Strengths Based Leadership
Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow
By: Barry Conchie, Tom Rath
Published: January 2008
Format: Hardcover, 216pp
ISBN-13: 9781595620255
Publisher: Gallup Press
"Even though you may not notice it in the moment, the most effective leaders forever alter the course of your life", write Gallup research executives Barry Conchie and Tom Rath, in their groundbreaking and research based book Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow. The authors demonstrate, as a result of their extensive research, three crucial findings relating too all successful and effective leaders. The research also uncovered four domains of leadership strength, and how each leaders' personal strengths fit into those four areas.
Barry Conchie (photo left) and Tom Rath describe the three key elements of leadership that respondents indicated were the reasons they followed a particular leader. The authors discovered that the most effective leaders invested in strengths. This focus on strengths within teams and team members resulted in a multiplier effect that enhanced all members of the team. A second finding was that effective leaders surrounded themselves with the right people, and maximized that team. While the best leaders are not well rounded in all areas, they make certain that their teams feature strength in all areas. The research also determined that the most effective leaders understand the needs of their followers. The findings were that followers have four basic needs, and the most understanding leaders recognize and take care of those needs in their team members.
Tom Rath (photo left) and Barry Conchie not only describe the three fundamental areas where effective leaders excel, but also the four domains of leadership strengths, and where great leaders fit within them. The four key domain elements are executing, influencing, relationship building, and strategic thinking. Each of these four domains are further broken down into individual strengths of both the leader and of the team. The authors found that the most effective teams had representation from all four areas. It is not essential that every person possess all four domains or even be well rounded individuals. It is important that the team, as a whole, be well rounded with all four domain areas represented within it.
For me, the power of the book is how Tom Rath and Barry Conchie present research based data in a highly readable and usable format, that can be applied readily by any team leader. Unlike many books on leadership, the emphasis here is not on one person's opinion of ideal leadership, but on extensive research into both leaders and followers, and what makes for an effective leader. The authors demonstrate how to discover personal strengths, and how to select teams that contain all of the four major domain areas. The authors include very useful and practical additional information for maximizing effectiveness through thirty-four themes, based on their StrengthsFinder methodology. Combining massive research findings, with recommendations for applying those leadership aspects, makes the book a valuable asset to any team leader.
I highly recommend the practical and results oriented book Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow by Barry Conchie and Tom Rath, to anyone seeking a more clear understanding of the most critical elements of leadership and team building. The authors point out that the leader doesn't have to be strong in all of the four domains, but rather is a person capable of combining and encouraging those strengths within individual team members. The result will be a more effective leader, and a very successful and productive team.
Read the must read leadership book Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie, and uncover the leadership strengths within yourself, and learn how to recognize and understand them within your team members. Through application of the research findings, a leader can formulate a stronger team, that comprises all four of the leadership domains. The result will be greater productivity and a more cohesive, dedicated, and effective team.
