Imagine your team is full of members of varying strength and talent, would that be your dream team? Using a sports team example, coaches would choose members placement based on the strengths and talent to ensure that the team is poised for success. To build a top performing team, leaders need to identify the essential strengths that is required by the team to cater to changing needs of the business. Not all teams are alike, some may need more technical expertise in a manufacturing context whereas others may need project management skills.
Tapping on member's strengths have been found to have at least a 12.5% increase in productivity and are six times more likely to be engaged in their work.
To help build the strengths of your team members, here are the 10 strategies :
Strategy #1: Recognise the strengths of your members
What are the strengths of your members? Do you know them? if you do, do they know what are their strengths? Share with your members what their strengths are, meet up with them virtually or physically 1-on-1 to let them know. Allow for both you and your members to determine the instances where the strength has helped the team. If your team is newly formed, you could brainstorm with your team member on the useful areas where his/her strength could be utilised.
Strategy #2: Provide Cross Training Development Between Members
Cross-training enables strong members to develop their training abilities, while strengthening the weaknesses for other members in the team. This unique strategy is best utilised in teams that have deep trust and understand as some teams may withhold information and best practices as a threat to one's job security.
Strategy #3: Organise A Strengths Discovery Week
Some members may find it tough to identify their strengths even though they may find it easy to identify the strengths of others. In such an event, the entire team can be involved in the strengths discovery week where all members need to pay special attention to the strengths of others. After each day, members will write what they perceive as the member's strength, write it on a piece of paper and dropped into their envelopes. After the week is completed, leaders will need to facilitate a session/s where members will unveiled their accumulated strengths with one another.
Strategy #4: Involve Strengths Into Performance Conversations
Rather than applying strengths into projects and teams only, it can be defined as an organization wide strategy to improve the acknowledgement and recognition of strengths. Thia may help the process of change by making it a formal change initiative that everyone has to participate. Allowing performance conversations to be revolving around strengths helps to build the confidence of members as well as the target that needs to be hone for the rest of the year. Strategy #5: Assign Projects Based On Member's Strengths As Much As Possible
The allocation of project roles and responsibilities when played to member's strengths enables an increase in productivity, engagement and overall happiness especially when projects are completed way ahead of schedules. Leaders need to also be comfortable for members to take the lead in certain projects because you may possess the strength required. These are the 5 strategies that you can adopt to help build the strength in your members or members-to-be. Subscribe to our blog for more articles like this.
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