by Mandy Lake
I often joke that I became a gardener to deal with the stress of being a public school administrator. But honestly, the joke is a bit of an understatement. In my early 30s, I found myself in urgent care, convinced I was having a heart attack. The doctor said that my heart was okay, but my lifestyle was not. Her follow-up lecture about taking better care of myself and being intentional about managing the stress of my job was life changing. I started cooking my own meals, purchased a high-energy puppy who became my best exercise buddy, and allowed my interest in gardening to grow into a full-blown passion that has since expanded through the years.
My journey from a public school administrator to President of Lakeside Leadership Services (and ELA Company Member) has led to so many wonderful experiences and opportunities along the way. One particular experience I will always cherish is a project that I completed with a team from Stroud Water Research Center when I was a doctoral student. I worked with nonprofits in my area, offering pro bono consulting in exchange for a time commitment that supported a very tight timeline for project completion. The project with Stroud’s team was memorable because once I learned more about the team’s objectives, I was incredibly inspired by the important work they were doing. I could see the connection between helping their team function more effectively and the positive and tangible impacts that could have on the environment. In Stroud’s case, a higher functioning team meant more trees planted, more empowered land owners, and more clean water.
The potential of achieving greater environmental impact through the development of high-functioning teams is what drew me to the role of Senior Manager of Education and Engagement at Mt. Cuba Center. And it was at Mt. Cuba Center, where all the connections between my passion for gardening and my deep appreciation for the environment clicked. I loved learning about ecological horticulture from professionals who were exceptionally dedicated to their work. Just like my project with Stroud, it was validating to see that improving team dynamics, matching the right people to the right projects, and encouraging people in their professional growth resulted in greater engagement with the mission.
When it comes to professional growth, one of the most enduring myths we have all heard is that we grow when we identify all of our weaknesses and work to fix them one by one. If you really think about it, that means spending less time on the things you are good at, and instead devoting large chunks of time to working on weaknesses. This strategy is extremely ineffective, and it almost always results in mediocrity. While you can learn to manage your weaknesses so they don’t get in the way of your success, it just makes sense to spend the bulk of your time doing what you do best.
Don Clifton, PhD, is considered the father of positive psychology, and he famously asked, “What would happen if we studied what is right with people instead of focusing on what is wrong with them?” This research led to the creation of the CliftonStrengths assessment, originally known as StrengthsFinder, which developed a common language for talking about what’s right with people. For decades, the Gallup company has been studying factors related to employee engagement, profitability, and overall well being. They found that the most successful leaders and organizations choose to focus on their strengths, and spend their time doing what they do best. That means developing your strengths as a professional, learning about the strengths of your team members, and applying strengths-based strategies to achieve your organization’s goals.
Gallup has found that employees who get to use their strengths every day are three times more likely to report having an excellent quality of life, six times more likely to be engaged at work, 8% more productive, and 15% less likely to quit their jobs. Their research also found higher levels of customer satisfaction, increased profitability (ranging from 14% to 29%), and 59% fewer safety incidents in strengths-based organizations. With statistics like these, it’s not surprising that over 90% of Fortune 500 companies use CliftonStrengths.
I’ve been applying a strengths-based approach to the teams I lead, the leaders I coach, and the organizational development projects I’ve been involved with as a consultant for the past ten years. I’ve had the pleasure of leading three different teams at three different organizations during that time, and in each case all of my direct reports took Gallup’s CliftonStrengths assessment. We used their results to build relationships, set goals for professional development, and establish annual objectives for our teams. In my work as a consultant and coach, I have found that a focus on strengths has resonated with everyone from teams of social workers and human resources professionals to association leaders and electrical engineers.
Like me, several of my former team members from Mt. Cuba Center are now working at other organizations, and throughout their transitions, they told me that knowing their strengths has continued to impact their lives personally and professionally. Caroline Fazzini is now the Manager of School and Group Visits at a public garden in New Jersey. In the section below, Caroline reflected on the impact that learning about her strengths, and the strengths of her team, had on her as a manager.
Caroline Fazzini, Manager of School and Group Visits
Caroline’s Top 5 CliftonStrengths: Input, Communication, Restorative, Connectedness, and Developer
“I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing Strengths coaching and facilitation in both one-on-one and team contexts. Personally, learning about myself through the philosophy of Strengths helped me embrace parts of my personality at work that I had previously considered weaknesses and/or not yet used to their fullest potential. These characteristics (empathy, developer, connectedness) have since become integral in my approach to collaboration and people management.
