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.

When Leadership Feels “Fine”… But Results Tell a Different Story

By Cathie Leimbach • January 13, 2026
Many leaders feel things are mostly on track. Goals are set. Meetings happen. People stay busy. On the surface, it all looks fine . But underneath, small cracks often tell a different story. You may notice work getting redone, decisions slowing down, or people quietly avoiding ownership. These aren’t just workflow problems. They’re leadership signals — and they’re easy to miss when everyone is moving fast. Leaders often believe they’ve been clear. They think people know what’s expected and who owns what. And they assume that if something was wrong, someone would speak up. But in real life, expectations get interpreted in different ways. Ownership can feel risky. And many people stay silent just to keep the peace. That gap between what leaders intend and what teams experience is where performance starts to slip. A few simple questions can help reveal what’s really going on: · Where is work quality lacking? · What decisions keep getting stuck? · Where do leaders step in instead of letting others own it? Start noticing those patterns. They point to exactly where stronger leadership can make the biggest difference. 👉 See what a 10–15% leadership shift could mean for your bottom line. View the Leadership ROI Chart .

Why Leadership Skills Matter More Than Ever in 2026

By Cathie Leimbach • January 6, 2026
People are essential to your business success—yet many organizations underestimate the return on leadership development. Payroll and benefits alone account for 15 to 60% of operating expenses for most companies. In industries with lower payroll percentages, the trade-off is often expensive equipment—but without well-trained people, even the best tools underperform. The truth is simple: mediocre employee skills produce mediocre business results. What’s often overlooked is where performance and engagement are truly shaped. Employees themselves only control about 30% of the factors that drive engagement and high performance. Leaders control the other 70%. Despite this, only 18% of organizations say their leaders are very effective at achieving business goals, even though 71% offer leadership training. Why the gap? Much of that training focuses on strategy or systems—not on people leadership skills that directly improve performance. When leaders do build those skills, the impact is powerful. Employees who feel supported give 57% more effort and are 87% less likely to leave. Organizations can see earnings increase by as much as 147%. In fact, leadership training delivers a $7 return for every $1 invested—more than double the return on technology investments. Since leadership capability is being touted as the most critical factor for organizational success in 2026, it’s worth asking: Which people leadership best practices have your managers truly adopted? What currently weak areas are the most important to strengthen this year? A short leadership quiz can surface strengths and growth areas that aren’t always obvious—especially when you take time to talk through what it reveals.