Blackburn with Darwen (BwD) Council have been weaving strengths-based development into how they work, and it’s having a real impact on how teams lead, communicate and collaborate across departments.
Through engaging with strengths, coaching and leadership programmes, they’ve given people space to understand what they do best, and how to use those strengths in daily working life.
Getting started…
Like many councils, BwD wanted to support leadership, improve team culture and help people feel more confident in their roles. That’s where strengths coaching came in, first with senior leaders and managers, then gradually rolling out across the organisation.
This partnership wasn’t just about introducing a new way of thinking; it was about embedding it meaningfully into everyday practice. Through working side by side, the team’s confidence and capability has been growing, using their strengths to make a lasting difference in their communities.
People are getting to know themselves and their teams better
Senior leaders have shared how the approach has given them fresh insight into how they work.
For example, one leader discovered how to use her ‘arranger’ strength to delegate more, helping her team take more ownership. She said it helped her lead with more empathy and adapt her style across different teams.
“A strengths-based approach has reshaped how our teams connect and perform. It’s helped new teams build trust quickly, empowered struggling teams to rebuild morale, and enabled stronger collaboration across departments. The impact has been both immediate and lasting.”
Collaboration is improving across the board
The public health team realised they were low on ‘influencing’ strengths, so they teamed up with the comms team, who had bags of it! That has helped in leading to stronger, more effective campaigns. It’s a simple but powerful shift: bring together people with different strengths, and you unlock new possibilities.
It’s changing how people lead
Some teams have started to move from directive leadership styles to more coaching-led approaches. That shift is helping teams feel more empowered, heard and supported in their day-to-day roles.
“We’ve seen colleagues on the verge of leaving rediscover purpose and passion through strengths-based conversations. Whether it was rebuilding lost confidence, improving difficult relationships, finding clarity for career progression, or reshaping roles to better align with individual strengths, these tools have empowered people to thrive again.”
What made it stick?
- Top-level backing: Senior leaders backed the approach, championed the benefits and secured funding to keep it going.
- Internal capacity: They trained internal coaches to embed the approach long-term.
- Flexibility: As feedback came in, they adapted – offering team-specific coaching and scaling things gradually.
Still learning, still growing
Of course, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing, with barriers to overcome. Scaling the initiative across such a large organisation has taken time and not everyone was on board straight away, some staff were unsure about the value of self-reflection. But the momentum is growing. More teams are using the shared language of strengths, conversations are improving, and even retention has been boosted, with some people saying the experience reignited their confidence and commitment to their roles.
BwD Borough Council is just one example of the fantastic impact that a strengths-based approach can have when organisations invest in their people. Through engaging with Strengths Coaching, the Executive Leadership Academy and workshops/webinars in our Leadership Learning Series, they’ve been transforming individual roles, reshaping team cultures, boosting morale and strengthening connections. We’re excited to continue this journey with BwD and to support even more teams and leaders as they discover the difference Leading Through Strengths can make.