A long time ago, when I was a much younger man, I wrote an article on the need for team spirit, not just team work. One day, it got published in a national magazine for leaders. It was only a single column by the time they edited it, but there was my name, my photo, and my telephone number. I was so excited. I believed that it was going to be the gateway to all sorts of new speaking engagements and consultations.
On the day it was published, I just knew the phone would be ringing off the hook. People would read my article and be inspired. I made sure to be close by the phone all day. However, no one called on that day and no called for quite some time. I was pretty bummed out by this outcome.
Then, one day a man from Des Moines, Iowa called me, and said he had read my article. He liked it and wondered if I was ever in the Des Moines area. If so, he would love to get together and visit.
My first response, which I did not share with him, was I wondered if he was ever in the West Branch, Iowa area. Why did I need to drive two hours to see him? He should be coming to see me. Instead, I told him I needed to check my calendar and see if I had any openings.
About a week later, he called me back and inquired again. He told me where his office was and I looked over my calendar in greater detail. I discovered that I was speaking at a hotel across the street from his office and we lined up a time when I could visit with him.
On the day of our visit, I walked into his office and realized I was about to talk with someone who was very important. His name was Joe Batten, MS, CPAE. He was the author of fourteen books, and involved in four training films about management, sales, and leadership. He also presented to over three thousand audiences in seventeen countries, and was the first speaker inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame. What surprised me even more was that he wanted to talk with me.
When I walked into his office, he greeted me quite warmly, motioned to a nearby seat, and then we sat down together. He started by saying, “I liked your article. I thought it had some really good points. How did you figure this stuff out?”
I was stunned that he wanted to hear my thoughts. Here was a man who did what I did for a living and who had been doing it for forty years, which was longer than I had been alive. And on this very day, he was interested in my ideas. So, I shared some of my thinking.
After a bit, he said, “Interesting. I like that perspective.”
Then, I asked him a question. “So, after forty years of doing this work, what have you figured out about teams, leadership, and organizational change?”
“Not much,” he replied.
I sat silently and waited. I could see he was thinking.
“Well,” he continued. “I do have one thing that I have figured out. The key is to build on strengths.”
That was it. He didn’t say much more about the subject. Just that one short and powerful insight. We chatted a bit longer, and I thanked for our visit. Then, I needed to get back to the hotel across the street where I was to be the capstone speaker to the conference.
We never visited again. He got busy and I got busy. Still, I have reflected on what he shared with me for many years.
The insight he shared with me that afternoon was discovered long before Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman wrote their book, First, Break All The Rules: What The World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently (Simon & Schuster, 1999). It was shared long before the Gallup organization did their research on strengths based leadership and the Q12. His insight came from being with people, listening to people, and observing what worked and didn’t work.
Upon reflection, building on strengths seems like a such a simple statement, and yet it is a powerful one. Gallup has the research and the data to back it up. Joe Batten just had the experience and wisdom to figure it out on his own.
For when we choose to build on the strengths of people, teams, and the company as a whole, we create the ability to move through hard times better. When we acknowledge our own strengths as a leader as part of this process, we also acknowledge our own weaknesses. Then, we can build on our strengths and surround ourselves with people who have the strengths that will help us overcome our weaknesses.
Again, the idea of building on strengths during hard times sounds simple, but it is not easy. It will take great discipline and hard work to do it in a consistent manner. Understanding this idea is important. But we must remember the advice that Marshall Goldsmith and Kelly Goldsmith wrote in their article called “Helping People Achieve their Goals” in the Winter 2006 issue of Leader to Leader magazine. As they explained, “Real change requires effort.” With an on-going commitment to building on strengths, all involved can work through operational and strategic challenges, even in the midst of hard times.
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