Strengths Finder FAQs
What is the Clifton / Gallup Strengths Finder®?
Strengths Finder® is an online psychometric tool used by millions of people
globally to identify their natural talents and what they do best. Through a
series of online questions, the Clifton Strengths Finder® identifies the top
strengths of your team members from a list of 34 unique strengths grouped
into four domains:
- Executing
- Influencing
- Relationship Building
- Strategic Thinking.
Originally developed by Gallup and is now known as StrengthsFinder or Clifton Strengths.
What’s the benefit of understanding my strengths?
People who know and use their strengths are:
- 6x as likely to be engaged at work
- Neary 8% more productive in their role
- 3x as likely to have an excellent quality of life
- 6x as likely to do what they do best every day
How can I find out my top five strengths?
You can discover your top five strengths by taking the online Clifton Strengths Finder®
assessment. The report will show how your dominant talents help you excel. By
understanding and refining these talents, you can find ways to play to your strengths each
day at work and at home.
What do I do with my results?
After you’ve completed the assessment you’ll receive access to two
reports. The best place to start is with the Signature Themes report.
You may also like to talk through your results with a Strengths Finder
coach in a 1:1 confidential call. This enables you understand how
your top five strengths work together, and how you can harness them
further in your professional and/or personal life.
What is a talent?
Clifton StrengthsFinder defines talent as a naturally recurring pattern of thought, feeling or
behaviour that can be productively applied.
What is a strength?
In CliftonStrengths, a strength is the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance in
a specific activity. Building a strength involves pinpointing your dominant talents, usually
present in your top five themes. Strengthen these by acquiring knowledge and skills relevant
to the specific activity. You’ll find you use some strengths more in some situations, and other
strengths more in others.
What about weaknesses?
A weakness is a deficiency or misapplication of talent, skill, or knowledge that creates
challenges for you or others. It is also anything that gets in the way of us doing our job well.
In a strengths-based approach, the emphasis is on cultivating strengths and finding
strategies to address weaknesses rather than overlooking them. Managing weaknesses is
key to averting failure, while building strengths paves the way to success.
Are strengths always positive?
Many strengths have what we call ‘shadow-sides’ – how the strength shows up under pressure.
Strengths are a bit like coffee, the right amount is great, too much isn’t. Under pressure, many of us
overplay our strengths. We lean right into them which can cause difficulties for us and / or others.
Self-awareness is key to understanding how we might overplay our strengths, so that we keep
strengths as strengths. This is often discussed during the 1:1 coaching call or to find out more
information please contact us.
How likely is it to have the same top 5 Signature Themes as someone else?
The chances of having the exact same top 5 Signature Themes in the exact order as someone else is 1 in 33.39 million. The chances of having the same top 5 Signature Themes as
someone else, but in a different order, is approximately 1 in 340,000.
-Should I pursue a major or career based on my strengths?
Your top 5 Signature Themes won't dictate specific career paths for you. People with very
different Clifton Strengths profiles can do the same job very well, in different ways. The key
is understanding and harnessing your individual strength combination to the role.
Just because you have the theme of "Analytical" doesn't mean you should pursue a career
in maths or computer science. Use the assessment to help you discover how to apply your
strengths to your role or career.
How can I use Strengths Finder with teams?
Strengths Finder is a very powerful tool to harness team strengths, enabling members to
understand their own and others’
How does it work?We start by understanding your team's current situation, what's working, where the issues are and your future goals. Together we will craft a customised plan to help you achieve your objectives. From team events to individual coaching, my approach is tailored to your unique needs.
Team Connect 360®
Use the power of the licensed Team Connect 360® diagnostic tool to gain powerful insights into:
Your team dynamics and interpersonal relationships
Clarity of your team objectives and purpose
Relationships with your stakeholders
Wider challenges of the sector / context in which your team works
Other psychometric assessments are also available including Strengths Finder®, DISC, PPA and 360 Emotional Intelligence.
To discuss how to boost your team’s performance, please complete the form below:
