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.

Thanksgiving: Beyond the Turkey and Thank-You Notes

By Cathie Leimbach • November 25, 2025
As leaders, we know Thanksgiving week is prime time for employee appreciation. But here's the thing—a generic "thanks everyone" email hits differently for different people. Dr. Paul White's research on the 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace offers a smarter approach. Just like people receive love differently, your team members feel valued in distinct ways: through words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, tangible gifts, or physical touch (think handshakes and high-fives in professional settings). That all-star on your team? She might light up from a handwritten note praising her specific contributions. Your behind-the-scenes problem-solver might feel more appreciated if you help him out by clearing his schedule for an afternoon so he can tackle his backlog. This Thanksgiving, skip the one-size-fits-all approach. Take ten minutes to consider how each team member prefers to be recognized. It's not about grand gestures—it's about matching your gratitude to what actually resonates with each individual. When appreciation lands in someone's preferred language, it doesn't just feel nice. It builds loyalty, boosts morale, and reminds people why they show up every day. That's something worth being thankful for. Curious about what languages are preferred? Click here to learn more!

The Power of Strategic Choice: Making Room for What Matters

By Cathie Leimbach • November 10, 2025
In most organizations, the instinct is to add —more goals, more projects, more meetings. But as Juliet Funt, founder of the Juliet Funt Group, teaches in her Strategic Choice process, real leadership strength lies in deciding what to stop doing . Strategic Choice is the intentional narrowing of priorities—cutting away the clutter so teams can focus on what truly drives results. It’s a disciplined act of letting go: saying no to good ideas so there’s room for the great ones. Funt’s approach challenges leaders to pause, think, and create the mental and operational space their people need to perform at their best. By removing unnecessary tasks and misplaced effort, leaders make room for precision, innovation, and real thinking time. This isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing what matters most. When businesses adopt this mindset, they replace overwhelm with clarity and regain control of their time, energy, and outcomes. For small to mid-sized companies, embracing Strategic Choice can transform busyness into focus—and that focus is where sustainable growth begins. Want a quick visual overview? View Strategic Choice: Making Room for What Matters to see how this process helps leaders focus on what truly drives results.