Tom’s Comments (group member since Oct 01, 2013)

Tom’s comments from the Ask Tom Rath - Friday, October 18th! group.

Cynthia wrote: "Hello, my name is Cynthia. What has been learnt since StrengthsFinder 1.0 and StrengthsFinder 2.0 were first published? Also, is it possible to over-utilize or rely on your strengths?"

Cynthia, one of the most important things I have learned is that we all need managers who spend even a little bit of time focusing on our strengths each day, at least in a workplace context. Even though I thought this was something that could be beneficial, I have been amazed with the degree to which having a manager who focuses primarily on your strengths almost eliminates disengagement in a workplace. If you essentially have a manager who is doing the right things, the odds of being very disengaged or negative about your job are just 1 in 100.

To your question about over utilizing your strengths, I do not see a lot of evidence of that being a widespread problem. In every country where Gallup has asked the question, the vast majority of people do not have the opportunity to use their strengths at all in a given day, let alone "too much." That being said, please do see my response to a previous question about ignoring weaknesses. I do think that can be a problem and should be addressed.

Omar wrote: "Thanks for setting this up Cynthia. Tom's leadership philosophy is based on investing and focusing on strengths. My question to Tom, is at which point do weaknesses need to be addressed (and how do..."

Omar, I am glad you asked this question about the overall approach to investing in strengths. By no means would any of the research I have studied suggest that it is okay to completely ignore weaknesses. When someone has a glaring "blind spot" as it is often called, this can cause major problems in one's career and life. So it is important to focus on weaknesses...at least part of the time.

That being said, in most performance review discussions with managers and leaders, the vast majority of the time is traditionally spent talking about "gaps" or "areas for improvement." I think the most important element may be to turn this around and focus perhaps 75% of the time focusing on someone's strengths and reviewing his or her victories, then 25% of the time addressing weaknesses. That is far more likely to be helpful and motivating in my experience.

Kolawole wrote: "Hello! My name is kola okuboyejo and I'm writing from lagos Nigeria.I'm a huge fan of Mr Rath and will like to know how I can get a copy of the book here in Nigeria. Thank you"

Thanks so much for your note. The English edition of Eat Move Sleep is now available in the major digital stores such as Google, iTunes, Audible, and Amazon. Most foreign-language editions are currently in process and will be released over the next year. Hope this helps.