Strength Based Approach - The art of creating the best engineering teams

As a leader managing teams of engineers, one of my main priority is to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each engineer so that I can put together teams that not only delivers great software but also have team members who learn and grow in the process. I learnt a very valuable lesson about managing software engineers very early on in my career and that is, a good leader, is one who is able to take the strengths of different team members and have the ability to meld it and create a beautiful team much like a mosaic.I call it the "Strength Maximization Framework" or Strengths based approach to team building.

In this approach, every team member has areas in which they are strong and areas where they are not. Strength based approach doesn't dismiss team members because they have areas of weakness. Instead, it focuses on finding the right place and opportunity for them to shine based on their strengths. A good leader will focus on building a team that maximizes their strengths and provides both the team member and the team chances to succeed.

The best way to go about creating a team founded on strength based approach is to develop a solid understanding of the team members strengths particularly in three areas:

1. Problem solving quotient
2. Motivation
3. Willingness to learn and adapt

Let me explain each in detail:

Problem solving quotient: As an engineer, it is essential to have the skill to analyze a problem, generate alternatives and determine solutions. In the field of software engineering, problem solving quotient manifests in both narrow and broad ways. By this, I mean that it is possible to find engineers who have excellent problem solving skills in particular technologies or domains and see it not translate to other areas. A leader using the strength maximization framework would take care to understand if the team member's problem solving quotient is broad or narrow and provide appropriate opportunities to them that allows them to contribute effectively.

Motivation: This is a very wide field and tomes have been written about intrinsic as well as extrinsic motivation. As a leader, it is important to know what drives each team member. Are they motivated to be a knowledge expert and to be recognized by their peers? Are they motivated to work on a project that expects to deliver value but doesn't use the latest and greatest technologies? Or is working on the bleeding edge of technology what drives them? Matching team members to projects based on their motivation is one sure way to ensure engagement.

Willingness to learn and adapt: Similar to motivation and problem solving quotient, willingness to learn and adapt also manifests in multiple dimensions and is closely related to motivation. Someone who is motivated to work at the bleeding edge of technology is most likely inclined to learn technologies and figure out solutions. Team members who are more motivated by delivering value are more likely to stick with proven technologies (even if they are outdated). Some times, team members with excellent problem solving quotient in one technology domain may feel threatened or refuse to learn new technologies or domains. In a strength based approach to team building, this is perfectly OK. It is the responsibility of the leader to find the right fit for the team member.

Applying the Strength maximization framework in practice.

Now for the fun part. Think carefully about your team members. Evaluate how they rank for each of the above mentioned strengths. Use a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest. Your team members will fall in any of the below categories.

Dream Teamers: Team members who score high in all three dimensions. What's not to love? They have the problem solving skills you are looking for, you understand how to motivate them and they are also willing to learn new skills. As a leader, assign these individuals to your greatest opportunities.

Old Timers: Team members who score high in the problem solving quotient and motivation but are hesitant to learn new things be they technology or business fundamentals. Old timers does not imply the people are old, it is just a way to indicate their lack of desire to learn things that they are not familiar with.As a leader, find places in your organization which are best fit for their problem solving skills. Sometimes, these folks may be the best fit to solve some of your greatest problems.Be honest with them about their growth potential if those projects are not where your organization is growing and investing in.

Farm Teamers: Team members who are highly motivated and love to learn new skills be they technology or business but may not yet be experts or have honed their problem solving skills - neither broadly or in a narrow way. As a leader, invest heavily in these team members, use their motivation to enable them to develop their problem solving skills. Pair farm teamers with old timers to hone their problem solving chops but make sure you feed their thirst to learn and grow.

Tiger Teamers: Team members who have narrow or broad problem solving skills and are willing to continue to develop these skills but may not be particularly motivated by the specific project they are in. As a leader, find opportunities in your organization where their skills can be used. Work hard to understand what makes them tick. Pair them with old timers who are also experts and are also motivated and see if they can rub off on each other. Use tiger teamers to help build up farm teamers.

One note, for simplicity, this article assumes that most people have at least couple of medium to strong over lapping strengths. Strength based approach will still work for individuals who have very lopsided strengths, however, I reserve the right to discuss that in another article.

Conclusion: Every one who has the right attitude has a place in an organization. Identifying team members strengths and weaknesses and providing them the right opportunities enables mutual success and growth.

This article is dedicated to Susan Jesseman and Christopher J McCarthy. Two leaders who embodied the strength based approach in their leadership.

Notes: The phrase "Strength Maximization framework" is meant a little bit as a lark. It is not meant to imply anything serious. In one of his early interviews, Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos was asked what his philosophy in life was and he joked that it was "Regret minimization framework" and that it cannot be a philosophy without the word framework in it.

I use the word "old timers". I don't mean it in a way to indicate that these people are old. I knew plenty of 20 somethings who refuse to pick up a different technology just because they are so comfortable in what they know.