Builder Profile 10 and Clifton Strengths Intertwine

Many coaches and leaders have been using Clifton Strengths (CS) in their organizations for years. There has been a great cultural shift in the companies and the personal lives of the employees. People have more self-awareness and engagement in the work place. Clifton Strengths gives us insight on who we are as individuals. It shows where we default in our way of thinking and doing. We gravitate to our Top 5 to 10 strengths to handle situations that come our way. Yet there was something missing in the equation.

Gallup saw a need to find a way to build and keep jobs in America. We first need to recognize that there are more businesses closing than starting each year. By studying the movers and shakers of the top entrepreneurs, Gallup was able to narrow down the thinking and behaviors of those select people into 10 demands of business. The Builder Profile 10 (BP10) allows us to recognize how we think in our roles at work. Whether we work for ourselves or in an organization, we are all Builders.

Clifton Strengths has given us an opportunity to see how we do life. BP10 shows us how we think about business. What do you think would happen if coaches started to work with the two tools together? What would that look like? Can you imagine the odds of someone have the same strengths and business demands in the same order AND intensity? The number would seem infinite. The point is that your strengths fuel your business demands.

Gallup has studied the correlation between Clifton Strengths and BP10. There is not a direct correlation, however, the likelihood of having a certain talent in your top five along with a business demand does exist. There is a strong probability of this occurring. For example, if you have Confidence in your top 4 of your BP10 then the chances of you having Self-Assurance in your Clifton Strength’s top five is higher. Another one would be Disruptor. The chances of you having Ideation in your top five is very high. Again, the probability is higher but there is not a one-to-one correlation to the two assessments.  Here are two examples of how to approach a coaching discussion on how this person could be using the Clifton Strengths at work in their Builder Talents. The first one will be obvious but the second one will be a little harder to see.

Your client has Knowledge at number two in his BP10. (Knowledge is knowing the market, who the competition is and what products are out there now or being developed.) You ask him how he uses his Clifton Strengths in the everyday use of this demand. You already know that your client has Input (#3) and Learner (#4) in their top five Clifton Strengths. That is pretty obvious on how those two Clifton Strengths would work with that demand for Knowledge. What would you say if I told you that this person also uses their Clifton Strengths Achiever (#1), Discipline (#2) and Individualization (#5) for their BP10 Knowledge? Let me explain briefly. The Achiever needs to know what the end result of the research will be. Discipline will keep everything organized for reference and the Individualization is used to ask the “right” questions to get to the answers faster and they can go deeper in the analysis to find out the data that is needed to deliver a more accurate report. Because this client has a drive to for knowledge around the business, the use of his Clifton Strengths aids him in keeping up with the business’ demand for Knowledge.

Now the same client also has Selling (being able to convey a clear message about the service or product.) There is nothing in this person’s top five Clifton Strengths that tells the coach that they would have Selling at number four of BP10. This person again uses their strengths to help them in selling. Setting goals (Achiever) on how much and what type of things to sell. Learning about the product and gaining feedback aids in the process. Knowing where to find the information if you don’t know the answer to the customer’s question (Input). Having the product neat, clean and organized is a big part of selling. Asking the deeper questions of the client will help you learn more about them. With that, you will narrow down the options by eliminating the things that the client didn’t want.

After this analysis of both the strengths and talents of this client, it is easier to see how this individual can be a terrific asset to the team of an organization. This person will easily be able to gather data and information to help the team clearly and concisely describe the products and services of the organization to the client. The combination of the Knowledge and Selling talents will help guide the market research, customer feedback, and product presentation that will set the sales team up to generate more business. Inviting them to attend a quarterly sales meeting, or work on the launch of a new product will be right up their alley, and they can become a valuable resource for the team to rely on when this type of information is needed.

Over the last two years, we have been seeing time and time again how CS and BP10 work together to provide and in depth look at the client. We see how the two assessments intertwine with each other. Our CS tell us how we ACCOMPLISH, FEEL, and PROBLEM SOLVE while the BP10 tells us how we THINK about business. Knowing how they work together will help you Build a stronger and sustainable business.

Prism Perspective Coaching is collaborative coaching group that includes Amy Fike, Jeff Liscum, and Patty Wilton. These coaches joined together in their quest to help others in discovering themselves through Clifton Strengths and Builder Profile 10. All three studied with Strength’s Strategy Coaching and have been through the Builder Profile 10 training at Gallup. To learn more about how Prism Perspective Coaching can help you in your company, you can contact them at info@prismperspective.us , Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.