Years ago, before I got into higher ed, I was applying for a job that would be using CliftonStrengths. The job was right up my alley (working with high school students), but I'd never heard of CliftonStrengths before. I ordered the book, Strengthsfinder 2.0: Discover Your Strengths, which turned out to be a super fast read and came with a code to take the psychological/personality test online. According to this talent assessment, my top five strengths are:
1. Relator
2. Strategic
3. Empathy
4. Achiever
5. Activator
I have color coded them here to match the four domains of Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, and Strategic Thinking.
Long story short, I didn't get the job, but I did get involved with the organization as a student mentor. Learning about and using my strengths was central to that role, and I found it really enlightening.
Some years later, I read another book, Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow, and I took the test again. My top five results came out the same. For me, this showed the validity of the assessment where there are 34 identified strengths. I'm telling you about this because a number of administrators here at Hawai'iCC have recently taken the test to inform our leadership understanding and ability. No matter what your job, understanding yourself can make you better at what you do and better at communicating and working with others.
The unique thing about the CliftonStrengthsFinder assessment is that its approach to self-appreciation is based on identifying what you are naturally really good at. What's interesting is that there is no magic combination of strengths that makes a good leader (or teacher or whatever). If you've ever taken another psychological assessment, like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), part of the discussion around your type is how well your type "fits" with certain professions. Not so with CliftonStrengths.
It does, however, help you recognize your strengths and opportunities and how the combination of your top five work together to make you who you are. It can also help you to comprehend others. CliftonStrengthsFinder helps you understand why someone communicates the way they do, who might be the best person for a project, and how to pick a team that will not only get the job done but enjoy it and work together well.
For me, it's been most valuable in helping me understand myself and reframe my uniqueness so that I don't feel badly about what I can't do, am not good at, or don't enjoy. I can accept those things and focus on what I am naturally good at. I may still have to do things that are not easy for me sometimes, but now I know how to structure my work around my strengths, and I'm not so hard on myself about my weaknesses. I also appreciate the strengths of others more.
I recently ordered copies of Strengthsfinder 2.0: Discover Your Strengths for all my department chairs, so you may be hearing more about this soon. Take a look and see if you're interested!
1. Relator2. Strategic
3. Empathy
4. Achiever
5. Activator
I have color coded them here to match the four domains of Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, and Strategic Thinking.
Long story short, I didn't get the job, but I did get involved with the organization as a student mentor. Learning about and using my strengths was central to that role, and I found it really enlightening.
Some years later, I read another book, Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow, and I took the test again. My top five results came out the same. For me, this showed the validity of the assessment where there are 34 identified strengths. I'm telling you about this because a number of administrators here at Hawai'iCC have recently taken the test to inform our leadership understanding and ability. No matter what your job, understanding yourself can make you better at what you do and better at communicating and working with others.
The unique thing about the CliftonStrengthsFinder assessment is that its approach to self-appreciation is based on identifying what you are naturally really good at. What's interesting is that there is no magic combination of strengths that makes a good leader (or teacher or whatever). If you've ever taken another psychological assessment, like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), part of the discussion around your type is how well your type "fits" with certain professions. Not so with CliftonStrengths.
It does, however, help you recognize your strengths and opportunities and how the combination of your top five work together to make you who you are. It can also help you to comprehend others. CliftonStrengthsFinder helps you understand why someone communicates the way they do, who might be the best person for a project, and how to pick a team that will not only get the job done but enjoy it and work together well.
For me, it's been most valuable in helping me understand myself and reframe my uniqueness so that I don't feel badly about what I can't do, am not good at, or don't enjoy. I can accept those things and focus on what I am naturally good at. I may still have to do things that are not easy for me sometimes, but now I know how to structure my work around my strengths, and I'm not so hard on myself about my weaknesses. I also appreciate the strengths of others more.
I recently ordered copies of Strengthsfinder 2.0: Discover Your Strengths for all my department chairs, so you may be hearing more about this soon. Take a look and see if you're interested!
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