Book Review on Go Put Your Strengths to Work

One of my favourite authors is Marcus Buckingham and I just finished reading, Go Put Your Strengths to Work. I agree with the author that “individuals, teams and organizations are most productive, creative, focused and resilient when they figure out how to play to their strengths!” I also agree that, “an individual, team or org will excel only by amplifying their strengths and it is never by simply fixing weaknesses.” Some of my personal key learning messages were:

• How engaged are your strengths? The Strengths Engagement Track designed to measure how engaged one’s strengths are at work. I completed this and was surprised by the results.
• Trombone Player Wanted- I watched the short film, very interesting and inspiring.
• The key lever is getting each person to play to his or her strengths….while there are many good levers for engaging people and driving performance…it is the alignment to strengths which really count!
• How can we build a workplace where more than two out of ten people use their strengths for most of the day! On high performing teams…people are calling upon their strengths only 75% of the time.
• Clarify and change entrenched beliefs.
• How to be transparent about weaknesses and avoiding putting a positive spin on weaknesses.
• Framework for looking at personal internal myths, clarifying your strengths, how to make the most of your strengths, how to cut out the things which weaken you, how to enlist support to build and utilize your strengths and creating strong habits.
• True teamwork comes together when a complementary set of strengths come together in a coordinated way.
• SIGN- instinct, growth, needs, success
• FREE- Focus, release, educate, expand strategy questions
• STOP-Stop, team-up, offer-up, perceive

Some of my personal reflections as a coach, consultant and HR professional:

• Do you dwell on weaknesses or strengths?
• Is a change management initiative(s) focused on org strengths or weaknesses?
• Is the L&D business plan tailored to building individual, team and org strengths?
• Is the culture really one which is or strives to be strengths-based?
• To avoid giving weaknesses a positive spin…to avoid positive-word phrases when sharing weaknesses- interesting weakness statement exercise.
• Great strength and weaknesses activities for clarification

Some of my favourite quotes or words from the book were:

• Let tomorrow be a stronger day!
• What are my strengths, and how can I contribute them today?
• Greek word “Eudaionia”- feeling of giving your best and reaping rewards for it

Overall, this was a great book and I would recommend it. I found the book, videos and various exercises to be of great value. The downloadable materials are going to be great tools!  The book and materials are really helpful for individuals, teams and organizations to clarify and learn what their strengths are, which activities strengthen and weaken, how to be disciplined to push more time towards strengths, and how to discuss and persuade others to help you build and focus on strengths. "Watch, Act, and Discover" is the rhythm that Marcus discusses for sustainability.