Unlocking Potential: The Power of Personal Values and Strengths
Successful organisations make primary investment on identifying pre-existing talents and strengths of employees, teams and leaders.
In today’s dynamic and ever-evolving business landscape, effective leadership is not only about strategic acumen or technical expertise. True leadership stems from a genuine understanding of personal values and strengths – those of yourself and your team members.
By recognising and aligning with these core tenets, leaders can navigate complex challenges with authenticity, inspire trust among their teams, and drive sustainable success for their organisations.
Our coaching approach and programs emphasise the importance of self-awareness, enabling leaders to not only achieves business objectives but also influence effectively to achieve results. When people are doing what they are best at and care most about, the impact on engagement, productivity, initiative and similar behaviours increases significantly.
Personal Values
It is important to understand your values and why they matter to you and those closest to you.
Values are deeply held beliefs that guide our choices, attitudes, and behaviours. They act as a compass, helping us navigate the complexities of life and determine what is most meaningful and important to us. In essence, they are the core principles that provide direction in our lives and influence our sense of right and wrong.
Identifying your own personal values can be a powerful tool. Increased self-awareness and knowledge of what is most important to you can help to identify how you act and why you make certain choices.
They also help you to discover what motivations drive you and why you react to particular events or situations more than others.
Personal values play a pivotal role in shaping one’s life and can influence everything from career choices to relationships to day-to-day actions. Reflecting on and understanding your own values is crucial for personal development and meaningful decision-making.
Knowing what other’s value provides a stronger platform for understanding and influencing. This is critical in building effective relationships and in leadership.
Hear how we can more effectively identify and apply values in our jobs and why it’s so important to do so. Listen to the podcast accessed on thee right to better understand how your personal values can assist you in the workplace.
Real Deal Personal Values Assessment
Based on research conducted using more than 250,000 working professionals, the Real Deal Values process is a self-guided activity that gets right to the heart of the matter. It quickly and simply pinpoints what really makes you tick — the “what” and “why” that shape your underlying values, stressors, motivations, and priorities.
Leaders and companies use the Real Deal to transform the way their employees relate, engage, and shape their underlying culture. The CoachStation team have conducted the Real Deal personal values assessment amongst hundreds of employees, leaders, friends and clients since 2009.
The Real Deal Values cards consist of 80 cards with a value-based word or phrase printed on each. The process is a facilitated discussion that provides an opportunity for you to sort through the cards numerous times, gradually removing those values that are less of a priority, ultimately identifying your primary and core values. The process includes several stages and seeks to create greater awareness for each participant regarding their own value set. The process and related coaching discussion are key components.
This can assist in identifying why you react more strongly to certain decisions, situations and environments through an improved level of self-awareness and knowledge.
Strengths
Understanding your inherent strengths isn’t just about self-awareness; it’s about optimising performance, both personally and professionally.
StrengthsFinder 2.0 provides a scientifically-backed framework that illuminates those unique capabilities and talents each individual possesses. By embracing this knowledge, individuals can foster increased productivity, enhance collaboration, and achieve greater satisfaction in their endeavours.
When you focus on cultivating and leveraging your innate strengths, you not only elevate your own potential but also contribute more effectively to teams and communities.
In the StrengthsFinder 2.0 book by Tom Rath, he makes an incredibly insightful point that most of us would relate to. At its fundamentally flawed core, the aim of almost any learning program is to help us become who we are not. If you don’t have natural talent with numbers, you’re still forced to spend time in that area to attain a degree. If you’re not very empathic, you get sent to a course designed to infuse empathy into your personality.
From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more time to our shortcomings than to our strengths. The nature of this point actually masks a significant problem: Overcoming deficits is an essential part of the fabric of our culture. Our books, movies, and folklore are filled with stories of the underdog who beats one-in-a-million odds. And this leads us to celebrate those who triumph over their lack of natural ability even more than we recognise those who capitalise on their innate talents.
Unfortunately, this is taking the path of most resistance.
Throughout life’s journey, many of us become entangled in the demands of the world, slowly drifting away from our inherent talents and passions. The daily grind, societal expectations, and the quest for ‘fitting in’ can sometimes overshadow our true selves. However, our innate strengths are like hidden gems waiting to be discovered and polished. In the vast landscape of human potential, StrengthsFinder serves as a compass, guiding us towards our true potential. The journey to self-discovery is perpetual, and there’s immeasurable power in being the most authentic version of yourself.
Don’t let your talents go untapped; embrace them, nurture them, and watch as they transform not only your world but also the world around you.
Understanding and applying strengths-based learning for both leaders and employees can lead to numerous benefits for organisations, with benefits including:
- Improved Productivity: When individuals leverage their innate strengths, they tend to be more productive because they are working in areas where they naturally excel.
- Increased Engagement: Employees who use their strengths daily are more engaged and satisfied with their jobs, leading to lower turnover rates and increased loyalty.
