Rolling Out StrengthsFinder

We roll out strengths-based performance cultures, stepping them into work teams over a few years in three phases: Awareness, Appreciation, and Application.

When we start, and in every interaction after, every leader asks us how they use all this empowering new knowledge to apply their strengths more. Today. Racing to the finish – step 3 in the process – is everyone’s desire, including ours. Yet, again and again, we found the fastest way to amplify Application is by investing time and attention in Awareness and Appreciation.

Throughout the process, we redefine the word leader. In a strengths-based culture, you are valued as a leader in your own right. When matured and developed, your strengths infuse your challenges with unmatched passionate energy. When you learn how to turn the dial up on your natural talents, you surprise yourself with what is possible.

Awareness

Awareness is the honeymoon phase of a StrengthsFinder rollout. Once we get the conversations started, you won’t want to stop the discussions with your team. You are learning the reasons why you do what you do in a way you’ve never experienced. You will all learn how to see their strengths at work and when you've applied them with the most success.

Appreciation

The gains in this phase are the broadest and deepest by far.

In the Appreciation phase, we ask you to not only learn about each of the Clifton34 Strengths but to view them through the lens of brilliance, genius, beauty. We talk about each strength's usefulness, its productivity gains, and how it blends well with others.

Work is a place that pushes the bias buttons that we all have. We light up over grievances when our approach (our strengths in action) feels limited in some way. These are when our strengths are unsatisfied, and our needs are unmet.

In this stage, we lean on a power tool brought to us by the late Chip Anderson that he called The Genius and Beauty Found Within. Using this tool and others, we ask leaders to coach themselves past their bias by diving into their co-worker’s Top 5. We ask them to look beyond what pushed their button (what happened) to understand the deeper motivation under the behavior (the why).

We think of strengths as a bias-reduction tool, as THE way to build a culture of diverse thinking. It takes long-held stubbornness over the "right way" of doing something to a new perspective. It lifts both people in their best light, all while challenging work.

Application

This phase is the last mile in the race, the downhill slide. When you put the work into increasing your awareness and add the deep dive into appreciating each of your strengths, applying strengths becomes a natural outgrowth of your work.