Empowering Your Team Through Strengths-Based Leadership
Lately, I’ve been talking to a lot of leaders who are struggling with their teams when it comes to soft skills- things like organization, communication, and time management. These aren’t always “taught” skills, especially for employees who are early in their careers and haven’t had strong examples to learn from. Leaders are busy, and training people in these areas can easily fall to the bottom of the list.
On the flip side, employees are often expected to “just figure it out.” Take initiative, learn by watching, adapt to business dynamics, but without context, that’s easier said than done.
This is where CliftonStrengths and a strengths-based leadership approach can make a difference. Instead of trying to coach everyone the same way, leaders can tap into what actually motivates their people, making soft skills training personal, effective, and sustainable.
Why Strengths-Based Leadership Works
According to Gallup, strengths-based leadership is built on one core belief: when leaders understand and invest in what people naturally do best, they meet the four things followers need most: trust, compassion, stability, and hope. Leaders who build on strengths drive higher engagement, better retention, and stronger business outcomes.
In fact, Gallup’s research shows that:
Strengths-based teams see 19% higher sales, 29% higher profits, and 23% higher employee engagement.
Companies that use strengths-based approaches experience 72% lower turnover and up to 12.5% higher productivity.
Managers who lead with strengths are six times more likely to engage their employees.
Soft skills like communication, organization, and time management don’t exist in a vacuum. They’re expressed differently depending on someone’s natural strengths. When you understand that, you can coach in a way that resonates.
Coaching Soft Skills Through Strengths
Here’s an example of how this could look:
For someone with Relationship Building strengths: Frame communication skills in terms of connection. For example: “Your email tone matters because it makes the client on the other end feel at ease and supported.”
For someone with Strategic strengths: Show them the bigger picture. Help them see how managing their calendar or prioritizing tasks connects to long-term goals.
One employee I worked with had Responsibility in their top CliftonStrengths themes. They took pride in taking ownership and never letting anyone down. The problem? They said yes to everything! Their to-do list was endless, deadlines slipped, and they were beating themselves up for not being able to “do it all.”
When their manager confronted them about missed deadlines, the employee didn’t have the language to connect the dots. They thought they were failing.
Once we dug into their strengths, it clicked: Responsibility was driving the behavior. The fix wasn’t “just manage your time better.” It was about learning to set boundaries, prioritize, and understand that sometimes saying “no” is the most responsible choice. With coaching, this employee shifted their approach, felt more in control, and delivered better results.
My Coaching Approach
When I coach leaders and teams using CliftonStrengths, the process looks like this:
Start with the leader – We dive into your goals, challenges, and team dynamics. What’s working? What’s getting in the way? What does success look like for you?
Leader assessment – You complete the CliftonStrengths assessment and we do a one -on-one coaching session to better understand your own strengths and blind spots
Individual coaching – Each team member takes the assessment and has a one-on-one coaching session with me.
Team workshop – We bring everyone together to share results, explore collective strengths, and map out strategies for better collaboration and communication.
The result? A shared language, a deeper understanding of one another, and tangible action items to improve productivity and morale. Leaders walk away knowing how to reach their people, and employees feel empowered to bring their best selves to work.
When leaders use strengths-based coaching, they stop spinning their wheels trying to “fix” employees and start unlocking what makes them thrive. That’s when teams become more engaged, more productive, and more connected.
Ready to Lead With Strengths?
If you’re ready to take your leadership and your team to the next level, I’d love to support you! I offer:
Leadership coaching sessions to help you understand your own strengths and how to lead more effectively.
Team coaching and workshops to strengthen communication, collaboration, and performance across your entire team.
Book a leadership coaching session with me and let’s start scaling with your strengths!
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