Everyday ideas for applying your strengths at work

You’ve done your CliftonStrengths assessment and you want to stay connected to, and aware of, your strengths. Yes!

It’s easy for your CliftonStrengths report to sit quietly in a drawer or computer file. But your themes aren’t meant to gather dust. They’re meant to be celebrated and intentionally applied in your everyday work.

Why apply your strengths

Your CliftonStrengths themes reflect your natural ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. When you draw on these, and they serve you in a positive way, we call these strengths.

For example, let’s say you have Achiever in your Top 5 and you use your Achiever to get things done in a way that is motivating and energizing. Achiever, in this case, is a strength.

When you use your strengths at work, you’re more likely to feel engaged, productive, and satisfied at work (Clifton & Harter, 2021). Makes sense. And that’s definitely what we want.

When you know your strengths, you can intentionally apply them to your daily responsibilities–whether that’s teaching, research, service, or administrative work. For faculty and staff in higher education, this not only makes your work more sustainable but also supports your overall wellbeing and professional fulfilment.

5 simple ways to apply your strengths at work

Here are some simple ways to bring your themes to life in the responsibilities you manage each day.

1. Make your to-do list strengths-friendly

Instead of “Write proposal,” you might write “Use my Strategic to shape a clear proposal path” or “Call on my Learner to synthesize the ideas from these three sources”. When you frame a task through a theme, it reminds you that your themes are part of how you already operate.

2. Bring your themes into collaboration

Strengths often shine in partnerships. For instance, let’s say you are working on a challenging project with a new colleague. It would be helpful to openly discuss where you can each make contributions. You might let them know that your Deliberative will think about all the worse-possible case scenarios and that, in your experience, that has been useful in complex projects.

3. Reframe routine or heavy tasks through your themes

When something feels like a slog (think: grading, paperwork, or endless emails), try asking, “Which of my strengths could help me here?” Maybe your Analytical gets satisfaction from tracking progress in spreadsheets, or your Includer can bring in different perspectives to augment the outcome.

4. Use your themes when the way forward feels unclear

If you’re stuck, choose one theme and ask: “How could this help me move ahead?” For example, if you lead with Connectedness, step back and consider the bigger picture and how it links to your values.

5. Reflect with one theme at a time

Pick a single theme each week and use it as a lens. For example: “Where did I use my Communication this week? Where could I use it more next week?” Over time, these short reflections deepen awareness and make it easier to bring your strengths into daily work.

Over to you

Which of these everyday ideas could you experiment with this week?

References:

Clifton, J., & Harter, J. (2021). Wellbeing at work. Simon and Schuster.