Maximizing Your Leadership Strengths

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN

“The most effective leaders are always investing in their strengths.” Tom Rath & Barry Conchie

I am always interested in what aspects of their graduate education have been most valuable for our students. About one year ago, I began having our students take an online Strengths-Based leadership assessment. They now tell me that this one exercise has been transformational in how they view their own leadership. Too often, we believe that we must excel in everything when the reality is that it is not possible. Knowing yourself helps you to build a team and hire staff who not only will be good team players but have key strengths that you may not.

The Evidence about Strengths-Based Leadership

The Gallup corporation has studied more than one million work teams, conducted more than 20,000 in-depth interviews with leaders, and even interviewed more than 10,000 followers around the world to ask exactly why they followed the most important leader in their life. Not surprisingly, the four major themes were trust, compassion, stability and hope.

In 2009, Tom Rath and Barry Conchie took these and other Gallup findings and wrote a book on Strengths-Based Leadership. They drew three conclusions from the Gallup work:

The most effective leaders invest in their own strengths, and the strengths of their employees.

The most effective leaders find the “right” people to work with and strategize to maximize their team’s abilities. The leaders themselves do not need to be “well-rounded”, but their teams do.

The most effective leaders understand that their followers need trust, compassion, stability and hope from them.

Identifying your Areas of Strength

Surprisingly, not all leaders are good judges of their nursing management strengths. Yet without really knowing your strengths, it can be hard to lead effectively. It is easy to loose confidence if you spend all your time worrying about what you don’t possess as a leader. In their book on Strengths-Based Leadership, Rath and Conchie provide the reader with a unique access code (can be used only once) to take the StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment. After you complete the assessment, you will receive a personalized strengths-based leadership guide. The instrument assesses 34 different areas of strength.

After taking the assessment, you will receive a strengths-based leadership report with your five signature strengths. A signature strength is one that you possess and if used consistently and productively, it will help you excel. It does not mean that you don’t possess other areas of strength – but these five are your strongest.

Applying your Strengths to Nursing Leadership

Based on your individualized results, you will be able to see how your strengths related to the 4 identified leadership domain areas (executing, influencing, relationship building and strategic thinking). As an example, you may find that you are very strong in relationship building but your signature strengths are not in the domain of execution. This often means that although you are the glue that holds things together on a nursing management team, you may not be as strong in taking ideas and making them a reality.

Knowing what your strengths are can help guide you in your own career decisions. You will want to look for jobs that capitalize on your leadership strengths. If relationship building is your strongest area, you might not be happiest in role where you work alone and executing and strategic thinking are key job components.

When we think about team diversity in our work environments, key strengths is often not part of the selection criteria. Yet an effective leader will look to build a diverse nursing management team with members who have signature strengths in all four domain areas. The takeaway message is to embrace that which you have as your strengths —- focusing on what you do well will build your leadership confidence.

Read to Lead

Gottleib, L, Gottleib, B. & Shamian, J. (2012). Principles of Strengths-Based Nursing Leadership for Strengths-Based Nursing Care: A New Paradigm for Nursing and Healthcare for the 21st Century. Nursing Leadership. Vol. 25 No. 2

Rath, T. & Conchie, B. (2008). Strengths Based Leadership. New York: Gallup Publishing

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