1. Strength Based Leadership
INVESTING IN YOUR STRENGTHS~HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR TEAM!
Thinkfor a momentaboutthe leadersyourespect~whethertheybe presidents,CEO’s,peopleinyour
familyorcommunityandhowtheyhave shapedyourthoughtsandyour beliefs. Eventhoughyoumay
not notice itinthe moment,the mosteffective leaders foreveralterthe course of yourlife!
As Managers in yourcommunitiesyouare aleader. So let’stalkabouthow youcan investinyour
natural God givenstrengthsandutilize themtomaximize yourteam!!
 The most effectiveleadersare alwaysinvestingin strengths.
 The most effectiveleaderssurroundthemselveswiththe rightpeople andthenmaximize their
team
 The most effectiveleadersunderstandtheir follower’s needs.
If you spendyourlifetime tryingtobe goodat everything,youwill neverbe great atanything. While our
societyencouragesustobe “well rounded”thisapproachinadvertentlybreedsmediocrity. Perhapsthe
greatestmisconceptionof all isthatyou can be a well roundedleader. Certainlythere are necessary
strengthsandabilitiesneededtobe a good leader- butthey certainly can’tpossesseverythingandif
theytry to be competentinall areastheyare the oneswhoactually become the least effective leaders!
Please take justacouple of minutesrightnow andwrite downon a piece of papera few qualitiesyou
admire abouta leaderyourespect.
*Write these downonflipchart.
What if we were to start talkingaboutyourweaknesses?Let’smake thata focusand write themdown
up here…talkabouthowyouare goingto overcome them…how wouldthatmake youfeel?Feel great?
Feel like tacklingthe day? I feel exhausted,Ifeel like givingupbefore Ihave evenbegun. Soif we focus
on our strengthsandbegintooperate fromthemwhatdo youthinkhappens?
 Whenwe are aware of our strengths we are muchmore productive becausewe are self
confident!
So whatare your LeadershipStrength’sandhow canyou use themto maximize yourteam? Leaders
needtoknowtheirstrengthsjustas muchas a carpenterneedstoknow histools,aphysician knows
theirinstruments~andthentheyknowexactlythe righttime touse them!
Effective leaderssurroundthemselveswiththe rightpeople andthenbuildupontheir??STRENGTHS!
Unfortunatelymanytimespeople pickthose whothink,actor behave like themselves..becauseitfeels
comfortable andfamiliar. Buthowisa companyor a teamsupposedtogrow,adapt andchange if a

2. domineeringleadercontinuestopickpeople whoagree withhimandhave similar
thinking/personality??
*Take the next5 minutesto write downyourstrengthsonthe backside of your paper. Gatherand write
on flipchart.
So whatstrengthsmake a great LeadershipTeam? Afterstudyingthousandsof executive teamsthe
GallupPoll come upwith the most successful teamspossessed broadergroupingofstrengths!
The Four Domains of Leadership Strength
 Executing
 Influencing
 RelationshipBuilding
 StrategicThinking
So itservesa teamwell tohave a representationof strengthsineachof these fourdomains~insteadof
having1 personor 1 teamtryingto have all 4 Domains. Sowrite thisdown: Individualsneednot to be
well roundedbut teams needto be!
Executing
Achiever,Arrangers,Belief,Consistency,Deliberative,Discipline,Focus,Responsibility,Restorative
Influencing
Activator,Command,Communication,Competition,Maximizer,Self-Assurance,Significance,Woo
RelationshipBuilding
Adaptability,Developer,Connectedness,Empathy,Harmony,Includer,Individualization,Positivity,
Relator
Strategic Thinking
Analytical, Context,Futuristic,Ideation,Input,,Intellection,Learner,Strategic
Leaderswiththe dominantStrengthin ExecutingDomainknow how to make thingshappen. Whenyou
needsomeone toimplementasolution,theseare the people whowill worktirelesslytogetitdone.
Theycan catch an “idea”and make ita reality!
Leaderswith Influencinghelptheirteamsreacha muchbroaderaudience. Theyare alwayssellingthe
teamsideasinside andoutside the organization. Whenyouneedsomeone totake charge,speakupand
make sure your groupis heardlookto someone withthe strengthtoInfluence.

