Harnessing the strengths of individuals is the key to working together and understanding our collective strengths within a team will create more effective trustee boards.
Knowing this, we’ve recently collaborated with Strengthscope®, a company that helps people to better understand their strengths. Strengthscope® goes deeper than the strengths-based approach that is now well known in workplace psychometric testing. It’s the only strengths profiling assessment to be accredited by the British Psychological Society, the gold standard for scientific soundness, ethical considerations and effectiveness.
Admittedly, prior to my experience with a strengths-based questionnaire, I was averse to the concept. However, after completing my questionnaire and applying my results in the following months, I’ve noticed a difference in my professional life. I’ll come onto that shortly.
In July, our employees got to use Strengthscope®’s strengths-based questionnaire before being guided through interpreting our results. Not only does Strengthscope® highlight your strengths, but they also explain how they can go into ‘overdrive’. Our strengths help us to perform at our best in our professional lives. But what if we use them in the wrong way? When we use our strengths in the wrong way (or at the wrong time), it can often lead to outcomes that we weren’t expecting. Strengthscope® defines this as ‘overdrive risk’.
Why do our greatest strengths tip into overdrive?
A couple of reasons. Firstly, habit… we use our personal qualities (our strengths) to achieve a successful outcome. When we achieve success, the methods used to get there can become habit. However these outcomes can be situational, what was right there is right for here, right? Not necessarily. Let’s consider one of my strengths:
Collaboration: “you work cooperatively with others to overcome conflict and build towards a common goal”.
Within trustee boards, there can be many contrasting viewpoints, making it difficult to reach effective decisions. Having a few individuals with collaboration as a strength can help ensure that these differences are overcome. This in turn allows trustee boards to effectively drive their pension scheme towards its end goals, whatever they may be.
Although my strength of collaboration can be a positive when settling contrasting viewpoints, after my Strengthscope® results, I realise that it may not be necessary for every scenario on a board. When there are shared goals, more collaboration, could just confuse or slow down the situation and negatively impact the effectiveness of the board.
Consider situations where processes are already in place to make quick decisions. Perhaps a sub-committee that’s already been given blanket approval from the overarching trustee board to make decisions on a particular topic. The chair of that sub-committee doesn’t then need to collaborate with the wider trustee board on each decision they make and seek approval they’ve already been given? Whilst collaboration is a great strength for a trustee to have, it’s not necessary here. Instead, it negatively impacts the effectiveness of the process used previously.
Strengthscope® also notes that stress contributes to overdrive risk. The introduction of something new or unexpected could tip your strengths into overdrive. When under pressure, our strengths can become less helpful. Let’s consider another example from my results:
Resilience: “You deal effectively with setbacks and enjoy overcoming difficult challenges”.
On the trustee board, resilience is important when trustees need to navigate difficult and complex situations. I’m sure we’re all familiar with the everchanging landscape of the pensions industry; there are always new sets of challenges presented to our trustees and pension schemes. Having the strength to deal with these challenges, particularly when a pension scheme is not travelling in the intended direction, ensures that trustees can continue to make the best decisions for members.
But what if we take on too much? I’ve unknowingly put myself into situations where I’ve taken on a difficult challenge. Yes, I might enjoy it and take satisfaction from seeing it through to completion. However, trying to complete too much can have a knock-on effect on my wider work. Recognising that stress from a large workload can tip my strengths into overdrive is vital for ensuring I don’t set myself up for failure. Perhaps here, especially when stress is high, I should draw upon another strength, for instance collaboration.
But how do we avoid overdrive risks, particularly in a trustee board setting?
Strengthscope® offers a few tips on avoiding overdrive risk:
- Recognise when your strengths are at their best and when they’re going too far
- Know your stress triggers and tread carefully in situations which are likely to cause you to be stressed
- Understand your audience and your context. Then choose your strengths accordingly. Some strengths are simply not welcome in some situations. Channel your other strengths in those situations
For me personally, the ability to be able to recognise my strengths and where to apply them is vital for ensuring trustee effectiveness.
Learnings from our team day
After our team day in July, most of my colleagues learned something new about their strengths, with many agreeing that assessing strengths can help create more effective trustee boards.
Understanding the benefits of using Strengthscope® within our business has enabled us to understand how it can help our clients, with 70% of Vidett colleagues believing that the support of Strengthscope will help create more effective trustee boards.
Our unique partnership allows trustee boards to benefit from a scientifically proven strengths-based analysis, with practical application in the world of trusteeship. The real benefits of our joint approach are brought to life in our interactive trustee workshops, which can be delivered by Vidett, with or without attendance by Strengthscope®. Here, we bring together the output from the Strengthscope® analysis, alongside insight from Vidett’s wider board effectiveness assessments, to unlock a trustee board’s peak performance and deliver actionable change for more effective practices.
If you’d like to understand how our partnership with Strengthscope® can benefit your trustee board, please do get in touch.
