Instead of focusing on shortcomings – start discovering potential
In many teams, development conversations start with phrases like: “you need to work on this,” “this needs improvement,” “you have a problem with this.” Sounds familiar?
What if instead of focusing on imperfections – we started strengthening what already works?
What if every team member could find out what they’re really good at – and how to use that strength at work?
That’s exactly what the Gallup CliftonStrengths® assessment is about.
It’s a tool that doesn’t look for gaps. It looks for your natural talents – and teaches you how to turn them into strengths.
What exactly is the Gallup assessment?
It’s not a personality test. It’s not another “four colors” or “types of people.”
It’s a scientifically developed tool that identifies your unique talents – the recurring patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that come naturally to you.
Gallup distinguishes 34 talents, grouped into 4 domains:
- Executing – how you get things done,
- Influencing – how you persuade and inspire others,
- Relationship Building – how you build bonds and collaborate,
- Strategic Thinking – how you analyze, plan, and look to the future.
Each of us has our individual arrangement of talents. Unique. Like a fingerprint.
And it’s precisely this diversity, when understood and nurtured – that becomes the team’s strength.
Why should you do the Gallup assessment in your team?
Because when people know what they’re really good at – their engagement, sense of purpose, and job satisfaction increase.
Because when a team knows its talents – they stop getting frustrated that “others don’t do things like I do” and start understanding that differences aren’t obstacles – they’re advantages.
Because when a leader knows what talents the team has – they can delegate tasks in a more natural, fitting, and… effective way.
A practical example: what happens when people in a team stop chasing “stars” and start seeing their own value?
In one sales team, tension was growing week by week. At first glance, everything was fine – sales were good, customers were satisfied. But inside the team, frustration was building.
There were the “stars” – people who regularly broke records and shined in reports. And there was everyone else – looking at them with admiration on one hand, and with the feeling: “I’ll never measure up” on the other.
People started trying to imitate the style of the best performers – even if it didn’t suit them at all. As a result – authenticity decreased, tension increased, and job satisfaction disappeared.
Only the Gallup assessment allowed them to “stop the race” and look at themselves from a new perspective. Each team member saw their individual talents and understood that they didn’t need to be like a star – to bring real value. That different doesn’t mean worse.
When they started working in alignment with their strengths – rather than in the shadow of others’ – everything changed. Collaboration tightened, atmosphere improved, and results… went up.
How to implement the Gallup assessment in your team?
It’s simpler than you think. But one thing is key: treat it not as “just another test,” but as the beginning of change – in communication, collaboration, and sense of purpose.
Here’s how you can conduct the entire process step by step:
1. Order access codes
Each team member receives an individual code for the CliftonStrengths® assessment. The test is completed online – it takes about 40 minutes and requires focus, but isn’t difficult.
After completion, each participant receives their unique talent report – with a list of 5 strongest traits and their description.
This is the moment when many people say: “This is me. As if someone was reading my mind.”
2. Organize individual development sessions (optional, but worth it)
Although the report itself is valuable, real change begins when someone helps you understand it.
That’s why it’s worth having each team member meet with a certified coach – someone who will help them discover:
- how their talents look in mature and immature versions,
- what they need to operate at full capacity,
- what might be blocking them and how to overcome it.
This is especially important when someone sees something in their report that seems like… a flaw to them.
3. Conduct a team workshop
This is where the magic begins. Because the Gallup assessment isn’t just about “knowing yourself.”
It’s about getting to know each other – in order to:
- understand that others have different talents and that’s not a problem, but a resource,
- stop comparing and start complementing each other,
- learn to communicate better and solve conflicts together.
During the workshop, people often see for the first time how different they are – and how well this can work if they learn to use it.
4. Create a talent-based language for everyday work
The Gallup assessment works best when… it doesn’t end after the workshop.
Therefore, it’s worth introducing small, simple rituals that embed talents in daily life:
- Talent maps on the wall or in the system – so everyone knows who excels at what,
- Questions about talents during meetings: “Which talent will help us now?”, “What needs are behind what’s happening?”,
- Post-project reflections – what worked, what we can improve, looking through the lens of talents.
This way, the Gallup language becomes a shared code – that builds trust, shortens distance, and facilitates action.
A well-implemented Gallup assessment not only improves communication – it often saves relationships in teams, allows people to regain job satisfaction, and stop fighting over who’s “better.”
Because instead of competing – they start supporting each other.
And that makes a difference.
Why does it work?
Because people want to feel understood, appreciated, and truly needed.
The Gallup assessment isn’t just a test – it’s a signal to the team:
“I care about you being able to act in alignment with yourselves – and do it together.”
It’s a huge change.
Instead of measuring everyone by the same standard, you start seeing the team as a mosaic of unique talents. You stop asking “why are they like this?” – and start asking:
“How can we best use this?”
Because when a team knows their talents, everything changes:
- Less comparison – more recognition.
- Less tension – more collaboration.
- Less guesswork – more meaning.
And it all starts – as always – with a conversation.
Angelika Zimny
Mentorka i trenerka rozwoju, która wspiera liderów, zespoły i przedsiębiorców w odkrywaniu mocnych stron, budowaniu pewności siebie i pracy w zgodzie ze sobą – bez rezygnacji z celów ani z autentyczności. Od lat towarzyszy osobom, które chcą rozwijać się zawodowo bez presji dopasowywania się do przestarzałych modeli zarządzania. Zamiast micromanagementu – proponuje zaufanie. Zamiast kontroli – stawia na komunikację i docenienie kompetencji miękkich, które w dzisiejszym świecie stają się twardą walutą.
