Using strengths-based approaches – part 2

How to incorporate strengths-based approaches in recruitment and performance appraisal

Recruitment interviews and performance appraisals and conversations that incorporate strengths allow people and teams to use their strengths as much as possible at work. Adopting these approaches can also help people feel the organisation values and encourages their strengths. 

Focusing on strengths and areas for improvement creates opportunities to change how tasks are done to match people’s strengths. It can also identify opportunities to re-assign tasks to better match people’s strengths.

How to have a strengths-based conversation

Various robust and recommended instruments are available to help workplaces and people managers identify and leverage personal strengths within their workers and teams:

• Strengthsfinder
• Values in Action (VIA)
• StandOut
• feedforward interviews
• reflected best self-exercises.

As a first step, try tweaking questions in team meetings and performance conversations. It can be as simple as asking some open-ended questions:

• What is working well?
• What have you tried? Has that helped?
• What would be happening if things were working better for you?
• What do you like doing? What makes this enjoyable?
• What is your favourite thing about your job?

As a rough guide, offering 3 pieces of positive feedback for every one piece of negative feedback can help create a strengths-based conversation. Providing regular feedback and allowing reflection time helps empower an individual during the feedback process.

Things to consider when implementing strengths-based approaches

Communication is essential when introducing strengths-based approaches. Both workers and managers need to understand what to do and why this approach is important.

These are some common concerns about strengths-based approaches:

• Am I allowed to address problematic performance?
• If I let my workers focus on the things they are good at, how do I make sure it doesn’t cause chaos in the organisation? 
• Don’t we all need to improve our weak points to become well rounded?

Using strengths-based approaches does not mean you should not address problems. But, instead of focusing only on deficits and areas of ‘weakness’, use performance discussions to identify strengths and how they can be leveraged to address problems and challenges. In some instances, tasks or areas for improvement may be better assigned to someone else more experienced or skilled in that area, allowing the person to focus on their own strengths.

Similarly, discussions about worker performance and development should not focus solely on complying with management direction, identifying worker weaknesses and translating these to learning goals. Instead, focus these discussions on how to develop the ‘ideal level’ of performance, and how to maximise opportunities for workers to do what they are good at and carry out activities in a way that plays to their strengths.

The benefits of strengths-based approaches outweigh the costs. It does not take much effort to praise worker strengths throughout the workday, or to include discussions about strengths during a performance conversation.