It's impossible to predict what will happen in a strengths workshop… and that's fun for us!
Nils will share how he helped to unblock a communication barrier within a team who had worked together for years. Over to Nils.
In 2015, I ran an offsite leadership workshop with a VP of Customer Success and their three Directors. Before we started, the team had completed the StrengthsFinder assessment and reviewed their profiles, so everyone had a good understanding of their most dominant strengths.
Early on the first day of the workshop, I noticed something weird. There was palpable tension between the VP and one of the Directors. I pulled the Director aside after their exchange, and he told me "Every time the VP comes into my office, he starts jabbering a mile a minute. I tell him to stop, and I draw a square on my whiteboard, and I tell him to draw a picture in that box because I have absolutely no idea what he's talking about."
We dug in to find out what was going on. They were confused. Their interactions were awkward, and this problem had been festering for years. The VP didn't understand why his Director was having so much trouble or what he was doing wrong. When we looked at this issue through a strengths-lens, we began to uncover where each of them was coming from and how they processed the world around them.
I posed a few questions, like:
Sure enough, the VP volunteered to answer first. His number one strength was Strategic. Remember that a dominant Strategic strength helps a person see patterns through the clutter. He was exceptional at analyzing a situation, identifying the issues, and coming up with solutions. He was a quick thinker and would leave other people in the room behind. When we got to the Director, we discovered their number one Strength was Futuristic. A dominant Futuristic Strength is captivated and inspired by what is possible in the future. Their Strategic and Futuristic strengths were in direct conflict.
I said, "Guys, remember the box on the whiteboard and why you can't understand the VP? You have your reason right here! One of you comes up with answers before you even know how you got there while one of you is looking to the future, considering all of the permutations and possibilities. There is a massive clash of strengths!"
Instead of accepting the animosity between them, the strengths framework was the language we used to dig below the surface tension. The reason they couldn't communicate was they had different dominant strengths and viewed the same problems in opposing ways. They agreed that whiteboarding every conversation was frustrating and accepted they had to work on their communication.
Through this reflection, the VP learned that going straight to the solution didn't help his team buy in, and he needed to slow down and thoughtfully communicate with his team. A few weeks after the workshop, I checked in with the team. The exercise shined a light on their differences and provided the language to help them overcome their communication problem.
We all make assumptions about why people behave how they do and what their intentions are. The learning we shared in the session, which is reinforced every day for me, is that each person will take the best action they can come up with, based on their worldview.