notes on my strengths

February 22, 2025 / 10 Minute Read

notes on my strengths

Listed below are my results from the CliftonStrengths Assessment, a personality test designed to help people succeed by highlighting their natural talents.

I encourage you all to take a page out of Don Clifton’s book by focusing on your strengths instead of attempting to fix your weaknesses.

Love what already loves you.

1. context

Perspective and background are important for people with strong Context talents. They value the retrospective viewpoint because they believe that is where the answers lie. They look back to understand the present. From the past, they can discern blueprints for the future.

People with dominant Context talents might feel disoriented when they can’t see patterns stemming from prior events. Others may become impatient with them as they strive to understand the history of a given situation. But this historical context gives them confidence in their decisions.

How to maximize your potential:

Help your school, team or organization strengthen its culture via folklore. For example, collect symbols and stories about the past, or suggest naming an award after someone you can memorialize for their contributions.

Find a mentor who has lived in your community or worked in your organization for a long time. Listening to this person’s experiences will likely spark your thought process and accelerate your learning.

Study your past successes. Try to identify the specific actions or behaviors that contributed to them so you can draw on them again.

Become an agent for positive change. Having strong Context talents does not mean that you live in the past. It means that you can clearly identify which aspects of the past to discard and which to keep to build a better, more sustainable future.

Empower others to make more informed choices. When a problem occurs, ask them to identify the factors that led to it so they can learn from the situation and make better decisions in the future.

Watch out for blind spots:

Some people might think that you live in the past and are resistant to change. Consider explaining the value of understanding history and what has — and has not — worked in the past, but keep an open mind when new situations arise.

You are often fascinated by history and the lessons it reveals, but others may find this information boring or overwhelming. Keep this in mind as you share your perspectives, and look for signs that you’ve lost people’s attention or interest.

2. intellection

People with strong Intellection talents like to think. They like mental activity. They like to exercise the “muscles” of their brain, stretching them in multiple directions. This need for mental activity may be focused; for example, they may be trying to solve a problem, develop an idea or understand another person’s feelings. The exact focus will depend on their other strengths.

The theme of Intellection does not dictate what these people are thinking about; it simply describes that they like to think. They like to let their thoughts go in many directions. People with strong Intellection talents are introspective. This introspection gives them time to reflect and ponder. Wherever it leads them, their mental hum is a constant in their lives.

How to maximize your potential:

Set aside a few minutes every day to collect your thoughts. This reflection time will energize you, and your thinking will become sharper and more effective.

Get involved in big projects or initiatives in the early stages, before the action begins. You have the ability to follow a trail to see where it leads, and your insights enable projects to move forward intelligently and without backtracking.

Take time to write. Writing might be the best way to crystallize and integrate your thoughts. Make a list of your best ideas, and refer to it often. Revisiting your thoughts can give you valuable insights.

Give people time to think through the thoughts and ideas you present. Remember that they have not spent as much time as you have pondering, so they might not grasp your message right away.

Deliberately build relationships with people you consider to be “big thinkers.” Their example will inspire you to focus your own thinking.

Watch out for blind spots:

Because you are comfortable with silence and solitude, others might view you as isolated, disinterested or disengaged. Be prepared to tell them that solitary thinking is just your natural process and not necessarily a reflection of how much you care.

Some people might think you create needless complexity during discussions and may want you to make decisions faster than you do. Consider tailoring your approach; sometimes it’s better to keep it simple and go more in depth later.

3. learner

People with strong Learner talents constantly strive to learn and improve. The process of learning is just as important to them as the knowledge they gain. The steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence energizes Learners. The thrill of learning new facts, beginning a new subject and mastering an important skill excites people with dominant Learner talents. Learning builds these people’s confidence.

Having Learner as a dominant theme does not necessarily motivate someone to become a subject-matter expert or strive for the respect that accompanies earning a professional or academic credential. The outcome of learning is less significant than the “getting there.”

How to maximize your potential:

Become an early adopter of new technology, and keep your coworkers, friends and family informed. You learn quickly, and others will appreciate when you share and explain cutting edge developments to them.

