According to the Gallup Corporation, a team is most effective and in a position to be successful when a

diverse representation of strengths is present. According to Don Clifton, inventor of the CliftonStrengths
Assessment and pioneer of Strengths Psychology there are 34 strengths which naturally fall under four more
general domains: executing, influencing, relationship building, and strategic thinking. Leaders who are strong
in the executing domain are primarily action oriented, they are the ones who, get things done. On the other
hand, leaders who are strong in the influencing domain are able to sell their teams vision both inside and
outside of their organization. People whose strength lies in relationship building domain are able to moderate
conflicts and create bonds. Strategic thinkers are able to analyze information and are primarily forward
thinking. Once a leader has identified their own strengths and the strengths of their team, he or she can be
more strategic when making new hires or adding new people to the team. According to the CliftonStrengths
Assessment, my five strengths are as follows:

Executing Influencing Relationship Strategic Thinking

Building
responsibility harmony intellection
consistency input

As a leader, one has to validate and meet the needs of their team. Gallups research explains that followers
need trust, compassion, stability, and hope from their leader.

Because of my strength in responsibility, I consistently take ownership of my actions, my feelings, and

my words. I value honesty, loyalty, and integrity. In order to build trust, it is imperative that I highlight both
what is right and what is wrong, morally and logically. I will show compassion by owning up to my errors
and showing people that I genuinely care about them as individuals. I can provide stability by showing my
teammates that they can depend on me to follow through properly and in a timely manner. I am able to create
hope among my team by tackling projects proactively and providing team members the opportunity to choose
what they will contribute to a project.

Another one of my strengths under the executing domain is consistency. This means that I create and
implement clear and concise rules and expectation and adhere to them. I also attempt to treat everyone
equally. In order to build trust, I subject myself to the same rules and expectations that I place on my team.
Showing my appreciation for the value other people place on fairness and equality will build a foundation of
support and understand and is one way that I can show compassion. Providing stability is important in order
to be an influential and successful leader. I need to communicate expectations clearly and concisely so that my
team members not only know rules and expectations, but also underlying principles. By being clear and
concise, team members will know the expectations and will have a more success in not violating them. Being
consistently available for help and support will create hope by assuring team members that they can count on
me. I intend to encourage those team members who may struggle and validate their personal patterns of
success.

Although I do not shy away from necessary conflict or positive dissonance, I often seek areas of
agreement. This is evident in my strength in harmony, which falls under the relationship building domain. I
am able to effectively build trust but showing others that I respect and value their input and genuinely want
their point of view to be heard. I will help each person have a say if someone begins to derail a conversation
and silence others. Conflict is a major cause of stress. By thinking about and communicating the greater cause
or the larger picture of the organization, I am able to reduce conflict, friction, and stress, therefore, being the
impetus for the entire group to move towards a common goal. A group is able to remain strong by fostering an
atmosphere where differing viewpoints are respected and encouraged to be shared. By consistently facilitating
the respectful volley of dissenting views, I can provide security and stability for group members. Furthermore,
encouraging these respectful interactions will promote engagement and collaboration, raise individual
achievement, and increase the overall performance of the group, all of which will create hope for the team
members.

To lead effectively, I need time alone for introspection and reflection. I also value intellectual
conversations and forums, which is evidenced through my strength in intellection, under the strategic thinking
domain. By reflecting on others thinking and behaviors and then providing constructive criticism or
accolades to support them, I will be able to build trust and help others succeed. I am able to build relationships
and show compassion to team members by engaging others in intellectual or philosophical discussions. I
believe this will work for team members with like thought processes and team members with dissenting
thought processes because it will bring a different angle to an issue. In order to provide stability for team
members, I need to share the mental steps that I took in order to arrive at a solution or an idea. Some team
members will be able to engage in a discussion on the fly however, others will need time to reflect before
responding. In order to create hope and not intimidate others, it is important for me to recognize these two
thinking styles and encourage team members to use their preferred way of thinking to create lofty goals for the
future.

I crave knowledge and am continuously reading and archiving new information that I find interesting
or useful. This is typical of a person who is strong in input skills which fall under the strategic thinking
domain. It is important to build trust by providing team members with new information that is current,
accurate, necessary, and useful for success. By ensuring that my information is current and accurate, I will be
able to provide stability to team members. I can show compassion to team members by communicating that I
want to answer their questions or research their issue. By sharing new ideas or knowledge I research and
learn, I will be able to create hope and encourage others to think outside the box or explore their own
interests and questions.

Most of the time, team members will have strengths that fall under multiple domains. When a leader
has the self-awareness to know their own strengths, that leader can then lead from their strengths, rather than
their weaknesses. According to Gallup, a team will thrive when there is a broad representation of Cliftons 34
strengths across all four domains. When building a team and adding new team members, a leader should
attempt to include people with strengths that are not represented or under represented on their current team.
According to Gallup, a team will thrive when there is a broad representation of Cliftons 34 strengths across all
four domains.