“When people clarify what matters and leverage their strengths, leaders emerge and anything is possible.”
Tips 4 Tuesday #7: Close the Leadership Gap
“Mind the gap” is a warning phrase used on London’s transit systems to alert passengers to the space between the train and the platform. Here’s the truth: too many organizations have a leadership gap and it’s not at the top. It’s in the middle.
Businesses in Central New York are feeling the pinch, not from a lack of talent, but from a lack of prepared leaders.
A 2024 MACNY survey found that 62% of CNY companies list leadership development as their #1 internal need. Why? Because supervisors and managers are being promoted into leadership roles without ever being trained to lead.
So how do we fix that? At Daneli, we close the gap from within using a strengths-based approach that Gallup calls: Name it. Claim it. Aim it.
Great leadership starts with self-awareness: knowing your natural strengths.
You can’t lead with what you haven’t identified. When people can name their unique talents, they stop chasing roles that don’t fit and start leaning into roles where they thrive.
I’ve done a lot of hiring. When seeking entry level top talent I am less impressed with internships, grades, and the way young people typically populate their CV’s and cover letters, and most impressed with ones who know their natural capabilities and how they apply to their success and everyone around them.
If you want to lead effectively, start by naming what makes you uniquely capable. Otherwise, you’re throwing darts in the dark.
Once you know your strengths, you have to own them confidently and without apology.
Too often, talented leaders downplay what makes them great. But confidence is contagious, and ownership is what inspires others to follow.
Neil Goldberg, CEO of Raymour & Flanigan was one of the most authentic leaders I have ever worked for. He knew his strengths and he leveraged them to grow the business and our people. He also was never complacent. He pushed himself and all of us to build on our strengths.
Claiming your strengths isn’t bragging—it’s aligning. And alignment creates acceleration. People with humility who claim their strengths let their actions speak for them.
Strengths aren’t for theory—they’re for action. Aim your strengths at real challenges and strategic goals.
This is where leadership becomes performance. When leaders aim their strengths with intention, they grow and so do the people around them.
Our coordinator, Kayla Rockwell, has Positivity as her #1 strength and she leads with it. Always welcoming and pleasant, she raises everyone’s spirits and they in turn raise others around them. It’s the source of a positive culture.
Aimed strengths become impact. Unaimed strengths? Just potential on the shelf.
The highest use of your gifts is to lift others.
Leadership isn’t about accumulation—it’s about contribution. Giving away your strengths through mentoring, teaching, or encouraging others multiplies their impact.
I had a mentor, God rest his soul, named John Sauer. John was a renown in the field of assessment science and his gift was helping tease out of you what your gifts are and where to apply them in a way that will give you the opportunity for fulfilment. His counsel forever changed my life.
The more you give your best away, the more of it you grow. It’s the circle of Grace principle and it’s biblical. “To whom much is given, much is required.” (Luke 12:48)
Ask yourself and your leaders:
“What do you do best and how are you using it to make others better?”
Where there is a hesitation, there’s a gap. And therein lies your opportunity.
Send us a message using the form below, or email us at [email protected], or call 315-508-4370
