who's the right person for the role?

One of the biggest challenges that faces any organisation today is that of recruiting and retaining the right staff.

The way that people employ staff, for the most part, is to write a job description first. They describe what kinds of skills and knowledge they want the new member of staff to have and what they want them to do. They may also write a personnel specification – the attributes that they wish the person to have – good judgment skills, ability to make decisions, work to tight timescales and so on. Finally they look for the "right person" to fit that role.

Once in that role, the individual’s gaps are usually identified and where they are considered to be lacking in skills, the individual may be given more training.

Natural Strengths

What we often fail to look out for is what individuals are naturally good at – their natural strengths. Strengths are usually talents which are innate within an individual, and often something that the individual themselves may not easily recognise. This is because it is such a natural part of them that they don’t see it that way, and often assume that "everyone" is that way too.

Each person has their own natural strength or strengths. The key is to identify it and then to harness it.

Take Costas, as an example. He is extremely bright, intelligent, a strategic thinker and a world-rated chess player. His natural strengths lie in his ability to easily see and understand the implications of how one thing impacts on another. He also loves teaching and is good at it. He was initially employed as Financial Accountant for a number of small leasing subsidiaries. He fitted the job description perfectly in that he had the relevant experience and skills. He was found to be excellent at his job but he hated it. He was bored, unable to fully use his strategic thinking skills in the narrow role that he was in, and the use of his teaching ability was limited. Within six months, he told his manager that he intended to leave.

His manager referred him to another manager within the organisation, and Costas was moved to a new role. This involved using his technical skills and knowledge to help the team develop new processes to improve their workflow, and then to provide on the job training for the other members of his team. Costas was able to fully utilise his strategic thinking skills and his love for teaching. He stayed on for another four years.

We Enjoy What We are Good At

We all enjoy what we are naturally good at. Many good salespeople love the client relationship element of their jobs and dislike the paperwork. Their natural strength is often in achieving or in communication or in relating, whilst someone else with a natural strength in order and discipline would be better suited to the paperwork.

We often take our own and other peoples’ strengths for granted, and focus on the weaknesses. However, when we harness an individual’s strengths, we create the largest space for them to develop. People fit better into their roles when they are able to use their strengths, they are more productive and are happier. It also makes their manager’s job easier!

In the world of sport, harnessing one’s strengths is an accepted mode of practice. In rugby, the person who’s good at kicking becomes the kicker and does the kicking. In football (soccer), the person who’s got speed and accuracy becomes the striker and scores the goals.

Why not also in the workplace?

Consider this Principle

We already have everything we need. There is a freer, easier and richer way to live and work.

Action Points

1. Take time to identify your own strengths as well as those of your team-members.

2. How much are you using your natural strengths on a daily basis?

3. How much are the individuals in your team using their natural strengths on a daily basis?

4. How might you change your role and the individual roles in your team to harness the natural strengths of you and your people?

5. Understand that different people have different strengths, and that this diversity brings excellence to a team. Remember that other people will not necessarily be just like you!

Quote

"Nothing can be more absurd than the practice that prevails in our country of men and women not following the same pursuits with all their strengths and with one mind, for thus, the state instead of being whole is reduced to half." – Plato

"Know your strengths and take advantage of them." - Greg Norman

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