Why CliftonStrengths?
In a world that seems to be drowning in an endless list of personality assessments, I often get asked, “Keri, why CliftonStrengths? What am I going to learn that I haven’t already gleaned from the all the other assessments out there?”
To better answer that question I need to start not with why, but with what. What is CliftonStrengths? And, perhaps even more illustrative, what isn’t it?
First, let’s clear away the fog of some common misconceptions. No, it isn’t just a way for you to humble brag about what you’re good at. No, it’s not a tool to pigeonhole employees, or a compass for hiring and firing. No, it’s not an excuse to ignore areas of weakness.
So what is it?
At its most basic level, CliftonStrengths can be described as an online assessment that measures an individuals’ talents in 34 areas referred to as “themes.” Sample themes include Achiever, Communication, Includer, Maximizer, and Responsibility. Upon completing the assessment, you’re ranked based on the dominance of your talents within a theme. That means that your top 5 are the themes where your talents are strongest.
One of the most important things to know about CliftonStrengths is that it’s an assessment based in positive psychology. Instead of focusing on where you might be lacking, Strengths shines a bright light on the areas where you’re naturally excelling. That way, you can make the most of your innate talents, eventually developing them into full blown strengths (which means your talent is performing at the optimum level).
Unlike other assessments, rather than just measuring actions and behavior, CliftonStrengths uses simple, straightforward language to unearth insights about your “natural patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving.” (Gallup). The results are clear (not mired in confusing jargon and subject to interpretation), applicable to any sphere of your life (not strictly specific to work), and immediately actionable (rather than simply informational).
But CliftonStrengths is not just about learning more about yourself through fun me-search (though learning about yourself is part of the beauty of the assessment). There’s a reason that it has made waves in the workforce, and that’s because it has a wide range of real-life, tangible applications.
CliftonStrengths in Practice
For the individual, it gives you the language to clearly articulate your value.
Taking CliftonStrengths was a game changing moment for me, and the reason I’ve decided to devote my career to bringing that experience to others. The assessment helps generate a keener sense of self-awareness, so that you can clearly speak to how and where you bring value. A common response is, “deep inside I always knew this about myself, but I didn’t know how to put it into words or understand how these strengths contribute to those around me and the organization I work for.”
For leaders and managers, it provides a toolbox to better engage and motivate employees.
Everyone, everywhere, just wants to be better understood. Through the assessment, employees better understand themselves, but it also helps managers and leaders better understand their people. By allowing contributors to be seen the way they wish to be seen (through the lens of strengths), managers are able to build stronger relationships, increase employee productivity, and improve retention.
For organizations, it can provide key insights to help you strengthen and maintain healthy company culture
CliftonStrengths starts any discussion about culture off on the right foot. In Strengths-based cultures, there’s a major focus on growth and development. It fosters a culture of coaching and mentorship that pushes everyone to strive for improvement and really hone their strengths. Organizations that tap into the power of the assessment not only see a marked improvement in performance, but build cultures that encourages happier, more engaged employees. And who doesn’t want that?
CliftonStrengths Glossary
A quick overview of some of the most common CliftonStrengths terminology.
Strength, Talent, and Theme
There can be quite a bit of confusion around these terms so let’s break it down.
Talent: Per Gallup, a talent is a natural and recurring way of thinking, feeling, or behaving.
Themes: this is the more “formal” name that Gallup assigns to each of these talents. Basically, “themes” give us all a common language to describe the natural talents. There are 34 talent themes, and the ones that are towards the top on your assessment are the ones you’re naturally best at.
Strength: A strength is the ability to harness your talent in a way that achieves almost perfect performance. It’s your talent put into action and functioning at its absolute highest level. The goal is to convert your top 5 themes (or talents) into strengths.
Signature Themes
These are your five most dominant themes. Of the 34 themes, it’s these five where your talents are naturally strong. They have great potential to be developed into superpowers strengths.
The Four Domains
The 34 talents fall into four major domains:
Strategic Thinking: how do you analyze situations?
Executing: how do you put words into action?
Influencing: how do you sell big ideas?
Relationship: how do you build connections?
Blind Spot
A blind spot is roughly defined as a lack of awareness, or a particular area you may not be tuned in to. Awareness of these blind spots can help you balance your strengths with the areas where your talents are not quite as strong.