Building a Strengths Focused Culture

In spring 2023, Miova was contracted by an international pharmaceutical company to work with one of their business units. The unit was a newly created team which consisted of technical and clinical experts, who were based across the country. 

Our work focused on helping the team to collaborate by getting to know each other, build the team’s strengths and connections and appreciate each other’s abilities and contributions. Ultimately seeking to create resilience to respond to the newness and achieve the unit’s objectives together.  

At Miova we have developed a four-step approach to our coaching programmes: 

Discovering the context 

  • We worked with the three managers of the unit, to carry out a deep dive of business needs, objectives, challenges, and the change recently undertaken. 
  • Collectively, we agreed to using Gallup CliftonStrengths and implementing a strengths-based coaching approach. 

Individual coaching

  • We carried out individual strengths coaching session with the unit’s 27 team members, based on their unique strengths report and profile. 
  • This individual approach ensured that we could really help them to understand their talents and abilities, manage their weaknesses, and identify their contribution to achieving the unit’s objectives and challenges.  

Team coaching session 

  • After the individual coaching, we created and delivered an engaging strengths-focused team day. 
  • All colleagues came together, and we delivered activities that enabled them to share their self-discoveries about their strengths, recognise the strengths and contributions of others, and therefore, identify the strengths of the team and how colleagues can collaborate to deliver the unit’s objectives and respond to challenges. 

“I’ve been to hundreds of days like this over the last 20 years. I’ve never been to one better organised, with as much energy, as well thought through or as good as this. In 5 hours you did 4 or 5 activities that I’ve never seen before, amazing”  

Unit manager

Review and reflection 

  • Discussing with the unit managers their thoughts and reflections. 
  • Helping them to identify actions or next steps they want to take. 
  • Learning for Miova to take away. 

At the company, the unit managers decided they wanted to start to embed a strengths-based approach within their teams, and to use this approach to manage through change. Although this piece of work was standalone, the anticipated wider impact with this business unit and the manager’s approach to lead through strengths, will deliver longer term positive impact. We will check in with them to see how they are getting on.  

More of our work

Ken has been working with the Local Government Association as a keynote speaker on the Leadership Essentials course.