The document discusses the importance of building high-performing teams through understanding diverse strengths and shared values. It emphasizes the need for organizations to define core values that guide hiring and performance, highlighting the significance of knowing one’s strengths as a leader. The narrative incorporates case studies and tools for assessing and leveraging team strengths, underscoring that effective engagement and collaboration are critical for success.

1. Building a HighPerforming Team
Diverse Strengths & Shared Values

2. The Research: Which Puppet Would You
Choose?

3. We Tend to Gravitate Towards People Who
Are Just Like Us . . .

4. It Happens in the Workplace Too . . .

5. Common Ground is Important . . . So is
Diversity
Shared Values
Diverse Strengths

6. Do Values Really Matter?
"We wanted to come up with committable core values
and by committable, meaning we're actually willing to
hire or fire people based on whether they're living up
to those values, completely independent of their actual
job performance.“
-- Tony Hsieh, Zappos Founder

7. How can you find out what their values are?
Assessments (VIA, etc.)
Zappos hiring process - $10,000

8. Values & Motivation
Passion =
Values in
Action
“Man is so made that when anything fires
his soul, impossibilities vanish.”
--Jean de la Fontaine

9. How Can We Get Them to Bring Their Values
to Work?

10. A Word About Strengths
Is it just something that you’re good at?
Is it different from a skill or ability?
Traditionally we would define a strength in terms of
the output
Strengths theory defines it in terms of energy and
engagement

11. Gallup Strengths Framework
Executing
Influencing
Relationship Building
Strategic Thinking

12. Map Your Strengths

13. Know Thyself
A leader needs to know his strengths as a carpenter
knows his tools, or as a physician knows the
instruments at her disposal. What great leaders have
in common is that each truly knows his or her
strengths – and can call on the right strength at the
right time. This explains why there is no definitive list
of characteristics that describes all leaders.
- Dr Donald O. Clifton

14. Why do we fail to get to know ourselves?
Fear – maybe we don’t measure up
Compartmentalization
The “busyness” of life and other distractions

15. Dan’s Personal Leadership Definition
Leadership is the capacity to influence
human thought, emotion, and behavior
starting with my own.

16. How do I identify my strengths?
What is working well and how can I do more of it?
What things energize me?
Do I feel a sense of yearning or inevitability?
Would I do this even if I weren’t getting paid?
VIA and SBL surveys

17. Group Exercise
Go around your group and give each person the
opportunity to share
What did you learn?
What really jumped out at you?
Does the report seem to accurately describe you
and your strengths?

18. Compounding . . . Small, Intentional Tweaks

19. Change the Frame

20. Why Focus on Strengths . . . What About
Weaknesses?

22. Focus On Strengths

23. Not Weaknesses

24. Strengths in Overdrive

25. How Well Do You Know Your Team?

26. Why Should I Get to Know My Team?
Can’t they just put their heads down and do their
work?
This is a fast-paced work environment. We focus on
results. We don’t have time for personalities.
I’m not your therapist. We have a job to do, so let’s
do it.

27. Strengths and Motivation
What works for one employee may not work for
another. The approach needs to be tailored to each
team member.

28. A Tale of Two Staff
Executing
Relationship Building

29. Personalize
We’re all unique (no this is not photo shopped)

30. Build a Common Vocabulary
Strengths
assessments are a
doorway to a
conversation . . .

31. Build a Common Vocabulary: A Case Study

32. Engagement – The Holy Grail of
Organizational Success

33. Jack Welch Story
Head
Hands
Heart

34. How Engaged is a Pitcher in the Batter’s
Box?
Why did I
swing at
a sinker?
Please
don‟t
miss!
How good
are A.
Rod‟s
lawyers?
When can I
get back on
the mound?
Are any of the members of your team playing out of position?

35. Gallup 12 Keys to Engagement
At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best
every day.
In the last seven days, I have received recognition or
praise for doing good work.
My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care
about me as a person.
There is someone at work who encourages my
development.
In the last six months, someone at work has talked
to me about my progress.

36. Bringing It All Together: Strengths in Teams
Individual Exercise
• Think of a team project that went really well. Why did your team
succeed? What roles did different members of the team play?
• Think of a team project that went off the rails. Why did your
team struggle? What roles did different members of the team
play?
• What strengths are missing on your current team?
• Is there anyone who is currently playing out of position?
Brainstorm other roles they may be able to play.
• Do you notice any strengths in overdrive, individually or
collectively?

37. E-Bay: A Case Study
“Jeff and I had very complementary skills,” Omidyar told us
in our interviews. “I‟d say I did more of the creative work
developing the product and solving problems around the
product, while Jeff was involved in the more analytical and
practical side of things. He was the one who would listen to
an idea of mine and then say, „OK, let‟s figure out how to
get this done.‟ ”

38. Team Strengths in Overdrive
Case Study #1: Is too much Harmony a bad thing?
Case Study #2: Achievers collide . . .

39. Contact Information
Dan Griffiths, CPA, CGMA is the Director of Strategic
Planning at Tanner, LLC, a Salt Lake City-based
professional services firm with about 80 team members.
Prior to merging his practice with Tanner, he co-founded
Proficio Services Group to provide strategic & business
planning, leadership development, and business
coaching services. Dan is a graduate of the 2010 AICPA
Leadership Academy and in 2011-2012 served as the
chair of the Young CPA Network Committee for the
AICPA. Dan has also been very active with the UACPA
and in 2011 was recognized as the Outstanding CPA in
Business and Management. He was recently selected to
serve as Utah‟s elected member of the AICPA Governing
Council. Dan is an avid flyfisher, backpacker, and
gardener. He and his wife Bibiana just welcomed their
fourth child to the family.
Contact Dan at: dgriffiths@tannerco.com
Or connect with him on LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/in/dangriffithscpa