’s office with some trepidation, knowing that she was about to be appraised for her performance on the job after six months. Mary was concerned about Sandra’s appraisal of her work. Sandra is an accountant in a professional services firm.
Sandra began with the question, ‘Now that you have been in this job for six months, what are the tasks you enjoy doing the most?’ Mary was blindsided; she wasn’t expecting this kind of question first up. She thought carefully for a moment and responded, ‘I guess most of the time I like dealing with our clients.’
‘Approximately how much of your day is taken up with clients?’ Sandra asked. ‘Not too much; maybe one in eight hours,’ replied Mary. ‘What is it about the client contact that you enjoy, Mary?’ probed Sandra. ‘I enjoy communicating with them to provide solutions to their problems. I find that it energises me and I feel useful.’ ‘Yes, I agree this is one of your strengths, Mary. I get great feedback regularly from some of our valued clients.’
‘How can we work together to provide you with the opportunity to do more of this?’ asked Sandra. ‘Could I delegate more of the routine accounting work to one of the administrative assistants in the office and move you into a client liaison role? Perhaps we could make you the first point of contact for client requests, and that may entail you being out on the road more. That won’t happen overnight but we can work toward this,’ said Sandra positively. ‘That would be great, Sandra,’ replied Mary. ‘I would really appreciate that opportunity!’
The world of work, which mirrors society at large, is obsessed with spotting and overcoming employees’
weaknesses. We are socialised at an early age to focus on overcoming our weaknesses rather than building on our strengths. You will always get a better return on investment in time and effort by investing in the development of your strengths than by trying to overcoming your weaknesses.
Our obsession with overcoming weaknesses
Think about it: all things being equal, spending an hour developing a strength or talent is a far better use of your time than spending an hour trying to correct a deficiency. You will learn faster, gain greater traction, and be more efficient and effective in building on a talent than in trying to overcome a weakness. As the saying goes: ‘What seems common sense is not always common practice.’
We are told at school to lift our grades on subjects we struggle with and maintain the good grades we get on subjects that come easily. When we enter the workforce, the traditional performance appraisal devotes a disproportionate amount of time to our weak areas and very little time on what we do well. So it is little wonder that we are obsessed with our weaknesses and take our talents for granted.
In his 2007 book Strengths Finder 2.0, Tom Rath says Gallup has surveyed over 10 million people worldwide since the 1990s on the topic of employee engagement; that is, how positive and productive people are at work. Only a third of those surveyed ‘strongly agreed’ with the statement: At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day. Of those who ‘strongly disagreed’ or ‘disagreed’ with the statement – that is, those who felt they did not focus on what they do best – none were emotionally engaged in their job.
The message is clear: if you want to engage the hearts and minds of people at work, you need to give them the opportunity to exercise their strengths and talents at work.
To further illustrate the point, Gallup’s research suggests that employees who are given the opportunity to utilise their strengths are considerably more committed to their work than those who are not given the same opportunity. These same people who exercise their strengths at work report having a better quality of life than others who do not get the same opportunity at work. It appears that focusing on strengths has considerable benefits for the individual, the organisation where they work, and society.
This is the rationale for holding a conversation about an employee’s strengths. While it is true that a lot of what we do in the workplace is hard work, giving people a chance to exercise their innate talents can be significantly beneficial to employees, the organisation, and society in general. Yet, performance appraisals are generally geared toward overcoming employees’ weaknesses.
I am not suggesting that we do not discuss these weaknesses or opportunities for growth. In fact, the next conversation in my Five Conversations Framework does just that. What I am saying is this: we need to redress this imbalance in focusing on weaknesses by discussing strengths and talents.
Not only are traditional performance appraisals obsessed with identifying weaknesses, but managers are preoccupied by pouring resources and support into the development of these weaknesses.
Our obsession with overcoming weaknesses
Think about it: all things being equal, spending an hour developing a strength or talent is a far better use of your time than spending an hour trying to correct a deficiency. You will learn faster, gain greater traction, and be more efficient and effective in building on a talent than in trying to overcome a weakness. As the saying goes: ‘What seems common sense is not always common practice.’
We are told at school to lift our grades on subjects we struggle with and maintain the good grades we get on subjects that come easily. When we enter the workforce, the traditional performance appraisal devotes a disproportionate amount of time to our weak areas and very little time on what we do well. So it is little wonder that we are obsessed with our weaknesses and take our talents for granted.
In his 2007 book Strengths Finder 2.0, Tom Rath says Gallup has surveyed over 10 million people worldwide since the 1990s on the topic of employee engagement; that is, how positive and productive people are at work. Only a third of those surveyed ‘strongly agreed’ with the statement: At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day. Of those who ‘strongly disagreed’ or ‘disagreed’ with the statement – that is, those who felt they did not focus on what they do best – none were emotionally engaged in their job.
The message is clear: if you want to engage the hearts and minds of people at work, you need to give them the opportunity to exercise their strengths and talents at work.
To further illustrate the point, Gallup’s research suggests that employees who are given the opportunity to utilise their strengths are considerably more committed to their work than those who are not given the same opportunity. These same people who exercise their strengths at work report having a better quality of life than others who do not get the same opportunity at work. It appears that focusing on strengths has considerable benefits for the individual, the organisation where they work, and society.
This is the rationale for holding a conversation about an employee’s strengths. While it is true that a lot of what we do in the workplace is hard work, giving people a chance to exercise their innate talents can be significantly beneficial to employees, the organisation, and society in general. Yet, performance appraisals are generally geared toward overcoming employees’ weaknesses.
