Strength Based Management Fosters Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is strong stuff

Get strong. I have been very involved in encouraging strength based approaches to fuller employee engagement. The first two years of this site was devoted to strength based leadership. I believe Gallup is the leader in this field and I was thrilled to read their latest article:  Making Strengths-Based Development Work.

4 keys to unlocking strengths. Here are some of the keys they articulate in organizations that have been successful with strength based approaches to work and employee engagement:

• Employees became aware of their strengths and their colleagues’ strengths.
• Employees began to experience success through more intentional application of those strengths.
• Employees perceived shared commitment to the strengths philosophy among coworkers and managers.
• Employees perceived shared commitment to the strengths philosophy from company leadership.

How strong are you? Gallup did a short assessment to determine how successful an organization was at utilizing and leveraging strengths:

1. Every week, I set goals and expectations based on my strengths.
2. I can name the strengths of five people I work with.
3. In the last three months, my supervisor and I have had a meaningful discussion about my strengths.
4. My organization is committed to building the strengths of each associate.

Only 3%. When Gallup tested these items in a number of companies they found  that only 3% of employees strongly agreed with all four items.

Asplund and Blacksmith. Jim Asplund and Nikki Blacksmith wrote an important strength based article that can contribute to full employee engagement.  I encourage you to read the full article and to ensure that you move into the 3% who are making the most of their own strengths and the strengths of the people in their organization.

David Zinger is an employee engagement expert who believe in the power of strengths to foster fuller engagement.