Jim Collison:
[0:00] Welcome to Season 4 of The CliftonStrengths Podcast, where we'll dive deep into how CliftonStrengths themes build powerful partnerships and help teams thrive. I'm Jim Collison, Gallup's CliftonStrengths Community Manager.
Jillian White:
[0:09] And I'm Jillian White, Gallup's Subject Matter Expert on Culture and Leadership and our Lead Subject Matter Expert for CliftonStrengths.
Jim Collison:
[0:15] Today's theme is Input. We'll explore what this theme brings, what it needs and how it fosters collaboration. And as always, Jillian, welcome!
Jillian White:
[0:22] Thanks, Jim. And this is a fun one to get into, because this is actually my second-most- intense strength personally. And I still remember when I first got my report coming out of grad school, when I started at Gallup and seeing, I remember someone talking about, "When you get your strengths report, it's almost like you now have a name for something that was there all along, like the bridge of your nose that you couldn't see." And Input was one of those things for me that I look back over my life and I'm like, Oh my goodness, how did I not see this before? But as soon as you learn how to spot it, you can't unsee it, and you start to realize what a strength it can be.
Jim Collison:
[0:59] Yeah. Well, I'm excited to learn from you on this one. It's one of my favorite themes to talk about. But let's, let's back up a little bit. Tell us, give us a little data on it and give us a little background on it. What is it?
Jillian White:
[1:09] Yeah, just a reminder. So Input is a strength that often shows up with people loving to collect and archive things. So there's a very utilitarian element to someone who is wired with high Input. They oftentimes accumulate, it could be information, could be ideas, could be artifacts, could even be relationships that might show up in that way. I oftentimes find there's an acquisitive side of Input and an inquisitive side of Input. So the acquisitive is it's taking in things and holding on to it because it might be useful later, right? That's that archiving and collecting element of it.
Jillian White:
[1:49] Inquisitive side of Input, it has a constant craving to know more. So it's usually showing up asking a lot of questions, wanting to dive deeper into something. The image that I have, it's a Strategic Thinking theme, so the energy comes from thinking. But the image that I have is a sponge with this one. And I think about, you know, if you're going to go wash your car, you go soak up that sponge with all the goodness of the soap and everything to carry over to the car and squeeze it out. And when you squeeze that sponge, it takes out everything that you've put into it. So a sponge analogy with Input is someone who's really absorbing everything in their environment around them. So taking it in, holding on to it because they might need it, but it's powerful when they get to actually squeeze that sponge and use what's in there to help others as well. So that's the powerful part of Input.
Jim Collison:
[2:39] I love that. In the last couple years, I think of Input put a little bit like a retail distribution center. And many of those have gone robotic, right? They know where everything is. It may not always be the best organized, but they know where things are. They're there for a reason. They move things around. They're keeping them in strategic places to get them to other places as fast as they possibly can. So it's, it's been an image I've been thinking about.
Jillian White:
[3:05] That's a good way to think about it! Yeah, almost picture, like, a futuristic version of that, right, where you've got everything archived in systems, and you know how to pull it and see what's there.
Jim Collison:
[3:15] Yeah, I think sometimes we lean towards everything in order means it's always in the, like, things come together in the same place. And folks with Input may not, that may not be true. It may be the most efficient way it's being stored. So just, just some thoughts on those as you think about if you have you're high in Input. From your consulting work, Jillian, what have you seen? Can you give us a good example of this in action?
Jillian White:
[3:37] Yeah, I always love to even comb through my own examples — I'm probably using a little Input through this process. And just think about where I've seen this in action in a real-life organization. There's a Chief Operating Officer that I know well who has Input No. 1. And what's really interesting is you tend to think of an operations leader leading with more Executing strengths. So very interesting to actually see leading with, actually all Top 5 are Strategic Thinking. So very interesting to see with that. And the way that I would see it play out is this leader was very inquisitive. They led with a lot of intentional listening. So they asked really good questions of key stakeholders. They got key information they needed within the industry. So that was kind of that acquisitive element of it. And I got to watch them actually lead a system launch within their company and go through the selection process of what partners to work with and to hire alongside of this.
Jillian White:
[4:34] And I will tell you, what's really fun is to see that Input do its research. It was very thorough in its approach. They collected all the information, right? So you've kind of got all that information on what this partner brings versus what this partner brings. There was no stone unturned. And it led to a very well-researched approach to what partner to work with, and a thoughtful implementation as a result.
Jim Collison:
[4:57] Great. I love that. Love that example. Great ideas in there as well. In Gallup Access, we now have a new section — I can finally say, "Connections." I've been saying "Community" for the longest time. So for everyone, we changed Community tab to Connections. That's an area where you can connect with anybody. Just send them your themes. They can share those back with you. And you can kind of do some compare, not kind of, you can do some comparisons between you and them with your Top 5. We have a report there, as well as a Bring and Need statement. I want to practice this a little bit, because I think this is an important exercise. What does Input bring, then, as it thinks about its partnerships?
Jillian White:
[5:32] Yeah. Remember, there's that real utilitarian element to Input. So I always like to say, "Input needs an output." They're usually collecting something because it might be useful. So if I'm partnering with somebody who's really strong in Input, they're likely bringing very tangible tools or tangible information that I could use. These might either be your best partners on trivia night, or there's somebody who's a really wonderful resource for you. I even think about some of my internal partners that I reach out to. Some of our Learning Designers are high in Input, and I say, "Hey, do you have anything on this topic?" And they quickly search through their archives of everything they've saved and come back with something very tangible and helpful.
Jillian White:
[6:13] Oftentimes, these individuals are often good teachers. Go back to that Input needs an output. So what do they bring to partnership? Because they have a lot of, they collect something. It's oftentimes useful or helpful to others. So they may show up as good teachers. You heard this in the example that I shared, but I also think people with high Input bring a listening orientation. They're very good at asking questions, listening because they're collecting that information. They have that craving to know more. I think that can be really powerful for partners, for leaders.
Jillian White:
[6:48] And you heard this in the example as well, but they're oftentimes showing up to their partnerships prepared. Likely if you are connecting with somebody who has high Input, they've done their homework. And Jim, I was even thinking about this with our podcast, right? Because there's an element, I could probably hop on here and talk about these strengths without any preparation. Because the irony is, typically, Input never fully feels prepared, but it's actually way more prepared than it thinks it is, because it's studied it, right? But I still like to go back, and I'll go into Gallup GPT and, you know, try to get some wording on something that might be helpful and, or talk to somebody who has it or listen to an old podcast. So that's very much Input behavior to go back and to look at things in your archives and resources that can help you share it with others.
Jim Collison:
[7:40] Yeah. And our notes are a good example of that, as you're bringing in things we never talk about, but they're, you're bringing them in as context to some of the things we're done. That's why I like this theme so much is because I don't have any of that. So I need, in a partnership, I need that. No, I partner well with that because I need, I use it. It's probably feels good to you when I rely on you for those numbers, those stats, that information. But for the individual, we talked about, you just nailed what it brings. But this is the more important — well, maybe that's not the right way to say it. What does it need? Let's talk about that.
Jillian White:
[8:12] Yeah. So if you're partnering with somebody who has that strong Input, remember, they need freedom to discover. They love to explore. Typically, they love to take in. So I would even ask someone, How do you best take in information? Or what do you love to collect or archive? Oftentimes I find it is things that are resources or even thinking — things that they know. Right. But it could be tangible things for someone as well. So they need freedom to discover, time to read, time to research, time to explore, right? They also need space to store resources. I see this become very real for me because I'm oftentimes saving — Oh, I did a session on this topic. I'm going to save it here, right? Oh, I got this that someone else gave me, and it's a great example of what we could do in this space. I'm going to save it here. So they need space to store resources.
Jillian White:
[9:04] And then finally, they also just need opportunities to share. Remember, Input needs an output. So these tend to be individuals who are fairly generous with what they've collected, and giving them opportunities to share it back in meaningful ways is a part of how you can tap into them and what they need in partnership: opportunities to share what they've collected.
Jim Collison:
[9:26] In our new Top 5 report, we've added a section called Theme Dynamics, what two themes might look like when they're put together. It's actually one of the most fascinating. It was very popular when we released it, and folks have been loving it. If you haven't checked it out, get that done. When we think about what pairs most common with Input, give us a little data on that.
Jillian White:
[9:45] I would love to get people guessing on this, because there is a strength that pairs most common with Input, and you might guess what it is. It is Learner. That's the one that's most likely to show up. I have this in my Top 5. I believe at one point we even thought about combining these, but we felt like there was enough difference between them. Learner is more about loving the process of learning. It does not necessarily have the same utilitarian element that Input has. Input is more about taking something in, going deep in order to potentially use it, right? That utilitarian element comes out. So I find when you put these two together, remember there's certain strengths that I say amplify each other, and there's certain ones that temper each other. These amplify. Oftentimes, when you have Input and Learner together, these are individuals that love mastering something. They have expertise in areas, and they love taking things in that they can help teach to others.
Jim Collison:
[10:44] One of my favorite parts of this podcast has been this next section, though. When we take this idea of theme dynamics in the area of partnerships and collaboration, how can we use this in that way?
Jillian White:
[10:57] Yeah. So, you know, I always love to talk about who's your catalyst partner, who's your complementary partner. Catalyst partner is somebody that just lights up that strength. And Jim, I was just giving you a hypothesis that I had on this in our, in our connect earlier. And my hypothesis is that oftentimes, people get energized with other strengths in their same domain. So think about if you have high Input, it is a Strategic Thinking theme. It gets energy from thinking. So oftentimes, other themes in that same domain, think about if you were to partner with somebody that has Intellection. That could bring very thoughtful reflection to what you're taking in, right? Learner helps you go deeper with the information. Analytical might help you see patterns in what you've collected. Ideation might give you new ideas that you can put into your repository of good things. And so a lot of that just Strategic Thinking partnership can be very energizing with someone with Input.
Jillian White:
[11:55] On the complementary side, I always like to think, where does a strength need some complementing? So with Input, sometimes Input can get a little overwhelmed with everything to explore, all the things you need to, you know, look into, research, and sometimes it needs a little bit of help moving forward. So think about Activator, Achiever, Self-Assurance, maybe even Positivity could give a little forward momentum to it. So that Input, partnering with somebody that helps move from collection to action can be helpful.
Jillian White:
[12:32] I also think, and you've heard me use this spectrum thinking before, but there's certain strengths that go wide and certain strengths that go narrow. If Input is one that likes variety, likes going deep into things, it can get very fascinated by a lot of different things. And I find that partnering with something that helps it narrow down and maybe know when to stop researching or what to really zone in on. So strengths like Strategic, Maximizer, Focus, Discipline — some of those strengths that help narrow and aim that Input can be powerful partnerships as well.
Jim Collison:
[13:09] We have some tips for leaders, teams and individuals. Let's talk about leaders first. How can leaders recognize and harness this Input, right, for their teams and organizations?
Jillian White:
[13:18] Yeah. Notice, first of all, how it shows up on your teams. You know, usually these are people who ask a lot of questions. They might be people that always have something that they could share with the team, maybe some expertise or mastery in different areas. A couple of things to keep in mind if you're a leader working with Input on your team. First of all, encourage the curiosity of people with high Input. They have that natural curiosity. Give them opportunities to lean into that. If you're positioning them to do things like research or gather information or go deeper into an area, that's going to fuel them. Think about what resources might fuel them as well.
Jillian White:
[13:55] Secondly, you know, go back to what I shared that you need in partnership with Input. Give them some space to actually be able to store all the things that they're collecting. They're going to do better when they have some help with that. And when they have some help, maybe from an outside resource, knowing how to organize some of that so that you can retrieve it and have some efficiency with it. I would also say, leverage their knowledge base and recognize their contributions. Give them opportunities to share what they know and learn. Spotlight their great work in those areas, because that's typically where they're going to thrive.
Jillian White:
[14:26] And then one final thing, just to be helpful with somebody with high Input. Because it can kind of go down that rabbit trail of inquisitiveness or keep asking questions and dive deeper into something that fascinates them, it's also helpful in leading those individuals to give them some boundaries for their information gathering. So think about things like deadlines or, you know, Hey, at this point, we're going to be done with the information gathering. We're going to move into this next phase. Things like that can also help keep that Input moving forward.
Jim Collison:
[14:54] What should teams know — when they think about onboarding or working with someone with high Input, what should they know?
Jillian White:
[15:00] Yeah, Jim, I was thinking about when I first started at Gallup, when I first showed up in the office 17 years ago, I had a box of books that was waiting for me on my desk. And I thought, you know what? What a great example of individualizing your onboarding, based on knowing the strengths of who's coming into the company. And so as a high Input, I loved this opportunity to have resources right away that helped me understand what Gallup was all about.
Jillian White:
[15:27] So what does that mean for somebody who's maybe bringing someone with Input onto a team? Ask them how they like to consume information, and provide that as a part of their onboarding. Give them a wealth of information to be able to go deep into. I think that will make their onboarding and coming onto the team really enjoyable. I would also ask them, as they're beginning to connect and learn more about the company, ask them what they're hearing and collecting. They're likely collecting a lot of things that they could even share back that could be valuable observations of the team or of the company.
Jim Collison:
[15:57] Final thoughts on an individual then working in partnerships who has high Individualization — or high Input, sorry.
Jillian White:
[16:03] Yeah, that's all right. So I think I would just encourage you, if you've got high Input, you know, use it to listen actively with your partners. Use that natural curiosity to actually help you build relationships. That can be a great way to aim that input at strong partnerships. And then, be generous with what you know. We know that's an element that Input tends to have is that generosity. Think about how what you have might help someone else. So what is it your partner is working toward? What's your common mission? We talked about that as a powerful element of strong partnerships. And what do you have that you might be able to offer or provide that can help serve that common mission or make the work of your partner even easier? That's a gift that you can bring with that high Input.
Jim Collison:
[16:48] Love that. Well, with that, we'll remind everyone to take full advantage of all the resources we do have available for you. Lots of learning opportunities — Input friends, lots of things for you to collect — in Gallup Access. Log in, upper left-hand corner, choose Resources and put "Input" in there, and everything we've published and done podcast-wise is available for you as well. Don't forget, while you're in there, check out the new, the new Connections section. And we actually have new Team Grids that are there for you. Everybody can create a team grid of up to five people. Love to have you give that a try. We're really hoping that goes like family stuff. Like that's kind of one of the reasons we threw that out there is so families would have the ability to create a Team Grid, look at themselves as a team. You can do it up to five. Available right now. Thanks for joining us today. If you're listening live, stay around for a little bit of a midshow. If you're listening to this as a podcast or on YouTube, don't forget to subscribe, so you get this on a regular basis. And there's probably another one available for you. Thanks for joining us. With that, we'll say, Goodbye, everybody.
Jillian White's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Input, Learner, Belief and Responsibility.