Strengths White Paper

Transcription

1 Strengths White Paper

2 CONTENT INTRODCUTION STRENGTHS - THE EVIDENCE THE BUSINESS CASE ABOUT R2 STRENGTHS PROFILER GET IN TOUCH 2

3 INTRODUCTION Performing organisations enjoy what they re doing. Peter Drucker According to Gallup, only 13% of employees worldwide feel engaged at work. So it s no surprise that more and more organisations are turning to strengths-based solutions to develop their people. Using strengths helps build engagement. This white paper outlines some of the research on strengths-based approaches and highlights some of Capp s work in this field over the past decade. The following partners are among those currently enjoying the benefits of using strengths to develop their people. 3

4 STRENGTHS - THE EVIDENCE 10 Ways Strengths Support Individuals There are three core elements that define a strength: Performance, Energy and Use. Our R2 Strengths Profiler assessment measure these three elements. 1. Happier: Govindji and Linley (2007) and Proctor, Maltby and Linley (2009) found that people who used their strengths more reported higher levels of subjective well-being (i.e. happiness) and psychological well-being (i.e. fulfilment). Seligman, Steen, Park and Peterson (2005) found that people who used their strengths in a new and different way every day reported higher levels of happiness and lower levels of depression, and that this lasted over time. 2. More confident: Govindji and Linley (2007) and Proctor et al (2009) found that people who used their strengths more reported higher levels of self-efficacy the belief that they re capable of achieving the things they want to achieve. 3. Higher levels of self-esteem: Minhas (2010) found that people who developed their Realised or Unrealised strengths reported increases in self-esteem over a fourweek period. Govindji and Linley (2007) and Proctor et al (2009) reported that people who used their strengths more reported higher levels of self-esteem. 4. Higher levels of energy and vitality: In a study of 214 university students, Govindji and Linley (2007) found that the use of strengths was associated with higher levels of psychological vitality, i.e. having buzz and feelings of positive energy. 5. Less stress: Research shows that people who use their strengths more, report lower levels of stress, over both three-month and six-month periods (Wood, Linley, Maltby, & Hurling, 2010). 6. More resilient: Analysis of the Ego Resiliency Scale with R2 Strengths Profiler shows that strengths use is associated with higher levels of resilience for 50 of the 60 R2 Strengths Profiler (Capp, 2010). As Adventure was one of the highest correlations, it suggests that stretching yourself outside your comfort zone can be a way to build your resilience. 7. Goal achievement: Linley, Nielsen, Wood, Gillett and Biswas-Diener (2010) showed that people who used their strengths when striving to achieve their goals were far more likely to achieve those goals and were happier and more fulfilled as a result. 8. Performance: In a study of 19,187 employees from 34 organisations across 7 industries and 29 countries, the Corporate Leadership Council (2002) found that when managers emphasised performance strengths, performance was 36.4% higher, compared to a 26.8% decline when emphasising weaknesses. Capp s work shows that people using their strengths perform better and stay longer. (Stefanyszyn, 2007). 9. More engaged at work: People who use their strengths are six times more engaged at work (Gallup 2012). Strengths use is a good predictor of workplace engagement (Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes, 2002). Our work with managers attending strengths-based programmes showed an increase in manager confidence, improvements in employee engagement and attrition as a result. (Standard Chartered Bank 2011) 10. Developing: People improve faster on areas where they re already strong, as opposed to areas where they re weak (Sheldon, Kasser, Smith & Share, 2002). BAE Systems showed that business leaders who focused on developing themselves and their teams through strengths were more effective and successful (Smedley, 2007). There are three core elements that define a strength: Performance, Energy and Use. Our R2 Strengths Profiler assessment measure these three elements. Performance Energy Use 4

5 THE BUSINESS CASE FOR A STRENGTHS-BASED ORGANISATION An organisation s greatest assets? Its people s strengths. However, not everyone is clear about what their strengths are or how to make the most of them. Crucially for organisations, neither are their managers. The strengths approach is a clear and positive route to enhancing employees contribution and engagement. It also makes the complex and often neglected task of people management significantly easier and more attractive. Pressing challenges On top of their own specific strategic and operational challenges, organisations need to recruit, manage and retain people in an increasingly complex employment market. With changing demographics and rapid social change, come skills shortages and a more diverse and demanding workforce. At the same time, market and technological change mean that organisations must be ever more agile and their people more and more flexible. In short, it s a tricky environment. The research Too often, talent management tends to focus on a small section of the workforce. This means that hidden value remains unexploited and too many employees are disengaged and unfulfilled. 100% of team delegates agreed or strongly agreed that understanding their strengths was helpful to them in their work. HSBC R2 Strengths Profiler Team workshop feedback % of UK organisations experience difficulties recruiting employees. (CIPD) 2. Three in ten employees are engaged with their work. (Gallup) 3. Levels of engagement among the under-35s are significantly lower than those in older age groups. (CIPD) 4. 40% of senior business leaders believe middle management to be the single greatest barrier to their organisation achieving its objectives. (Hay Group) 5. Only 20% of organisations have any formal definition of talent management. (CIPD) 6. 67% of people who said they strongly agree their manager focuses on their strengths were engaged (Gallup) Middle managers pointed to lack of skill in leading teams and inability to address under performance, often due to lack of training. Given these findings, it s no wonder that UK employees are generally unhappy both with the way they are managed and with the senior leadership of their organisations. Strengths: an opportunity for competitive advantage Few organisations act as if people are their most important assets. Many realise that their best chance of gaining an ongoing competitive advantage is through the contribution of their people. But few understand that the way to maximise that contribution is to spot, harness and develop the strengths of their employees. The benefits of utilising R2 are fantastic. We will certainly be using this great tool in Cable & Wireless Worldwide going forward. Tony Sanders, Cable & Wireless, UK 5

