The CliftonStrengths assessment helps individuals identify their natural talents and gives small businesses a framework for developing more engaged teams. Here’s how the assessment works and how companies can use it to improve employee performance and collaboration.
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 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 make better career decisions.
- 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: According to the company, over 90% of Fortune 500 companies have used the CliftonStrengths assessment to support employee development and team performance.
How does it work?
The CliftonStrengths assessment takes 30 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 CliftonStrengths themes. These themes fall under four domains:
- Strategic thinking: People who excel at strategic thinking can absorb new information and plan for the future.
- Relationship-building: Relationship-builders bring people together and create stronger connections.
- Influencing: People with influencing themes excel at communicating ideas and persuading others.
- Executing: Executors are good at turning ideas into action and getting things done.
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.
CliftonStrengths can help your small business improve team communication and build a more positive culture. However, it’s only worth it if you’re committed to applying the insights gleaned into your daily business activities.
Benefits of the CliftonStrengths assessment
Here are some of the benefits you could see by completing and implementing the CliftonStrengths 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. 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 co-workers.
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 employees 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 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 refine 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 minimizing your weaknesses. Come up with a plan addressing how you’ll implement your strengths at work, and set daily or weekly action items. You can also take further courses or workshops that help you develop your skills.
Comparing CliftonStrengths to other workplace assessments
Below is an overview of 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 one’s individual strengths.
- Myers-Briggs: Myers-Briggs categorizes individuals based on 16 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.
- The Enneagram: The Enneagram test classifies people into nine personality types, and it explains the core motivations and fears of each personality. The test explains how each personality type behaves when they’re thriving and when they’re under stress. In comparison, CliftonStrengths doesn’t address an individual’s weaknesses.
How much does CliftonStrengths cost, and is it worth it for a small business?
The cost of CliftonStrengths depends on who’s purchasing it and the level of detail you’re looking for. Here’s an overview of the different price points:
- Students: Students pay $24.99 for their assessment.
- Individuals: Individuals can pay $24.99 for their top five themes or $59.99 for a full overview of the 34 themes.
- Managers, leaders, and sales professionals: $49.99 for the assessment.
- Organizations: Organizations and large teams will need to contact Gallup directly for pricing.
CliftonStrengths can help your small business improve team communication and build a more positive culture. However, it’s only worth it if you’re committed to applying the insights gleaned into your daily business activities.
The trap many leaders fall into is treating the assessment like a one-time team-building exercise. You and your employees take the test and discuss your results, and it’s energizing at first, but nothing really changes. Instead, use the results to make specific improvements, like assigning work based on employees’ strengths, supporting employee development, or helping managers delegate more effectively.
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