Tom Rath
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to summarize and analyze the # 1 Wall Street Journal Best Seller: “Strengths Based Leadership” by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie. People have struggle finding and applying their own strengths because many people do not differentiate their natural talents from their hobbies or interest brings results of statistics conducted over 25 years of Gallup studies evaluating leaders performance and productivity. The consulting company identified twelve core elements that measure the engagement of a local work team. Each core element is divided in five key themes which represent the main reasons for people to follow a good leader.
Thesis: people should maximize their strengths and not focus on their weaknesses.
Investing in your strengths
Why should someone invest in their strengths?
According to the authors, effective leaders are aware of their strengths and succeed because their decisions and actions are based on their talents and beliefs. Furthermore, effective leaders focus on investing time in improving their strengths and are confident of their weaknesses and limitations. On the other hand, when people focus on their weaknesses, they lose confidence. For example, Tom Rath and Barry Conchie state “If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything” (7). Additionally, the father of strengths psychology, Dr. Donald O. Clifton asserts that:
“A leader needs to know his strengths as a carpenter knows his tools, or as a physician know the instruments at her disposal. What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows his or her strengths- and can call on the right strength at the right time … “(13).
Maximizing your team
Why is important is it important to maximize your team?
Tom Rath and Barry Conchie emphasize that maximizing your team by recruiting individuals with different strengths is crucial to achieve difficult goals. The authors recognize four domains of leadership
The purpose of this paper is to summarize and analyze the # 1 Wall Street Journal Best Seller: “Strengths Based Leadership” by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie. People have struggle finding and applying their own strengths because many people do not differentiate their natural talents from their hobbies or interest brings results of statistics conducted over 25 years of Gallup studies evaluating leaders performance and productivity. The consulting company identified twelve core elements that measure the engagement of a local work team. Each core element is divided in five key themes which represent the main reasons for people to follow a good leader.
Thesis: people should maximize their strengths and not focus on their weaknesses.
Investing in your strengths
Why should someone invest in their strengths?
According to the authors, effective leaders are aware of their strengths and succeed because their decisions and actions are based on their talents and beliefs. Furthermore, effective leaders focus on investing time in improving their strengths and are confident of their weaknesses and limitations. On the other hand, when people focus on their weaknesses, they lose confidence. For example, Tom Rath and Barry Conchie state “If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything” (7). Additionally, the father of strengths psychology, Dr. Donald O. Clifton asserts that:
“A leader needs to know his strengths as a carpenter knows his tools, or as a physician know the instruments at her disposal. What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows his or her strengths- and can call on the right strength at the right time … “(13).
Maximizing your team
Why is important is it important to maximize your team?
Tom Rath and Barry Conchie emphasize that maximizing your team by recruiting individuals with different strengths is crucial to achieve difficult goals. The authors recognize four domains of leadership