Benefits of a Strength-Based Approach

The strength-based approach refers to a ‘work practice theory’ that focuses on individuals self-determination and strength. This approach brings awareness to individuals of the value that they can offer by being their authentic self through encouraging them to maximise their strengths rather than focusing on their weaknesses and development needs [1,2,3]. In this article, we will be exploring, the factors that constitute a strength-based approach, and how adopting and implementing it can benefit the effectiveness and success of organisations and individuals.

What constitutes a strength-based approach?

Research has suggested that there are six standards that organisations should use to guide their practice when using a strength-based approach [4]. These standards encourage focus to be shifted towards the positives in adverse situations.

• Being goal orientated – this can be achieved through placing importance on individuals setting goals for what they would like to achieve personally.
• Using strength assessments – to enable employees to uncover and assess their strengths and allow them to enhance these. We at Impact Psychology for Business are accredited Strengthscope Practitioners – Strengthscope is the only strengths assessment tool to have achieved a registered status with the British Psychological Society. It provides a unique insight into what energises and motivates people to perform at their best and can be used with individuals and teams [5].
• Creating links between resources in the environment – all individuals have something unique to offer and this may be of benefit to others. This encourages people to look for what ‘assets’ they have available to them rather than ‘deficits’ and what they do not have.
• Using varying approaches and methods – in order to achieve a specific goal. Solution Focused Coaching in particular can be helpful to support people to recognise their strengths and when they have successfully used them in the past.
• Creating hope inducing relationships – hope can be encouraged through finding and connecting strengths between individuals.
• Facilitating meaningful choice – this can be achieved by viewing individuals as experts of their own lives and providing them with the authority to choose.

Benefits of a strength-based approach

Adopting a strength-based approach is crucial to the effectiveness of organisations and this has a significant impact on employees. For example, research has shown that organisations that implement a strength-based coaching culture report increases in the collective performance of their employees. Therefore, adopting a strength-based practice can have a positive impact on an organisations overall performance [6].  Some of the key benefits are:

• Improved mental wellbeing – focusing on individual strengths improves the employee’s self-esteem and confidence, which in turn increases their resilience and their ability to adopt a growth mindset at work.
• Better coping and response mechanisms – For example, focusing on employees’ strengths enables individuals to effectively set appropriate goals in response to adverse situations and failures [7].
• Shifting employee focus towards building on existing strengths – this shift leads to higher levels of job satisfaction, productivity, personal growth, and overall motivation [8].

How to implement a strength-based approach

The strength-based approach recognises the effects of an individual’s environment and takes into consideration external constraints that may be hindering their growth [1]. Some suggestions for how to implement strength-based practice in your organisation and achieve resilience include:

• Holding the belief that every employee has unique strengths, capabilities and potential.
• Viewing challenges with optimism and hope, instead of avoidance.
• Being conscious and mindful of the words we use – ‘The language we use creates our reality’
• Accepting that change is inevitable. Due to the evolving nature of individuals and the world, it is important not to resist change.
• Building authentically supportive relationships and ensuring this support is unconditional.
• Considering employees’ personal perspective at the beginning of a change process.
• Building upon pre-existing experience and knowledge when approaching the unknown.
• Being flexible with capacity building and viewing this as a process and goal which is dynamic.
• Being collaborative and adaptive through valuing individual differences [7].

How can Impact help you?

As proponents of the power of adopting a strength-based culture within organisations, we have been success in designing and delivering a number of leadership and team development programmes. These have helped individuals gain awareness of how they can utilise their strengths to increase performance and job satisfaction and we have supported teams in building a shared understanding of how they can best work together. As Strengthscope Practitioners, we have also added this unique strength-based assessment to our psychometric assessment portfolio and use it as part of our executive coaching programmes.

To find out more about how we can support you and your organisation, please click here to get in touch with us.

Want to find out more about the power of using your strengths? Join us at our ‘Achieving Peak Performance at Work: an Evidence Based Positive Psychology Approach’ Pro-Manchester event on 15^th February 2023. For more information and to sign up, click here.

Useful resources

1. Stoerkel, E. (2019). What Is a Strength-Based Approach (Incl. Examples & Tools) Retrieved from: https://positivepsychology.com/strengths-based-interventions/#strength-based-approach
2. Priest, K. L., Kaufman, E. K., Brunton, K., & Seibel, M. M. (2013). Appreciative Inquiry.
3. Gordon, S. (2012). Strengths-based approaches to developing mental toughness: Team and individual. International Coaching Psychology Review, 7(2), 210-222.
4. Rapp, Charles A., Dennis Saleebey, and W. Patrick Sullivan. “The future of strengths-based social work.” Advances in social work: Special issue on the futures of social work1 (2006): 79-90.
5. Retrieved from: https://cloverleaf.me/blog/what-is-strengthscope
6. Coetzer, A., Redmond, J., & Bastian, V. (2014). Strength-based coaching: making the case for its adoption in small businesses. Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, 28(3), 6-9.
7. Hammond, W. (2010). Principles of strength-based practice. Resiliency initiatives, 12(2), 1-7.
8. Van Woerkom, M., & Kroon, B. (2020). The effect of strengths-based performance appraisal on perceived supervisor support and the motivation to improve performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 1883.