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CAPITALIZING ON STRENGTHS VERSUS GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN

In times of crisis, people have a tendency to lock onto the strengths that have forged their success in the past. Capitalizing on strengths entails knowing one’s strengths and attributes, and confidently relying on them to tackle new challenges. Someone who knows how to capitalize on strengths trusts the abilities that have generated success, rewards, recognition, compliments, and promotions in the past and uses them in new situations.

For experienced managers, it’s easy to capitalize on strengths. They have a history of being rewarded for what they already know how to do and doing it in a way they already know how to do it. It is comfortable. But relying too much on strengths can cement leaders into behavior patterns that may no longer work. Failing to recognize conditions that demand different capacities and new learning can be disastrous. Sometimes it’s necessary to leave one’s comfort zone, challenge preferred patterns, and learn and try new things—in other words, to go against the grain.

As leaders gain experience and become more competent at a task or in their leadership roles, they also become more confident. But there may come a time when the strength is no longer sufficient or effective. To improve, they must change how they go about their work. Sometimes an external force changes the circumstances, and there is no choice but to do things differently. This going against the grain may pull you into awkwardness and doubt. It feels different. It is no longer typical. It is uncomfortable. At first, you are likely to be less effective applying the new way than you were with the old way. It’s hard to set your strengths aside long enough to go against the grain—particularly when under pressure to make a change, to move the organization, to look good. You’re under the spotlight, and you’re being asked to take the organization to another place. It’s much easier to fall back on what you—and those around you—already know. Yet to take the organization to another place often requires doing what you have not done before.

For all these reasons, we talk about this as the huge conspiracy in life to keep you doing what you already know how to do and the way you originally learned to do it. The first conspirator is you; the second conspirator is everyone else.

Leaders who overdo capitalizing on strengths while underdoing going against the grain create organizations that are averse to risk and not very resilient in difficult times. Often, they sacrifice the long term for the short term and ignore or resist new opportunities while maintaining the status quo.

When the reverse is true—underdoing capitalizing on strengths while overdoing going against the grain—there is not enough stability in the environment. These leaders are often described as loose cannons. They seem to like change for change’s sake and tend to be indiscriminate in their change efforts: they discard the good along with the bad. In this environment, people feel fearful and at risk because their strengths and history are not valued.

By finding the appropriate balance between capitalizing on strengths and going against the grain, you foster the ability to learn. Openness to new ideas is balanced with a respect for experience and expertise. Leaders who achieve this balance pay attention to three critical things:

1.  They accurately assess their strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and default behaviors. Authentic leadership is based on a clear sense of self. Self-awareness allows leaders to distinguish between habitual patterns and true strengths, work to mitigate weaknesses, gain new skills, and practice different behaviors.

2.  They seek out diversity. With an accurate sense of themselves, leaders can intentionally leverage the diverse talents, experiences, opinions, and perspectives of others. This helps prevent tunnel vision and groupthink.

3.  They value learning. To do something new or to take on another perspective requires a willingness to learn. Authentic leaders value learning for themselves, their coworkers, and their organization. Without possessing and promoting a learning orientation, leaders are not likely to see the full potential of any change initiative.

Leaders who capitalize on their strengths

  focus on what they are good at and have experience with

  let others do what they are good at

  get people involved and engaged

  learn from people around them

  capture good ideas and stay open to them

  surround themselves with diversity and a wide range of character and experience

  acknowledge what they don’t know

  focus attention on repeating successes

  exploit talent effectively in a diverse environment

Leaders who go against the grain

  are prepared to challenge assumptions for the sake of learning

  are not afraid of taking risks or making mistakes

  ask different and difficult questions that challenge the status quo

  challenge at the appropriate time and with the right amount of pressure

  engage others who will assist in going against the grain

  understand and define obstacles

  have a plan and objectives for moving forward

  understand the corporate culture and how it may hinder change

  operate with honesty and integrity

  are creative and entrepreneurial

Making It True

How can you strike a balance between capitalizing on your strengths and going against the grain? Here are some suggestions:

Pay attention to your patterns. Take time to systematically reflect on your lifelong learning history. Your goal is to gain a better sense of who you are and how you came to be that way. What are your key strengths? How applicable are they to your emerging environment? Which are most likely to become obsolete? What new strengths will you need in the changing marketplace? Pay attention as well to established flaws or weaknesses. You most likely have developed ways to compensate for these weaknesses in the present, but shifts in the demands of your environment could suddenly expose your vulnerability.

Leverage strengths intentionally. Understand your strengths and practice using them mindfully. When you default to your strengths, you lose opportunities for creativity and growth. Instead, ask yourself whether an approach or response is really the best way—or simply a habit.

Avoid complacency. Be purposeful in providing stretch assignments to team members. With too little stretch, people won’t be pushed to go against the grain; with too much, they will seek comfort and confidence by reverting to prior strengths. Pair a new learner with a mentor or coach. Establish realistic deadlines for demonstrating that a new skill or behavior pattern has been implemented.

Value learning. Honor established practices but seek out incremental improvement to the process. Never allow yourself or those around you to become complacent enough to believe that they have fully arrived. Reward managers for developing others and supporting continuous learning. At some point, people will realize that the ability to learn is a core competency and that new strengths will always be required in a changing world.

Learn from failure. Create an environment where people sense that it is safe to debrief their failures as well as their successes. Focus more on how things are done rather than simply what was done. Comprehending the learning strategy and thought process behind our actions can be far more educational than dwelling on the outcomes.

Don’t limit yourself or others. Seek out diversity, but be careful not to stereotype or pigeonhole people based on ethnicity, gender, field of study, and so on. Encourage group members to challenge and defend opposing points of view and take stands on major decisions. Rotate these roles so that no one individual is stigmatized with labels such as devil’s advocate, naysayer, or Pollyanna.

Encourage new thinking. Honor and reward those who are willing to put time and energy into exploring novel problem solutions—even when their attempts might be viewed as incremental, expansive, tried before, rule challenging, or just plain stupid. Question people respectfully with the goal of mining any and all aspects of their ideas. Are there pieces, concepts, or perspectives that may shed new light on the current subject or other issues?