We have a team member who has high relational and empathy strengths but struggles to hit their hard data targets. How do we leverage their natural talents to help them own their scorecard numbers instead of trying to turn them into an analyst?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

According to the StrengthsFinder framework, forcing an employee with dominant relationship-building and empathy talents to act like an analytical data-cruncher is a recipe for disengagement and failure. You cannot fundamentally change someone's innate talents. Instead, you must help them connect their natural strengths to the objective numbers on their weekly Scorecard.

People with high empathy care deeply about human impact, client satisfaction, and team cohesion. If their scorecard metric is something dry, like weekly database updates completed, they may view it as tedious paperwork and neglect it. You must translate that dry number into the human outcome it supports.

Explain to them that when they do not update the database, the customer service team lacks the information needed to help a client in distress, which causes real frustration. By showing them how their weekly data entry directly prevents client anxiety, you tap into their natural drive to care for others.

You can also leverage their relational strengths by making them accountable to a peer rather than just a spreadsheet. Have them review their weekly numbers in a quick, collaborative huddle where they can discuss how their activities supported the team.

If they still struggle with the technical mechanics of pulling the numbers, pair them with a colleague who has high follow-thru or analytical strengths to assist with the system administration. This keeps the empathetic employee focused on using their unique talents to drive the actual activities that move the metric, ensuring they hit their targets without losing their natural passion.