The CliftonStrengths assessment is a performance-based assessment that helps individuals discover their top five strengths. Let’s look at how the assessment works and how companies can use it to improve their culture and performance.
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What is the CliftonStrengths assessment?
The CliftonStrengths assessment, formerly known as the Clifton StrengthsFinder, was created by educational psychologist Donald Clifton. He wanted to identify the strengths that made top performers stand out.
In the 1990s, under Clifton’s leadership, The Gallup Organization created the CliftonStrengths assessment. The goal of the assessment is to help individuals identify and build on their greatest strengths.
The CliftonStrengths assessment isn’t a personality test like the Myers-Briggs test or the Enneagram. It helps you understand your innate skills and provides detailed information about each characteristic. That way, you can uncover the areas where you have the greatest potential for building on your strengths.
Who is the assessment for?
Here are four groups that the CliftonStrengths assessment can help:
- Individuals: Individuals can use the assessment to identify their top talents and understand more about what makes them unique.
- Students: The assessment is also available for middle school, high school, and college students who want to discover what they do best.
- Teams and managers: The assessment can help teams work together more effectively and improve employee engagement. It can also help managers clarify their roles and understand how to lead their teams better.
- Organizations: Over 90% of Fortune 500 companies have used the CliftonStrengths assessment to improve their workplace.
How does it work?
The CliftonStrengths assessment takes between 30 to 45 minutes to complete. You’ll see 177 statements and choose how accurately each statement describes you. You’re given 20 seconds to respond to each statement before the test automatically moves you on.
From there, the test will categorize your results into 34 different CliftonStrengths themes. These themes fall under the domains of strategic thinking, relationship building, influencing, and executing.
After you finish the assessment, you’ll receive an in-depth report highlighting your top five strengths. The report explains why these strengths are unique, how they can help you succeed, and how to maximize your potential. This is the real purpose of the CliftonStrengths assessment — going beyond just learning about your strengths and taking action to develop your full potential.
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The CliftonStrengths assessment can be a useful tool for individuals to learn more about themselves, but it can also help with team building.
Benefits of the CliftonStrengths assessment
Here are some of the benefits you could see by completing and implementing the CliftonStrength assessment:
- Focus on your strengths: Many people believe that in order to improve, they need to work on their weaknesses. The CliftonStrengths assessment takes the opposite approach — it teaches you to focus on and build your strengths. It gives you the self-awareness to know what you’re good at and how to leverage your strengths.
- Improve your career: According to a Gartner study, 46% of people are dissatisfied with their current jobs. When individuals understand what they’re good at, they can focus on finding work that fully utilizes their skill sets. That can help them make meaningful changes in their career trajectory.
- Work better with others: The CliftonStrengths assessment can be incredibly beneficial to teams as well. According to Gallup, employees who receive strengths-based development are up to 23% more engaged at work. The assessment can help build stronger team dynamics and better collaboration among team members.
How CliftonStrengths can improve team collaboration
The CliftonStrengths assessment can be a useful tool for individuals to learn more about themselves, but it can also help with team building. It provides a common language teams can use to discuss their strengths with their coworkers.
When team members understand one another’s strengths, they’ll have more insight into how their colleagues think and work. For example, someone who excels at strategic thinking might need a work environment that gives them time to analyze complex problems.
The assessment can also make it easier for managers to build teams of individuals with complementary skill sets. When all employees can use their strengths daily, they’ll be more engaged and productive at work, leading to better outcomes for the company.
Steps to take after completing the CliftonStrengths assessment
Once you’ve taken the CliftonStrengths assessment, take some time to review your top five strengths. Read the full description of each trait and take some time to reflect on how they’ve shown up in your personal or professional life.
From there, spend some time thinking about how you’re currently using these strengths in your daily life. Are there situations where you could build on these strengths more effectively? You can also discuss the results with your manager to determine how you can leverage them in your current role.
You can use your strengths for goal setting and focus on trying to build on your strengths rather than your weaknesses. Come up with a plan for how you’ll implement your strengths and set daily or weekly action items. You can also take further courses or workshops that help you develop your skills.
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Comparing CliftonStrengths to other workplace assessments
Here are some other popular workplace assessments and how each compares to CliftonStrengths:
- DiSC: The DiSC personality test measures four different criteria — dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness. It helps individuals understand how they relate to others in the workplace and is often used for team building. However, DiSC focuses on behavioral styles, while CliftonStrengths measures your individual strengths.
- Myers-Briggs: Myers-Briggs categorizes individuals based on sixteen different personality types, which can help build self-awareness. However, some argue that the Myers-Briggs test isn’t scientific and can lead to inflexible thinking.
- Enneagram: The Enneagram classifies people into nine different personality types, and it looks at the core motivations and fears of each person. The test explains how each personality type behaves when they’re thriving and when they’re under stress. In comparison, CliftonStrengths doesn’t spend time talking about your weaknesses.
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