Becoming a strengths based leader. Megan Dalla-Camina CPA Congress 2015

Transcription

1 Becoming a strengths based leader Megan Dalla-Camina CPA Congress 2015

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6 Why positive leadership? Positive leadership has a significant impact on employee engagement, energy levels, happiness at work, and business performance. When managers emphasised performance strengths, performance was 36% higher. Emotional displays of leaders have a larger impact on employees than the content of their message. Positive conversations lead to better team performance in commercial settings.

7 It really is all about you 50 70% of employees perception of organisational climate can be traced to the actions of one person. The leader % of business performance is determined by the mood of employees. The number one predictor of their mood? Their leader. When employees report that their immediate boss cares about them employee satisfaction, retention, and productivity are higher and so is profitability. Source: Oxford Leadership Academy

8 How we get to positive leadership Leading with Strengths Growth Mindset Resiliency & Wellbeing

9 How we get to positive leadership 1 Growth Mindset Resiliency & Wellbeing

10 The path to great leadership starts with a deep understanding of the strengths you bring to the table. Tom Rath and Barry Conchie Strengths Based Leadership (Gallup)

11 What is a strength? Strengths are: Pre-existing patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Well-developed neural pathways in our brain. Noticeable because they engage, energise and excite us. They make thoughts, feelings + behaviours more engaging, energizing and enjoyble. (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001, p )

12 Why do strengths matter? People who use their strengths more report: Feel more confident and are up to six times more engaged in their work making it easier to achieve their goals. More job satisfaction and meaning in their work. Lower levels of stress, higher levels of wellbeing and vitality. (McQuaid & Lawn, 2014)

13 Why character strengths? Knowing character strengths is powerful because: It creates a common vocabulary of seeing people at their best. They are intrinsic motivators that give insight into how we like to work and the experiences we value. They are buildable and changeable based on the situations we find ourselves in. (Seligman & Peterson, 2004)

14 Getting the balance right BALANCED UNDERPLAY OVERPLAY (Biswas-Deiner, Kashdan & Minhas, 2011)

15 Emphasis on strengths is linked to a 36% improvement in performance, while emphasis on weaknesses is linked to a 27% decline. Corporate Leadership Council

16 The impact of leading with strengths Gallup research, looking at more than one million work teams, 20,000 in-depth interviews with leaders and 10,000 followers asked exactly why they followed the most important leader in their life: The most effective leaders are always investing in strengths. When there is no focus on an individuals' strengths, employee engagement is 1 in 11 (9%). But when there is a strengths focus, this shifts to almost 3 in 4 (73%). The most effective leaders surround themselves with the right people and then maximize their team. The best leaders are not well-rounded, the best teams are. Top-performing teams have strengths in four specific domains; executing, influencing, relationship building, and strategic thinking. The most effective leaders understand their followers' needs. People follow leaders for very specific reasons: trust, compassion, stability, and hope.

17 Strongly Agree Do strengths deliver outcomes? Q: Do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day? 50% 38% 44% Lower Turn Over (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001) Higher Productivity Enhanced Customer Satisfaction

18 Where can you start? Take the free strengths survey at viame.org Have your team members take the VIA survey Start having strengths based conversations Begin to spot the strengths in others Further reading: Strengths Based Leadership, Tom Rath Your Strengths Blueprint, Michelle McQuaid

19 How we get to positive leadership Leading with Strengths 2 Resiliency & Wellbeing

20 How we get to positive leadership Leading with Strengths Growth Mindset Resiliency & Wellbeing

21 More important than believing in your abilities, is the belief you can improve your abilities. Professor Carol Dweck

22 Building a growth mindset Avoids challenges Gives up easily Sees effort as fruitless Ignores useful negative feedback Threatened by the success of others As a result, they may plateau early and achieve less than their full potential Embraces challenges Persists in the face of setbacks Sees effort as the path to mastery Learns from criticism Finds lessons and inspiration in the success of others As a result, they reach ever higher levels of achievement + have a greater sense of free will. (Dweck, 2008, p 245)

23 What s your work mindset: : (% fixed) (% growth) mindsetonline.com

24 Where can you start? Take the free mindset survey at mindsetonline.com Start noticing your internal dialogue around mindset and beliefs Start to challenge your fixed mindset by thinking and speaking in a growth mindset voice Notice the actions of your team and whether they are operating in a fixed or growth mindset Further reading: Mindset, Dr Carol Dweck

25 How we get to positive leadership Leading with Strengths Growth Mindset 3

26 How we get to positive leadership Leading with Strengths Growth Mindset Resiliency & Wellbeing

27 Business can t sustain any form of change without the wellbeing and resiliency of leaders at all levels.

28 Great leaders ignite our passion and inspire the best in us. When we try to explain why they are so effective, we speak of strategy, vision, or powerful ideas. But the reality is much more primal. Great leadership works through the emotions. Daniel Goleman, The New Leaders

29 Lead with hope 89% of people believe the future will be better than the present. But only 50% of people believe they can make it so. Your role as a leader is to give hope and show the path. Shane Lopez When it comes to hope at work, research suggests: Hope is worth a 14% bump in productivity hope is worth about an hour a day 2/3 of hopeful employees are engaged and enthusiastic about their work Hopeful employees are more conscientious and more willing to help others Hopeful workers are happier and healthier (Reichard, Avey, Lopez. & Dollwet, 2013 )

30 Focus on positive emotions Research has found positive emptions help you to see more of what s going on, be more flexible and creative in your thinking, be better attuned to others. Positive emotions help us to be: more resilient, knowledgeable, more socially integrated, healthier. Positive emotions broaden and build our minds, our bodies and our relationships, and a ratio of 3:1 enable us to flourish. As a leader, know and understand these things; All decisions are emotional Emotions are infectious People are leader watchers Body language says it all Positive motivation is most effective Resource: Positivity by Barbara Fredrickson

31 To lead well you must be well Sleep Restore wellbeing Eat Move

32 Where can you start? Look for opportunities to provide hope through; Clearly conceptualising goals Developing specific strategies to reach those goals Initiating and sustaining motivation to achieve set goals Look for opportunities to build positive emotions in your teams and working environments Focus on your own wellbeing and resiliency by implementing small, busy proof strategies Further reading: Making Hope Happen, Shane Lopez PhD. Positivity, Barbara Fredrickson PhD. Eat Move Sleep, Tom Rath.

33 What happens now? 1. Explore the leadership themes: Try the recommended free survey tools on areas you want more focus Check out the resources for more reading and reflections on the topics you believe will be of most value 2. Engage and lead: Play with the concepts and notice the outcomes you can generate through positive leadership, strengths, growth mindset, positive emotions and hope. Start discussing these ideas with your peers and teams Ask your team to take the free VIA strengths survey Speak with your leader about how you can embed these practices into your part of the business.

34 Thank You.