1) Philosophy and Background.

Marcus Buckingham has introduced literally millions of people to the strengths movement. A tireless researcher and fine communicator, he has reached people via his best selling books, keynote speeches and appearances on national television. His writings are backed-up by in-depth educational programmes that equip people to capitalise on their talents. Say the word ‘strengths’ to most business people and they will associate it with Marcus. The first part of his career has been spent building this platform. The second part promises that he will deepen and expand what he calls ‘the strengths revolution.’ The following pages give an overview of his work. You can find out more at the definitive site:

http://www.marcusbuckingham.com/site/about_us/aboutUs.php

Marcus grew up in England, went to Cambridge University and joined the Gallup Organization. He spent over a decade researching organisations before gaining international recognition with First, Break All The Rules, co-authored with Curt Coffman. This book focused on employee engagement and described the habits of great managers. As the title suggests, it challenged the prevailing ‘rules’ regarding how to encourage people to perform outstanding work.

Much of the book explores what became known as the Gallup ‘Q12’. These are twelve 12 questions that measure employer engagement. Employees give ratings regarding statements such as: ‘I know what is expected of me at work … At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day … There is someone at work who cares about my development … The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important … My associates or fellow workers are committed to doing quality work …’ And so on. The best place to find the full list of questions – and the complete background - is on the official Gallup site at:

Gallup

The research did more than measure overall organisational culture: it revealed that there were ‘cultures within cultures’. It also highlighted managers who achieved outstanding results on the ‘bottom-line’ and the questionnaire. The research showed there were ‘Four Keys’ continually displayed by great managers. These were:

* They select for talent – not simply experience or intelligence. They excel at the art of interviewing. They are able to see recurring patterns that show where the person delivers.

* They define the right outcomes – not the right steps. They are crystal clear on the ‘what’, but give people freedom, within parameters, on the ‘how’.

* They focus on strengths – not weaknesses. They encourage people to do what they do best and manage around their weaknesses.

* They help employees to find the right fit – not simply the next rung up the ladder. Casting is crucial. It must be a win for the person and a win for the organisation.

Curt and Marcus expanded on these themes, describing how the best managers got high ratings on the Q12. Such managers knew they were ‘on stage’ every day and their employees were making judgements. Nevertheless, they tried to be real, rather than ape ‘management competencies’. They treated people as individuals and had their own ways of fulfilling the 12 measures, even if they had never heard of Q12. Looking at people who left a company, it was often because of difficulties in the relationship with their immediate manager. It was therefore vital for managers to find ways of increasing employee engagement. Looking at overall performance, the predominant feature that emerged was the importance of playing to strengths. The companies that scored highest were those where people gave a high rating to the statement: ‘At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day’. This laid the groundwork for the next book.

Now, Discover Your Strengths was co-written with Don Clifton, the originator of StrengthsFinder. Based on massive research, the book describes the characteristics of great performers. Starting with illustrations about well-known personalities, such as Warren Buffet and Tiger Woods, it shows how such people build on their strengths and manage the consequences of their weaknesses. Readers are then introduced to the StrengthsFinder tool, which covers 34 recurring talent themes. People can do an on-line analysis that highlights their top five ‘signature themes’. What do the themes look like? The following paragraph gives a taster of three – Achiever, Context and Futuristic. But it is vital to visit the official site to get the full definitions, You can find the latest version of this on the Gallup site at:

StrengthsFinder

Somebody with an Achiever theme, for example, loves to set goals, work hard and achieve those goals. They enjoy making lists and get a kick from crossing-off each item. Somebody who has Context as a theme will gather data about the past to build up a complete picture. They believe such research is required to plot the way forward. A person who is Futuristic will automatically focus on possibilities. Faced by a setback or problem, they quickly move to envisaging a positive future, a quality that often inspires other people. Every theme does, of course, have pluses and minuses. Similarly, working in a team calls for knowing how to communicate with people who demonstrate the different characteristics. Such skills are outlined brilliantly by Tom Raith in his complementary book StrengthsFinder 2.0.

Now, Discover Your Strengths was well-received. People were shocked to discover that in some companies less than 20% of the employees felt ‘they had an opportunity to do what they did best each day’. Many organisations adopted the ways forward suggested in the book and ensured that each employee knew their own strengths profile. Soon, however, there was a little disquiet. Whilst supporting the overall philosophy, some observers said the themes described a person’s style, rather than their strengths. Somebody might operate successfully as an Achiever when doing something they did well, for example, but behave as a non-Achiever in other areas. Certainly there is some validity in that argument – and it was one that Marcus would address later in Go Put Your Strengths To Work.

