DE Talk Unplugged | Achieving Excellence Through Strengths

by | Jan 26, 2021 | Networking and Education

It’s a new year and we’re all ready for a fresh start! For many, this may include resolutions—new chances to learn and grow in the twelve months ahead, not just personally, but professionally, as well. In our latest episode of the DE Talk podcast, our VP of Learning & Development Jen Polcer sat down with JoDee Curtis of Purple Ink, LLC to talk about the CliftonStrengths assessment and how it can help you not only uncover your strengths, but help you identify ways to use them to achieve your greatest potential in the workplace. Read a snippet of this interesting conversation below and be sure to listen to the full podcast episode for even more insight!

Jen Polcer:

Let’s talk a little bit about employee training programs. You mentioned loving training. I myself have a passion for training and I believe they can provide so much long-term value. Which programs do you feel are the most impactful?

JoDee Curtis:

Yeah, so of course I think CliftonStrengths is one of those that’s more impactful and we’ll talk more about that one, but otherwise I think training can be the most impactful when it really connects with you. And when you’re able to implement it right away and having the opportunity to use the information. And so many times in my own career and with our clients, I hear that, “Oh, the training today was awesome and I love it.” And then they go back to work exactly the way they’ve always done it. We get right back into our old habits and we don’t implement or have a chance to follow up or to even to be held accountable for anything that we’ve learned in training. So, anytime when we can have that follow-up or accountability, I don’t think it matters what the training is. It’s something that changes our behavior.

Jen Polcer:

I wholeheartedly agree. That’s so true! So, I’m excited to talk about this CliftonStrengths and I mean, I have to admit, I totally geek out over assessments that allow you to become more self-aware and grow. And this was a new one for me. I recently took it, as well. And I’m in that super fired up stage. I just got my CliftonStrengths, I’m ready to make a difference. Why do you think, or do you know why the Gallup Organization created this particular assessment?

JoDee Curtis:

Yes. So, Donald Clifton actually worked at Gallup. Although he was the founder of it, it’s the Gallup Organization as a whole that created it. And interestingly, they were doing a study on excellence and they were looking at teams and individuals to define when did people or teams most achieved excellence? Most often or most frequently or in the best way possible? What they discovered was that excellence was achieved when people were using their strengths. At that time, sort of think of the strengths as, “what do I do best and how can I do more of it?” When people were doing what they did best more often they were more likely to achieve excellence. So, it wasn’t an assessment that was created to…it wasn’t created to be a personality assessment, it wasn’t created as, “oh, this is a fun tool,” but an actual way of discovering then, okay, if we achieve excellence most often, when we’re using our strengths, how can we better define what our strengths are? And so, the assessment came out of that process.

Jen Polcer:

I see, it’s quite fascinating. It’s such a simple concept that we haven’t tapped into, so it really has been a big eye-opener for me. Tell me a little bit more about the concept of the naming, claiming, and aiming your strengths — fun little rhyme there…

Listen to episode five of the DE Talk podcast to learn more about how the CliftonStrengths assessment works and how it can help you name, claim and aim your personal strengths in a professional setting and beyond. And stay tuned for availability of this assessment in DE Academy, coming soon!

Kacie Koons
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