- Enhanced Team Dynamics: Recognising the strengths of each team member can lead to better collaboration, as individuals understand how to complement each other’s abilities effectively.
- Focused Development: Strengths-based learning can pinpoint areas for growth, allowing for more tailored professional and personal development.
- Increased Morale: Recognition and application of strengths can bolster self-confidence, fostering a positive work environment.
- Better Conflict Resolution: Understanding personal and team strengths can provide insights into potential areas of conflict and offer solutions based on complementary strengths.
- Higher Retention Rates: Employees feel more valued when their unique strengths are acknowledged and utilised, making them more likely to stay with the company.
- Optimised Decision Making: Leaders can make better strategic decisions by aligning tasks and projects with the strengths of their team members.
- Authentic Leadership: Leaders who are aware of their strengths can lead with authenticity, building trust and credibility among their team members and peers.
- Efficient Resource Allocation: Companies can save resources by aligning roles and responsibilities with the inherent strengths of their employees, reducing the need for excessive training or external hires.
- Increased Innovation: A strengths-based approach can foster diverse thinking and varied approaches to problem-solving, driving innovation.
- Enhanced Customer Service: When employees operate from their strengths, they are more likely to provide positive interactions and solutions tailored to customer needs.
- Long-Term Growth: Organisations that embed a strengths-based culture tend to have a sustainable growth trajectory because they continually capitalise on what their employees do best.
A strengths-based approach not only benefits individual employees by aligning their tasks with their inherent talents but also boosts the overall health and performance of the organisation.
The CliftonStrengths domains are a shortcut for learning how to make the most out of the 34 CliftonStrengths themes.
It can be difficult to fully understand 34 different themes. The four domains are Relationship Building; Executing, Strategic Thinking and Influencing.
The CliftonStrengths domains essentially answer the question, “How do I make sense of the world on a greater scale than just my individual CliftonStrengths themes?” People tend to think about what they don’t do well, or what weaknesses they need to work on.
The domains can help people understand where they’re most powerful, and how to use that power to make their greatest contribution.
Relationship Building
Adaptability, Connectedness, Developer, Empathy, Harmony, Includer, Individualization, Positivity, Realtor
How a person builds connections with others, including interpersonal bonding, forming deeply meaningful and close personal relationships. In teams, these themes are the “essential glue that holds a team together,”. These themes answer the question “How do you build and nurture strong relationships?” They may help you hold a team together. People with skills in the relationship-building strengths domain are vital for creating and maintaining what every business needs – interconnectedness, networks and relationships. When teams need to be greater than the sum of their parts, they turn to people with Relationship Building themes to strengthen bonds.
Executing
Achiever, Arranger, Belief, Consistency, Deliberative, Discipline, Focus, Responsibility, Restorative
What pushes an individual towards results. Motivational strengths that generate and focus energy to achieve and accomplish a lot, for themselves and their teams.
These themes answer the question “How do you make things happen?” They may help you turn ideas into reality and put thoughts and ideas into action.
When teams need to implement a solution, they look to people with Executing themes who will work tirelessly to accomplish the goal. They relish in putting in the hard work right now, so they can move on to the next task quickly.
Strategic Thinking
Analytical, Context, Futuristic, Ideation, Input, Intellection, Learner, Strategic
How a person analyses the world. Strengths of perception, organisation, and information processing that produce lifelong learners and help teams make better decisions. They help us focus on what could be, stretching our thinking for the future.
These themes answer the question “How do you absorb, think about and analyse information and situations?” They may help you make better decisions and create better outcomes.
When teams need to focus on what could be, they turn to people with Strategic Thinking themes to stretch the team’s thinking for the future.
Influencing
Activator, Command, Communication, Competition, Maximizer, Self-Assurance, Significance, WOO
How an individual moves others to action. Interpersonal strengths that enable a person to impact or influence others in powerful ways by taking charge, speaking up, and making sure ideas are heard, inside and outside a group.
These themes answer the question “How do you influence others?” They may help you take charge, speak up and make sure others are heard.
When teams need to sell their ideas inside and outside the organization, they turn to people with Influencing themes to convince others.
The key is to discover what traits and talents are most natural for each of us and then build upon these to make them strengths. The CoachStation Strengths Development Programs involve the identification of talents, improved self-awareness, leadership development and actions / changes in behaviour. Our workshops are interactive and action-oriented, always looking to apply new learning and provide knowledge along themes that can become part of what participants do, not just what they know. CoachStation programs include:
- Coaching 1:1: Strengths Assessment, leadership focus and individual 1:1 coaching review.
- Team Development: 1/2 or 1-day detailed session consisting of individual Strengths assessment, facilitated discussion and team review.
- StrengthsFinder 2.0: Each participant receives a copy of the book, StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath including access to the StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment.