Gallup CliftonStrengths® is an assessment of personality, rooted in the theory of positive psychology. Research indicates that people who know and use their strengths every day are more likely to experience positive emotions (energy, happiness, respect) and less likely to experience negative emotions (stress, worry, anger, sadness). The assessment identifies an individual’s top five “Signature Themes” from a list of 34 common talents. Individuals can then develop those talents into strengths, and apply those strengths in all areas of their life.
Overview of the Individualization® Strength
If you have the Individualization® strength based on a CliftonStrengths® assessment, you find the unique qualities of individual people fascinating. You don’t like generalizations because it diminishes what is unique about each person. Rather than paint everyone or even groups of people with on wide brush, you get caught up in the individual brush strokes that make every person unique.
John Lennon once quipped, “It’s weird not to be weird.” If you have the Individualization® strength, you believe that the things that make people “weird” are the things that make them most interesting. You look for the things that make each person stand out.
You also have the knack for finding the perfect gift for your friends and coworkers for birthdays and holidays because you understand the things that make them unique and special. Professionally, you’re able to not only see the strengths of others, but also to draw those strengths out in many subtle ways.
Action Items for the Individualization® Strength
Choosing a career that takes advantage of your Individualization® strength is critical. You need careers that allow you to see people as individuals and help them develop the talents and gifts that make them all unique and special.
Keep your focus and feed your gift by doing the following:
Choose careers that allow you to help others find their own strengths and styles.
Share the gifts you recognize in your colleagues with others in your organization, so you can work together to make sure that all needs are met within your organization.
Study successful people to better understand what it is about them that helped make them so successful.
Explain that despite conventional wisdom that encourages you to treat everyone the same, you should treat people differently – as individuals. This is the only way to ensure that everyone’s needs are met and that everyone has a voice that gets heard.
Ideal career choices for people who have the Individualization® strength include these fields: teaching, counseling, sales, talent scouting, personal coaching, career coaching, leadership training, managing.
This gift allows you to help others recognize and refine their own gifts. It is a special strength to have and to share with others.
How to Manage Someone with the Individualization® Strength
People who have the Individualization® strength are often outstanding judges of employee strengths and weaknesses. Consider using them to the advantage of your entire organization by having them serve on selection committees for multiple positions.
Other things you can do to maximize the use of their talents include:
Ask them to increase productivity by recommending roles for people based on their strengths and weaknesses.
Turn to them for insight when you’re having difficulty understanding the perspective of some of your employees.
Discuss changes that can be made to get more productivity from specific employees when performance issues arise.
Consider asking them to mentor new employees to assess where their strengths lie, so your organization can utilize their skills best.
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Gallup®, Clifton StrengthsFinder®, StrengthsFinder®, CliftonStrengths® and each of the 34 CliftonStrengths® theme names are trademarks of Gallup, Inc. For more information, or to take the CliftonStrengths® assessment, visit www.gallupstrengthscenter.com.
