The strengths advantage: when soft skills become hard levers for influence

People act on what they value, and they ignore what they don’t place importance on

Products and transformations succeed or fail depending on your ability to read what people are saying through their actions, not their words

That’s where an understanding of strengths come in. Think of them as your values in action. The motivators behind everyday behaviours that reveal what truly matters to you and to those around you

The use of strengths is often labelled as “soft skills”, but in reality they’re hard levers for influence and your ultimate performance. They determine whether teams rally behind a product vision or resist a transformation

The strengths advantage

Every leader has all 24 character strengths that we look at in The Strengths Advantage. We use a heavily researched positive psychology tool called VIA Strengths, which is the only scientifically validated strengths assessment that helps people flourish across every aspect and at each stage of their lives. People rely on these strengths at age 22, 42, 62, and 82 to achieve their goals, remain resilient, deepen relationships, and feel like their true selves

The advantage these character strengths give you as a product and transformation leader is not in possessing them. It’s in how you use them, and how much of which strength you lean on, in the moments that matter. Looking back across the last 24 articles, we can group our 24 character strengths under six key themes

Wisdom

Creativity, Curiosity, Judgment, Love of Learning, Perspective

This group of character strengths involve the acquisition and use of knowledge. They give product and transformation leaders the ability to know when to question and when to decide

Wisdom is the lever that turns customer insights into differentiated design. It’s what helps teams cut through noise and build products that resonate. Wisdom creates clarity in complexity. It’s the lever that turns ambiguity into direction and meaning

Without wisdom, products miss the mark and transformations drift into guesswork

Courage

Bravery, Honesty, Perseverance, Zest

This group contains the emotional strengths that involve the exercise of will to accomplish goals in the face of opposition. Courage is pushing forward without tipping into recklessness

Courage is backing bold bets, defending customer centric choices, and energising teams through uncertainty. Courage is speaking truth, persevering through resistance, and sustaining momentum when fatigue sets in

Without courage, new product development stalls and transformations collapse under pressure

Humanity

Kindness, Love, Social Intelligence

This group contains the interpersonal strengths that involve tending and befriending others. Humanity is connecting deeply without losing focus

Humanity is about reading the room and creating buy in without force. Humanity is kindness, love, and social intelligence that sustains culture through crunch periods

Without humanity, both products and transformations feel transactional. People disengage and you end up with a system, platform, or product no one uses

Justice

Fairness, Leadership, Teamwork

This group contains the civic strengths that underlie healthy community life. Justice is sharing success without diluting accountability

Justice is fairness in prioritisation and teamwork across silos. It’s what keeps product development aligned. Justice is leadership that signals success is shared, not hoarded

Without justice, new product development initiatives become all politics and transformations stall in amidst turf wars

Temperance

Forgiveness, Humility, Prudence, Self-Regulation

This group of character strengths protect against excess. Temperance is restraint that builds trust

Temperance is prudence that avoids reckless bets and humility that builds credibility with customers. Temperance is self-regulation that promotes calm and sustains trust under pressure

Without temperance, leaders are perceived to be reckless, egotistical hot heads and you don’t know what mood to expect them to be in when you approach them

Transcendence

Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence, Gratitude, Hope, Humour, Spirituality

This group of character strengths forge connections to the larger universe and provide meaning. Transcendence is inspiring belief without drifting into fantasy

Transcendence is seeing and appreciating craftsmanship in a way that inspires teams to raise the bar. Transcendence is tapping into hope and humour to motivate and sustain belief through turbulence

Without transcendence, product development and transformations feel like survival without progress

Why this matters

Every character strength signals something. If underused, it erodes influence. If overused, it threatens credibility. Used well, character strengths become an absolute leadership advantage

From articles to action

Reading about character strengths is one thing. Truly knowing, applying, and maximising them in the moment is another. That’s where The Strengths Advantage comes in, to help you embed and execute. To go from theory to practice

The Strengths Advantage (Teams)

Sick of spending time and money on team building activities that are nice or fun but have little to no lasting impact on how you operate day to today? This half-day team building workshop is based on the strengths and stories that are unique to the people around you. A fun and educational twist to team building that has a sustainable impact on your performance

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The Strengths Advantage (Leaders)

Research shows that leaders who know, apply, and maximise their strengths experience higher resilience, stronger influence, and improved performance outcomes. This targeted 90-minute one-on-one session is designed for product and transformation leaders who want to supercharge their performance or have a tricky situation they want to solve for

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