At our recent 'Unlocking Potential' breakfast event, esteemed tennis coach Judy Murray OBE shared how she used a strengths-based approach to unlock the potential of her sons, Andy and Jamie, in their ascent to become world-renowned tennis champions.

By focusing on what they are good at, Andy and Jamie have honed great strengths in displaying fantastic all-round ability, paired with unmatched resilience and tenacity.

Besides the sporting world, organisations worldwide are increasingly recognising the transformative power of focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses.

Recent research shows the positive impact of this approach:

• 29% increase in profits 
• 19% increase in sales 
• 59% lower safety breaches
• 15% increase in employee engagement
• 72% lower attrition 
  

However, in today’s volatile world, a more adaptive approach to strengths-based development is crucial to maximise this potential. This article explores how we can achieve that by understanding the dual nature of strengths and tapping into what we call Super-strengths.

The Dual Nature of Strengths and Weaknesses

“In most cases, strengths and weaknesses are two sides of the same coin. A strength in one situation is a weakness in another, yet often the person cannot shift gears.”                            Steve Jobs 

This paradoxical view suggests that what we consider strengths can easily become weaknesses when overplayed or used in the wrong context. The Greek philosopher Aristotle described this principle through the “Golden Mean,” the idea where “virtues…are destroyed by excess and defect, and preserved by the mean”. For example, honesty that is underplayed can come across as deceit, while overplayed, it can become tactlessness. The Golden Mean suggests that there is a “Sweet Spot” when thinking about our personality preferences as strengths.

Psychologists like Adam Grant have expanded on this idea, proposing an inverted-U relationship to describe how psychological effects reach, and fall off their sweet spot. When we think about strengths in a such a way, we may start to realize that while our strengths can be a source of high performance, over-relying on them—especially in contexts that may not align with these strengths—can backfire.

This strength – performance fall-off, which we call “Take Cares”, highlights that strengths are context-dependent. For example, decisiveness might be a leadership strength in crisis, but if overused in situations requiring collaboration, it can stifle creativity and alienate team members. To sustain performance, it’s crucial to recognise when these inflection points arise and adapt.

We have built this thinking into Spotlight, Mindflick’s British Psychological Society (BPS)-accredited psychometric engine. Spotlight reveals how strengths can evolve along a Strengths Curve, indicating where strengths may be underplayed, optimally played, or overplayed. By viewing strengths through this dynamic lens, individuals can adapt their behaviours to fit changing contexts and maintain peak performance.

Tapping into Superstrengths

According to research by Mindflick’s Dr. Kate Ludlam, to truly excel, we must go beyond simply managing our strengths and instead identify and amplify our Super-strengths — our unique combination of abilities that give us a competitive edge.

Consider Usain Bolt, the fastest man in history. Bolt’s Super-strengths lie with his confidence to perform under pressure and his height. At 6'5", Bolt’s long legs gave him an unparalleled advantage at maintaining top speed, even though his height made it harder for him to accelerate out of the starting blocks. Bolt understood that while his height created a weakness (poor starts), it also gave him an advantage once he reached top speed. Bolt became the world’s fastest man by focusing on his Super-strengths in the right moments, rather than obsessing over his starts.

“My start wasn’t the best. But my coach had already explained to me not to worry about the start. I came with only one goal. The last 50m is where I shine.”

Usain Bolt

At Mindflick, we’ve spent over a decade helping athletes and corporate leaders discover and apply their Super-strengths to unlock breakthroughs in performance. A simple boat analogy is often used to illustrate the idea of Super-strengths.

A boat depends on four elements to sail fast:

Bolt’s Super-strengths—his unique combination of supreme confidence and height—was the spinnaker that allowed him to maintain top speed and dominate sprinting. This positive influence of Super-strengths on performance is reinforced by Dr. Ludlam’s research that also found gains in key aspects such as confidence, clarity of purpose, and drive to succeed. Similar patterns exist in the corporate world. Leaders who leverage their unique abilities, whether it’s strategic vision, exceptional communication, or deep expertise, in the right moments, consistently outperform those who focus on mitigating weaknesses.

Embracing a strengths-based approach is not just about acknowledging what we are good at; it’s about understanding when strengths become counterproductive and knowing how to adapt. Then the next step toward exceptional performance lies in identifying and developing our Super-strengths, those unique combination of characteristics that set us apart. Whether in sport, business, or any high-performance environment, focusing on Super-strengths enables individuals and teams to transcend ordinary success and achieve extraordinary results. By tapping into what makes us uniquely strong, we unlock the potential for breakthrough performance, driving personal growth and organizational success