Strengths Based Career Conversations

How to have a Strengths Based Career Conversation

A #career conversation is simply a discussion between an employee and his or her manager that supports the employee in defining career goals within the organization and developing an action plan for achieving these goals.

Some organizations have incorporated this within their performance management process with a form of structure. This can lead to an engaged workforce (other things being equal - as an economist would say) with great prospects to retain the employees. As you may be aware, the performance management process in most organizations is used to identify areas of weakness, improvement or development. The term 'development' is sometimes understood and articulated as a deficiency or a lack of something (such as a Training / Development Need). This results in a marked tendency to treat 'development' as 'fixing' the employee's personality and performance, rather than enhancing it.

The term 'fixing' tends to create negativity; because it creates the perception and feeling that "I am less". This is not a pleasant experience. It can leave the employee feeling sad and frustrated. Sometimes employees even feel depressed and it spills over into their personal lives with more adverse effects. It's interesting to note that a negative discussion can be absorbing, but it is not very effective. The employee's performance doesn't improve very much. Neither is productivity is not enhanced, nor does this help retain employees within the organization. This can result in low employee development or low employee engagement.

A career conversation would be more effective if we were to approach the discussion with a #Strengths Mindset. It can definitely be combined with the Stay Interview or even as a standalone discussion, instead of the Exit Interview (which some organizations end up doing). In the Strengths Mindset Approach, the leader / manager of a team starts by asking the team members how he/she can support their team member's use of their strengths in their work. This means using tools like the Clifton Strengthsfinder to understand how these 34 strengths are manifesting in, and impacting their work.

A key outcome of using one's strengths as a basis for development is the strong sense of joy and satisfaction which one gets while one is on the job.

The employee now is doing something they like, using their areas of strengths, and this is going to make the employee more engaged at work, leading to a more positive and productive work environment.

I'm reminded of the time I worked at a startup where I was setting up the HR function, and was extremely happy because I got to plan and execute the strategy and policies of all aspects of HR, especially hiring strategy, talent management and training and development. Sure the hours were long, and there were difficulties and some failures too, but I was energized to be at the office. In other well established organizations too, my happiest moments were those where I was energized by what I was doing viz. creating a policy document, building reports, analyzing data, coaching /counseling an employee, or delivering an employee integration session; all with the full encouragement of my bosses. I've checked this during informal discussions with employees or during interviews of candidates by asking them what they like about what they do, followed by a few probing questions: the answer invariably has to do with them enjoying their work.

When you adopt a #Strengths-based #career conversation regularly, chances are, you and your team will:

•     Be looking forward to this discussion.
•     Come better prepared for the discussion.
•     Leave the conversation feeling happy and energized.
•     Have a more productive work environment.

When, as a Strengths Strategy Coach, I coach clients who desire to explore career options through the Clifton Strengthsfinder, After explaining how the 34 Strengths manifest, I move the conversation around the areas they have experienced great success. We discuss what worked well, and spend time identifying which of their strengths were in action during those instances. We repeat this to understand the areas where the strengths did not manifest sufficiently to bring them success. Why? To help them either:

• Manage around the weaknesses with the help of other strengths, or
• Choose projects which help them work for as much time as possible in areas of strength (every job / career has an area of work where we don't feel fulfilled e.g. planning, filing, follow-ups, setting up appointments), or
• Form strategic partnerships with other people to help them to use their strengths.

So if you want to know more about this, or if you want your teams to focus and work on their areas of strengths, have an engaged and productive team, write to me at ryanbbarretto@hotmail.com to schedule a meeting or a free 20 minute telephonic discussion.

Remember -

    You grow people from their #strengths, not their weaknesses.

This article was posted  on LinkedIn in August 2017.