Your Employees’ Strengths Make Your Company Stronger and More Profitable

Cathie Leimbach • December 7, 2021

Focusing on employees’ strengths does more than engage workers and enrich their lives. It also makes good business sense. Gallup recently completed an extensive study of companies that have implemented strengths-based management practices. 

 

By positioning employees to work from their strengths – doing what they do best – they have higher energy, less stress, and are six times more likely to be engaged at work. 

 

Additional research provides a compelling business case for implementing a strengths intervention showing performance increases, which, even at the lower end, are impressive:

10%-19% increase in sales

14%-29% increase in profit

3%-7% increase in customer engagement

9%-15% in engaged employees

6 to 16 point decrease in turnover (in low turnover organizations)

26 to 72 point decrease in turnover (in high turnover organizations)

22%-59% decrease in safety incidents.

 

All employees have strengths – the unique combinations of talents, knowledge, skills, and practices that help them do their best daily. These strengths provide employees and employers with their greatest opportunity for success.  And, the best way to do that is through their managers. 

 

Wondering how to get started? Here are some best practices to begin moving into a strengths-based culture:

  • It starts with leadership. When isolated departments implement strengths interventions, a limited impact can be achieved. When leaders make these interventions a strategic priority, change really happens. For example, when leaders push strengths through the entire organization, the potential for increased employee engagement and profitability multiples.
  • Don’t assume your employees know their strengths. People often take their powerful talents for granted, may be unaware of them, or undervalue them because it comes so naturally. Spend time in conversations with employees to uncover their strengths and consider using standard assessments for a more detailed picture.
  • Generate awareness and enthusiasm company-wide.  Managers can communicate the company’s business strategy in terms of the company’s unique strengths.  Employees use their strengths more when the strengths concepts are consistently communicated. 
  • Be mindful of strengths when creating project teams.  Leaders need to create ways for all employees to increase their self-awareness; they should also employ tactics to ensure teams are assembled reflecting each individual’s innate talents.
  • Use team meetings to help team members deepen their understanding of the strengths approach. Encourage them to be open with their fellow team members about their strengths and help them think strategically about how to complete a successful project using all of the members’ abilities and talents.
  • Focus performance reviews on the recognition and development of employees’ strengths. A strengths-based approach is straightforward, appealing, and decisive. Conduct performance reviews that encourage and use each employee’s talents and offer development aligned with their strengths. Provide clear performance expectations and help employees set achievable but challenging goals based on their strengths.

 

Employees can’t completely avoid their weaknesses. However, instead of wasting too much time trying to improve in areas in which they are unlikely to succeed, form strategic partnerships and thoughtful processes that help them work around those weaknesses. 

 

Higher employee engagement, increased profitability, lower turnover, and helping your employees make a difference based upon their talents to contribute to the organization’s goals and objectives will create greater success throughout each department and the company as a whole.

Feedback Isn't a Download. It's a Dialogue.

By Cathie Leimbach • July 14, 2026
Most leaders know they should give feedback. Yet many avoid it. Not because they don't care, but because they worry they'll discourage someone, create conflict, or say the wrong thing. Unfortunately, when feedback is delayed, vague, or avoided, employees don't feel supported—they feel uncertain. Research highlighted in a recent McKinsey Quarterly article found that employees who receive regular, specific feedback are significantly more engaged than those who don't. The problem isn't that employees dislike feedback. They dislike feedback that feels judgmental, unclear, or disconnected from their growth. The strongest leaders understand something important: Feedback isn't a download. It's a dialogue. When leaders approach feedback as an employee development conversation rather than a list of mistakes, people become more open to hearing hard truths and more motivated to improve. Effective feedback communicates two powerful messages at the same time: I respect you. I believe you can grow. That combination changes everything. The best leaders don't simply evaluate past performance; they help employees see future potential. Rather than focusing only on what went wrong, they provide feedforward —guidance on what someone can do to become even more successful. High-performing organizations understand a simple truth: Improvement requires input. The question for leaders isn't whether to give feedback. It's whether our feedback leaves people feeling smaller—or stronger. Feedback doesn't change people. Better conversations do. Download our one-page guide: 5 Practices That Turn Feedback Into Growth Learn five practical ways to make every feedback conversation more productive, more encouraging, and more likely to inspire lasting growth. Conversation is where leadership happens

Performance Conversations: Clarity Is Kindness

By Cathie Leimbach • July 7, 2026
Most leaders want better performance. They want employees who take ownership, meet expectations, solve problems, and continue growing. Yet many leaders seldom initiate performance conversations – and when they do, it doesn’t go well. Leaders often hesitate because they fear discouraging people. Employees, meanwhile, don't know if they are missing the target. This can be costly. Research highlighted in McKinsey's Courageous Conversations article found that organizations with strong performance practices are four times more likely to outperform their peers. Yet fewer than one-third of employees believe performance reviews actually help them improve. The problem is not just a lack of performance conversations. It's a lack of clarity. The article points to a simple but powerful distinction: separate the hardware of performance from the software of performance. The hardware includes facts, goals, KPIs, commitments, timelines, and standards. The software includes tone, timing, relationships, empathy, and intent. When leaders clearly explain the facts while delivering them with care and respect, employees become more receptive to improvement. Strong leaders don't judge people—they diagnose work.  They focus on behaviors, actions, and results rather than character. They clarify expectations, provide coaching, and create frequent opportunities for alignment. In high-performing cultures, clarity isn't viewed as criticism. It is viewed as support. As the article notes, "Clarity is a kindness, and ambiguity is a burden." Employees deserve to know where they stand, what success looks like, and how to improve. When leaders provide that clarity with dignity and respect, performance conversations become growth conversations. And growth is where better results begin. Download the Performance Conversations: Hardware & Software Checklist for Leaders and learn how to have everyday performance discussions that include opportunities for growth, accountability, and stronger results.