Focus on strengths not weaknesses
Most of us know where we are weak. We know which things we don't do well, and we have probably been repeatedly told about our weaknesses, also known as 'areas for development', during our working lives. Yet we all know that the most positive thing to do is to
Focus on strengths not weaknesses
At a conference I attended recently, research from the American Evaluation Society showed that:
- Focusing on error correction DECREASES performance by 68%
- Focusing on continuous improvement INCREASES performance by 81%
We might question the accuracy of these figures (e.g. the timescale of the measurement, and how they collected data), however the stark reality shows that focusing on what is wrong is not a great strategy.
If we continually talk to people about the things they are doing poorly or the mistakes they make, the focus is on what is not working.
If I ask you NOT to think about 'blue carrots' almost inevitably the image in your head is a blue carrot.
Learning and Development devotes much of its time (and rightly so) to trying to improve people's performance. However, if the underlying message of L&D activity is that you must pay attention to the things you aren't good at, that is precisely what will happen: all the employee's energy will be focused in an area where they don't perform well. Hence overall performance will decrease.
If we focus on what people do well, and how they can improve it , then all energy is focused on improving performance leading to an overall increase in results.
It sounds obvious, but the reality of most training is that it gives out messages of 'areas of weakness' instead of 'potential strengths that can be built on'.
In sport it is accepted that the best people should receive the best training designed to make them world-class players. In contrast at work, people doing well in their roles are deemed 'not to need' training and resources tend to be focused on under-performers.
We must remember that:
- We need to make sure we meet threshold standards across the main areas of our responsibility
- Weaker players in the team need support and attention to BUILD ON THEIR STRENGTHS not focus on their weaknesses
However, also remember to:
- Take your good people, identify what they are REALLY good at, and put some resources into making them THE BEST in that area, and you will find that, overall, performance rises and rises.
