Strengths, Not Skills, Are the Difference Makers for Winning Teams

Tom Rath’s Strength Finders 2.0 is the Amazon bestseller that equips readers and leaders with the tools to uncover their talents and understand what they – and those around them – do best. Adopted by hundreds of companies since the book first launched in 2007 – including Rackspace Technology™ – it is a powerful approach to helping leaders to look beyond the resumes and when building high-performing teams.

In this episode of Cloud Talk, Rackspace Technology CTO Jeff DeVerter is joined by Kathy Kersten – the “maven of Gallup Strengths™ training” and founder of the Obey your Strengths podcast. As well as Kathy’s own journey from miserable-feeling working mom to Gallup Certified Strengths™ Coach, listeners will hear how leaders can harness the power of Strengths to achieve “team utopia”.

In Kathy’s own words, and in an inversion of the conventional wisdom, the Strengths approach means seeing – and appreciating – the trees in the forest: recognizing the strengths of the individual rather than the employee base as a whole.

Topics discussed include:

• The importance of self-awareness at a leadership level
• What team utopia looks like and how to get there
• How awareness of Strengths can help build the right environment for talent to thrive, while also helping leadership navigate “the dance” of the boardroom
• How your Strengths are more likely to trip you up than your weaknesses
• How letting slackers off the hook is the fastest way to disengage even the highest performing team members