How to Use Your CliftonStrengths Assessment: A Round-Up
Have you ever wondered about your unique talents and how you can leverage them to achieve greater success and fulfillment in life? The CliftonStrengths assessment can help you do just that!
I’ve been covering the CliftonStrengths reports in-depth for the last few months. Everything from the what, the why, the how, and the what next.
It’s time to put it all together. Join me for a round-up of how to use your CliftonStrengths assessment.
Refresher: What are CliftonStrengths?
CliftonStrengths is a comprehensive tool from Gallup that evaluates 34 themes of talent. Through a series of questions, this assessment uses decades of in-depth research to measure your strongest to least-strong talents and innate abilities, whether they’re developed or not. It then provides helpful insight and advice about how you can turn your talents into strengths.
Specialized Reports That Work for You
There are a number of different CliftonStrengths reports you can get.
The Top 5 Report is the most common. This identifies your top five talent themes and is a powerful report. This is a great starting point to understanding your strengths… in fact, you could spend your entire life working on your top five talents and never be done!
The Premier Report ranks all 34 talents from most innate to least strong. It provides detailed insight into your top ten talent themes. There are also specialized role reports for Sales, Managers, and Leaders, which give two full pages on each theme and how they work for you and your role.
Each specialized report is designed for self-awareness. As humans, we need to understand ourselves better in order to move on in our personal and professional development. The CliftonStrengths reports also give you the tools and practices to develop your talents into strengths. Remember that these reports aren’t who you are… they’re who you could be AND how to get there.
I always recommend starting with the Top 5 Report. It’s powerful and gives you a lot of information to start your personal development journey.
CliftonStrengths for Stronger Teams
Unlocking a team's full potential involves recognizing and utilizing each member's unique talents and strengths. The CliftonStrengths assessment provides valuable insights to enhance team performance and achieve greater success.
Applying these assessments brings several benefits, including improved team performance, enhanced collaboration, and effective communication. By understanding and leveraging each team member’s talents, tasks can be assigned based on individual strengths, leading to increased productivity and stronger teamwork. This positive approach fosters a supportive team culture, emphasizing strengths over weaknesses, and ultimately contributes to a high-performing team.
Conflict is a natural part of team dynamics, but the CliftonStrengths assessment offers a constructive approach to conflict resolution. Understanding team members' strengths promotes empathy and open-mindedness, turning conflicts into discussions of ideas rather than personal attacks. By focusing on solutions and recognizing the positive aspects of each member's talents, teams can navigate conflicts more effectively, encouraging collaboration and shared responsibility for positive outcomes.
Understanding Your CliftonStrengths Results
Most of us were taught that the way to success is to fix our weaknesses.
This means that most of us worry about what we're not good at. We tend to focus on areas where we don’t have innate talents, which means we’ll typically only achieve competence. Spending a lot of time and effort adding skills and knowledge and practicing on a weakness will make you better, but it will never make you great.
Instead, focus on those things for which you have an innate talent. You have the ability to be truly great at your talents, so put in the time and effort to get exponentially better and turn your talents into strengths.
Spend some dedicated time with your results and see what truly resonates with you. It’s perfectly normal if a few parts of your report don’t wholly align with your self-perception. The goal of these reports is for you to understand yourself better and discover how to turn your talents into strengths.
Trust your intuition and trust the process. And, as always, consider working with a Strengths Coach to get an even deeper understanding of your CliftonStrengths results.
Aiming Your Talents to Turn Them to Strengths
Once you have a clear understanding of your talents, take the time to leverage them for your personal and professional growth.
Review your talent lists and choose a specific action aligned to a particular talent. This could involve implementing a new approach or strategy in your work or taking on a small project to showcase your talent. Actively putting your talents into practice will provide valuable insights into how they contribute to your overall success.
Explore ways to integrate your talents with your goals. Seek opportunities in both your personal and professional life to apply your talents in alignment with your aspirations. This involves actively practicing and expanding your knowledge and skills to enhance the synergy between your talents and objectives.
Reflect on relationships that pose challenges and consider how your talents can positively impact them. Identify ways your unique strengths can influence interactions, bringing out the best in you and in others. This shift in perspective may unveil new possibilities for growth and connection, ultimately leading to improved relationships.
My article, Get the Most From Your CliftonStrengths Assessment, brings a much deeper perspective to understanding and aiming your results.
What’s Next?
Now that you are armed with the knowledge and guidance from your CliftonStrengths report get ready for your journey of personal development and self-discovery. Watch as your talents blossom into strengths and propel you toward a life of purpose, achievement, and happiness.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to apply your strength to YOU, let’s chat about my Strengths Deep Dive session. This session includes assessment and coaching so you can get the most out of your report. Book your session now.
