By Jonathan H. Westover, PhD
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Abstract: This article explores why talented individuals frequently fail to fully utilize their innate strengths in their work despite years spent developing skills and abilities. Several reasons for strengths underutilization are examined based on research evidence. A key factor is the paradox between skills, which can be expanded through training and experience, versus immutable strengths that energize individuals. Additionally, rigid job descriptions and misalignment between individual strengths and organizational cultures that reward other attributes over talents hinder strengths application. Barriers like the difficulty of strengths development and lack of a shared strengths language are also discussed. Practical recommendations are provided for activating strengths through individual reflection, leadership support, and building an organizational strengths culture. The article aims to spark meaningful changes enabling every person to optimize their inborn talents daily through a concerted, multi-level strengths focus.
As a management consultant with experience helping organizations maximize their human potential, one of the most surprising patterns I've seen is how frequently talented individuals fail to fully utilize their innate strengths. While individuals spend years nurturing their skills and abilities, seeking out opportunities to develop and showcase their talents, too often these strengths go underleveraged, even dormant, in their day-to-day work. Having closely studied this phenomenon across various industries, I've identified some key reasons why so many gifted professionals struggle to consistently apply their strengths on the job.
Today we will explore the research behind strengths underutilization and share practical insights for how organizations and leaders can promote a strengths-focused culture where every person's talents are optimized.
The Paradox of Skill Versus Strength
A central factor contributing to strengths underuse is what researchers call the "paradox of skill versus strength" (Roberts et al., 2005). Simply put, while people tend to develop many skills over time through training and experience, their innate talents--or strengths--are more fixed. Research consistently shows only a small handful of strengths truly come naturally to each individual (Bakker & Heuven, 2006). However, in school and previous jobs, individuals are conditioned to continually expand their skillsets instead of focusing first on their top strengths. As a result, entering the workforce, people often have an impressive roster of skills but lack clarity on their unique strengths that energize them and enable top performance.
Without a strengths lens, organizations also fail to recognize the nuanced difference between skills and strengths. In performance reviews and promotion decisions, "competency" becomes equated solely with expansive and diverse skills. So professionals feel constant pressure to continuously learn new skills instead of optimizing existing strengths. Overreliance on skills can obscure one's true talents from both self and others. Without a way to recognize and leverage their differentiating strengths, people struggle to find energizing roles where they can apply their strengths each day.
The Conservatism of Job Descriptions
A related barrier is the traditional conservatism of most job descriptions and responsibilities (Linley et al., 2010). Roles tend to be narrowly prescribed around a standardized set of required skills, responsibilities, and key performance indicators. While flexibility exists in practice, on paper job roles stay quite rigid. Therefore, individuals struggle to shape roles around applying their unique strengths instead of checking off standardized skill and task requirements.
Even more gifted professionals willing to push boundaries face resistance to deviations from written job norms. Thus, roles fail to accommodate diverse strengths that could energize employees and boost performance if leveraged creatively within the scope of work. Instead, weekly tasks pull focus toward checklists of to-dos versus energizing work through one's strengths each day. This paradox where innate strengths go underused yet expanding skills get hyper-focused reinforces itself over time as roles become further optimized for extant skills, not emerging strengths.
Misalignment of Strengths with Organizational Culture
Research also indicates a persistent disconnect between individuals' innate strengths and the emphases rewarded most within their organizational cultures (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). In my experience consulting with Fortune 500 companies across sectors, this misalignment significantly contributes to strengths underutilization. Strengths like creativity, empathy, and courage attract more lip service than active support systems in most cultures.
Instead, risk-aversion, short-term thinking, and political adeptness commonly hold more currency within ingrained cultural norms (Hougaard & Carter, 2018). While necessary for success in certain contexts, overemphasizing these attributes encourages playing it safe versus innovating through strengths. A finance professional with a gift for fostering collaboration may find their interpersonal strengths offer few real advantages or clear career paths in a results-driven, individualistic culture. This misalignment fundamentally obscures which strengths matter most, discouraging application of some natural talents daily.
The Challenge of Strengths Development
Even when aware of their innate strengths, research shows how challenging true strengths development remains for professionals (Bouskila-Yam & Kluger, 2011). While skills grow through clear training milestones, nurturing strengths requires ongoing experimentation without a set playbook. Strengths also evolve dependent on life stage and role changes versus remaining fixed. Therefore, it takes significant introspection and feedback over years to learn how best to apply strengths impactfully in daily work.
