Cultivating potential in others: the CliftonStrength of developer
When my friend, Jenn, hired Jon as an intern for her small business, she figured it would be a good experience for both of them. Jon would have something to add to his resume and she’d get help running social media platforms, which took a lot of her time.
Jon showed initiative right off the bat, making suggestions and helping her think about new strategies. What she didn’t expect was how much she’d enjoy helping him continue to develop his own skills and training him on new aspects of the business-side of social media. It wasn’t just that he was helping her, she realized. She derived great satisfaction from helping him progress professionally, too.
Jenn has the CliftonStrength of Developer, which means she’s good at recognizing and cultivating potential in others—not just Jon. It’s no coincidence that she hired a fairly inexperienced intern for this task. Developers are drawn to people who have the capacity to grow and they love to be a part of that development. When they help others realize success, they feel like they’ve succeeded, too.
Getting The Most From An Employee With The CliftonStrength Of Developer
Employees with the CliftonStrength of Developer tend to look for ways to encourage co-workers, to help them grow professionally, and to be patient as they help them develop their skills.
They’ll perform best for your company when you assign them to roles that tap this genuine desire to help others achieve. For example, they often excel as:
Mentors. If you can pair them with less experienced employees, they’ll enjoy nurturing them as they progress in their career.
Instructors. Developers make great leaders for introducing new products to current employees or teaching new employees the ropes. They function especially well in one-on-one scenarios.
Customer Service Representatives. Because they like to help others, they’re well-suited to a customer service role.
Human Resources Representatives. There are many ways these employees can shine in various human resource positions, including running programs that recognize and reward employee achievement.
Leaders. As strong mentors and teachers, these employees can be excellent in leadership roles, depending on their other top CliftonStrengths.
These aren’t the only roles people with the CliftonStrength of Developer are good at, of course. While they’ll often thrive in roles like these, their other top CliftonStrengths will influence the roles in which they’ll be most effective and successful.
In addition to encouraging others, Developers also appreciate being recognized for helping others. They’ll appreciate it if, from time to time, you applaud their efforts to continually boost others’ performance.
A word of caution: Developers don’t like to give up on anyone. They see small, incremental improvements as a “win,” and may continue to encourage an employee who consistently underperforms. Be aware that an employee without much drive could take advantage of the situation and not attempt to develop in any significant way.
Focus On The Work! Potential For Conflict With The Developer
While an employee with the CliftonStrength of Developer is fantastic at helping other employees improve their skill set, sometimes this trait can be perceived as only focusing on people doing the work and not actually doing any work!
Employees who have the CliftonStrength of Achiever, in particular, are intent on getting work done. They want to do more, achieve more, and accomplish something every single day. They thrive on completing tasks.
As such, they can view the Developer’s time encouraging others as not working, not completing tasks, and not doing anything productive.
Similarly, someone with the CliftonStrength of Maximizer wants to continually promote excellence. They’re not interested in mediocrity. Like the Developer, they can see the potential in others but, rather than mentoring and celebrating incremental improvements, Maximizers want to see first-rate results. They prefer working with and for others who also strive for the best.
Clearly, having an Achiever or Maximizer on the same team with a Developer leaves room for conflict. The key, as their manager, is to put them into roles that make the best use of their strengths. It’s critical to communicate with them so they understand that each of them contribute to the bottom line in very different ways.
When they recognize what each strength brings to the table, they’ll be able to better appreciate one another’s roles in your organization.
Making The Most Of Every Employee’s Strengths
At Millennial Guru, we care about people, productivity, and profit. We understand that in order for your business to achieve maximum results, you need to fully utilize the strengths of your most important resource: your employees.
By using CliftonStrengths to help your team understand their own and their co-workers’ strengths – and how to best use them at work – we can help your employees work more efficiently and more productively, optimizing results for you.
Contact us today to schedule a free, no-commitment meeting with Millennial Guru. We’d love to explain how our practical application workshops teach your employees how to maximize performance based on their natural talents and strengths, leading to increased team cohesiveness and better business outcomes.