Calibrating Strengths is More Powerful Than Fixing Weaknesses

In this conversation, KnowledgeWorkx founder Marco Blankenburgh interviews Roberta Saffels—Brazilian-American psychologist, 25-year expat, and positive-leadership consultant based in Doha, Qatar. Roberta explains how Positive Psychology shifts focus from “fixing what’s wrong” to enabling people and organisations to flourish—from zero to plus ten. She describes Positive Leadership’s practice of spotlighting strengths first, then “calibrating” over-used talents rather than patching weaknesses.

The dialogue explores why wellbeing at work is tightly linked to the quality of a leader’s relationships, and how Inter-Cultural Intelligence (ICI) provides the missing language for navigating honour-shame dynamics, collective agency, and communication styles in the Gulf region. Marco and Roberta share real-world stories—from Qatari start-ups to global NGOs—showing how an appreciative, culturally agile approach unlocks engagement and performance.

Roberta also previews her upcoming Positive Leadership Academy, a 12-week formation journey blending cultural intelligence, emotional intelligence, and an AI “nudge coach” to embed new habits.

Listen in to discover practical ways to shift your leadership from problem-solving to possibility-finding—and help your team thrive across cultures.

In this podcast you will learn:

• How Positive Psychology moves leaders beyond “removing distress” to creating flourishing, high-engagement cultures.
• Why spotlighting existing strengths shifts the whole organisation’s performance more effectively than fixing weaknesses.
• How Inter-Cultural Intelligence helps leaders navigate honour-shame dynamics, collective agency, and communication styles in the Gulf region.
• Practical ways to balance credibility and collaboration—priming conversations so teams contribute without leaders losing face.
• The vision behind the new 12-week Positive Leadership Academy and how its AI “nudge coach” embeds lasting behaviour change.

Learn more about Roberta's work here: https://robertasaffels.com/

Additional suggested reading:

• How to increase your effectiveness as a global leader 
• Introducing the Three Colors of Worldview 
• Introducing the 12 Dimensions of Culture 

-- Looking for a book to take your cultural agility to the next step, check out the Ultimate Intercultural Question Book brought to you by KnowledgeWorkx.com