So who is Clifton and what are their strengths? Just kidding! In marketing, we are constantly seeking new tools to complement our work and discover the true talents and strengths that lie within us. Well, a Clifton Strengths Assessment is just that!
Presented as an online assessment tool using positive psychology methodologies, it is the first instrument of this type developed entirely for the internet. Building a strengths-based culture in your business should be priority number one, so let’s look at how a Clifton Strengths assessment can be one more useful tool in your HR arsenal.
The Clifton Strengths Assessment presents 177 questions to you. Each item consists of a pair of potential self-descriptors, such as “I am a logical person” versus “I am a sensitive person.” The descriptors are placed as anchoring polar ends of a continuum, two separate, distinct choices with little room for variance. You are then asked to choose the descriptor that best describes you and identify the extent to which that chosen option is descriptive. Participants are given a total of 20 seconds to respond to a given pair of descriptors before the assessment automatically presents the next pair. So, part of this assessment is rooted in your initial guttural reaction to the question asked.
When you take the CliftonStrengths Assessment, you uncover your unique combination of 34 CliftonStrengths themes sorted into four distinct domains. When analyzed together, the themes explain a simple but profound element of human behavior: the very best qualities people have to offer, or specifically, the wide array of strengths and talents you have. Individually, each theme gives you a way to describe what you naturally do best or what you might need help from others to accomplish.
The CliftonStrengths assessment helps identify the areas where you (or your team) have the greatest potential for building strength if used in that context. It measures recurring patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior.
For example, it should come as no surprise that my CliftonStrengths Assessment revealed that one of my greatest strengths lies in Executing! That’s right, I’m a do-er, know how to make things happen and am a natural born leader – this requires discipline, focus and the ability to maintain responsibility. I’m also naturally good at Influencing, another core CliftonStrengths theme which emerged from my assessment. In marketing, influencing = selling; this converts into sales for your client and in your funnel. Commanding influence and projecting self-assurance can be a little intimidating, but I assure you it gets easier with time 😉
While this is not suggested as a hiring tool, you can use a CliftonStrengths Assessment to leverage your employees’ talents and turn them into sustainable strengths to benefit your business. Creating a strength-based culture in your team will help you fill in the gaps that you might not even know are impeding your growth and assist your staff in improving on weaknesses where they exist.
My CliftonStrengths Assessment also revealed that as a leader of a team, it can also be useful to have Relationship Building skills, as this is like the glue that holds the collage together. Thinking of your team as a fractured group of individuals and your leadership as the stuff that fills in the gaps to tie it all together – ergo, you naturally bring harmony and positivity to your team. My last theme identified is perhaps, unsurprisingly, Strategic Thinking. People with this quality tend to excel at driving teams forward with novel ideas and dynamic information, and value ideation and context. If you are also a strategic thinker, know that your analytical lens and intelligentsia is what propels your business forward – keep going!
Clear and straightforward to use, this assessment tool will add immense value to your employees’ lives beyond their time and tenure with your business. And that is part of your job as an employer, too, to help your team grow!
Sounds legit, right? That’s because it is! MK Consulting uses the CliftonStrengths Assessment to help build strong people, strong teams, and firm culture. We fully believe that it is only from a place of strength that individuals and organizations can have a significant and long-term impact.
Want to unlock your team’s potential? Want to leverage CliftonStrengths Assessment to build out your team?
Learn how Megan Killion Consulting can help.
Check this out! CliftonStrengths Themes.