6 Business case - top 10 tips 1. Tap into unused talent throughout the organisation: If the strengths of employees are not being harnessed, there is untapped talent and energy in the organisation. Much time and resource is spent on attempting to improve performance, but not much is dedicated to getting the best out of people. 2. Attract and retain more of the people you need: People like to use their strengths: it reinforces and re-energises them. A strengths-based organisation will be more attractive in the employment market, especially to Generation Y. Without the opportunity to use their abilities, many people leave. 3. Improve individual performance: Individual performance is significantly improved by focusing on strengths and undermined by a focus on fixing weaknesses. The traditional approach of moulding people to jobs and correcting weaknesses hasn t proved successful. 4. Build employee engagement: The use of strengths is a great way of encouraging employee engagement, which itself is linked to improved employee retention, discretionary effort, quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty, sales, profitability, shareholder return and business growth. 5. Develop flexibility: If employees are selected and deployed more on the basis of their strengths what they could do, rather than what they have done they re more willing and able to accept changes in role and organisation. 6. Improve teamwork: When there s a focus on strengths in teams, tasks can be allocated more efficiently, and, with greater role flexibility, there s greater co-operation. Using a strengths-based approach generates positive emotions so people feel happier which boosts social integration. 7. Increase diversity and positive inclusion: An understanding of strengths encourages people to value difference. E.g. the person who once appeared aloof is now understood to play a vital role and may free me from my non preferred tasks. Teams made up of people who differ tend to be more creative and perform better. 8. Increase openness to change and the ability to deal with change: Using strengths generates positive emotions. These lead to better performance by broadening people s mind sets, encouraging them to discover new ways of thinking and acting. At the same time, these positive emotions help build resilience and the ability to deal with negative events. 9. Deal more positively with re-organisation: With a strengthsbased approach, you can offer a process that meets best practice requirements during a re-organization. It also allows you to appoint top-performing people into key roles that are mapped against future business requirements. 10. Contribute to the happiness and fulfilment of employees: Apart from being more likely to achieve their goals, people who use their strengths experience higher levels of energy, well-being and authenticity. This combination of organisational and individual benefits helps create a culture of high performance and engaged employees. Business case - top 10 tips 98% of employees want their employer to recognise their strengths 6

7 ABOUT R2 STRENGTHS PROFILER R2 Strengths Profiler is our world-leading strengths assessment. It measures 60 strengths across the three elements of performance, energy and use. Three Profiles are available, Introductory, Expert and Team. These help individuals, teams and organisations to: Increase self-awareness Shape career development Improve performance by aligning strengths to goals and objectives Encourage positive performance management conversations Improve delegation by mapping roles to strengths Build trust and improve team working through shared language and goals Improve on-boarding Support organisational change R2 Strengths Profiler 4M Model The three elements are used to divide an employee s results into four categories Realised Strengths, Unrealised Strengths, Learned Behaviours and Weaknesses. Together, they make up the dynamic R2 Strengths Profiler 4M Model, which helps employees see exactly where they are now and where they want to be, supporting their development. Marshal - Realised Strengths for outstanding performance. Use them appropriately for your situation and context. Moderate - Learned Behaviours for consistent performance. Use them in moderation and only when you need to. Minimise - Weaknesses to limit their impact. Use them as little as possible and only where necessary. Maximise - Unrealised Strengths for career advancement and development. Find opportunities to use them more. 7

8 GET IN TOUCH R2 Introductory Profile - Feedback for all 60 R2 attributes, including the dominant patterns within the 4M Model across five Strengths Families: Being, Communicating, Motivating, Relating and Thinking. R2 Expert Profile - Feedback for up to seven Realised and seven Unrealised Strengths, up to four Learned Behaviours, and up to three Weaknesses including details and advice on the 4M Model. R2 Team Profile - Team feedback across all of the 60 strengths, a SWOT analysis of the team, strengths dictionary and patterns behind the five R2 Strengths Families. R2 Accreditation Programmes - Expert and Team Accreditation Programmes available giving you the capability to debrief the Profiles and build strength based teams. We also offer bespoke R2 Strengths Profiler Organisational Profiles and R2 Strengths Profiler Accreditation Programmes. To discuss how you can develop potential within your business, please call Capp on +44 (0) and ask to be connected with: Trudy Bailey R2 Lead Consultant Trudy.bailey@capp.co Thank you 8