As a strengths trainer and coach, I help folks to understand their talented behaviors so they can make the most of them. It’s exciting to see people come alive to their talents and apply them to relationships, work, and life.

For example, I’ve seen people start to give themselves permission for taking time to think because thinking is what they’re good at. I’ve seen people embrace their decisiveness because that’s their power. I’ve seen people foster their...

Previously I wrote about talent development. I love helping folks find their talents—and then growing them into strengths. I mean, I really love it. However, now that I’ve worked in the realm of strengths for a few years, I’ve identified a missing piece.

Talents can tell you what you’re good at, but they can’t tell you where they’re taking you. That’s the business of motivation. When it comes to self-awareness, it’s better to work on both. I...

At a recent “Strengths Bag Lunch,” employees of EnergyCAP, Inc. (ECI) discussed how to get better at “Responsibility.” The entire company has taken the CliftonStrengths assessment, which measures 34 areas of talent. The idea is to help people to develop their top areas of talent into strengths, and then utilize their strengths to achieve their outcomes.

This simple approach yields great results. Studies show that when folks are able to do what they do best every day,...

If you want to build a strengths-based culture in your organization, it won’t happen overnight. Sure, you may want your coworkers to take hold of strengths instantly to receive the tremendous benefits of focusing on strengths like: increased productivity, retention, job satisfaction, positive interactions with coworkers, and so forth.

But remember, Rome wasn’t built overnight. A strengths culture isn’t built overnight either. If it takes you more time to get momentum and...

A few months ago, I had a speaking engagement. For whatever reason, I felt anxious and unqualified, so I clung to my manuscript. The result was a tense, robotic delivery. I didn’t even want to be there, and I was the one speaking!

Contrast that with another talk a few weeks ago. I felt free and comfortable, and brought only a business card with notes. The result was an inspiring, energizing delivery that motivated the audience (and me).

How were they different? The second time I engaged...

I've suggested that a sweeping strengths movement larger than we've ever seen could be coming. I defined strengths as, “your best means of contribution and contentment,” and wrote that few of us have really tapped into the talents, traits, skills, knowledge, values, and more that are within us. And I commended us to seek humility as we seek our strengths.

With this as the backdrop, I want to share seven drivers of a contagious worldwide strengths movement. This would be a...

Sometimes when my family is getting ready for the day, I’m told to “dial it down.” Not all of them appreciate my happy dance while they’re eating their oatmeal. At 6:30 AM, they don’t all share my enthusiasm for all the exciting things that could happen that day. For them, getting out the door on time is enough. That’s alright, dialing it down is fun, too.

What I’m describing is positivity, and it’s one of my main Clifton Strengths themes....

We’re in the midst of an unprecedented strengths movement. Folks are eager to discover their areas of strength, and what’s more, they’re expecting to use their strengths every day. There are more laborers than ever before focused on helping others to use their strengths. And what’s more, technology around strengths is burgeoning.

In a general sense, I think of strengths as “your best means of contribution and contentment." You’ve got all kinds of strengths...

The CliftonStrengths Summit has come and gone (sad) and we’ll have to wait for June 2019 for the next one. Since it was a strengths summit, I would be remiss if I didn’t reflect on how I used my strengths at the event itself.

That’s the point of strengths anyway—to utilize your strengths to achieve your intended outcomes. Knowing and using your strengths is supposed to be utterly practical.

Here are the ways I used my top five talents at the Summit:

"Responsibility"

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I was fortunate to be asked to write eulogies for two of my grandparents, and there are family members who have put their requests in for the same. I consider writing a eulogy to be a sacred honor, and although I cry my way through, I’m grateful for the opportunity.

To eulogize someone is to call attention to their essence and celebrate that rare light and warmth that makes them irreplaceable. This may sound strange, but I actually enjoy writing eulogies. I don’t enjoy that to...