When Your Leadership Style Is a Weird Venn Diagram of Hope, Hustle, and Crying in the Bathroom: A Strengths + Values-Based Guide
Let’s be honest. Leadership used to be about who could yell the loudest in meetings and look the most serious while holding a clipboard. But thank goodness we’ve evolved. Mostly.
Welcome to the era of values-driven, strengths-based leadership, where emotional intelligence is sexy, and knowing your CliftonStrengths is basically your Hogwarts house.
Wait, What Is Strengths + Values-Based Leadership?
It’s leadership that starts with you. Who are you? What matters to you? What lights you up inside besides coffee and office memes? It’s about recognizing your strengths, the stuff you’re naturally great at and energized by and using them to lead in a way that’s not just effective, but also not soul-crushing.
Oh, and values? They’re like your internal GPS. Without them, you’re just driving around in circles wondering why you’re always lost and weirdly angry at your GPS voice. “Recalculating… again?”
Why This Isn’t Just Woo-Woo HR Stuff
It’s science, baby. Gallup has data that says when leaders focus on strengths, people are:
6x more engaged at work,
Way less likely to quit,
Plus, when leaders lead with values, they create workplaces where people feel safe, inspired, and slightly less inclined to fantasize about moving to a remote island every Tuesday.
What Strengths-Based Leadership Isn’t:
It’s not about ignoring weaknesses and singing kumbaya.
It’s not just putting “positivity” on a sticky note and calling it coaching.
It’s definitely not about telling everyone they're amazing without ever giving feedback. That’s not leadership, that’s passive-aggressive friendship.
Strengths-based leadership means you recognize what people are great at, and then give them the tools, space, and clarity to do that thing really well without micromanaging them into oblivion.
How Do I Start?
Figure out your strengths. If you're not sure, ask your best friend, your worst boss, and your most honest child. Or take a legit assessment like CliftonStrengths.
Name your values. Not just the aspirational ones that look good on LinkedIn. The real ones. (Like “honesty,” “collaboration,” or “don’t schedule meetings before 9am.”)
Start leading from there. Use your strengths. Protect your values. And don’t try to be the leader you think you should be, but be the one you actually are. Bonus points if you share that with your team. People love leaders who are human. Especially the ones who admit when they’ve had three coffees and still can’t read the budget spreadsheet.
Leadership doesn’t require a cape. Just a little self-awareness, a few great questions, and a commitment to leading from what matters most, your strengths and values.
Let’s build leadership that actually fits the people doing the work. Reach out to book a call and start the conversation.
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