Whilst on holiday in SE Asia recently I spent time with friends who work for a large international financial services institution. This bank is unique, at least that's my understanding. Why ? - because its leadership development approach is firmly rooted in the paradigm of strengths. Is this so unusual? Yes - leadership development frequently focuses on 'de-railers', or 'areas for development'. As such, it's interesting to think that an organisation might be courageous enough to formally adopt a strengths perspective.

With a focus on the emerging markets of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and with some 70 000 employees, you could say the organisation is going from 'strength to strength'.