I wish I had a $10 bill (or even a dollar bill) for every time I have heard an executive affirm, “Our company’s greatest asset is our people!”

Here is what Marcus Buckingham has to say. To check out the abundance of free resources and sign up for an Enewsletter, please click here.

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It’s a nice motto, but it’s meaningless without introspection and application. And the truth is, people aren’t your greatest asset, unless they’re in position to leverage their greatest strengths – those things they do well consistently and energetically.

Years of research prove that individuals and teams playing to their strengths significantly outperform those who don’t in almost every business metric. In fact, the single best predictor of a consistently high-performing team is the answer to this question: “At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best everyday?” Teams with individuals who do massively outperform teams with people who don’t-they’re more profitable, more productive, less likely to quit, less likely to have accidents on the job…the list goes on.

That’s compelling, but this is confounding: Our research reveals that only 12% of people in the workplace play to their strengths “most of the time.” In general, society is fascinated by weaknesses (most employee reviews bear this out), and we take strengths for granted.

At a time when organizations are trying to do more with fewer people, it’s critical to engage each person’s strengths, and do it at scale across the organization. The strengths movement isn’t about making people happier; it’s about making organizations more productive. It’s about yield. The best companies are made up of great teams. And those teams have individuals who know their strengths, take them seriously and offer them up to the organization.

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I also suggest that you click here to check out resources that focus on leveraging strengths to achieve breakthrough results.