This article is based on Pam Wegner, who strives for maximum excellence from her employees. She has a keen strategic intellect and an extrodniary ability for looking at a situation as a whole. Wegner is the executive Vice President of Alliant Energy. It is a fairly sized gas and utility company based out of the Midwest. Wegner is the head of her department, which consists of five hundred employees. Having all of these employees turn to her when there is a problem or they are unhappy can put a lot of stress on a person. So her and other managers of Alliant headed off to a manager program that taught them how to communicate and relate to one another. After this extensive program she took her recently learned knowledge and came up with a motivational technique of her own called, "Speaking the Strenghts Language".
The core basis that holds together Speaking the Strenths is focusing on individual's strenths and talents, not weaknesses. The key is to "articulate ones individuality in positive terms." This idea shifts their thoughts from how they are use to doing things to bringing out their natural talents and abilities. This communicative way helps people get their ideas across to one another. .
This article is associated with Maslow's Need-Hierarchy Theory. Speaking the Strengths focuses on the top three levels: Social, Self-Esteem, and Self Actualization Needs. The social need is fulfilled because the "strength talks" helps fellow workers understand her and appreciate her point of view, which allows acceptance from peers. Self-Esteem is fulfilled because before employees may have been hesistant to state their ideas, where as of now, these "word bridges" have allowed them to feel more comfortable. Self Actualization allows employees to be all that they can be through evaluating different ideas and picking the best process to accomplish a task. .
Monthly meetings have also been created due to the manager's program.