Strengths-based Leadership Development in Action

Key Interventions and Strategies

1:1 Coaching

One-on-one coaching sessions with Kate were pivotal in helping employees understand and harness their strengths. These sessions enabled participants to:

• Harness Their Top Strengths: Employees learned to understand and leverage their top five strengths synergistically, known as the "smoothie effect."

• Strengths in Action: Recognize how they utilise their strengths in different aspects of their roles.

• Leadership Application: Apply their strengths as managers and leaders to achieve excellence at work.

• Motivation and Energy: Discover the link between their strengths and their motivations, identifying ways to address any misalignment.

Comprehensive Leadership Development Programme

Over several months, and with the support of Kate Jennings Coaching, Hemsley Fraser rolled out a strengths-based leadership development programme, to all senior and middle managers, encompassing a range of leadership themes, pitched at the appropriate level. Participants were continually encouraged to reflect on:

• Strengths and Leadership Issues: Which strengths helped or hindered them with specific leadership issues.

• Supporting the Team: How their strengths could support the team.

• Partnerships for Growth: Who can be partnered with to fill gaps?

• Further Development: How can strengths be further developed to help achieve team and organisational goals?

Team Workshops

We ran a series of team workshops which played a critical role in fostering a collaborative, strengths-focused culture. These workshops enabled the Hemsley Fraser teams to:

• Leverage Unique Strengths: Discover and maximise individual and collective strengths for greater impact.

• Boost Productivity: Understand how individual and team strengths influence productivity.

• Strengthen Partnerships: Harness diverse strengths within the team to create powerful partnerships.

• Value for Organisation: Recognize the value of team strengths for organisational and stakeholder relationships.

• Manage Shadow-Sides: Identify and manage potential gaps and ‘shadow-sides’ in team strengths.

• Enhance Psychological Safety: Foster trust and collaboration, enhancing psychological safety across the team.

• Promote Cognitive Diversity: Use strengths-based language to address differences and enhance cognitive diversity.

• Action Plans: Develop targeted action plans to achieve goals, seize opportunities, and overcome challenges.

Supporting Mechanisms

Alongside the formal programme, Hemsley Fraser implemented additional support mechanisms to reinforce learning and application:

• Action-Learning Sets: Regular small group meetings where delegates solved each other's issues using a structured format.

• Peer Coaching Trios: Groups of three to develop coaching skills through peer interactions.