January 2, 2013

Why StrengthsFinder

Many people have asked us, “Why have you spent the last 12 years focused on StrengthsFinder?” Or something that sounds like this, “How can you build a consulting firm around one primary tool?” Each time I have heard this question I have answered it in a variety of ways. Then recently I was asked to write out my why so a client could present it to his executive board. I wrote the following:

StrengthsFinder™ is the worlds leading assessment in a strengths based understanding

Few people know or understand who they really are, how unique they are or how to engage this uniqueness in everyday life. The Gallup Organization developed the StrengthsFinder ™ to introduce a new way of looking at oneself – through the lens of strength. When one receives their StrengthsFinder™ results, they will read StrengthsFinder Descriptions and learn just how unique and strong they are – individual results have over 33 million unique combinations of strength. Currently, more than 10 million people have taken the online assessment, in 100 nations worldwide.

StrengthsFinder ™ stands alone in focusing on strengths development

In a culture that has focused on developing or fixing our weaknesses, the StrengthsFinder™ invites people to begin focusing on what is right, and strong about people. In the book StrengthsFinder 2.0, we read,

“based on Gallup’s 40-year study of human strengths, we created a language of the 34 most common themes and developed the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment to help people discover and describe these talents.”

This is a shift in thinking, and a shift in how most people engage others. It is likely one of the only productive ways to move into developing relationships and a sense of belonging within our work teams. StrengthsFinder 2.0 offers multiple applications for personal development:

5000 possible strengths insights,
50 ideas for action,
a strengths discovery interview,
a strengths based action plan,
numerous online resources designed to enhance strengths development.

StrengthsFinder™ has a positive impact on professional engagement and personal satisfaction

Why focus on your strengths? When we focus on strengths, we are 6 times more likely to be engaged in our work. When people are more engaged at work, they have greater productivity and satisfaction. When people are more satisfied with their work, it positively impacts their relationships at work, at home and within the community. We believe this is the most important application of StrengthsFinder™ – its impact on relationships.

So why StrengthsFinder™?

StrengthsFinder™ is changing the way people see, communicate and relate with one another. Seeing people through a lens of strength, we can now assume their activity is coming from a place of strength, not weakness or opposition. Communicating to others through strength will help us choose what we say and how we say it. Relating to others through strength, builds a greater sense of belonging and connection to one another. And when we engage in strengths development, we reveal what most people are unaware of… that they are strong.