I am not suggesting that we do not discuss these weaknesses or opportunities for growth. In fact, the next conversation in my Five Conversations Framework does just that. What I am saying is this: we need to redress this imbalance in focusing on weaknesses by discussing strengths and talents.
Not only are traditional performance appraisals obsessed with identifying weaknesses, but managers are preoccupied by pouring resources and support into the development of these weaknesses.
Most learning and development programs are designed to overcome weaknesses. As Rath puts it, these programs “help us to become who we are not”. For example, if you are poor with numbers you are sent on a course to develop accounting skills. Or, if you are appraised as being poor at dealing with people, you are sent on courses to enhance your “emotional intelligence”. Our whole life seems to be devoted to overcoming weaknesses; and this is more often than not done at the expense of developing our talents.
On top of this, our heroes in society are those who have overcome massive obstacles. People who excel despite a physical disability, individuals who triumph over barriers such as age, discrimination, and economic circumstances – our lives are filled with such stories. These stories are undeniably inspirational. But they teach us that overcoming obstacles is more virtuous than capitalising on our strengths and talents.
On the other hand, we take for granted those who have natural talent. We do not value the effort they put in to exploit those talents. We do not see – or want to see – the hard work put into activities in which people have a natural advantage.
Inspirational stories such as the one above create a powerful myth in our society. Overcoming shortcomings is romanticised to such an extent that it is considered an essential element of our culture. Movies, books, TV series and the like are filled with the underdog beating the odds. This leads us to idolise those people who succeed despite their lack of natural ability. There is no room for us to celebrate individuals who use their innate talents for achievement.
We therefore emulate the underdog. We believe that the way ahead is to overcome our weaknesses. Capitalising on our strengths is a secondary consideration. (Unfortunately, though, overcoming our weaknesses instead of building on our strengths is the path of most resistance.) So it is little wonder that this idea is embraced when it comes to the assessment of performance in the workplace. It raises questions such as: ‘What are your weaknesses?’, ‘How can you overcome these?’, and ‘What can we as a business do to assist you in this regard?’
We do not really consider the alternative questions: ‘What are your strengths?’, ‘How can you capitalise on these in your job?’, or ‘What can we as a business do to help you to exercise your strengths in this organisation?’ The traditional performance appraisal system is more concerned with the first than the second set of questions.
I remember as a child devoting hours, days, weeks, months and years to trying to bowl like the great Australian cricket fast bowler Dennis Lillee. I was not alone in that regard; thousands of others practiced with the same dedication. Hours were spent in the cricket nets. Sooner or later it dawned upon me that no matter how hard I worked at my fast bowling, being a great fast bowler was not ‘on the cards’ for me.
I now think to myself: ‘Imagine if I had spent that time working as hard on my innate talents. What may have come of that, I wonder?’
This is an extract from Tim Baker's book, The End of the Performance Review: A New Approach to Appraising Employee Performance (Palgrave Macmillan)
Dr Tim Baker is an international authority on performance in the workplace and author of six books on the subject. Tim was voted one of the 50 Most Talented Global Training & Development Leaders by the World HRD Congress In 2013. You can go to www.winnersatwork.com.au to find more information or contact Tim direct at [email protected]
On top of this, our heroes in society are those who have overcome massive obstacles. People who excel despite a physical disability, individuals who triumph over barriers such as age, discrimination, and economic circumstances – our lives are filled with such stories. These stories are undeniably inspirational. But they teach us that overcoming obstacles is more virtuous than capitalising on our strengths and talents.On the other hand, we take for granted those who have natural talent. We do not value the effort they put in to exploit those talents. We do not see – or want to see – the hard work put into activities in which people have a natural advantage.
Inspirational stories such as the one above create a powerful myth in our society. Overcoming shortcomings is romanticised to such an extent that it is considered an essential element of our culture. Movies, books, TV series and the like are filled with the underdog beating the odds. This leads us to idolise those people who succeed despite their lack of natural ability. There is no room for us to celebrate individuals who use their innate talents for achievement.
We therefore emulate the underdog. We believe that the way ahead is to overcome our weaknesses. Capitalising on our strengths is a secondary consideration. (Unfortunately, though, overcoming our weaknesses instead of building on our strengths is the path of most resistance.) So it is little wonder that this idea is embraced when it comes to the assessment of performance in the workplace. It raises questions such as: ‘What are your weaknesses?’, ‘How can you overcome these?’, and ‘What can we as a business do to assist you in this regard?’
We do not really consider the alternative questions: ‘What are your strengths?’, ‘How can you capitalise on these in your job?’, or ‘What can we as a business do to help you to exercise your strengths in this organisation?’ The traditional performance appraisal system is more concerned with the first than the second set of questions.
I remember as a child devoting hours, days, weeks, months and years to trying to bowl like the great Australian cricket fast bowler Dennis Lillee. I was not alone in that regard; thousands of others practiced with the same dedication. Hours were spent in the cricket nets. Sooner or later it dawned upon me that no matter how hard I worked at my fast bowling, being a great fast bowler was not ‘on the cards’ for me.
I now think to myself: ‘Imagine if I had spent that time working as hard on my innate talents. What may have come of that, I wonder?’
This is an extract from Tim Baker's book, The End of the Performance Review: A New Approach to Appraising Employee Performance (Palgrave Macmillan)
Dr Tim Baker is an international authority on performance in the workplace and author of six books on the subject. Tim was voted one of the 50 Most Talented Global Training & Development Leaders by the World HRD Congress In 2013. You can go to www.winnersatwork.com.au to find more information or contact Tim direct at [email protected]
