Magic in the Room #146: Using Your Strengths to Lead Intentionally
May 2, 2023
Is it better to focus on using your strengths or to try and fix your weaknesses? Intentional Leaders strive to be as effective as possible by using their strengths to perform at a high level. In this episode of Magic in the Room, Hannah, Chris, and Luke make the case that individuals need to focus on their strengths and that teams can be well-rounded by ensuring diverse strengths in the group.
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Links mentioned in this episode:
- Messi Goal vs Bilbao • 2014/15 • Copa del Rey
- Magic in the Room #84: Win and Help Win in Tribal Enterprise with Brian Gooden
- From Strength to Strength by Arthur C. Brooks
Credits:
- This episode of Magic in the Room was recorded onsite in Big Sky, Montana
- Music by Evan Grim. Find his music on Apple Music
In this episode of Magic in the Room, Luke and Hannah explore the concept of polarities. Tensions like purpose and performance, stability and change, or accountability and grace that are often mistaken for problems to solve rather than dynamics to manage. Drawing on insights from Barry Johnson’s work, they explain how these opposing forces are interdependent and must be balanced over time to achieve sustained success. Through practical examples and personal reflections, they show how over-relying on one side of a polarity leads to predictable “shadow sides” such as stagnation, chaos, inefficiency, or burnout, while effective leadership requires recognizing where you are on the cycle and intentionally recalibrating. The episode emphasizes that many recurring organizational frustrations are not failures, but signals of imbalance, and offers a more nuanced approach to leadership. One that replaces rigid either/or thinking with flexible both/and awareness to improve decision-making, team dynamics, and long-term performance.
In this episode of Magic in the Room, Luke Freeman, Hannah Bratterud, and Chris Province dive into the concept of “mattering,” inspired by Zach Mercurio’s work, and explore why it is a foundational driver of engagement, performance, and culture in organizations. They challenge leaders to move beyond assuming people matter to actively ensuring individuals feel that they matter by being valued and by contributing value to a shared purpose. The conversation highlights how mattering differs from belonging, why it cannot be replaced by perks or efficiency, and how leadership behaviors like attention, recognition, and presence directly shape whether people feel seen, heard, and understood. Through examples ranging from workplace dynamics to broader societal trends like social disconnection, they argue that disengagement, conflict, and even poor performance are symptoms of a mattering deficit. Ultimately, they position mattering not as a soft concept, but as a measurable, actionable leadership responsibility that underpins trust, resilience, and long-term success.