Opportunity in Strengths

One of the strategies we use in our change practice is to start new initiatives by learning more about an organization's strengths. There is a lot of great research emerging that demonstrates that if you start change efforts by focusing on what's working well, you set the stage for a better solution.

We sometimes get push back on this concept…isn't it a distraction? Wouldn't it be better to get right to the problem so we can solve it and move on? While that may feel like the most direct route, it's not necessarily the fastest, especially if you judge the effectiveness of your effort by the quality of the solution, the degree of commitment and even the total time expended to achieve the end goal.

That's because when you start with strengths, it sets a series of positive changes into motion…you feel less defensive about the problem because you've been reminded of what's right in your world; you're actually more creative in your thinking (this has been proven by neuroscience); your strengths may serve as a resource for the solution you choose, so it's good to be clear on what they are. There are more reasons, but you get the idea. You might think of it as "priming the pump;" if you take that extra step up front, it will save you a lot of additional effort along the way.

A researcher at Berkeley, Dr. Christina Maslach, has uncovered the same idea through her work, and ironically enough she studies job burnout. According to Dr. Maslach, it's not particularly useful to focus on the trouble spots in a company in order to avoid burnout. As she says, "It's not just about how you get rid of the negative - it's how do you build the positive?" And when you start with what works well, you set a clear, positive direction for whatever you choose to do.

Jennifer