Class Meeting 6:
Reflection Essay
(Please note you will need to read the Strengths-Based
Leadership book to complete this assignment.)
1. “What great leaders have in common is that each truly
knows his or her strengths…” (Rath &
Conchie, 2008). List your top five strengths as determined
by the StrengthsFinder 2.0. Do
you agree with this assessment? Why or why not? For example,
which of the five describes
you best? Is there one that surprised you? Are you currently
in a job that utilizes your
strengths? Explain.
2. Re-read the section of Strengths-Based Leadershipthat
addresses the four basic needs of
followers. Evaluate yourself on how well you provide each of
these to your followers (even
better, also ask an employee or a co-worker to evaluate
you). Which come easily to you and
which do you need to improve on in order to meet your
followers’ needs? Practically
speaking, how can you do this?
3. In the Additional Resources section of the book,
strategies for leading in a way that meets
followers’ four basic needs are presented. (Note: You only
need to read the pages that
address your top five strengths.) Do any of these
suggestions resonate with you? Which
strategies do you believe would make the biggest impact if
you implemented them at work?
4. According to Rath and Conchie, how are team members
typically selected? Why is this
problematic? What do leaders need to understand to build an
effective team? Use the chart
on page 24 (How the 34 themes sort into the four domains of
leadership strength) to identify
what you bring to a team. For example, do your strengths
fall primarily into one category or
are they spread out over several? Are you actively and
consistently using your strengths on
your team? Explain. Is your team balanced (i.e., are all
four domains covered or are
everyone’s strengths in the same one or two categories)?
Discuss. Remember, individuals
don’t need to be well-rounded, but teams do.
