Laurie Baedke (00:16)
Well, hello and welcome to another episode of the Growth Edge Leadership Podcast. I am your host, Laurie Baedke, and I am so excited to dig into another solo episode, this one inspired by my coaching work. If you've been listening to my podcast or following my work for any length of time, you know that I am unapologetically strengths-based. I believe deeply in leveraging what's right with people, not obsessing over what's wrong. And yet,
If we misunderstand strengths-based leadership, we can unintentionally derail ourselves with the very talents that build our success. Today, I want to explore that tension, to dig into the reality. The truth is, your strengths are absolutely your greatest asset. But if unmanaged, they can also become a significant liability.
Let me start with a pattern I see often in my executive coaching practice. A leader gets promoted because they are decisive. They're clear. They're confident, very, very action oriented. Perhaps Command is in their top five. They are known as the person who can cut through the noise. Six months later, the feedback sounds like this. You move too fast. You don't listen long enough. People feel shut down. Same strength.
different impact. Another leader gets promoted because they're collaborative, calm, steady, excellent at keeping the team aligned. Harmony is in their top five. They're known as the person who can bring people together. But down the road, occasionally feedback starts to sound like this. You avoid hard conversations. Occasionally conflict lingers too long. We're unclear on where you actually stand or where we stand with you.
Same strength, different impact. This isn't about weakness, it's about overextension. In fact, research published in the consulting psychology journal by Kaiser and Overfield examined what they call lopsided leadership. Their findings were clear. Managers tend to overdo behaviors related to their strengths and underdo complimentary behaviors, not occasionally, but consistently. So the issue is, it's not...
that we don't have strengths. It's that we lean on them too heavily, especially under pressure. Gallup's research surrounding their well-known CliftonStrengths assessment teaches us that talents are patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior. But I want you to consider this. Strengths are not just patterns. They're lenses. They shape what we notice, what we value, what we reward.
what irritates us, and so much more. If you lead with Activator, you value movement. If you lead with Achiever, you might value productivity. If you lead with Relator, it's likely that you value trust. And if you lead with Focus, you probably value clarity. And when those values get violated, we can occasionally be triggered.
Let me use myself as an example. My top five are Activator, Focus, Relator, Achiever, and Futuristic. If I'm in a meeting where there is endless discussion and no decision, my Activator can get really restless. If priorities shift repeatedly without explanation, my Focus tightens. If trust feels breached, my Relator can withdraw or rile.
If progress stalls, my Achiever probably gets intense. Under stress, we don't default to our weaknesses. We default to the immature version of our strengths. And that's where derailment can emerge. Not because we lack talent, but because we perhaps lack good awareness.
In my coaching relationships and retreats, I use an exercise called Balconies and Basements. Every CliftonStrengths talent theme has both an up and a downside. The balcony is the mature, healthy, productive expression of the theme. The basement is the overused or misapplied, immature version. A few examples. For Adaptability,
The balcony is flexibility, responsiveness. The basement can be scattered or distracted. The Command theme at its best on the balcony looks decisive and confident. In the basement, it can be domineering or dismissive. Achievers' balcony, driven, productive. Achievers' basement, workaholic, impatient. The key insight is this. The strength didn't change. Its intensity did.
And context determines impact.
Kaiser's research reinforces this. It's not just that we overuse strengths. It's that we simultaneously underuse complementary behaviors. If you're highly decisive, you may underuse curiosity. If you're highly responsible, you may underuse delegation. If you're highly strategic, you may underuse operational discipline. That imbalance creates lopsided leadership.
Let's think of our leaders we mentioned earlier, high Command and high Harmony. Command in the balcony looks like providing clarity, making tough calls, instilling confidence during uncertainty. But in the basement, Command can crowd out collaboration, rush alignment, and silence quieter contributors. And here's the nuance. The leader still values progress.
But in complex environments, leadership requires shared ownership, not just swift direction. Harmony in the balcony looks like diffusing tension, building consensus, and creating psychological safety. But in the basement, Harmony can delay necessary decisions, suppress dissent, and prioritize discomfort over clarity. And here's the nuance. The leader still values alignment.
