Many of us have been on teams for as long as we can remember. Those experiences likely include gym class, group projects, sports, and our work in professional settings. Creating a team is supposed to be all about joining forces with others to achieve better results than each individual could achieve on their own. However, in too many instances, teamwork feels more like a burden. We find ourselves grouped with people who hog responsibility or micromanage,  feel ill-equipped to contribute, are uninspired by the team’s objectives, or are stuck in roles where we can’t realize our full potential. 

So how do we create positive team experiences and make teamwork enjoyable for everyone involved? Focus on Strengths.

A strengths-based team is a group of imperfect but talented contributors valued for their strengths, who need one another to realize individual and team excellence. It goes beyond forming a collection of individuals to achieve a goal. It considers personal preferences and skills as people come together.  

Capitalizing on your team’s strengths as a whole means no one individual has to be perfect or know everything. Each individual gets to play to their own strengths, which reveals even more patterns about what they enjoy doing most and what they find draining. Allowing them to focus on the areas that are most energizing facilitates rapid learning and more frequent glimpses of excellence. When each person is encouraged to bring their best and continue improving in the areas where they are already strong, they excel.  

A focus on strengths doesn’t ignore weakness or give someone an excuse not to do their job. In order for a strengths-based team to be at its best, each member must proactively manage any tendency that could get in the way of achieving a goal. There are two main ways these weaknesses can be managed: accountability and collaboration. Often when a task is undesirable, we avoid doing it. Having someone who can check in to make sure it gets completed makes it more likely we will finish the task. Or, perhaps we can look around to see if there is someone whose input would be invaluable to project or situation. For example, someone who doesn’t naturally pick up on other people’s emotions can benefit from asking someone with high empathy to share the feedback they picked up on in a meeting about a critical subject so that further communications take those reactions into account. 

If you’d like to begin creating a team that focuses on strengths, start by reflecting on your own preferences and past successes. What do you do best? What do you enjoy most? Then ask the people around you the same questions. Use the information you uncover as you decide how to collaborate in the future.

Need common language to help your team talk about what you do best?