You probably have heard of Strength Finders. I believe the marketing for the Strength Finders test was very clever. You can take this “free” test to determine what your top 5 strengths are. All you have to do is buy the book. By the way, the code that you get with the book can only be used once. Obviously one of their strengths is marketing. I think I paid around $20 to take a “free” test.
The interesting thing about the book, I have found, is most people don’t actually read it. They buy it to take the test. I really like the Strength Finders test and results. I know companies that have every employee take the test. Their top 5 strengths are proudly displayed on their desks. The strengths bring definition to the employees and they are proud to be what the test proclaims they are.
However, what I like most about the book is its overriding theme. Focus on the employees’ strengths not their weaknesses. Having been around recruiting and interviewing for years, I know there are two questions that are often asked by interviewers; “What are your strengths?” and “What are your weaknesses?”. I always wonder why interviewers ask candidates about their weaknesses. We never hire people for their weaknesses. Do we think candidates will ever tell us their true weakness? Human nature is to down play our weaknesses or even bury the fact that they exist, not to admit to them.
When interviewing we should be looking for the candidate’s strengths. We want an employee in a position that can use their strengths to accomplish what needs to be done to help the company be the best it can be. Strength Finders makes a point out of focusing on strengths.
If you focus on strengths, you get better and better. If you focus on a weakness, the best you will ever get is mediocre. Think about something you cannot do very well. I am a pathetic artist. I can’t even draw good “stick people”. Should I focus on trying to be a better artist or should I focus on Talent Management? To me the answer is obvious.
When building a team we need to determine and use strengths from the top down. If the CEO is great at Sales and Marketing but weak at Operations, he should have a strong COO to support him in that position. That logic should continue all the way down the Organizational Chart. If there is a glaring weakness in the organization, either shift the work around so employees are using their strengths or find someone new with that strength. Fill the current weaknesses with other employees’ strengths. Don’t waste your time and effort trying to make a poor artist into a mediocre artist. Let employees do what they do well and you will see morale grow and absenteeism and turnover reduced.
Christian Life Coach 
It is also interesting to apply the Strength Finder results to other assessment results, such as Myers Brigss, DISC or Predictive Index. I’ve found it a way to uncover the next step for professional development that can be easily attained by the individual. And, the results throughout an organization can easily be an additional activation of revenue.
I couldn’t agree with you more, Tom. I find so many of my clients trying to place employees in the wrong spot. They wonder why motivation is low. Hello! So, I always train leaders to know about the assessments available to discover strengths and areas of improvement. You have a very interesting blog!
Sometimes I think we over analyze things and make them to complicated. If you know the people you are working with well you can see them “light up” when they are in an area they truly enjoy. Managing isn’t much different than raising kids. They are all different and are all gifted in different ways.
Tom