Executives often give lip-service to the “our employees are our greatest asset” mantra. But do they really value people—or deep down do they view them as a liability to be replaced with robots and AI as soon as possible?
Only 25% of American workers say they have the opportunity to do what they do best every day. This means that your greatest asset is likely being severely underutilized, leading to both lack of engagement and opportunity cost for the organization as a whole.
Realize that the people in your organization truly are your greatest asset, and that investing in their Strengths Development is the right thing to do
Learn about companies that have used StrengthsFinder to create billions of dollars of shareholder value
Discover 5 keys to spotting talent in others
Hear from 4 executives who have discovered the power of a strengths-based approach
Learn 21 tools that you can use to unlock the talents in your workforce
This popular keynote is a powerful introduction to creating a strengths-based culture that results in company and employee growth. Companies like Facebook, Accenture, Rackspace, and hundreds of others have joined the Strengths revolution and are seeing incredible results. What would happen if each employee knew the strengths of their coworkers, and was provided an environment where they could do what they do best?
Unlock the Strengths of all your employees and watch productivity and engagement soar!
A full two-thirds of American workers say they are disengaged at work. We’ve all seen what that looks like: glazed eyes, gaunt exhaustion written across the face. Work is a hated grind, and so even the most basic day-to-day work tasks can feel that they require almost insurmountable effort. Because of this, disengaged employees put in the bare minimum of effort required to get a paycheck.
Now what about that engaged one-third? What do they look like? They are excited to come in to work because they get to do something they’re good at, and this builds remarkable satisfaction. These employees are invested in the company, and motivated to find traditional and creative ways to contribute. Since “Now Discover Your Strengths” was published in 2001, 17 million people have discovered their own unique Strengths. A work environment where employees personal strengths are acknowledged, utilized, and cultivated changes the entire work environment and culture from disengaged to fully engaged. Not only is employee engagement doubled or even tripled, but teams that use their strengths are 8-18% more productive.
This is why 94% of Fortune 500 companies have joined the global Strengths movement.
Establishing this Strengths-based Culture takes leadership, training, conversation, and coaching. In this keynote, you will learn how the Strengths Movement has sparked in thousands of locations world-wide, and how they’re achieving this remarkable result. You will learn all the steps necessary to spark a Strengths-based Revolution in your own company.
Are you ready to defeat the walking dead?
Many business and community leaders are calling for more action on Diversity & Inclusion in the workplace. Bias negatively impacts economic opportunity and personal development for many in the workplace, as well as in education.
In this keynote, you will see data and examples that suggest we can successfully confront bias with tools from positive psychology such as strengths assessments, strengths-based conversations with managers and employees, and individual and team coaching interventions.
It is possible to build workplace cultures that identify, develop, utilize, and celebrate the innate talents of every individual, regardless of background.
Dr. Donald Clifton spent more than 50 years of his life studying what is right with people. The StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment is a powerful tool to quickly identify a person’s innate talents—their natural patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that can be productively applied.
While this assessment is best-known for boosting employee engagement and improving team productivity, many practitioners are finding it useful for supporting diversity and inclusion. One expert coach in New York said he felt Dr. King’s dream of a nation that evaluates people on the “content of their character” could be reached if we all knew and valued each other’s strengths.
A Gallup Certified Strengths coach recently wrote: “As a D/I trainer I use StrengthsFinder to promote bringing your whole self to work. If people do not feel valued because of how they think, feel, respond, (talents) conformity is inevitable, which breeds group think and stifles creativity and innovation. StrengthsFinder in conjunction with this D/I activity surrounding what talents people leave at home because they are not accepted in the current work environment becomes a powerful conversation. The activity concludes with discussing how important it is for everyone to be able to bring talents (whole self) to work to add value to the work environment because it drives engagement. And we know that engaged employees give discretionary effort, to the benefit of the company. Long of the short, when you accept and include me…I, you, We win.”
Dr. Stephen R. Covey wrote, “one of the most important things we can do… as leaders is to affirm people—to believe in them, see their innate potential, and treat them accordingly, to elevate them in their own eyes.”
Strengths-based interventions have been shown to increase self-efficacy, confidence, and hope.
Some organizations have used identification of common strengths to create “communities of practice,” which both amplify individual contributions and break down silos, leading to cross-functional teams and relationships.
Gallup data show that only 20% of American employees consider their workplaces among the most inclusive. And yet the most inclusive workplaces generate high employee engagement and the most loyal employees
Dr. Covey also said, “If you want to make small improvements in your life, change your behavior. Change your attitude. If you want to make quantum improvements, change your paradigm, your map.”
Introducing Dr. Clifton’s strengths-based psychology into workplace cultures changes the paradigm from a focus on what is wrong, to a focus on what is right.
Strengths provide a new way of thinking, a new lens with which to see people, and a common language that helps us describe people in a positive way. These things can help leaders, managers, and employees confront bias in the workplace leading to greater diversity and inclusion.
In our modern, technological world, where the near entirety of libraries like those in Cambridge and Oxford are digitized and available online, it is a sad but truthful irony that the same technology has allowed comparatively meaningless and mindless distractions to seep into our everyday lives. We are accustomed to budgeting our money, but do we also budget our Intellectual Capital?
The extent of the possible damage to our individual lives and the wider culture in general when we ask ourselves a simple question: What will your life look like in 10, 20, or 30 years if you spent the same time you spend ingesting social media content reading from the very best books instead?
Of course social media and other forms of entertainment have their place and value, but the danger is in allowing ourselves in being caught up in mindless distractions rather than mindful content. Our future existence depends more than any of us realize on the information we choose to consume on a daily basis.
Leaders are readers. Book lists from people like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg show how invested they are in learning from the best sources. Warren Buffett famously spends up to 80% of his day reading. The content of a single book or article, read at the right time, can help a company reinvent itself, and become more innovative and efficient. Books can also deepen understanding, build motivation, and create empathy.
The very best of humanities history, wisdom and knowledge is right there in front of us. We just have to choose to embrace it.
Paul hopes to bring the strengths message to all 50 states and to 50 countries by 2025.
Contact him so he can help you spark a strengths movement in your area, company, or industry.
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