Welcome to Advent Insights where we share bite-sized best practices and key takeaways on hiring, organizational development and leadership. In this episode, Mary Younggren and Michelle O’Kelley share their insights from the presentation “Designing Work People Love” by Kelly Johnson, speaker and executive coach with The Marcus Buckingham Company. This presentation focused on a “strengths-based approach to talent”, emphasizing the importance of understanding and leveraging individual strengths within teams. The session provided both inspiration and practical tools for HR leaders.
Key takeaways included:
- Focus on strengths: Talent activation is where real engagement is found. Research suggests that highly engaged, high-performing teams share common traits, and one of them is a focus on developing strengths rather than fixing weaknesses. Working on strengths leads to significant improvements in performance and overall satisfaction. Kelly shared that people create exponentially more neuro pathways and make bigger strides in growth when focused on their strengths vs focusing on improving their weaknesses.
- Do what you love: Employees should analyze their job descriptions and core job functions to assess how much of their job involves activities they love versus those they dislike. Emphasize utilizing strengths daily and making unique attributes useful in the workplace
- Communicate frequently: Short, simple, and frequent communication was highlighted as essential for building trust and fostering engagement. Leaders were encouraged to discuss priorities regularly with their teams and to trust and actively listen to their needs.
- StandOut Assessment: The presentation introduced the StandOut Assessment, a free tool designed by The Marcus Buckingham Company, powered by ADP. The StandOut assessment reveals your primary and secondary Roles out of nine StandOut Roles. Knowing these top two Roles provide valuable insights into personal strengths and guide professional development.
To learn more, visit The Marcus Buckingham Company website.
About Advent Talent Group
Advent Talent Group helps businesses build teams driven by extraordinary people with uncommon strengths. We specialize in recruiting and staffing for Office, HR, and Marketing/Creative. Our services include contract, direct placement, and payrolling options.
Advent is changing the way people feel about staffing. Our focus on high touch and high quality is how we maintain an extraordinary 94% retention rate on our placements, year over year.
Our small, award-winning team puts people at the center of everything we do. Every year, we give back more than 10% of our profits through our giving program, Advent Cares. We are committed to partnering with organizations that share a dedication to service, collaboration, and equity. Our core values are Be You, Make a Difference, Save the Day, Have Fun, and Always be Growing.