In researching Strengths Based Leadership, Gallup scientists studied more than one million work teams, conducted more than 20,000 in-depth interviews with leaders, drew on 50 years of Gallup Polls about the world's most admired leaders, and even interviewed more than 10,000 followers around the world to ask exactly why they followed the most important leader in their life.
In Strengths Based Leadership, #1 New York Times bestselling author Tom Rath and renowned leadership consultant Barry Conchie reveal the results of this research. Here's what they found:
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The most effective leaders are always investing in strengths.
In the workplace, when an organization's leadership fails to focus on individuals' strengths, the odds of an employee being engaged are a dismal 1 in 11 (9%). But when an organization's leadership focuses on the strengths of its employees, the odds soar to almost 3 in 4 (73%). When leaders focus on and invest in their employees' strengths, the odds of each person being engaged goes up eightfold. To see more Gallup research on strengths, click here. -
The most effective leaders surround themselves with the right people and then maximize their team.
While the best leaders are not well-rounded, the best teams are. Gallup's research found that top-performing teams have strengths in four distinct domains of leadership strength: Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, and Strategic Thinking. To see more Gallup research on work team engagement, click here. -
The most effective leaders understand their followers' needs.
People follow leaders for very specific reasons. When we asked thousands of followers, they were able to describe exactly what they need from a leader with remarkable clarity: trust, compassion, stability, and hope. To see more Gallup research on why people follow, click here.
