Tools for Developing Leadership

The Clifton Suspension Bridge, spanning the Avon Gorge is one of Bristol’s most recognizable structures. Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed the bridge, which was finally done in 1831, and stands today as one of the world’s oldest iron suspension bridges still in use today.

The CliftonStrengths for Leaders report helps you identify and understand your innate strengths, like the cables’ specific roles in holding the bridge together. By utilizing this report, you can build the skills, knowledge, and practice necessary to effectively harness your CliftonStrengths and lead with strength and stability, just as the Clifton Suspension Bridge stands as a symbol of engineering excellence and resilience.

CliftonStrengths determines your innate talents by employing a research-backed assessment that uncovers your natural patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. Each of the 34 themes in the assessment is categorized in four domains: influencing, executing, relationship building and strategic thinking.

Each domain brings its own unique abilities and advantages. Let me offer an example, “Same Goal, Different Strengths.”

Imagine four recently appointed supervisors aspiring to foster more inclusive teams. Each supervisor excels in one of the four different domains: one in executing, one with influencing, another in relationship building themes, and the fourth shines in strategic thinking. Each supervisor can enhance their personal capabilities and contribute to their teams by leveraging their respective strengths.

The supervisor specializing in executing strengths provides structure and organization to diversity and inclusion initiatives, ensuring clear objectives, timelines, and measurable outcomes. While the supervisor with strong relationship building skills would most likely begin by familiarizing themselves with their team members, addressing their individual needs, and facilitating the establishment of trusted workplace partnerships.

On the other hand, the third supervisor with influencing strengths leverages their charisma and persuasion to unite team members around the concept of diversity and inclusion, using team meetings, workshops, and enthusiasm to motivate positive change. Lastly, the supervisor who excels in strategic thinking might be more likely to research effective team dynamics and then work with the team to create powerful processes and practices that encourage team members to openly share their goals and ideas.

As the research of 60 years has shown, when you spend more time developing your strengths and applying them in your leadership role than you do trying to fix your weaknesses, you will lead more effectively and experience greater success.

My posts for the rest of this week will focus on each of the four domains of strengths and identify specific ways you can take advantage of the unique capabilities found in each one.
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