But in complex environments, leadership requires productive tension, not just peace.
Here's another layer. When we over identify with our strengths, we can be guilty of rewarding sameness. If I value speed, I may undervalue reflection. If I value confidence, I may mistake quiet thoughtfulness for a lack of readiness. If I value independence, I may label collaboration as an inefficiency. That's not intentional bias, but it is still bias.
We mistake difference for deficiency and high performing teams suffer when diversity of thought is filtered through one dominant lens. Very commonly, when leaders receive their CliftonStrengths report in a coaching relationship or retreat, they often stroll straight down to the bottom to the weaknesses or less dominant themes. How do I fix these? They want to know. Gallup's philosophy is clear.
Excellence comes from leveraging strengths, not obsessing over weaknesses. And I agree, but there is also nuance. Here it is. Your bottom five are usually not your biggest risk. The basement of your top five is. That's where leaders are equally or perhaps more likely to derail themselves. So let's expand on this conversation and find some new research to expand how we look at it.
I found a study from the Center for Creative Leadership that talks about something they call heat experiences. Heat experiences are moments where we feel stretched, uncomfortable, operating outside of our default wiring, but not overwhelmed. It is the learning sweet spot. Strengths make you competent, heat makes you versatile, and senior leadership requires range. If your wiredness
If your wiring is boldness, your heat may be restraint. If your wiring is Harmony, your heat may be productive conflict. If your wiring is analysis, your heat may be decisive action. Growth rarely happens in comfort. I will share another personal example. Includer.
is a theme that sits very low in my profile, second to the bottom. That means I don't naturally scan the room to ensure every voice is heard. That doesn't mean I don't care. It means that it's just not instinctive for me. When I'm facilitating a session, my Activator wants movement. My Focus wants clarity. My Achiever wants progress. And in that energy, it's possible for me to unintentionally prioritize momentum over broad participation.
So instead of pretending I have Includer when I don't, I do a couple of things. First, I slow myself down intentionally. I build in structured pauses, asking, who haven't we heard from yet? Not because it's automatic, but because it's important. And second, this is critical, I strategically partner.
If I'm working with a co-facilitator or a senior team member who naturally leads with Includer or Empathy, I'll ask them ahead of time. Help me to watch the room. If I miss someone, pull us back. That's not weakness. That's orchestration. Strong leaders aren't necessarily well-rounded, but strong teams are. I don't need to manufacture a talent I don't have. I need to be aware where I'm thin.
and we are all thin in particular places. We need to design systems to compensate for that and then surround myself with complimentary strengths or accountability partners. So as we think about how to apply these framings, let me give you three steps to help you to put it into motion. First, identify a basement pattern. Ask yourself, when I'm stressed, what intensifies?
What feedback do I tend to hear repeatedly? And which behavior might I be overusing? Don't defend it, just name it. Second, identify a complementary behavior. What is the opposite but equally valuable behavior? If you over-direct, practice inquiry or curiosity. If you overwork, practice delegation. If you avoid conflict, practice candor.
If you overanalyze, practice decisiveness. Balance is not about abandoning a strength, it's about expanding your range. And third, invite accountability. This is the maturity move. Disclose your growth edges to a trusted colleague. For example, hey, when I get stressed, I know and you know, I probably become overly directive. If you see that happening, slow me down or tap me on the shoulder or
If meetings stall, I know I tend to push too hard. Help me to pause or teach me how I can engage differently and better. This builds trust. It normalizes growth and it creates cover for human moments. That is coachability in action. So I will leave you with this. Your strengths created your success, but unmanaged or unaware, they can limit your impact.
The goal is not to dilute your power, it's to discipline it. Kaiser and Overfield warned us about lopsided leadership. The Center for Creative Leadership reminds us that growth requires heat. And Gallup's research reminds us that excellence comes from what we do naturally. The integration of all three? Self-awareness, intentional and mature regulation.
and accountability. So this week, ask yourself, where am I overly comfortable? What strength might I be overusing? What heat experience could stretch me? Or who can help me to grow? Strengths create power. Balance creates wisdom. And wisdom is what sustains leadership over time. I'm rooting for you, my friend.
