I've been a huge believer in Gallup/Clifton Strengthsfinder ever since I read the book, Now Discover Your Strengths. The book includes the assessment, which takes about an hour to complete with 177 questions. After completing the assessment you receive a personalized report with details on your top 5 or all 34 themes for an additional fee.
When I took the assessment, my top 5 CliftonStrengths themes were:
The idea behind the assessment is that once you identify your themes, also known as talents or naturally occurring patterns of thought and/or behavior, invest in knowledge and develop your skills aligned to these themes to build them into strengths.
In a recent episode of Simon Sinek’s podcast, A Bit Of Optimism, Adam Grant argues that the Strengthsfinder approach is flawed because it relies on people being a good judge of their strengths and people aren’t good at this.
I immediately became defensive because I’ve shared Strengthsfinder with hundreds of people and view my strengths as a part of my identity. He instead recommends an approach that relies on input from others to gain clarity about your strengths.
Instead of getting defensive or one of the three mindsets he covers in his book, “Think Again,” including Preacher, Prosecutor, or Politician, I might benefit from taking a more scientific approach, the “Scientist” mindset.
My hypothesis is that strengthsfinder provides an accurate assessment of themes/talents and through investing in related knowledge and skill that you maximize your output in the form of strengths.
What’s your experience with strengthsfinder?
How accurate does it reflect your talents/strengths?
What’s strengths do you see in me?
Do my top 5 seem accurate? Or are there others in the remaining 29 that seem applicable?
Thank you for your input. I’m happy to connect further to discuss your strengths and/or different approaches you have taken to understand your strengths.
Learn In The Flow Of Life
Jason
I too am an advocate for Strengthfinders. I believe the assessment was very valuable and helped me in my career and personal life. The suggestions as to how to relate and work with others with different strengths were helpful methods to enhance relationships in the work environment. As a leader, the insight guided me to continue driving organizational improvement. My top 5 strengths are:
Strategic
Arranger
Responsibility
Deliberative
Relator
Jason, I believe your strengths are accurate too.
Thank you for sharing your perspective.