Employers and organizations are often responsible for developing and dishing out personality and aptitude tests. The CliftonStrengths Assessment differs in that it is not a personality test – it’s a performance-based assessment that helps you understand your innate skills.
The CliftonStrengths assessment (formerly known as the Clifton StrengthsFinder), developed by The Gallup Organization, helps:
- Individuals identify their five top strengths
- Organizations improve their company’s culture and performance.
- Students uncover their strengths
- Teams and managers create a workplace whereby their team works more effectively, and their employees are more engaged.
Therefore, while the CliftonStrengths assessment is still a valuable resource for employers looking to gauge prospective employees, the Gallup entrepreneurial CliftonStrengths is an online assessment tool that can also help entrepreneurs identify and develop their own key strengths.
Who Created the CliftonStrengths Assessment?
Donald Clifton, an educational psychologist, first created this tool. His primary purpose in developing the CliftonStrengths assessment was to pinpoint the strengths that make a top performer stand out from the crowd.
The CliftonStrengths assessment was born in the 1990s, with The Gallup Organization working under Clifton’s leadership.
CliftonStrengths Assessment vs. Personality Tests
This tool is based on more than 25 years of Gallup research and can help you discover your own and others’ top talents (i.e., strengths) in order to build a successful business and foster a healthy work environment.
Unlike other comprehensive aptitude assessment tests, most people can complete the CliftonStrengths test in about 30 minutes. Results include a thorough report that explains your top five talents so that you can maximize your chances for success in any entrepreneurial undertaking. This report can help you recognize and understand your entrepreneurial skills and abilities, as well as identify areas where you can improve or may need help.
The CliftonStrengths test is more general than other personality trait assessments available today, which is why it’s useful to both independent entrepreneurs and employers attached to large companies. The results clearly show how test takers perform in a wide range of areas, which can help plot ways to apply individual talents to improve performance, maximize productivity, and boost chances for success.
The CliftonStrengths assessment also has the added benefit over personality tests like the Myers-Briggs assessment in that it’s easy to apply the feedback you receive so that you can make improvements to your performance and further develop your strengths.
Preparing for the CliftonStrengths Test
Since the primary use of this assessment is to identify natural skills & talents, preparing for the exam involves increasing familiarity more than actually “studying” for it. This is why JobTestPrep’s Gallup CliftonStrengths test prep package is so appealing and effective at staving off pre-test bouts of anxiety, which can manifest in many ways, including insomnia the night before test-taking.
The test prep package not only teaches you about the structure of the test but also provides a comprehensive guide that goes over the different characteristics and recommendations for how you should approach questions.
Since there’s a time limit on Gallup’s CliftonStrengths test, simply being familiar with it and what it’s assessing can greatly affect how accurate the results are. The last thing you want is to get stuck on multiple questions and be unable to complete the test because of it.
Gallup’s CliftonStrengths Test Format
The CliftonStrengths exam format is straightforward, but this doesn’t mean answering accurately is easy. The test consists of 177 statements – your job is to decide how accurately each describes you. The test requires an answer to each statement within 20 seconds. Regardless of whether you answer (or not!), it’ll move on to the next statement after 20 seconds.
The exam is only available digitally, and you have one hour to complete it. The reason for the time limit is that you shouldn’t over-analyze each question but rather quickly choose the answer that most resonates with you. Needless to say, carefully reading each sentence is the best way to ensure results that accurately reflect your personality.
The Gallup CliftonStrengths assessment tests across four domains – strategic thinking, relationship building, influencing, and executing) with 34 different themes. Each theme serves as a way to describe what a person is naturally best at or what areas they might require some help in to succeed.
Let’s go over five of those themes and what they mean:
- Adaptability refers to how well you can handle having to adjust to changing situations and go with the flow, which is key when running a business
- Includer involves a good deal of emotional intelligence since it refers to one’s ability to be accepting of everyone
- Empathy requires emotional awareness as it has to do with being able to put yourself in other people’s shoes
- Restorative refers to your problem-solving capabilities, as well as how effective you are at finding solutions and implementing them
- Developer refers to your ability to help subordinates and co-workers achieve their true potential
How the CliftonStrengths Test Can Help Entrepreneurs & Employers
The capacity to understand your own psychology and behaviors, your ability to resolve conflict, and how you affect those around you are advantageous abilities when getting a business off the ground. Knowing where you excel and where you need to delegate leadership guarantees that you will amplify strengths and cover weaknesses.
Even employers can make the most of project team composition by investing and identifying the team lead’s talent themes and those of the team members, especially those who try to hide when they’re having difficulty. Effectively placing people in compatible positions ensures their productivity and team commitment.
Alternative Personality Trait Assessment Tests
Caliper Assessment – This is a two-part assessment test that combines a personality test with a cognitive ability test to provide employers with a clear image of the capabilities of potential employees.
Myers-Briggs Personality Test – This is a self-report inventory that identifies your personality type, preferences, and strengths. This test aims to help people learn more about themselves – their likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, compatibility with others, and potential career avenues.
