Leveraging CliftonStrengths? for Effective Feedback

Feedback is a crucial part of personal and professional growth, but the way we give and receive it can vary greatly depending on our natural strengths. As we wrap up our 360 feedback and coaching programme for the year at work, this has been on my mind. Reflecting on the different ways people approach feedback through their CliftonStrengths? themes has provided new insights into how we can improve these conversations. In this post, we’ll explore how each of the 34 CliftonStrengths themes tends to give and receive feedback, offering guidance on how to tailor your approach for more meaningful interactions.

Which ones do you relate to?

Achiever?:

? Giving Feedback: Focuses on results and progress. Feedback is direct and oriented around productivity and what was accomplished.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers feedback that recognizes their hard work and points out how they can achieve more.

Activator?:

? Giving Feedback: Moves quickly to highlight what can be done differently and encourages immediate action.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers feedback that is fast and focused on how they can take action or initiate new efforts.

Adaptability?:

? Giving Feedback: Provides flexible feedback, adapting to the moment, and tends to focus on what’s happening in the present.

? Receiving Feedback: Values feedback that allows them to pivot and adjust rather than follow a strict plan.

Analytical?:

? Giving Feedback: Breaks feedback down with data and logic, pointing to facts and trends.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers detailed, data-driven feedback that makes sense logically and can be verified.

Arranger?:

? Giving Feedback: Likes to provide feedback that helps people re-organize and optimize processes for better results.

? Receiving Feedback: Appreciates feedback that helps them improve their coordination and juggling of various tasks.

Belief?:

? Giving Feedback: Gives feedback grounded in their core values, often encouraging others to stay true to their principles.

? Receiving Feedback: Responds best to feedback that aligns with their beliefs and ethical standards.

Command?:

? Giving Feedback: Doesn’t sugarcoat feedback—it’s clear, direct, and unambiguous.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers straightforward, no-nonsense feedback that respects their decisiveness.

Communication?:

? Giving Feedback: Provides feedback that is well-expressed and often involves storytelling or vivid examples to make a point.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers feedback delivered verbally with clear, expressive communication.

Competition?:

? Giving Feedback: Uses comparisons to others as a benchmark in feedback, pushing people to do better.

? Receiving Feedback: Values feedback that helps them know where they stand compared to others and what will help them win.

Connectedness?:

? Giving Feedback: Links feedback to the bigger picture, helping others see how their actions affect the larger whole.

? Receiving Feedback: Appreciates feedback that considers their impact on others and emphasizes interconnectedness.

Consistency?:

? Giving Feedback: Fair and equitable in giving feedback, ensuring everyone is treated the same way.

? Receiving Feedback: Wants feedback that is balanced and treats them the same way it treats others.

Context?:

? Giving Feedback: References past performance and history when giving feedback, to help frame current performance.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers feedback that is rooted in history and considers past experiences or successes.

Deliberative?:

? Giving Feedback: Careful and thoughtful in providing feedback, considering all possible risks and consequences.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers feedback that is well-considered and focuses on potential risks or areas to avoid.

Developer?:

? Giving Feedback: Encouraging and focused on potential, often pointing out small improvements and growth.

? Receiving Feedback: Appreciates feedback that acknowledges their efforts to help others grow, and that points out areas where they can further develop.

Discipline?:

? Giving Feedback: Organized and structured in their feedback, sticking to a clear framework or plan.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers feedback that’s specific, organized, and helps improve efficiency or structure.

Empathy?:

? Giving Feedback: Tailors feedback to the emotional state of the recipient, often with sensitivity and care.

? Receiving Feedback: Values feedback that is delivered with emotional awareness and an understanding of their feelings.

Focus?:

? Giving Feedback: Straightforward and focused on priorities, cutting out any unnecessary information.

? Receiving Feedback: Appreciates feedback that helps them stay aligned with their goals and maintain focus.

Futuristic?:

? Giving Feedback: Highlights possibilities and future potential in feedback, encouraging forward-thinking.

? Receiving Feedback: Values feedback that helps them see how their actions today impact their future success.

Harmony?:

? Giving Feedback: Provides feedback that seeks to resolve conflict and keep the peace, often smoothing over issues.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers feedback that avoids conflict and focuses on creating consensus or harmony.

Ideation?:

? Giving Feedback: Brings creative solutions and novel ideas into the feedback, often inspiring new ways to approach things.

? Receiving Feedback: Values feedback that encourages their creative thinking and presents fresh perspectives.

