Base Camp

There seems to be a personality test for everything. Make a quick stop on Buzzfeed and you can find quizzes to satisfy burning questions about everything from which state you should live in based on your favorite food to which Muppet character you are. (In case you’re wondering, I’m Rowlf.)

While the Buzzfeed quizzes are typically pretty trivial, more serious “quizzes” can help leaders and aspiring leaders gain a true understanding of their styles at work—and better leverage their strengths. And, when leaders also learn the strengths of their team members, all sorts of good interactions can result.

Micro Experiments

At CUES’ CEO Institute II: Organizational Effectiveness in May, my classmates and I took the CliftonStrengths Finder to discover which five of 34 “signature themes” best describe us. My five were input, maximizer, communication, positivity and empathy.

Session presenter Beta Mannix, Ph.D., Ann Whitney Olin professor of management at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., suggested that we could enhance our strengths by conducting “micro experiments.” These tiny tests let leaders try something new without taking a very big risk.

Take, for example, my strengths of input and communication. People who work with me know that I usually have a thought to contribute in any team meeting. I am an active participant and not shy about voicing my opinion.

At CEO Institute II, I conducted a micro experiment with this strength in mind. While I was participating in a group activity, I held back. I didn’t jump in and talk. Instead, I asked probing questions and took a more reflective role. Being outside my comfort zone helped me see additional perspectives than the ones I had originally had about our topic. Plus, doing this was a small, safe bet.

Notably, our leadership strengths can change over time, depending on such factors as current job role or life stage. When I took the same test in 2013, my five signature themes were communication, developer, empathy, maximizer and woo. Three stayed the same and two were new, which goes to show that people do have the capacity to change and learn new skills.

The Power of People

Knowing our own strengths can tell us a lot about the way we execute projects, influence people, build relationships and solve problems. Knowing someone else’s strengths can inform our decisions about which projects to delegate to them and even the right education pathway for that person next year. It also can help you know when a member of your team is taking a risk for the greater good.  Sometimes taking a risk and failing can actually provide a positive learning experience.

The more you understand your strengths and those of the people on your team, the more likely you are to not only be effective, but innovative as well, Manix explained in the session.

During our week at Cornell, my classmates and I also did a networking exercise that showed the power of knowing the people around you and what they have to offer.

We each posted a question on the wall, and any classmate who could help with that concern responded by adding a sticky note with their name on it to our posting. The questions that were asked ranged from how to best transform a call center into a contact center to how to better do mortgages for underserved members to how to effectively measure a CU’s community impact. When all was said and done, we distributed a class spreadsheet with all the questions and the names of people who could help with each.

My takeaway: Know yourself and know your team. Together, your strengths can make a difference.

Kari Sweeney is supplier relations manager for CUES.