By Scot Kersgaard, JVA Consulting

Strength-based management, or leadership is the radical new idea that people are more effective and businesses are more likely to thrive if people do what they are good at.

Yes, it’s touchy-feely. Yes, the idea has been around awhile. We’ve all seen coffee cups inscribed “do what you love, the money will follow.”

Maybe life really is that simple.

Sure, it is important that first graders be taught to read, and to add 2 + 2, and to get along with each other, and that George Washington is the father of the country. After all, no one is going to become good at something if they haven’t been introduced to it.

It might even make sense to make science majors take a few humanities courses etc. Being well-rounded is never bad.

What about in the workplace? Practically every office has people in it who struggle at certain tasks that others excel at. As long as people enjoy the things they excel at, shouldn’t they be encouraged to do more of those things and less of the things that cause them to hit their heads on hard things?

I was a freelance writer for years. I had many clients ask if I could also do design and layout work. My answer was always the same, that I would be happy to do that for them, but that they could probably find someone faster, better, and less expensive. Most of them took the clue.

Most of us know what we are good at, and what causes us to go brain dead. Too often, though, we take the good with the bad simply because “it is part of the job.”

Certainly in many small offices, including nonprofits, people have to wear multiple hats. In terms of job classifications, it makes perfect sense to have one person responsible for writing, design, photography, social media, web management and media relations. The org chart is much cleaner and easier to follow when you do it that way. But what if the HR director can knock out a beautiful compelling PowerPoint in the time it takes the writer to open a new document? What if the development director is the best writer in the house? What if the administrative assistant is a social media magician?

Maybe the organization and the people in it will all function better if the job titles become more fluid and people are encouraged to get better at the things they are already good at. What if we recognize that some people–no matter how hard they try–will never be any good at some of the things in their job descriptions?

What if you could come to a JVA training on Thursday  to learn how to use strength-based strategies to grow and improve your organization, all while improving employee morale and productivity?

We’d love to see you Thursday.