Includer?:

? Giving Feedback: Inclusive in their feedback, ensuring everyone’s voice is heard and considering diverse perspectives.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers feedback that ensures they’re being included and valued as part of the team.

Individualization?:

? Giving Feedback: Gives highly personalized feedback that takes into account the unique strengths and qualities of the person.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers feedback that acknowledges their individuality and how they contribute uniquely.

Input?:

? Giving Feedback: Provides feedback rich with information, often bringing new facts or insights into the conversation.

? Receiving Feedback: Appreciates feedback that offers them new data, knowledge, or resources they can use.

Intellection?:

? Giving Feedback: Thoughtful and deep in their feedback, often pondering various angles before sharing their insights.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers feedback that is thoughtful and encourages them to think more deeply or challenge their ideas.

Learner?:

? Giving Feedback: Offers feedback as a way for people to grow and learn, often encouraging continuous improvement.

? Receiving Feedback: Values feedback that helps them learn something new or challenges them to improve.

Maximizer?:

? Giving Feedback: Focuses on strengths in their feedback, helping others to refine and polish their talents.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers feedback that acknowledges their strengths and offers ways to further enhance what they do well.

Positivity?:

? Giving Feedback: Always optimistic, highlighting what’s working well and delivering feedback in an upbeat manner.

? Receiving Feedback: Appreciates feedback that is positive, supportive, and focuses on what’s good.

Relator?:

? Giving Feedback: Provides feedback through close relationships, using trust and depth of connection to deliver honest insights.

? Receiving Feedback: Values feedback that is genuine and comes from someone they trust on a personal level.

Responsibility?:

? Giving Feedback: Gives feedback that stresses accountability and dependability, focusing on commitments.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers feedback that acknowledges their sense of duty and helps them better fulfill their responsibilities.

Restorative?:

? Giving Feedback: Highlights problems in feedback, but with a focus on how to fix or resolve them.

? Receiving Feedback: Appreciates feedback that helps them see what needs fixing and offers paths toward resolution.

Self-Assurance?:

? Giving Feedback: Confidently provides feedback, often with an air of certainty and decisiveness.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers feedback that respects their confidence and independence, allowing them to decide how to act on it.

Significance?:

? Giving Feedback: Gives feedback that emphasizes impact and how someone’s work is making a difference.

? Receiving Feedback: Appreciates feedback that recognizes their importance and the impact they are making.

Strategic?:

? Giving Feedback: Provides feedback that focuses on patterns, strategies, and potential paths forward.

? Receiving Feedback: Prefers feedback that helps them see the best way to move forward and refine their strategy.

Woo?:

? Giving Feedback: Charismatic in delivering feedback, often with a focus on connection and social dynamics.

? Receiving Feedback: Values feedback that is socially engaging, uplifting, and helps them build relationships.

The Interaction of Strengths in Giving and Receiving Feedback

While it’s helpful to understand how each individual strength theme gives and receives feedback, the reality is that we are never just one strength operating in isolation. Our unique combination of strengths interacts and influences how we process and respond to feedback. For instance, someone with both Analytical? and Empathy? will approach feedback very differently than someone with Command? and Adaptability?.

When strengths interact, they can complement each other or create a unique dynamic that shapes how feedback is both delivered and received:

? Complementary Strengths: If you have both Empathy? and Developer?, you may be more attuned to the emotional impact of feedback on others and skilled at using that feedback to foster growth. This combination enables you to not only sense how feedback is received but also guide the individual toward improvement with care and encouragement.

? Balancing Strengths: Imagine someone with Achiever? and Harmony?. Achiever? might push for high performance and clear goals, while Harmony? will seek to ensure that feedback doesn’t create conflict. Together, this person might be direct in their feedback but still diplomatic, ensuring a productive conversation without unnecessary tension.

? Tensions Between Strengths: At times, certain strengths can cause internal conflict in feedback situations. For example, a person with both Deliberative? and Woo? might feel a pull between carefully considering the feedback they give and wanting to immediately win others over. In this case, they might struggle to balance careful analysis with the urge to please, which could delay or dilute the feedback process.

This is why it’s essential to view strengths holistically. Feedback is most effective when it leverages the interaction of all your strengths. If you’re aware of how your strengths combine, you can tailor both the feedback you give and the way you receive it to better align with your natural tendencies.

Understanding your full strengths profile also makes you more empathetic to others. You’ll begin to recognise not just one strength in isolation but how their unique combination of strengths might influence their response to feedback. This leads to more meaningful, productive conversations and greater growth for all involved.