Soar with your strengths
Strength-Based Approaches
On a recruiting visit to Butler, Brad Stevens suggested I spend 80% of my off-season maximizing my strengths and 20% working on my weaknesses. This came as quite a shock, as up until that point in the offseason, I’d spent closer to 80% of my time working on my weaknesses. I was convinced that improvement looked like attacking your weaknesses until there weren’t any left…
In this month’s 3 Points, I’ll discuss a strengths-based approach, and how it could help your team soar with their strengths.
1. A strengths-based approach:
Simmons et al., (2013) defined a strengths-based approach as one that “focuses on using an individual’s strengths to improve their overall functioning, rather than solely addressing weaknesses” (*Note: this doesn’t mean completely ignoring weaknesses).
Strengths-based approaches to leadership have been more heavily researched in the business and management space, and across contexts have been found to lead to benefits such as well-being, engagement, productivity, goal progress and attainment, and confidence.
While the research is limited in sport settings, research has suggested that focusing on strengths can help develop and maintain robust sports confidence. Further, in one study which utilized a strength-based approach, athletes reported benefits, including increases in self-belief, motivation, and the ability to cope under pressure, along with clarity of focus for training and goal-direction.
2. Strengths-Based Coaching in Action:
Stevens credits his former boss, Todd Lickliter, for this mindset:
“Don’t focus on what somebody can’t do, and don’t complain about it. Focus on what they can do and help them get the most out of it.”
Stevens held this belief so firmly that, during the time of 40-minute individual workouts, he committed 32 minutes to maximizing strengths, and 8 minutes for what they referred to as “Dream Time”. Stevens explains their focus was to use that 8 minutes to diversify each player’s game to expand their skill set.
3. Using the SOAR model
(S)trengths:
What can we build on?
What does this athlete do better than most?
What is this athlete doing that already works?
(O)pportunities:
How can we leverage those strengths to create improvement?
What new skills can complement and leverage strengths?
(A)spirations:
Who is the athlete now?
Using the athlete’s strengths and opportunities, who can this athlete become (aspiration)?
What can we do to help the athlete get closer to their aspiration?
(R)esults:
How will we know if we are succeeding?
How do we measure success?