Additionally, real strengths growth hinges upon self-awareness of existing strengths and limitations, yet egos often preclude such vulnerable reflection (Hodges & Clifton, 2004). It's easier to keep expanding skills outward versus looking inward at intrinsic talents. Organizations also seldom provide structured strengths development support beyond annual performance reviews prioritizing skills. Thus, even when aware of their strengths, individuals struggle to stretch beyond competency without developmental guidance catered to strengths. All of these challenges inherently stymie consistent application of innate talents day-to-day.
The Lack of Strengths Language
Finally, the research suggests how our very strengths vocabulary falls short in cultivating a strengths mindset (Quinn, 2005). While skill labels convey competence, most strength labels sound abstract and lack common definition - concepts like creativity, social intelligence, perseverance. This ambiguity understandably puts individuals and cultures off from talking, setting goals and providing feedback around strengths on an ongoing basis. Inaction itself reinforces obscurity around how to consciously leverage strengths in measurable ways.
Without a shared strengths language, skills talking prevails as the easy default at work. Yet skills discussions fail to tap into the intrinsic motivation fueled by focusing daily work around natural talents. This lack of strengths fluency creates a self-reinforcing cycle distancing strengths from regular discourse, decision-making and development support within organizations. The strengths concepts risk theoretical appreciation without practical translation into everyday strengths application through clear dialog.
Taking Action to Activate Strengths
Evidently, overcoming these deep-rooted strengths underutilization dynamics demands concerted effort across individual, leadership and organizational levels. However, research indicates some promising approaches for activating people's inherent talents through a strengths-focused culture shift.
Individual Level
On an individual level, getting clarity on strengths requires dedicated self-reflection using validated assessment tools like the Values in Action Survey (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). It also means cultivating strengths awareness daily by correlating energizing experiences with underlying talents used. From there, seek strengths-based developmental experiences over skills trainings whenever possible. Also, advocate respectfully for reshaping aspects of your role to better channel intrinsic strengths versus skills alone.
Leadership Level
At a leadership level, promote individual strengths discovery then provision of individualized strengths development plans tied to goals. Shift performance discussions from skills to energizing strengths application and impact. Promote strength-sharing across teams to increase fluency. Adjust aspects of work design and culture to better incentivize and support diverse strengths versus a narrow set of skills or attributes. Continually learn about new research insights into optimizing strengths and apply proactively.
Organizational Level
Organizationally, commit long-term to building strengths fluency across all people processes using a common strengths language and framework. Incorporate strengths explicitly into values, goals, job profiles and norms of recognition. Make ongoing strengths reflection and development as routine as skills training. Back all of this with structures empowering grassroots strengths experimentation and solutions. Continually gauge progress through strengths-focused metrics and impact stories versus defaulting to skills or outputs alone.
Conclusion
Through my experiences working with organizations and extensive review of the literature, one truth has become clear - wherever people's inherent strengths lie underutilized, both human potential and organizational performance suffer needlessly as a result. However, with dedicated effort across individual, leadership and cultural spheres, focusing first on strengths holds tremendous promise for engaging people intrinsically while boosting innovation, resilience and results. While challenging, actively cultivating a true strengths culture seems one of the highest-leverage opportunities available to organizations in today's volatile climate. I hope these insights into why strengths get overlooked spark meaningful reflections and actions within your own context towards optimizing every person's inborn talents every day.
References
Bakker, A. B., & Heuven, E. (2006). Emotional dissonance, burnout, and in-role performance among nurses and police officers. International Journal of Stress Management, 13(4), 423–440. https://doi.org/10.1037/1072-5245.13.4.423
Bouskila-Yam, O., & Kluger, A. N. (2011). Strength-based performance appraisal and goal setting. Human Resource Management Review, 21(2), 137–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2010.09.001
Hodges, T. D., & Clifton, D. O. (2004). Strengths-based development in practice. In P. A. Linley & S. Joseph (Eds.), Positive psychology in practice (pp. 256–268). John Wiley & Sons.
Hougaard, R., & Carter, J. (2018). The mind of the leader: How to lead yourself, your people, and your organization for extraordinary results. Harvard Business Review Press.
Linley, P. A., Willars, J., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). The strengths book. Cappio.
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Oxford University Press.
Quinn, R. E. (2005). Moments of greatness. Harvard Business Review, 83(7/8), 74–81, 127.
Roberts, L. M., Dutton, J. E., Spreitzer, G. M., Heaphy, E. D., & Quinn, R. E. (2005). Composing the reflected best-self portrait: Building pathways for becoming extraordinary in work organizations. Academy of Management Review, 30(4), 712–736. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2005.18378874
Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.
Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2024). Strength Underutilization: Why Talented People Don't Use Their Strengths. Human Capital Leadership Review, 12(4). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.12.4.8
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