2023 was an exciting and transformative journey as, amongst other things, we rolled out the Strengths Profile assessment tool across the Action Hampshire team. Today, I want to share with you the story of this endeavour – the highs, the learnings, and the positive impact it’s had on our team so far.
As the CEO of Action Hampshire, navigating the challenges of running a 72-year-old organisation amidst a sea of funding cuts and rising community needs has been both daunting and invigorating. As any leader will I’m sure agree, our team of incredibly passionate individuals are the very heart of our organisational mission to strengthen and connect voluntary/community/social enterprise leaders, promote community-led action, and champion diversity. The team played a pivotal role in shaping our new strategy, including completing a staff survey in December 2022 which shed light on areas we needed to address to better support the tean, particularly in ensuring our team members felt valued and and had space to apply their unique skills and abilities.
Recognising the engagement and performance impacts that would come from fostering a culture where individuals spend most of their time doing what they excel at, we embarked on a quest to find a tool that would help us establish a common language around strengths. After testing various options, we decided to embrace the Strengths Profile tool. Its evidence-based approach, broad set of strengths, and unique focus on energy resonated with us.
In April 2023, I took on the challenge of becoming a Level 1 Strengths Profile Accredited practitioner. Armed with the knowledge and enthusiasm, we began the roll-out, starting with individual profiles and debriefs for managers in May and extending to the entire team between July and October. Each team member had a personalised 1-1 session with me, fostering self-awareness and understanding of their unique strengths. These opportunities to meet 1-1 with each member of my team, solely focused on their strengths, was such a valuable way to spend my time as a CEO.
The real magic happened in November when we dedicated half of our autumn team away day to team activities that explored our Team Strengths Profile and how our Strengths Profiles complemented one another.
A recent survey we conducted reflects the significant impact Strengths Profiles have had on our team dynamics. Before the assessments, team members rated their understanding of their own strengths at an average of 3.75 out of 6. After the personalised sessions, this increased to an incredible 5.06 out of 6. The power of self-awareness became evident as individuals discovered and embraced their strengths.
Before the away day, understanding of colleagues’ strengths scored an average of 2.93 out of 6. Afterward, it rose to 4 out of 6. The positive feedback we received was music to my ears – team members felt empowered, positive, and refreshed. Most found the tool instrumental for personal development, fostering self-awareness, and enhancing team planning and effectiveness.
However, our journey is not without its challenges. The survey surfaced lingering questions and areas where more understanding is needed. Team members expressed a desire for ongoing practical application of the tool to their work, a desire to understand the variability of strengths profiles over time, and some continue to struggle with the idea of focusing development on strengths over weaknesses.
The feedback guides our ongoing efforts. As I eagerly await the results of our next staff survey, scheduled for the end of January, we remain committed to improvement. Two new team members joining in January will experience the transformative power of Strengths Profiles, and I will implement focused discussions with individual project teams in the new year as well.
In the spirit of continuous improvement, we’re also exploring ways to address strength gaps in our team during recruitment, ensuring a harmonious blend of talents and increasing the diversity of thought and practice in our team. Our journey with the Strengths Profile tool is far from over, and we’re excited to see how it will continue to shape and elevate the incredible work we do at Action Hampshire.
Thank you for being a part of our journey as we empower our team and community through the strengths that make us unique! Stay tuned for more updates on our adventure of self-discovery and growth.
P.S. This blog was (mostly) written by AI! Can you believe it? Took me 10 mins – which is a life-line as a busy CEO. If you’re interested in a workshop for VCSE organisation on how to harness the power of AI (or of Strengths Profiles) give us a shout at info@actionhampshire.org and tell them the robot sent you!! (just kidding, this bit was actually written by me)
For views on AI, please contact caroline.addy@actionhampshire.org
