Learn About the Science of CliftonStrengths
Gallup created the science of strengths. For decades, the CliftonStrengths assessment has helped people excel. Learn how the assessment and its application for strengths-based development empowers people to maximize their infinite potential.
Talent x Investment = Strength
The formula Talent x Investment = Strength captures a profound concept in a simple fashion.
Introduced to the public in the bestselling book StrengthsFinder 2.0, that calculation builds on the concept Don Clifton invented and later published in the bestseller Now, Discover Your Strengths.
Talents, Clifton wrote, are your "naturally recurring patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior." They're the innate, natural abilities you can productively apply.
To turn those talents into strengths, you must invest in them -- practice using them and add knowledge and skills to them.
a natural way of thinking, feeling or behaving
times
time spent practicing, developing your skills and building your knowledge base
the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance
The formula Talent x Investment = Strength is at the core of every strengths-based development product, service and solution Gallup offers.
Development Is the Key to Succeeding With CliftonStrengths
There are certainly benefits to simply completing the CliftonStrengths assessment -- the "ah ha" moments you experience when you're exposed to a new way to understand and describe to others what makes you uniquely powerful.
Gallup's extensive research on the impact of CliftonStrengths emphasizes the importance of strengths-based development.
Strengths-Based Development Empowers Your People for Greater Performance
Our data show that people who have the opportunity to use their CliftonStrengths are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and to strongly agree that they have the chance to do what they do best every day.
6x
as likely to be engaged in their jobs
6x
as likely to strongly agree that they have the opportunity to do what they do best every day
3x
as likely to report having an excellent quality of life
Plus, people are more confident and more likely to achieve their goals. They're more likely to report having ample energy, feeling well-rested, being happy, smiling or laughing a lot, learning something interesting, and being treated with respect. And they're less likely to report experiencing worry, stress, anger, sadness or physical pain.
No wonder people who use their CliftonStrengths are three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life.
Strengths-Based Development Boosts Business Performance
A Gallup research paper published in the Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship states:
"A strengths-based approach to management is the single best means of improving the employee-manager relationship that Gallup has observed over the years of working with organizations to improve employee engagement."
But the impact of strengths-based development isn't limited just to employee engagement.
In addition to higher levels of engagement, our research shows that employees who receive strengths-based development experience increased performance and lower attrition.
Plus, workgroups that receive strengths-based development post increased profit and sales while delivering higher customer engagement metrics.
We found strength-based development leads to:
7% - 23%
higher employee engagement
10% - 19%
increased sales
8% - 18%
increased performance
14% - 29%
increased profit
Download Gallup's Research on Strengths-Based Development
Our CliftonStrengths meta-analyses -- statistical integrations of data accumulated across many different studies -- provide a closer look at the impact of strengths-based development on organizational outcomes.
The Relationship Between Strengths-Based Employee Development and Organizational Outcomes
The Effect of CliftonStrengths 34 Feedback on Employee Engagement and Sales
How Reliable is the CliftonStrengths Assessment?
Researchers routinely subject the CliftonStrengths assessment to psychometric examinations.
The most recent summary of reliability and validity evidence appears in our technical report, which includes:
- the purpose and application of the assessment
- an explanation of the assessment scoring
- details about the development of the assessment
- an overview of assessment administration and feedback
- research on how reliable and valid the CliftonStrengths assessment is
- data on the utility of strengths-based development interventions
The Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0 Technical Report
How Does CliftonStrengths Compare to Myers-Briggs, Other Assessments?
We often receive questions about how the CliftonStrengths assessment compares to other assessments and development tools.
Visit our resources section to find articles detailing the following comparisons:
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®) and CliftonStrengths
- DiSC and CliftonStrengths
- Insights Discovery and CliftonStrengths
- Strengths Profile and CliftonStrengths
- Kolbe Index and CliftonStrengths
- VIA Character Theory and CliftonStrengths
- StandOut and CliftonStrengths
- Enneagram and CliftonStrengths
- Hogan Development Survey and CliftonStrengths
Get Updates When We Release New Research
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