Stop Guessing, Start Coaching: How to Use CliftonStrengths to Unlock Your Team's Potential

You have a talented team, but something isn't clicking. Projects stall, communication breaks down, and you feel like you're constantly putting out fires instead of leading strategically. You know your team is capable of more, but you don't know how to unlock it.

The problem is that you're managing the "what"—the tasks, the deadlines, the projects—without a clear understanding of the "how." How does your team naturally think, communicate, and get things done?

This is where strengths-based leadership, powered by a tool like Gallup's CliftonStrengths, transforms everything. It gives you a user manual for your team, allowing you to stop guessing and start coaching with precision.

Here are three ways you can use CliftonStrengths to immediately increase your team's effectiveness.

1. Delegate Smarter, Not Harder

Stop assigning tasks based on who has the most bandwidth. Start aligning work with natural talent. Have a project that requires building consensus and getting buy-in from other departments? Give it to the person with high 'Influencing' talents like "Woo" or "Communication." Need someone to think through all the potential risks of a new plan? Tap your team member with "Deliberative" or "Analytical." When you delegate to a person's strengths, you're not just giving them a task; you're giving them energy.

2. Transform Your 1:1s

Most 1:1 meetings are boring status updates. A strengths-based 1:1 is a powerful coaching conversation. Instead of just asking "What are you working on?", you can ask questions like:

• "Which of your strengths did you get to use most this week?"

• "I saw your 'Achiever' strength in action on that project. How did that feel?"

• "Is there any part of your role that feels like it's draining your energy? Let's see if we can reshape it to better fit your talents."

These conversations build self-awareness and show your team members that you see and value them as individuals.

3. Build Complementary Partnerships

Struggling with a team member who is a brilliant big-picture thinker ("Ideation," "Futuristic") but struggles with details and execution? Don't try to "fix" their weakness. Instead, partner them with someone who has strong "Executing" talents like "Discipline" or "Responsibility." By creating these complementary partnerships, you leverage the collective strength of the team, cover for individual gaps, and build a culture of interdependence.

Leading with strengths is the fastest path to building a team that is engaged, effective, and confident. It allows you to be the coach your team deserves—one who develops talent instead of just managing tasks.

Using Strengths is the foundation of our work in both our S.A.F.E.T.Y. and Hybrid Leadership programs. If you're ready to lead with this level of insight, let's talk.