Strengths-based management is a type of management style implemented in the workplace and recognizes employees’ strengths (without ignoring their weaknesses). This type of leadership is integral to employee well-being, productivity, and company success.
Strengths-based management focuses on cultivating and developing employees’ strengths and using them to achieve better results and keep productivity at an optimal level. This is a key driver for employees, highlighting what they are truly good at and bringing out the best in them. Therefore, managers need to know how this type of management works and how it can be implemented. This article will discuss the manager’s role when carrying out strengths-based management and its overall benefits.
The manager’s role in strengths-based management
A key aspect of strengths-based management is, of course, a manager’s role. Firstly, a manager must know their employees well. This not only refers to the professional side (strengths and weaknesses) but also personally (are they shy, do they feel uncomfortable speaking in public, do they struggle to get along with other colleagues…etc.). Managers must never forget that setting a strengths-based strategy involves analyzing each employee separately. Each employee has different needs, which must be considered from the minute they enter the selection process. By building on their strengths from the beginning, employees will be able to grow and perform better as they will have a strong foundation.
So, how can they do this? Managers must make the most of getting to know employees; this is done in the office, in social situations, and simply by seeing how they work individually and for their team. However, there are other ways managers can get to know their employees, for example, by making the most of 1-2-1 meetings and performance reviews, where employees and their managers address the employee’s strengths and weaknesses. Managers must acknowledge employees’ strengths during these 1-2-1 meetings so employees know their strong points. Managers must also take in employees’ feedback and ask what tasks they enjoy doing regularly, feel comfortable doing, and which areas in their department they would like to excel in.
By considering these aspects, they can set a plan and objectives for the coming months so the employee can keep working on these areas. This will help the employee enhance their skills in the areas where they feel confident and take on further responsibilities.
Benefits of strengths-based management
As mentioned above, there are several advantages to implementing strengths-based management in the workplace. Here are some of the many that can benefit the most important resource in a company: the people who make it possible.
1. Motivation
Working in something you are good at, besides liking it, is key to performing well in the workplace. Making the most of employees’ strengths in the workplace motivates employees to stay in the company they currently work for. Moreover, suppose the company they work at has a training program. In that case, employees can keep polishing their skills in a particular area, allowing them to take further responsibility for tasks and foster their professional development. Motivation also increases employees’ self-confidence, as it helps them enjoy their tasks and offer results that makes the company trust them even more.
2. Talent retention
Motivation leads to employee retention. If strengths-based management is implemented and employees’ skills are acknowledged, and they are told they have the potential to grow within the company while doing something they are passionate about and good at, then they will more likely stay in the company for a more extended period.
Having a positive employee experience will not only encourage employees to want to stay longer in the company but also attract new talent. Employees are a company’s internal customers, and if their experience working there is positive, they will be more likely to recommend the company to someone they know or someone who is actively looking for employment.
3. Productivity
Indeed’s career guide says, “It is a good way to encourage transparency, accountability, and productivity”. Productivity is key to implementing strengths-based management in a company. As employees excel in what they enjoy and are good at, they will become experts in time (and maybe even train newcomers).
Strengths-based management also fosters teamwork. For optimal team productivity, managers must put together teams where everyone’s strengths are utilized. This way, they can build a team where everyone’s skills complement each other. This creates team cohesion and a cooperative environment where everyone takes on different roles. If managers do this with every employee on their team, this will create a motivated team ready to take on their objectives and work together more collaboratively.
Emotional well-being in the workplace
At ifeel, we work daily to help companies find the most appropriate way to foster their employees’ strengths. This way, their enhanced productivity will help them have a healthier relationship with their work and have a better work-life balance.
Our team of psychologists, experts in well-being in the workplace, has created an emotional well-being program for companies that brings truly relevant benefits to the entire team, including those responsible for Human Resources.
Thanks to our integrated corporate well-being service, the HR manager and their team can receive personalized, data-driven advice on improving the psychological well-being of the teams in charge. Try our program now to see how it could help you.
In addition, this program offers all company employees a complete mental health care service that they can use depending on their needs. Employees have access to an online therapy service with one of our psychologists, specialized in cases like theirs, or they can interact with one of our professionals to receive emotional support in a more specific circumstance that concerns them.
In our Resources section, you can find different materials, such as Podcasts, HR Guides on various topics (e.g., the employee experience or how to design a good HR strategy), or Interviews with HR managers. In addition, we have a Psychosocial Risk Factors Template, which you can use to comply with the requirements of the Labor Inspection.
We hope you found this post on the reasons why companies should implement strengths-based management interesting. If you want more information about our emotional well-being program for companies, you have to request it, and we will contact your team as soon as possible.
