Strengths-Based Development Over the years, I’ve worked closely with individuals who feel stalled in their development and the value they provide. One common theme among them was that they and their leaders had focused on overcoming their weaknesses. In the end, however, this approach seemed to have a paralyzing effect on the individual and a biasing effect on their leader. It was almost as if everyone had forgotten why the individual had been hired in the first place—their experience and strengths, including their knowledge, skills and abilities. So in each case we decided to try a different tactic and change our paradigm to focus first on the individual’s strengths—strengths-based development. Strengths-based development doesn’t mean we neglect the individual’s weaknesses. Rather it means we begin with what makes the person valuable and build from there. While there are a variety of ways to engage strengths-based development, we will begin our approach with a personal SWO