Unlocking the Power of People: How Understanding Your Team Strengths Drives Business Success
- Ashley Boaz
- May 28
- 5 min read
In the hustle of day-to-day operations, it’s easy to reduce people to job titles, productivity metrics, or task lists. But every deliverable, every decision, every win in your business starts with a person—someone with a unique blend of personality, skills, preferences, and passions.
If you’re only seeing your team in terms of what they do, not who they are, you’re leaving potential on the table. Real growth—lasting, sustainable growth—comes when you take time to understand your team as individuals and align their strengths with meaningful contributions.
This blog explores how to tap into the human side of business and leverage the distinctive strengths of your team to drive not just engagement, but excellence.
Why Individuality in the Workplace Isn’t Just “Nice”—It’s Necessary
A business isn’t just built on systems. It’s built on people running those systems. People with talents, triggers, and tendencies that—if recognized—can either supercharge performance or quietly sabotage it.
Studies show that employees who feel their strengths are recognized are more than six times as likely to be engaged at work. They stay longer, contribute more, and bring creative solutions to the table because they feel invested in—not just instructed by—their organization.
When you understand what makes each person tick, you build trust. And trust breeds innovation, accountability, and collaboration.
Busting the Myth of the “Well-Rounded” Employee
Let’s set the record straight: You do not need every team member to be good at everything. In fact, the pursuit of well-roundedness often dilutes the power of what someone does exceptionally well.
Instead of trying to patch every gap in performance with training, consider doubling down on each individual’s natural abilities. Let your detail-oriented team members take the lead on logistics. Let your extroverts handle client engagement. Let your quiet strategists drive process improvement behind the scenes.
In great teams, people don’t all do the same things—they do different things that complement each other. It’s not about symmetry. It’s about synergy.
5 Ways to Discover and Leverage Your Team’s Strengths
1. Observe Beyond the Job Description
What someone was hired to do is often just the beginning. Pay attention to how team members:
Approach new challenges
Communicate with others
Solve problems under pressure
Offer support to teammates
For example, you might notice that your scheduler is also incredible at de-escalating upset patients. That’s a strength—emotional intelligence—and it’s worth cultivating beyond their current responsibilities.
Observation builds awareness. Awareness builds opportunity.
2. Initiate Strength-Based Conversations
Don’t assume you know what drives someone—ask.
Here are a few conversation starters for one-on-one meetings:
“What part of your work feels easiest or most energizing?”
“What’s one thing you wish you could do more of?”
“Where do you feel like your contributions make the most impact?”
You’ll be surprised how revealing these answers are. Often, people have underutilized talents that don’t show up on a resume—but shine in the right setting.
This not only gives you insight but also helps the employee feel seen and valued in ways that go beyond metrics.
3. Utilize Strength Discovery Tools
Strengths assessments can accelerate understanding and give everyone a common language to describe what they bring to the table. Some popular tools include:
CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder): Helps identify top 5 strengths across 34 talent themes.
DISC: Useful for understanding communication and behavioral tendencies.
Enneagram: Offers insights into core motivations and emotional patterns.
Kolbe: Identifies how someone takes action and solves problems naturally.
Use assessments as a starting point for dialogue—not a box to put people in. Pair the results with real-world observations for the most accurate picture.
Bonus tip: Share results across the team and facilitate a session where people can compare styles. This fosters appreciation, reduces friction, and helps team members support one another more effectively.
4. Match Strengths to Key Roles or Projects
Now comes the fun part—putting strengths to work.
For example:
If a hygienist loves educating patients and excels at simplifying complex topics, have them contribute to social media content or lead a patient education initiative.
If your office manager has a gift for anticipating team needs, put them in charge of internal morale or onboarding.
If your assistant has an eye for aesthetics, have them collaborate with marketing on visuals or branding elements.
Small adjustments like these make work feel more meaningful. And meaningful work leads to better results—period.
5. Recognize and Celebrate Strengths in Action
We often default to recognizing output: sales closed, tasks completed, quotas met. But what if you also acknowledged how the job was done?
Here are ways to celebrate strengths in action:
A shout-out during team huddles for someone’s creativity or calm under pressure
A handwritten note acknowledging a team member’s persistence on a tough project
A spotlight feature in your company newsletter or Slack channel
Recognition reinforces the behavior you want to see more of. It also reminds people that who they are is just as important as what they do.
Watch Out for the Silo Trap
While it’s important to align people with their strengths, you also want to avoid creating silos where they feel pigeonholed or excluded from growth.
Here’s how to avoid that:
Cross-train where appropriate, but not at the expense of natural talents
Invite people to stretch outside their comfort zone with support
Pair employees with complementary strengths on key projects
A healthy team culture balances specialization with flexibility.
Create a System Around Strengths
Don’t let this be a one-time initiative. Systematize your strength-centered approach so it becomes part of your company’s DNA.
Here’s how:
Add “What I’m great at” and “What energizes me” questions to onboarding
Include a strength discussion in performance reviews
Use personality profiles to pair teams more effectively
Make monthly check-ins about personal development, not just project updates
Add peer recognition channels where coworkers can celebrate each other
These small practices build a culture where contribution is personalized, appreciated, and always evolving.
What Happens When You Prioritize Strengths?
You gain more than efficiency—you gain energy.
Teams with aligned strengths are more agile. They’re faster to pivot, better at solving problems, and more committed to outcomes. Why? Because they own their piece of the puzzle. They’re not just executing orders—they’re bringing value.
And here’s the kicker: people who feel they’re using their strengths at work are more likely to describe their role as a calling—not just a job.
That’s the kind of mindset that drives long-term growth, loyalty, and transformation.
Final Thought: The ROI of Recognition
It doesn’t take a huge budget or elaborate plan to understand your team. It takes intention.
Start with a conversation. Follow it with curiosity. Then build systems that allow your team to shine—and evolve.
If you’re wondering where to begin, try this: at your next team meeting, ask everyone to share one thing they wish they could do more of in their current role. Then watch what surfaces. You’ll likely discover overlooked strengths just waiting to make a difference.
Because when people feel like they matter—like their presence and their personality contribute to a bigger picture—they don’t just do the work. They take pride in it.
And that’s when your business stops surviving—and starts thriving.
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