Final answer:
The statement pertains to 'strengths leadership,' a concept by Donald Clifton that emphasizes focusing on an individual's strengths for better performance and growth. This management approach is based on using one’s inherent talents and has been widely accepted, though it must be balanced with attention to weaknesses.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement "To be successful, you should exploit what you are good at. That is, do what you can naturally do well." describes the idea behind strengths leadership. Donald Clifton coined the term strengths-based management, an approach that emphasizes leveraging an individual's strengths rather than focusing on their weaknesses. The concept suggests that using one's inherent talents allows for consistent, near-perfect performance and provides the greatest opportunity for personal and professional growth.
Clifton's research, which included interviews with 8,000 managers, concluded that recognizing and developing an individual's strengths within an organization could be more beneficial than concentrating on areas of weakness. Examples of strengths could be exceptional skills in public speaking or the ability to plan successful events. Although this approach is quite popular, there's a cautionary note from Kaiser & Overfield (2011), who found that managers might neglect their weaknesses and overutilize their strengths to the detriment of overall performance.