Strengths Based Development, Strengths Based Leader, Strengths Based Team, Strengths Based Manager

       Yes, even the entire life of a living being is based on strengths. When the strengths start diminishing along with it diminishes the life. One who develops on strengths last longer in the work which he or she likes.

    Most people think they know what their strengths are. They are usually wrong. And yet, a person can perform only from strengths. (Business Guru Peter Drucker). The key to success is to fully understood how to apply one’s greatest talents and strengths in everyday life.

Training for the Strengths Based Development involves, taking on line strengths finder test, which determines the participants’ five signature talents also called themes. Coaches of www.satyssparks.com, make participants understand their talent themes, how to convert these into strengths and finally how to leverage these strengths to achieve their desired goals.

        In 340 BCE, Chanakya discovered the talents of Chandragupta Maurya. Chanakya invested in his talents by training him, developing his skills and finally made him the first emperor of India. Chanakya invested in his strengths to make him the king. Similarly, Clifton Strengths Finder Test discovers the talents of individual; and guides how to invest in these talents to covert as their strengths that will lead to success in life.

According to Hindu mythology Hanuman was made to discover his forgotten (due to curse) strengths and flew to Lanka. According to Christianity/Judaism was reminded by the voice of God that he had the strengths to liberate 40,000 Jews from the enslavement. He achieved his goal of liberating and leading Jews to Sinai.

       In above cases all the three worked from their Strengths Zones to achieve their objectives. Today, people working from the Strengths Zone:

ü  LOOK FORWARD TO GOING TO WORK;

ü  HAVE MORE POSITIVE THAN NEGATIVE INTERACTIONS WITH COWORKERS;

ü  TREAT CUSTOMERS BETTER;

ü  TELL THEIR FRIENDS THEY WORK FOR A GREAT COMPANY;

ü  ACHIEVE MORE ON A DAILY BASIS;

ü  HAVE MORE POSITIVE, CREATIVE, AND INNOVATIVE MOMENTS.

Strengths based development is applicable to students of college and university levels of all discipline. It will benefit the students:

Ø  Discover their talents.

Ø  Understand their talents.

Ø  Convert these talents into strengths.

Ø  How to leverage their strengths to achieve their goals?

Ø  Understand their Domains of Strengths.

Ø  Early identification of their strengths will lead them to the right path of success.

Ø  Will enable them to work from their strengths zone and be fully engaged.

Ø  Will help them to become driver and not be driven by someone else.

                  Will improve their ability to take an interview confidently

Ø         Their best bet for success lies in building on who they already are, not in trying to become someone they’re not

Strengths based development is not running 100 metres race. It is a lifelong. It applies to leaders, managers and teams. Its determination and application in appropriate way helps a leader to lead with stability, compassion, trust and hope. The team becomes focussed by prioritising the tasks, can work in different cultural environment, the team gives equal weightage to professional and family life. The team becomes magnet, which operates as interdependent team with respect and dignity for each other.

The most benefited by this is a manager of an organisation at any level and these are:

      to discover, develop and use their unique talents for greater team engagement and productivity;

      to identify how they can purposefully aim their talents so that team members both individually and collectively, are better equipped to accomplish their goals and performance objectives and respond to every situation;

      will be able to recruit and select candidates with talents that match those of the best performers in each role and to find employees with the highest potential for excellence;

      will be able to create a working environment where employees are involved in, committed to, and enthusiastic about their work and the organisation as a whole;

      will be able to help employees meet and exceed the outcomes that the organisation expects them to achieve.

      will be able to support employees in gaining the knowledge, skills and experiences they need to develop their talents and use their strengths to achieve proficiency and excellence in their roles.

Strength is the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance. It is the ability to consistently produce a positive outcome through near-perfect performance in a specific task. To finish with strength, start with talent. (Knowledge + Skill +Talent) x Investment = Strength. Therefore working in the Strengths Zone shall always bring consistent performance which shall be near perfect again and again.

The training organised by www.satyssparks.com  has four levels (i) for students (ii) for Managers and Leaders (iii) for Teams and (iv) Individuals.

The coaching is conducted one on one basis, in groups of 10 and 20. Face to face coaching is the best, however coaching is also done on WebEx and skype.

Coaching MBA Students on Strengths Based Development

OG Achieved his Goals: Interplay of Learner and Input

In the first month in the school, OG did not understand a word as to what was going on. He blindly followed others. In the first monthly test, he failed in all the subjects except Hindi. The reason was not the lack of knowledge but it was lack of understanding English language, as the medium of teaching and learning was English.

OG (means Olive Green) is the colour of the uniform of the Indian Army. It is also referred to an army person who tries to live and work by rules. Once upon a time, when OG was not OG (OG got his name as OG in 1968, but this is the story of 1964 when OG got an elevation by qualifying to study in a newly established Sainik School). Till then OG had studied in his village Government School in Hindi medium.

OG has now and then also had the talent of being a strategic. He devised strategies to ensure that he achieves his immediate goal in the next monthly test. His two signature talents: Input and Learner came to his rescue. He commenced learning and writing in English without caring much for the grammar. Studies were based on factual details. He also read the same chapter of Science, Geography, History, General Knowledge and other subjects in Hindi as well. This ensured total comprehension of the subjects and various topics. Since, all examinations were written, he practised writing factually correct in as near as possible in grammatically correct English. These talents became strengths and in the next monthly test he cleared all the papers except English. He got promoted.

                Real tipping point came after a year of investment in his talents that really became his strengths. It was the subject of geography. He knew that there will always be at least one question from the climate of the world. Besides, working hard on other topics, he put is additional hours on the climates of the world like Equatorial, the Monsoons, Mediterranean and Sub- Tropical types.  OG considered the geography teacher as the strictest and very conservative in awarding grades and marks. In a question of equatorial type of climate, OG got 19 out of 20 marks. He could not believe his eyes. For him it was like getting 100% in mathematics. In the same session he got 100% in mathematics. He also passed in English language paper. The tipping point was that he equalled in marks with the colleague who used to be topper in the class till then. Thereafter, there was no looking back.

An analysis of OG’s activities reveals that his objective was to be the topper in his class. He set a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Specific) goals. The first step was to pass in all the subjects and then to be the topper. He worked out the strategy to write down all answers in English without caring much for the grammar. His answers were factually correct. He understood lessons by reading a book in Hindi on topics which he could neither understand in the class not by reading the text/library books in English. He got the Input from the competent and respected teachers, library and books that he possessed. His Learner talent became strengths and was successful in achieving his objectives----- thus the achievement came due a simple strategy with the interplay of Input and Learner.

Note: OG’s Signature themes are:    Learner! Achiever! Strategic! Arranger! Input

Objectives :  Strategy

Achievement = Investment x Input x Learner