My CliftonStrengths® Assessment 2021

Part 1

Introduction

After completing the Gallup CliftonStrengths® Assessment, my results concluded that I am a leader in five various themes, that are labeled as the Top Five of 34 total themes. These themes represent the highest-scoring strengths that I possess and choose to utilize as I go about the world making decisions and interacting with others. The various themes appear to be somewhat related, but each theme also relates back to very different aspects of my personality and experiences.

Connectedness

According to the assessment, my top leadership theme is connectedness. To be honest, this has just recently become a strength of mine since I used to enjoy a more direct and authoritarian approach to leadership. Since becoming a wife I have decidedly taken on a more dynamic and supportive role that ensures a peaceful transition of power when necessary. As a mother, I have developed a leadership style that requires me to become more approachable, gracious, and empathetic. The key to connectedness seems to lie in the ability of the leader to become approachable, influential, and adaptable. I have always thought that the most meaningful leadership quality that I would want others to see in myself would be that I am approachable, capable, and responsible.

Strategy

My next strength is determined to be found in my strategic talents. I have always considered this part of my personality to stem from undiagnosed high-functioning ADD, that I prefer to think of as a “multifaceted personality.” This trait allows an individual to think of many possible situations, outcomes and paths and decide on the best possible choice. I certainly see the bigger picture when making decisions, knowing that all things are connected and constantly moving and changing in various directions, watching for patterns and signs of what is to come. With this strength, there is the ability to influence and guide others, perceive future gains, and to predict the collapse of relationships and business plans. So, there is a great sense of responsibility in being so deeply insightful and thinking strategically on so many levels.

Learner

The third strength of my assessment is that I thrive as Learner. It is interesting to note that this does not mean that I thrive in learning all things, but that I greatly enjoy the process of learning something new. The phrase that I can certainly relate to from the assessment results, is that learners “intuitively know how they learn best.” (2020). This is the fundamental key to anyone knowing anything. As an adult I am constantly learning something new whether it is studying French, Italian, Florida history, ancestry, travel, mechanical engineering, furniture restoration, or Instant Pot recipes, I am rarely bored. I strive to teach my children the importance of noticing and accepting how they learn best and how to use that knowledge to adapt their homework and tests so that they can learn quickly and easily. I have always felt that education would make remarkable improvements if teachers would guide students in learning in their own unique way.

Achiever

For my fourth strength, the assessment states I am an Achiever. This is probably the one strength that I find the most embarrassing of all five! The one sentence that says, “if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, Achievers feel dissatisfied,” really speaks to my ego. (2020). Honestly, it leaves me with a guilty feeling since there are so many people in the world struggling to survive and my innate ego tells me that a fantastic day was a failure if I have not met all of my goals. The other part of this blessing and curse is that once I have achieved something, I tend to feel a sense of sadness that it is over, so I find a new goal to achieve. As an Achiever, I have a certain power and edge in my drive and determination, that is highly sought after, but as I’ve experienced it can also lead to burnout and exploitation at work. I have learned that just because you can do it all, doesn’t mean you should. The key to maintaining momentum as an Achiever is to take time to celebrate each accomplishment and meditate on how each goal can be reached with a healthy balance of ambition and intrinsic motivation.

Command

For my final Top 5 theme is Command. This theme strongly resonates with my very assertive young adult personality since I have always been the person who enjoys taking the lead and is not afraid of confrontation, but I can also act as an impartial mediator. Having this kind of command as a background does help since I can access that part of my personality when necessary. This talent does sometimes intimidate others, and as I’ve grown in my other leadership strengths, I’ve found that being a more approachable and supportive leader has become a more effective approach to leadership.

Conclusion

As a leader who is still growing in introspection and experience, I would most like to be seen for my ability to connect with others. Since all the other strengths point to intrinsic reward, the most important I would regard as Connectedness since it directly reflects the impact I have had upon others, and not just for my own selfish ambition or pride. As a true leader, it is necessary to be aware of these tendencies and remain humble amid our humanity.

Part 2

For the CliftonStrengths® Domains, I have two of my Top 5 themes listed under Strategic Thinking. This makes logical sense because my strengths in learning and strategy are both directly involved in my daily work processes, educational goals and while providing for my family. My friends and neighbors tell me that I am the heart and glue that keeps my work team together and keeps my family healthy and happy. Keeping a healthy balance between work and family does take a tremendous amount of careful strategic planning. When challenges arise, and they always do, I often use my backup strengths such as influence, mediating and discipline to restore balance for my coworkers and my family.

Strategic Thinking

As a strategically-mindedemployee, I am extremely good at my job as a call center representative. I have a special talent for building lasting relationships with our customers, influencing them to make safe medication practices, and at executing important tasks.

The position requires one to constantly absorb vast amounts of information, analyze each situation and to disseminate complicated information all with tact and superb elocution. Since my position focuses on a constant flow and rotation of calls, questions, transfers, and answers, I make quick decisions, organize my ideas, and create a welcoming experience for our patients.

Relationship Building

Another facet of my work involves working with a diverse customer base. I was specifically hired as a Spanish and English translator, so for most of the day I am switching between speaking English and Spanish which takes a certain about of relationship building and execution. I enjoy building relationships with my coworkers and with our patients, and after nine years, I know exactly what they are going to ask for, and the best way to provide the services they need. One of the keys to relationship building is in being a good listener, showing empathy, being honest, and smiling even over the phone. In college, I am finding a new level of relationship building that allows me to learn from others with diverse backgrounds, education, and experiences, that gives me a great sense of purpose as a Learner and helps me feel even more Connectedness.

Influencing

A large portion of my daily work is to use my skills as an influencer to convince new patients to build trust in my organization. My background in sales, helps me creatively sculpt each message for each patient to find the best way to communicate my message. At times I also encourage our patients to follow the proper directions on the bottle, or to remember to fill their medications regularly. My skills in Command under the Influencing domain are also necessary when customers become irrational in their thinking, or they do not fully understand policies. These skills allow me to become a highly effective mediator when calls become immediately escalated, and I usually talk the patient down to a calm level so that I do not need to get supervisors involved. Influencing is also extremely important in marriage and raising children, as these skills cannot be overestimated.

Executing

Perhaps the most vital domain of all is Executing since an employee or friend can have the highest imaginable expectations and goals, but if you can’t accomplish anything, it’s all a waste of time. In my line of work it isn’t enough to say you are going to come up with ideas, or influence someone to take their medication, because if you can’t actually get the prescriptions to the patient, the job is not complete. I really enjoy working with coworkers who are disciplined, consistent, and achievers since we share many of the same core values, and we have the same innate sense of intrinsic reward that can only come from a job well done.

Conclusion

Perhaps the most poignant realization I can make after completing this assessment is that while each of us has many leadership strengths, whether it is connection, planning, education, achievements, or the desire to lead, we are all still playing the challenging and ubiquitous game of life. A game that has numerous obstacles, challenges and unforeseen events along the way and we each play with our own combination of unique leadership skills.

References

CliftonStrengths Assessment. (2020, November 21). Retrieved January 23, 2021, from https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253868/popular-cliftonstrengths-assessment-products.aspx