Strength-Based Leadership Coaching in Organizations: An Evidence-Based Guide to Positive Leadership Development

by Doug MacKie

Positive organizational psychology, with its focus on the identification and development of strengths, is a natural ally to executive development and leadership coaching. However, this approach is only just beginning to come to the attention of organizations and consequently, the research base for strength-based coaching is in its early stages of development. Strength-Based Leadership Coaching in Organizations reviews strength-based approaches to positive leadership development and evaluates the evidence for their effectiveness, critically assesses their apparent distinctiveness and considers how strengths can be reliably assessed and developed in their organizational context.

Strength-Based Leadership Coaching in Organizations reviews key areas of leader and team development and describes a model of strengths development in organizations. It discusses the application of strength-based leadership coaching from the managerial and external perspective within the context of career stage, seniority, role challenges and organizational need in order to facilitate meaningful change. Finally, it covers the limitations of the strength-based approach to leadership development together with the challenges of integrating positive leadership development. It shows exactly what a strengths focus is and that there is increasing evidence that this approach does get results. Where other books focus on one model of identifying strengths, this book offers a balanced and critical examination, showing how to apply a positive strength-based approach.

Genres: Leadership, Nonfiction, Business

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Ryan Barretto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book that covers the genesis of leadership development in fair detail. The author has researched the book in real depth. The book also tells us which leadership models this approach can be incorporated.

I like how there are chapters about the theories, the uses and the dangers / pitfalls of strengths based leadership development, and how to manage these pitfalls.

Every chapter has a huge bibliography. I wish he had created a cheat sheet for the acronyms, as it became difficult for me to remember them all.

Strongly recommend this book for Strengths coaches, Trainers, Organization Development professionals and those who want to explore this exciting domain.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Items of Note:
* Strengths are potentials for excellence that can be cultivated through enhanced awareness, accessibility, and effort.
* When a strength is overdone or applied in the wrong organizational context, it ceases to be an asset and can quickly become a performance derailer.
* Through focusing on a proven strength-based approach, leaders may more regularly inspire others, find their passions and deliver sustainable performance outcomes.

[W P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turgid and self promoting with caveats citations and lacking practical or actionable advice or methods.

[Darren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Making your company stronger through the use of positive organizational psychology and strength-based leadership is the core aim of this book, building on mainstream executive development and coaching. It is a relatively new approach that seems to be gaining traction in many quarters.

The book could have done with a further trip to the editor; since despite covering a fairly technical subject it just did not seem to flow like a typical Kogan Page book. It stutters and weaves its way around the subject, forcing the patience of the reader who might not be necessarily sold on the subject or deeply aware of its intricacies. The potential is there, yet it felt as if it was just out of reach. (Disclosure: this was a pre-release copy of the book but the problems referred to are more structural in nature than the occasional typo or formatting issue).

Despite all the resources thrown at the management level, the vast majority of managers leave a lot to be desired. They assume the power of their voice alone is sufficient to lead, inspire and enthuse, when in far too many cases it has the opposite effect. So much potential is wasted, both within management and further down the chain, all due to poor or non-existent leadership. It is not as if money is not repeatedly thrown at the problem, with studies estimating that over USD50 billion each year is invested in the United States alone for leadership development, yet evidence to suggest that things are working like a well-oiled machine is noticeable by its absence. Anything that can improve on this lot, encouraging and developing existing resources by focussing on strengths and positive attributes is surely a good thing; if the head-in-the-sand executive level will just acknowledge it.

It is regrettable that the message is probably going to be lost on the typical reader. The book is effectively impenetrable. Even the more enlightened leader who may grudgingly admit that they can improve on matters is going to struggle here. The typical manager or leader who believes he (or she) can do no wrong and they know everything will, even if they were bold enough to open the book, will soon close it again and move on, convinced that they don’t need “sh-t like this” when they can’t even get past the first few pages without wondering what the heck they have stumbled upon, but they know it is not for them in its current form.

That, sadly, is a great shame. High hopes existed for this book, yet they have not been realised, at least for this reader.

[Valerie Ott]

DNF. I hated this book.
It was so research based that it was very difficult to translate it to practical application. Research is always valuable, but this book was dull, drone, and not worth it.