Are you ready to plan your next move? How well do you understand the personalities of the many types of people you interact with? To make your current and future plans a reality, you should take advantage of all of the tools available to make sure you make the best of all you have to offer. As a career tool, the CliftonStrengths assessment, often referred to as the Strengthsfinder test, can provide you with clarity when it comes to discussing what you have to offer.
The CliftonStrengths assessment identifies 34 separate personality qualities and was created by Don Clifton, a psychologist and entrepreneur who started a research firm that eventually acquired Gallup. If you are unfamiliar with Gallup, it is an organization responsible for many public opinion polls quoted in the media (“According to a Gallup poll. . . “). During the course of his career Clifton found that high achievers shared certain personality traits and he developed assessments for employers to identify desirable traits in job candidates. In 2007 the CliftonStrengths as we know it became available to the public.
The idea of this assessment, which is used widely in the business world, is to learn which of your 34 valued personality traits are strongest, so that you can look for opportunities to use those strengths and become an engaged, productive member of your team or organization. In addition, many entrepreneurs and leaders use the information for evaluating the individuals on their team and then make strategic plans to best utilize the collective strengths.
The 34 CliftonStrengths measured are:
- Achiever
- Activator
- Adaptability
- Analytical
- Arranger
- Belief
- Command
- Communication
- Competition
- Connectedness
- Consistency
- Context
- Deliberative
- Developer
- Discipline
- Empathy
- Focus
- Futuristic
- Harmony
- Ideation
- Includer
- Individualization
- Input
- Intellection
- Learner
- Maximizer
- Positivity
- Relator
- Responsibility
- Restorative
- Self-Assurance
- Significance
- Strategic
- Woo
It will cost you to take the CliftonStrengths test. Each copy of StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath contains a code that can be redeemed online to complete the battery of questions. You can also find the test through the website of the company that produces it. There are varying levels of upgrades available to help you interpret your results. In addition, there are courses, coaches and mastermind groups that can help you make the most of your strengths using the framework of the CliftonStrengths assessment.
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