Page 95 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE WHY OF WORK

5. Connect Both Personal and Organizational Identities
with the Needs of Customers and Investors

How does a leader make sure that the fit between the indi-
vidual and the organization also fits with customers and
investors?
Fit for service does not just mean that individuals work
well within their organizations but that there is a match
between the employee inside and the organization’s stake-
holders outside. In the management literature the mantra
“build on your strengths” has gained quite a bit of atten-
tion. When leaders help individuals shape their identity,
clarify the organization’s capabilities, and match individual
strengths with organization capabilities, employees build on
their strengths. But fully leveraging those strengths requires
using those strengths to strengthen or serve others.
The movie The Bucket List reports the ancient Egyptian
belief that the gatekeepers of heaven ask new arrivals two
questions about their lives on earth: (1) Did you find joy in
life? (2) Did your life bring joy to others? The first question
is about building on your strengths—necessary but not suf-
ficient. The second question shifts the focus of joy to helping
others find it—building our strengths that strengthen others.
We can see the importance of turning personal strengths
into value for others with a personal example. In college,
Dave majored in English and developed a knack for reading
novels. Even today, he can read two or three novels a week—
what a strength! But few people care about his novel-reading
strength. He can’t make much of a living exercising this
strength. His strength doesn’t bring joy to anyone but him-
self. What others want from Dave is his ability to analyze

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