Your leadership style can undermine or propel your business. Thus, it is important to understand your strengths and weaknesses as a leader. But don’t stop there. You must also learn to play up those strengths and work around the weaknesses. We’ve all heard the saying, “people never change,” and you should keep this in mind when considering your weak points. Instead of expending most of your energy on improving your negatives, why not invest in your leadership strengths?

According to a study by the Gallup Organization, the best managers are those that do just that. The study found that leaders who intentionally use their talents get more out of their employees. Further, leaders who understand how their leadership style is perceived, and are able to leverage that style, are most favorably rated.

In order to best figure out what your leadership strengths are, it’s imperative that you take special notice of how employees respond to your needs and requests. Are you a commanding leader, whose presence dominates the office? Does conversation stop when you enter the room? Or do your employees see you as more of a collaborative leader—one who easily integrates themselves into the fabric of the workplace? Are you a verbally positive leader, who always has a word of praise? Or are you uncomfortable expressing praise to your employees, and prefer instead to reward high performance with financial incentives?

When you understand your leadership strengths you’ll be better equipped to devise strategies that shore up your less-developed talents and protect your business from being short-changed by your shortcomings. This will help develop a positive work environment where employees’ develop faith in your ability as a leader and—most importantly––cultivate their own strengths.

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