Unleashing the Power of CliftonStrengths for Executive Leadership

If you could have one superpower, what would it be? For me it would be teleportation because I love to travel but I don’t love to fly!  While I highly doubt I will gain that particular superpower anytime soon, I do have access to other superpowers, and I use them daily thanks to my understanding of CliftonStrengths. 

Introduction to CliftonStrengths Assessment

The CliftonStrengths assessment was first published by the Gallup organization in 1999 and more than 31 million people have taken it.  The assessment consists of 177 questions which measure your unique talents and categorizes them into the 34 CliftonStrengths themes.  A talent, as defined by Gallup, is a natural way of thinking, feeling, or behaving.  A Strength, as defined by Gallup, is the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance in a specific task AND it must bring some intrinsic satisfaction or joy.  To turn your talents into strengths, you must invest in them via practice and adding time, knowledge, and skills.

According to Gallup, clues to your talents may include:

• Yearning: To what kinds of activities, books, podcasts, webinars, conversations, are you naturally drawn?  What are you curious about?

• Rapid Learning: What kinds of activities do you seem to pick up quickly?

• Flow: In what activities did you seem to automatically know the steps to be taken or when does time fly by for you?

• Glimpses of Excellence: If you were asked to do a 20-minute TED talk, what would your topic be? For what do others praise you for?  What do your friends or colleagues come to you for help with?

• Satisfaction: What activities give you a kick, either while doing them or immediately after finishing them, and you think, “When can I do that again?”

By completing the CliftonStrengths assessment, you are able to name your talents, which empowers you to be more intentional about developing and/or leveraging your Strengths. In fact, when you invest in Strengths studies show significant boosts in engagement (9% to 73%). Further, Gallup’s research shows that people who regularly use their Strengths at work are more engaged, perform better, and more likely to stay with their employers. 

Incorporating CliftonStrengths into Leadership Positions

The best leaders are those who are always learning, and that includes learning about themselves. 

Learning about your Strengths and blind spots can be a great competitive advantage.  By understanding your Strengths, you can maximize your impact at work by focusing on what you do best.  By becoming aware of your blind spots, you can take appropriate steps to change behaviors, improve performance, and grow into a widely respected, highly effective leader. 

The first step is to take the CliftonStrengths assessment if you haven’t already done so.  For leaders, I recommend purchasing the CliftonStrengths 34 or CliftonStrengths for Leaders report.  To leverage the power of your CliftonStrengths report:

• Read through the report, highlighting what fits and what doesn’t.  Most of my clients are amazed at how well the report fits them!  Pay special attention to the “what makes you unique” sections as these descriptions are specific to you based on how you answered all 177 questions. 

• Think about a time when you were at your best.  Write a story about when you were at your best at work and consider which of your dominant Strengths were in action to connect those Strengths to what you do best at work.  This could be about any of the following:

• Accomplishment you were proud of

• A promotion

• A project you led or worked on that was successful

• A team or organization you led that was successful

• A team you led that you turned around

• A business unit you turned around

• Something you created or initiated

• A direct report or colleague you mentored or helped develop

• A presentation you delivered or article you published

• Review the blind spots section within your report.  As you review your potential blind spots, be honest with yourself about what is getting in the way of your success.  If you’re unsure, share your blind spots with trusted colleagues and ask for their honest feedback.  Once you’ve identified blind spots, take the time to determine how you can better understand what’s getting in your way and leverage your Strengths to better manage, self-regulate, or develop that blind spot.  For example:

• Aim a Strength at the blind spot. If Achiever is one of your dominant Strengths, you might get frustrated when others on your executive team don’t work as hard as you do, and they might see you as too demanding – perhaps even avoiding opportunities to collaborate with you (not an uncommon blind spot for some executives). Remember that not everyone has the same high expectations for themselves or is driven to work as hard as you are.  You might consider leveraging a Relationship Building Strength to learn how others work best and what you can do to encourage them to do their best work, as opposed to simply assuming everyone needs to approach work in the same manner as you.  You might also consider intentionally using the Achiever Strength from a more productive perspective by creating a list of co-workers along with their motivators and contributions to the team. 

• Consider strategic partnerships.  For example, maybe Adaptability is not one of your dominant Strengths and you struggle with changes to the execution of plans.  Consider who on your team might have that Strength and partner with them in times of frequent or unexpected change.  They will likely be better at navigating changes and be motivated to use their Strength, and you won’t have to struggle so much in an area that you’re not strong, win-win!

The Usefulness of CliftonStrengths for Executive Leaders

As we think ahead to 2024, one trend that should be on the mind of every executive is the retention of talented employees.  This requires that you ensure employees within your organization enjoy a quality employee experience, which includes work/life balance, wellness, intellectual challenge, and personal growth and development.  As a starting point, you must set a good example and model how to do these things well.  It’s about knowing your own Strengths and blind spots, focusing more on what you're good at, and acknowledging areas where assistance from others, collaboration or delegation may be appropriate.

Further, your ability to understand and leverage the Strengths of your direct reports and employees is invaluable.  In fact, according to Gallup, employees who focus on their Strengths are 6x as engaged in their jobs as those who do not. 

As an executive, you set the tone for your organization.  If you provide the resources for people within the company to identify and name their Strengths, they can apply their Strengths in meaningful ways in their current roles and work environments.  You need people to understand their value within your organization and to demonstrate the kind of self-worth that accompanies self-awareness.  And, as a leader, it is worth taking the time to understand and encourage individuals’ Strengths to achieve the kind of outstanding results that can only be delivered by confident, engaged, and motivated employees. 

The average person spends over 13 years of their entire lives at work - neither you nor your employees are going to love every minute of it.  But my hope for you is that you will figure out ways to be intentional about finding more joy in your work and helping your employees to find more joy in their work, as well.  Not only will this decrease stress and burnout, but it will also increase engagement, camaraderie, and business performance.

Contact us today to begin having conversations with one of our Gallup-Certified Strengths Coaches to find ways to do more of what you do best every day and to better integrate Strengths into your leadership role.