I also witnessed the benefits of Strengths coaching as a manager of a team. Mandy taught us how to leverage our respective talents in ways that complemented each other and ultimately, made us more effective in the work we produced as a group. Gaining this kind of awareness allows you to focus on what skills come naturally to you so you can begin building from there.”
Kevin Allen, another former team member, is now a Research Specialist at a public garden in Pennsylvania. When reflecting on the impact that learning about his strengths had on him he described it as, “… a transformative experience that gave me profound insight into my own strengths and how I contribute to the world around me.” Kevin said that one of the things he remembers most from learning about his strengths was an activity that involved choosing a photo that illustrated how his strengths influenced his life. He still has the picture he chose of a large herd of wildebeests crossing a river in his mind’s eye. He said that the photo, “…helped me recognize my instinct for foreseeing obstacles and the value of collaboration for collective success. I came to understand that my dominant domain is Executing—an ability to make things happen and to anticipate challenges before they arise.”
Kevin Allen, Research Specialist
Kevin’s Top 5 CliftonStrengths: Learner, Achiever, Deliberative, Connectedness, and Responsibility
Gallup’s research into high-achieving teams and organizations has found that the most successful teams use their strengths to perform four core functions: Strategic Thinking, Relationship Building, Influencing, and Executing (as Kevin mentioned above). I couldn’t help but think of these four domains when I read Mark Richardson’s thoughts about advocacy in the May Into the Weeds newsletter. He said,
“ELA’s mission, to educate, inspire and empower all people to value biodiverse landscapes and employ ecological practices, calls on us to put our work into a broader context. To truly accomplish our mission, we must build a strong network of people who value biological diversity, and take steps professionally and personally to support efforts to preserve and protect natural resources.”
This is a timely charge for the world we live in today. It’s a challenge that will require strategic thinking to determine the right plans of action, strong relationships to form coalitions and strengthen networks, influencing skills to inspire and motivate change, and equally as important, executing skills to overcome challenges and make things happen.
People often wonder if focusing on strengths means ignoring the fact that we have weaknesses. To the contrary, it is just as important to be aware of your weaknesses as you are of your strengths. But the difference with strengths-based teams is that they learn to rely on each other to balance out their weaknesses. Kevin reinforced this idea saying that strengths coaching, “… helped me see not only what I do well, but also how to build partnerships in areas where I am less strong, such as Influencing. This insight has directly contributed to my growth in my new role as a research specialist at a public garden, where I now apply these lessons in working with collaborators nationwide. Mandy’s coaching helped me see myself—and my potential—with greater clarity and confidence.”
The desire to help leaders and their teams operate with increased levels of clarity and confidence continues to motivate my work today. If you’re ready to grow your team from a nice group of people who get along to a high-functioning force to be reckoned with, let’s talk! Since 2017, Lakeside Leadership Services has been providing strengths-based leadership coaching, team-building workshops, and customized organizational culture initiatives for mission-driven leaders, teams, and organizations. Visit our website at www.lakesideleadership.org, find me on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/amandaklake/ or send me an email at amandalake@lakesideleadership.org to connect.
Finally, as a thank you to the ELA community for being so warm and welcoming to me as a new company member, I’m offering complimentary CliftonStrengths assessment codes to the first ten Into the Weeds readers who email me at amandalake@lakesideleadership.org No strings attached, I promise! Send me an email today, and join the over 30 million people who have taken the CliftonStrengths assessment to discover their strengths and live their best lives.
Mandy Lake, President of Lakeside Leadership Services
Mandy’s Top 5 CliftonStrengths: Learner, Intellection, Input, Connectedness, and Responsibility
Mandy Lake is the President of Lakeside Leadership Services. She holds Doctorate of Strategic Leadership (DSL) with a focus on Adult Learning and Development, and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration. In addition to being a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, Mandy is a Senior Certified Professional with the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM-SCP) and is a Certified 360 Assessment Facilitator with the Center for Creative Leadership. She serves on her local library’s Board of Trustees in Kennett Square, PA, and is a member of ELA’s Education and Membership committees.