MENTOR worked with a major UAE bank to design a training program for its branch managers to improve leadership skills and create a positive work outlook that would then extend to all their team members. The program followed a highly personalized approach focusing on the innate talent and unique strengths of 84 managers, instead of following the traditional training approach of addressing weaknesses.
Based on the CliftonStrengths Assessment by Gallup that measures and classifies individual patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving, the CliftonStrengths program helped participants to identify their unique strengths and recognize opportunities for them to add value to the organization while also achieving personal aspirations. Participants were provided personalized comprehensive reports of their assessment, covering 34 themes and highlighting the top 5 signature themes where the participant showed the most strength.
Following the assessment, MENTOR ran a series of 2-day workshops with a CliftonStrengths certified coach to guide participants on how to identify development opportunities based on individual strengths and create an action plan to nurture their talents and improve leadership work performance.
Participants were provided adequate time over a few weeks to understand the reports in greater depth, reflect on their strengths and goals, and develop their action plans. This was followed by a series of coaching sessions for groups of five participants, where they were able to further develop their plans and receive guidance on how to improve job performance based on their natural strengths and talents in areas such as leadership, team management and operations.
The strength-based training program was able to generate extensive interest and engagement from participants due its positive approach and individualized focus, with more strength-based programs planned for other employees in the future.