Page 97 - Appreciative Leadership

70 Appreciative Leadership

Leadership turns potential into positive power and points the way to
sustainable high performance.
Strengths spotting may help people move on to other jobs that are
more suited to their strengths. Early in her career Mary learned this
lesson from a sales director at a major computer company. He called

saying he could not meet in her office because he had lent his car to

an employee for a job interview, and he asked Mary if she would mind
driving to his offi ce. When she arrived, she learned the full story. He
had a brilliant young engineer working for him who really wanted
out of sales. An engineering position opened up at a customer’s site,
and he immediately sent the young man and a strong letter of recom-
mendation to interview for the position. His belief was that a happy
employee elsewhere would be better than an unhappy employee on
his team. Not only did he know that the young man’s strengths were
a much better fit at the customer’s site than on his sales force but he

also felt certain that this young man could one day become a valued
customer.

This lesson was reinforced during the focus groups we conducted.
Repeatedly people said that the best leaders they knew were ones
who helped people match their skills, abilities, and strengths to jobs.
Appreciative Leadership helps people put their strengths to work.

One of our warehouse managers was going to college for a
degree in engineering. He was smart and people oriented.
We decided to give him a “CALIPER PROFILE.” Th e results
were striking. According to the testing company, he had great
potential to be a fabulous engineer. We encouraged him to

finish his degree, which he did easily. When he graduated, he
got a job at Lockheed Martin. Today he is on their executive
team. Good leadership helps people find their strengths and

determines where best to use them—even when it means they
leave your organization.