What Sets Great Companies Apart?

An exhaustive, decades-long study sought to answer this question by surveying hundreds of thousands of teams at workplaces around the world. In the end, the results of this research boiled down to one startling truth.

There Are No Great Companies

Every company is made up of separate teams, and the performance of those teams, no matter how successful the company may be, varies widely. And for the individual employees, the experience of the team trumps the experience of the company. What then, determines the experience of the individual?

People Join Companies, And Quit Managers

Managers play a significant role in creating an environment within which individuals can thrive, discover their talents and have an opportunity to use their best selves daily. In short, great managers help people to identify and leverage their unique Strengths most of the time.

The data show that among the thousands of variables measured by the research, one - the opportunity for individuals to play to their Strengths most of the time - is the key factor that shows the greatest correlation to outstanding performance in the widest range of business outcomes, including profits, productivity, customer satisfaction, and safety and employee retention.

Teams whose members play to their Strengths most of the time are:

• 50% more likely to have lower employee turnover
• 38% more likely to work on high-productivity teams
• 44% more likely to earn higher customer satisfaction scores

The bad news is that fewer than 2/10 people say that they do. Worse, fewer than 25% of employees say that their manager even discusses their Strengths in performance reviews.

The Strong Manager program has been designed to provide managers with practical tools needed to identify and leverage their own Strengths and help them create a fully engaged Strengths-based team.

The Strong Manager Program is a 2-day intensive program, which covers the following content:

1. Why Strengths?
   1. The Business Case for Strengths
   2. Strong Mindset
2. Identifying Strengths
   1. Discover the ingredients of a Strength
   2. Recognize the 4 SIGNs of a Strength
   3. Learn to create Strength & Weakness Statements
3. The 4 Demands of Management
   1. Select - Recruit and interview the right people
      • » Tools:
        • » Recruiting Guide
        • » SIGN Interview
   2. Clarify - Tell employees what you need from them; learn what they need from you
   • » Tools:
     • » Start Point
     • » Discovery Discussion
   3. Engage - Pay attention to employees; teach them to pay attention to themselves
   • » Tools:
     • » The Truth About You Debrief
     • » Performance Pulse
   4. Accelerate - Apply force; remove friction
   • » Tool:
     • » Strengths Coaching Guide
4. Strategies for Bringing Strengths to Your Team
   1. Educate your team members
   2. Address common questions
   3. Keep Strengths Engaged