It is a special honor to present this month's book, Play to Your Strengths written by Andrea Sigetich and Carol Leavitt. Andrea is a dear friend, colleague and at times mentor. In Play to Your Strengths - the first comprehensive look at what we can do with our growing knowledge of strengths - she and Carol transform strengths and strengths-based work from interesting information to practical application.  They write for leaders, managers, and individuals who aspire to discover and apply their strengths fully.  While Texas Hold 'Em and the World Series of Poker have grabbed the imagination of the nation, poker is also a great metaphor for strengths because, no matter what hand you're dealt, you always have the opportunity to play it to your advantage. Buy it now......

You may have more to gain by developing your gifts and leveraging your natural skills than by trying to repair your weaknesses. Here is a systematic way to discover who you are at your very best.

by Laura Morgan Roberts, Gretchen Spreitzer, Jan Dutton, Robert Quinn, Emily Heaphy, and Brianna Barker 

                Most feedback accentuates the negative. During formal employee evaluations, discussions invariably focus on "opportunities for improvement," even if the overall evaluation is laudatory. Informally, the sting of criticism lasts longer than the balm of praise. Multiple studies have shown that people pay keen attention to negative information. For example, when asked to recall important emotional events, people remember four negative memories for every positive one. No wonder most executives give and receive performance reviews with all the enthusiasm of a child on the way to the dentist.

Traditional, corrective feedback has its place, of course; every organization must filter out failing employees and ensure that everyone performs at an expected level of competence. Unfortunately, feedback that ferrets out flaws can lead otherwise talented managers to overinvest in shoring up or papering over their perceived weaknesses, or forcing themselves onto an ill-fitting template. Ironically, such a focus on problem areas prevents companies from reaping the best performance from its people. After all, it's a rare baseball player who is equally good at every position. Why should a natural third baseman labor to develop his skills as a right fielder?

The alternative, as the Gallup Organization researchers Marcus Buckingham, Donald Clifton, and others have suggested, is to foster excellence in the third baseman by identifying and harnessing his unique strengths. It is a paradox of human psychology that while people remember criticism, they respond to praise. The former makes them defensive and therefore unlikely to change, while the latter produces confidence and the desire to perform better. Managers who build up their strengths can reach their highest potential. This positive approach does not pretend to ignore or deny the problems that traditional feedback mechanisms identify. Rather, it offers a separate and unique feedback experience that counterbalances negative input. It allows managers to tap into strengths they may or may not be aware of and so contribute more to their organizations.  

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