At that stage, however, Now, Discover Your Strengths put strengths on the business agenda. Here is a video from that time in which Marcus brings some of the themes to life.

Video

Marcus focused on leadership in his next book The One Thing You Need To Know. During this period he also moved on from Gallup to set up his own company. He then returned to his main theme in what many see as his most practical book Go Put Your Strengths To Work. This contains a 6 point plan people can use in their lives and work. Here is an overview of the key steps. The rights to practice this system with its associated materials, however, obviously remain with The Marcus Buckingham Company.

1) Bust the myths.

This section explores several myths about growth. These include: a) Your personality changes as you grow older. You actually become more yourself. You can channel your personality, rather than change your personality. b) You will grow most in your areas of weakness. Not true. Your strengths provide the greatest opportunity for growth. c) A good team member does whatever it take to help the team. Not true. They express their strengths - and help others to express theirs - to ensure the team achieves its goals. The book outlines several ways you can bust these myths yourself.

2) Capture, clarify and confirm.

Marcus then encourages you to clarify you strengths. Here he moves on from some of his earlier work. Whilst acknowledging it is hard to define one’s top talents, he says: “Your strengths are those activities that make you feel strong when you do them and also are things that others see as being good in you.” These are specific activities which you love doing which also give you energy. Marcus uses the acronym SIGN to show that such activities may contain some of the following characteristics.

* Success – you find success when you use this trait.

* Instinct – you are continually drawn to these activities.

* Growth – you find using this trait easy and doing it helps you to grow and be happy.

* Needs – you find that doing these things fulfils a need in your life.

The book proposes that whenever you do something that makes you feel strong, you write it down in detail. It provides a tool – a strength statement card – to start your thoughts rolling. Each statement begins with the words: “I feel strong when …” You can also write down the things that make you feel weak. Looking at these two sets of experiences, see if you can see which each have in common.

3) Free your strengths.

Marcus then invites readers to use the acronym FREE to begin putting their strengths to work. F is for ‘focus’ on a specific strength. R is for ‘release’ – finding opportunities to release this strength. E is for ‘educate’– learning new skills for building on this strength. E is for ‘expand’ – re-crafting your job around your strengths. He also suggests putting together a ‘strong week plan’ for practicing some of these strengths. The book also suggests analysing what percentage of time you spend using your strengths during the week - then expanding this time during the following week. Marcus also gives examples of how people have translated these ideas into action.

4) Stop your weaknesses.

The book invites you to focus on some weaknesses – the activities that take energy – and reduce the space these take in your life. At this point it is suggested to use the acronym STOP. Stop doing some of these activities. Team up with people who actually feel strong when doing the activities that weaken you. Offer to use your strengths to help other people and do work in your organisation: that way you are more likely to be judged on your strengths, rather than weaknesses. Perceive your weaknesses from another perspective. See if there are any creative ways you can apply your strengths to these tasks. The book does not promise to banish all such activities, but following these steps can deal with some of the unwelcome grunt work.

5) Speak up.

So far you have made an ‘internal contract’ with yourself. It is now time to begin making ‘external contracts’ with people in your personal and professional life. For example, you may want to talk with your manager about how you can use your strengths to benefit the business. Such conversations can be difficult, so Marcus suggests ‘scripting’ these ahead of time. Rehearsing such interactions helps you to keep on-track and, paradoxically, more able to be spontaneous within the conversations. If you feel things are going astray, you can always return to your script. The key is to show how using your strengths will benefit everybody. The book gives examples of how to make this happen.

6) Build strong habits.

The final step underlines the importance of good habits. The book suggests five possible ways forward. Every day, look over your strength statements. Every week, complete a ’strong week’ plan. Every quarter, ‘close the book’ on your strengths. For example, meet with your boss and discuss how you have used your strengths in the previous 3 months.

Every six months, review your strengths in detail. Ensure you know what they really mean and that you are applying these talents. Every year, start with a blank piece of paper and do the original strengths exercises. Going back to the beginning can help you to ’spring clean’ your life and revisit what is really important. Don’t worry, your natural strengths will soon reappear on the page.

2) Principles.

Marcus has communicated the strengths approach in ways that have reached millions of people. Since moving from Gallup he has set-up The Marcus Buckingham Company. This offers systematic programmes in enabling people, teams and organisations to use their strengths. Many of the principles Marcus and his colleagues follow have already been outlined in the book summaries, but let’s briefly revisit some of them.

* Everyone has unique strengths.

Take a look at the videos on YouTube that feature Marcus. He is often at his best when talking about the uniqueness of each person. Certainly he is authoritative when outlining research and can easily demolish the argument for focusing on weaknesses. His most passionate and powerful contributions, however, come when describing people’s capabilities. The timbre of his voice changes when he says things like: “Let tomorrow be a stronger day than today. You’ve always known what your strengths are. You’ve always known what lies within you. So trust them, be proud of them and take your stand.”

