Strength's and Culture

Hello everyone,

I hope it is cooler for you than where I am.  It is hot and humid in Indiana, and we are just now getting into August.  I know, I know, I live in the Midwest… what am I complaining about?  Why do I expect it to be any different this summer?  I think that it should somehow be moderate all the time, but this is not reality.  At least it is sunny, smile! 

August is a great month for reflection, and I wanted to get you thinking about your strengths this month.  Not just realizing that your staff, volunteers and board members should be your closest constituencies, but also that those people need to be able to work together for the good of the cause.  They need to be led to release their strengths for the best of the cause.  They also need to understand that they impact your culture and that often those strengths, as good as they are, can cause major repercussions.   For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.  The values our teams share with each other around the mission, vision, and values are bonds that hold them together. 

Lately, I have seen many instances where teams are not working well together.  It is not because of desire, but because of over use of their strengths.  We do a lot of work in team development, communications and behavior. I have seen many tensions created because people just are not hearing each other due to the fact they are over using their strengths.  They are actually changing the culture of their organizations by playing too much to who they are. 

There is a saying that our strengths when over used become our greatest liabilities.  This is the case individually, but also with our teams and our organizations.   For example, when the board or a member of the board over emphasizes its leadership and position, this can make staff feel less part of the equation of success.  Staff can do the same thing to general volunteers.  When volunteers over play the strength they bring to being there only voluntarily, a great asset, it can create a perception that they share less passion or value with the cause than staff does.  It can also create the perception that they are not committed and staff has to “manage” them.   When the organization as a whole over plays its position of community leadership, they can repel the very partners that are vital to their role of broad scale mobilization for the vision and the mission.  They can be perceived as not needing others or seeing other organizations as lesser value.  

So here is my question for you to think about, what are your strengths, personally and organizationally, how will you know if they are being over emphasized?

Thanks,

Jamie