What a Ferrari driver and strengths themes can tell us about group culture

First let me apologise for the massive generalisations I am about to make. But hopefully they will help with the point I am making. So here goes…

A guy is driving down the street in a Ferrari. He pulls up and parks it. If an American sees him, he will go up the driver and go “dude, what an awesome car. How did you get it?” If an Australian sees him, he will go up to the driver and say “nice car. I’m going to get one like that someday, if not a better one.” If a New Zealander sees him, he will not go up to him. Instead he will turn to his friend and say “what a poser.”

Why?

America was settled by those fleeing poverty and famine in 19th and 20th century Europe. They left class based societies where there were only a few extremely wealthy and arrived in a land which was plentiful and full of resources. What they found was that someone could start with nothing and end up a billionaire or even president in the same lifetime. The names of the State’s founding industrialists are written into their folklore. Rockefeller, Van Der Bilt, Carnegie, Ford, Kennedy. They learnt that if they find out the secret or the system to being wealthy, then they too could achieve anything. Hence why they have such a strong “self-help” industry.

Australia was established as a convict colony. Eventually, those original convicts were reintegrated and made up a large part of the colony’s original population. They were determined to prove that they could be just as good a citizen as everybody else, if not better. The Australian culture is driven to prove themselves on the world stage and a great example of this is their performance in sports such as swimming and cricket. When they play sport they are dogmatic and won’t accept defeat until the final whistle.

New Zealand was settled by the middle class of England who could not break through the class barrier. They established a society that was based on being fair and equal, where everyone is treated the same. This is why the welfare state worked, why The Treaty of Waitangi was established, and why “tall poppy” syndrome exists.

What is most interesting about this analogy is that there is a link between what some of our strongest strengths are and how we express our culture; define our sense of national identity. Gallup in their database of over 10 million respondents is able to identify the top strength themes by each country. What it shows is that for the United States and Australia the top strength is ACHIEVER (tireless, strong work ethic, leads by example, doesn’t quit before the end). So it is no surprise to me they want to learn how to achieve the car. In contrast New Zealand’s top strength is RESPONSIBILITY (committed, accountable, independent, trusted, and conscientious). There is a social obligation to one another. What’s also interesting is New Zealand’s second top strength and UK’s number one strength is Relator, the natural desire to deepen existing relationships. RELATOR appreciates, prioritises and reinforces existing people connections, which could point to why the class system is still so prevalent in Britain.

So could any of this be useful (considering I have probably just alienated a large number of people in writing this)? One of the great things about strengths is that it provides a window of understanding. Knowing this language allows you to navigate people, teams and larger groups significantly easier. It can also give you a guide on how to leverage the talents of the people you work with, for both yourself and their benefit. When Donald Clifton (the father of StrengthsFinder) was asked what his greatest discovery was from three decades of research, his response was “ a leader needs to know his strengths as a carpenter knows his tools, or as a physician knows the instruments at her disposal. What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows his or her strengths (and I would argue their team’s too) – and can call on the right strength at the right time.”