* Everyone can find and use their strengths.

Marcus has obviously developed his thinking since Now, Discover Your Strengths. He has moved from outlining ‘signature themes’ to exploring specific activities in which the person feels strong. Whilst acknowledging the value of analytical questionnaires, he has moved towards some of the ‘traditional’ exercises used by career counsellors inspired by people such as Bernard Haldane and Richard Bolles. Go Put Your Strengths To Work provides some of these exercises, whilst others can be seen in the online programme he did for the Oprah Winfrey show. (See link later in this article.)

One such exercise is called ‘Love and Loathe’. You are invited to carry around a notebook and on each page make two columns. One is headed ‘Love’ another is headed ‘Loathe’. Track your activities during the day, asking: “Do I love it or loathe it?” Record it in the appropriate column. (Obviously there are some that overlap or are neutral.) Reviewing these columns at the end of a week, ask yourself: “How can I do more of the things I love? How can I minimise the things I loathe?” Some career counsellors may see such an exercise as obvious – even ‘old hat’. But it is important to remember that Marcus is transmitting this approach to millions. That can have a profound effect in schools, organisations and businesses.

* Everyone wins when people play to their strengths.

This is one of his most compelling arguments – especially to businesses. People obviously feel better when they use their strengths. They are more likely to get positive energy and gain a sense of fulfilment. When it comes to teamwork, it is vital for sports teams, scientific teams and arts teams, for example, to harness people’s talents. Few would succeed if, for example, less than a quarter of their people felt fully engaged in their work: but this is a percentage common in organisations. Curt Coffman and Gabriel Gonzalez-Molina make the business case for capitalising on people’s talents in their book Follow This Path. Backing their findings with research on employee engagement, they write:

“Great organizations achieve sustainable growth and profits because they do what other organizations do not. They maximize the innate, individual talents of their employees to connect with customers. They know that tapping the resources of humans is the only remaining area where significant improvements can and do lead to an unlimited source of competitive advantages.”

So what produces an engaged employee? Returning to the Q12 questions, the authors say that, in effect, each person is saying:

“Focus me. Equip me. Know me. Help me see my value. Care about me. Help me grow. Hear me. Help me see my importance. Help me feel proud. Help me build mutual trust. Help me review my contributions. Challenge me.”

Marcus and his colleagues maintain that building on strengths is more likely to produce engagement. It can benefit everybody: ourselves, our children, our schools, our work places and our societies.

3) Practice.

So what has been the effect of Marcus’ work? How has it translated into practice? There have been many pluses. His research is convincing and reinforces the case for focusing on strengths. His books and keynote speeches have hit a chord. He has also introduced a systematic way of harnessing talents in his book Go Put Your Strengths To Work. You can see him in action using some of these ideas in a workshop held in conjunction with the Oprah Winfrey Show. (Some people find the video inspiring; others find it annoying!) Here is the link.

Oprah

Reservations

Whilst supporting the overall philosophy, some people have reservations about the actual practice. It is important to highlight these, even though many have since been addressed by Marcus and his colleagues.

* StrengthsFinder may be useful, but does it really identify your strengths?

Marcus has since moved on from employing it as the main tool for identifying strengths. Looking at organisations that have used it, a key benefits is that it provides people with a ‘common language’. As mentioned earlier, it is probably useful to see it as an indicator of a person’s style, rather than their strengths.

* The types of exercises outlined in Go Put Your Strengths To Work have been used by career counsellors for years. Do they add anything new?

Possibly not, but they do reach a wider audience. Perhaps a more pressing issue is to ensure that people are enabled to make their strengths much more specific. Marcus is working on this challenge.

* “I like the approach,” somebody may say, “but am put off by the ‘sales bit’, being urged to buy the various systems.”

This is a matter of taste. If an HR Director is ‘buying for an organisation’, however, they often like to buy a ‘system’ that can be used across the business. The key is to ensure that people maintain the spirit behind the system.

Contribution to the strengths approach.

Marcus has made an enormous contribution to the strengths philosophy. For example:

a) He has introduced the concept of strengths to millions of people.

b) He has begun developing and spreading a system that may well enable many more people to build on their strengths.

c) He has shown how building on strengths can benefit individuals, schools, teams, organisations and societies.

Whilst recognising his past achievements, it may well be that the best is still to come from Marcus. Whatever he does in the future, he has already had a great impact on the way people think about strengths. You can keep track of his work at:

http://www.marcusbuckingham.com/home.php

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