Taking Inventory: Know Your Team’s Strengths

With companies all across the country and across many industries struggling to find the skilled workforce needed to build their businesses, it’s never been more important to know and leverage the strengths of your existing team.

Last year, Team Builder rolled out DISC workshops for our clients. DISC is best known as a behavioral profile assessment (personality test) that gauges the way you relate to tasks and people as well as your “pace” or sense of urgency. This tool has been used for decades to help individuals and teams better understand themselves, their relationship to their work, and their interactions with others.

As feedback has started rolling in, I’ve been struck with how powerful this tool can be for opening up lines of communication and empowering people to embrace their strengths and the strengths of those around them. One business owner exclaimed, “I realized I am an influencer and a bold decision maker. I love developing ideas. I hired people with opposite strengths. They are more cautious and slow to change. They want to think through all the details. Over time, I had become more like them and tamped down my creativity and energy. But they need me to imagine and create and lead the company forward just like I need them to ask the tough questions about my ideas to see if they are actually practical. I feel free to be myself again. And by doing this workshop, they see my strengths differently and are encouraging me to keep dreaming.”

Another business owner reflected, “We had some issues with a couple of employees not performing well. Now I understand why they were struggling with their roles. This has been so helpful in addressing performance and team dynamics.”

You might opt for a formal assessment like DISC or Strengths Finder or Working Genius or Myers-Briggs, or you could conduct an informal assessment by simply talking with your employees about what they love most about their job and what areas they are struggling with. But being equipped with this knowledge will help you make some key decisions when assigning responsibilities and cross training.

For example, if Susan has low attention to detail, maybe she should not help in payroll when they are short staffed. However, her outgoing personality might make her perfect person to cross train to cover the front desk when someone is unexpectedly out.

Joe’s strong personality and attention to deadlines makes him a great fit in the shipping department, where things need to be out the door on time. However, his fast pace might not be a good fit for the very precise and methodical tasks on the production line.

But what happens if you need Joe to cover on production for a few days because, frankly, he’s all you’ve got? Assuming Joe knows his work style, strengths, and weaknesses (and assuming you can convince him this is a temporary assignment for the good of the team), Joe can adapt for a season. Maybe you add a couple of safeguards and reminders for him to help him achieve success even though he’s not in a role that leverages his strengths. Maybe you provide a checklist so he doesn’t miss steps, or you take extra time on his training to emphasize the why behind each step so he sees the value of the process and is less likely to cut corners. And for sure, you encourage him and acknowledge the hard work he’s putting in.

Whether through formal assessment or informal observation and conversation, I would encourage you to take inventory of the talents, aptitudes, and abilities of your team. Knowing your team will position you to make the most of what you have when hiring is tough!