Respect your desire to learn. Take advantage of educational opportunities in your community or at work. Discipline yourself to sign up for at least one new course or class each year.

Find opportunities to expand your knowledge. Take on increasingly difficult topics, courses or projects. You love the challenge of a steep learning curve, so beware of learning plateaus.

Be a catalyst for change. New rules, skills or circumstances might intimidate others. Your willingness to absorb new and different factors can calm their fears.

Keep track of your learning progress. If a skill or topic has distinct levels or stages of learning, celebrate your progression from one level to the next. If not, create them for yourself. For example, set a goal of reading five books on a new subject.

Watch out for blind spots:

You place a high value on learning and studying, and you may tend to impose this value on others. Be sure to respect others’ motivations, and resist pushing them toward learning for learning’s sake.

You love the process of learning so much that the outcome might not matter to you. Be careful not to let the process of knowledge acquisition get in the way of your results and productivity.

4. developer

Developers see the potential in others. They naturally recognize others’ capacity to change for the better, and they are drawn to people for this reason. Being part of another person’s development is one of the best experiences possible for them. They look for ways to challenge others. They devise interesting experiences to help team members further develop and succeed.

All the while, they look for signs of growth — a new behavior learned or modified, a slight improvement in a skill, or a glimpse of excellence or improved flow where previously there were only halting steps. These
signs of growth in others fuel Developers, bringing them motivation and satisfaction.

How to maximize your potential:

Make a list of people you would like to coach or mentor — people whose potential, signs of growth and strengths you have noticed. Offer to meet with them regularly, even if only for a few minutes, to discuss their goals and strengths.

Call, text or email people who need your encouragement the most. Your natural ability to nurture and inspire might be just what they need to hear.

Try not to spend all your time encouraging people who are consistently struggling in their role. Sometimes the best developmental action is to help them find a different role — one that fits.

Find roles in which your primary responsibilities include developing others. Teaching, coaching or managing might be especially satisfying for you.

Boost your friends’ and coworkers’ confidence. You will naturally notice when they learn and grow, so share your specific observations with them to help them keep making progress.

Watch out for blind spots:

You may become overinvested in someone’s development and feel personally responsible if they are struggling. Accept that sometimes, the best option is for them to find their own path forward.

Be careful not to devote so much time to other people that you forget to invest in your own development. Remember that you can’t help others if you don’t take time to work on yourself.

5. activator

When can we start? This is a recurring question for Activators. People with strong Activator talents are impatient for action. They may concede that analysis has its uses or that debate and discussion can occasionally yield some valuable insights, but deep down they know that only action is real. Once a decision is made, they must act.

Others may worry that “there are still some things we don’t know,” but this doesn’t seem to slow Activators down. They make a decision, take action, look at the result and learn. The bottom line is this: Activators know they will be judged not by what they say or what they think, but by what they get done. This does not frighten them. It energizes them.

How to maximize your potential:

Record your insights or revelations when you have them so you can act on them later.

Take responsibility for your intensity. Your drive to make things happen can be the push that people and groups need to move from discussion to action.

Put yourself in situations where you can make things happen. Your energy and tempo will engage you and the people you work with.

Take on the role of asking for action items in meetings. Be the one who forces the group to commit to next steps before the meeting is over.

Find work that allows you to make your own decisions and act on them. In particular, look for startup or turnaround opportunities.

Watch out for blind spots:

Sometimes you might charge ahead and act without a solid plan. Before making a major decision, think about challenging yourself to consider alternatives and weigh options first.

The force of your urging people to take action might make them feel overwhelmed and pressured to act before they are comfortable. Remember that others may not feel that same urgency, and some people will need more time to think before they act.

additional strengths

6. Strategic: You create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, you can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.

7. Restorative: You are adept at dealing with problems. You are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.

8. Connectedness: You have faith in the links among all things. You believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has meaning.

9. Input: You have a need to collect and archive. You may accumulate information, ideas, artifacts or even relationships.

10. Belief: You have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for your life.

Bye Chance.