3. Those wholeadwith RelationshipBuildingare the essential glue thatholdsateamtogether. Without
these ona team..there isno teamthere isjusta groupof individuals. Theyhave the unique abilityto
create groupsand organizationsthatare much greaterthan the sumof theirparts.
LeaderswithgreatStrategic Thinkingstrengthsare the oneswhokeepusall focusedonwhatcould be.
Theyare constantlyabsorbingandanalyzing informationandhelpingthe teammake betterdecisions.
People withstrengthsinthisdomaincontinuallystretchourthinkingforthe future.
In all the yearsthat theyhave studiedleaderswhobuiltgreatschools,business,organizationsand
nations. They have yet to findtwo leaderswho have the exact samesequence of strengths. While two
leadersmayhave identical expectation’s~ the waytheyreachtheirgoalsisalwaysdependentonthe
unique arrangementof theirstrengths.
*Lets share yourstrengthsand findyourLeadershipDomains.
How you can leverage your strengths and the strengths of your team collectively to drive your
communities’ performance and success?
In orderto do thisyouwill have todevelopa“sharedculture”andrespecthow each individual
contributestothe teamwith theirunique DomainandStrengths! You are goingto have to get
comfortable (ormaybe uncomfortable)enoughtohave toughdiscussions,whichmaynotbe happening.
Because the lackof trust isa deal breaker- youwill neverbe able totrulymaximize orcreate a team
withoutit!
1. You have to spendtime togethertobuildstrongerrelationshipsandtrust. We getso caught up
intryingto handle dayto day requests,putoutfiresandknee jerktoeverythinggoingaroundus
that we don’tthinkaboutour teams, letalone the future.
2. You need veryclearexpectationstomaximizeefficiencyandavoidoverlap. Mostteams#1
complaintishavingproblemsbalancingtheirworkloadwiththeirfamilylivesbecause
environments become supracompetitive.
You may be fearful togo back andstart the conversationwithyourteamsaboutthisnew approach..but
whatare you?? It isjustas much your responsibilitytobeginthisdialogue ortake the 1st
stepwithyour
teamas it isthe Executive Director,RegionalteamorVPTeam!
StrongTeams share thisincommon:
1. Conflictdoesn’tdestroystrongteams/people because strongteamsfocusonresults. There may
be healthydebate andat timesheatedarguments. Youare not alwaysgoing to agree witheach
other..why? (differentthinking/background/strengths) Debatesshouldnotcause youto
fragmentinsteaddebate shouldactuallyhelpyourteamgainstrengthanddevelopcohesion!!
I’mgoingto say it again: Debates shouldnot cause you to fragment insteaddebate should
actually helpyour team gain strength and developcohesion!!
2. StrongTeams prioritize what’sbestforthe organizationandthenmove forward. The best
teamsare able tokeepthe largergoal inview. Theyconsistently putwhat’sbestforthe

4. organizationaheadof theirowngoalsor egos. Once a decisionismade teamsneedtoquickly
rallyaroundit and helpeachother. “What resourcesdoyouneedfromme to make thiswork?”
3. Membersof a strongteamare as committedto theirpersonal livesastheyare totheirwork!!
The bestteamsseemedtolive incontradiction. Some of the mostproductive teammembers
considertheirlivestobe inbalance. Theyseemtohave enoughtime todothe thingstheywant
withtheirfamilies. Theyworkhardforthe company andbringthe same level of energyand
intensitytotheirfamily,social andcommunitylife.
What happenswhen we are off balance? Can you accomplishanything? Everyone stand up,let’sget
into a circle. I want you to pass around these objects as fast as you can- now letstoss this one back
and forth at the same time. Now let’sdo it on one leg!
 You needtodedicate 100% of yourtime on yourweekendtoyourfamilyandtoput your
familiesfirst. Thisneedstothe goal youstrive to,to keepinbalance.
4. Strong teams embrace diversity. Earlierwe outlinedwhyleadershipteamsneedadiversityof
strengths…we have tohave a balance of differentleadershipdimensions. Butdiversitygoes
beyondteamstrengths. Thismeansthe mostengagedteamswelcomediversityof age,gender
and race,while disengagedteamsdothe opposite.
5. Strong teams are magnets for talent. Anotherwayto spota strong teamisto lookfor the
teamsthat everyone wantstobe on. Some people mayhave a hardtime understandingwhy
anyone wouldwanttojoina teamthat workslongerand harderand that have skyhigh
expectations- especiallyif teamsare characterizedby intense competitionandextreme
accountability forresults. Yetdespite all the consequencesandpressure itisyourpotential
stars whomost wantto be on these teams. Theysee topteamsas the most stimulatingplace to
be! The place where theycandemonstrate theirleadershipandhave areal impact. Insteadof
beingintimidatedby the challenge andresponsibilitytheySEEKoutthese teams!
 Let’s talk about this for a moment..why do you think your caregivers,housekeepers,med
techs come to work at your communities? Money,Fame,success? Nothey are lookingfor an
environmentor a team where they can make a difference inthe life ofa Senior! Where they
can be part of the big picture and make real impact!! Not all of us are lookingto climbthe
career ladderwe each define successdifferent. Whatmotivateseach one of us is not the
same. But to be able to draw these people toour Team we have to have this culture in our
communities.
Buildinga strong team requiresa substantial amount of time,energyand effort. Gettingthe right
strengths on the team is a goodstarting point,but it is not enough. For a team to create sustained
growth, the leadermust continue to investin each person’sstrength and buildbetter relationships
among the group. Whenleaderscan do this, it allowsthe entire team to spendevenmore time
thinkingabout the needsof the people theyserve!