Comparing CliftonStrengths With Other Assessments

On a recent Called to Coach, we spoke with Adam Hickman, Learning Design Consultant at Gallup, about assessments that are similar to CliftonStrengths, as part of a new series called "Research for Coaches." Adam and Jim (our host) share about the research the Gallup team has done on the various assessments, how you can access it, and give a demo comparison.

Below are a summary and full video of the conversation. Full audio is posted above.

2:32 Jim Collison: I think we probably talk weekly, if not more, and it's never a phone call; it's always a video or videoconference. As we think about coaches and their interaction, it's really important -- if you're not getting your clients on video; if it's just a phone call, work really, really hard. Adam, don't you think that engagement and just seeing them is super important?

Adam Hickman: Yeah, absolutely. We're going to talk a little about it, but you started it already. If you really want to go "nerdy" on this, social exchange theory is something I'm very familiar with. And it talks about the mutual agreement between individuals and what they gain and what they don't have when they miss that aspect. So communication is great but the visual goes along with it.

3:27 JC: I just prefer video. I read body language, and it's how I know if I'm being effective. This series is the start of a multipart series that we're continuing throughout 2019. We're calling it "Research for Coaches." A couple of years ago, I got all of these requests asking, "How does CliftonStrengths compare to _____?" So we began to put a series together on this, and Adam took that on, but not Adam alone.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to coaching.gallup.com, click on the Topics tab. At the bottom left, you'll find "Strengths Comparisons." And we have all of these listed. Or you can search for them using the Search bar on top. …

When I first came to you about these, I said I don't want them to be market-driven, competitive -- we're not trying to "slam" other assessments. We want them to be fair and objective. Let's talk about how you approached this and why we're doing this, what you're seeing.

10:12 AH: The goal of these assessments is to produce easy, quick reads on how those assessments compare with or complement one another. The more you dig into what the purpose of an assessment is, you start to uncover what the reality of it was at the time it was created, and the adaptations that have taken place since then. And there lies the first clue to, "This assessment was really built for this reason, but we use it for this reason too."

So that's a conversation you can have with executives or managers or directors, dialing back into the facts.

We intentionally keep these short. They aren't stories but bullet points that give you your conversation pieces.

11:48 AH: I wanted to give an overview of other assessments. The first thing is, "What do you know about it?" To me, that means digging into the theory, the design, when they're matched together, what does that mean?

So we give a little theory about it -- where did it come from, who's the originator. And then the design of the assessment -- what's the design? That means, what type of questions are they asking? How long does it take? Is it timed? We're not looking to point out what's wrong with an assessment but to inform. So if someone asks you about it, you can give an informed comment about the design.

13:57 AH: The next part is when an assessment is matched together with CliftonStrengths, how do they work together? We always come back to the workplace. You will have scenarios in which the two are together. In some organizations, they'll have their favorite assessment in every function. For you as a coach, what can differentiate you is if you know about the other assessments. Then you can say, "Great. Keep those. Here's how we're going to use both (the other assessment and CliftonStrengths)." And that will get you even further.

Then the bottom line -- I now have freedom to give the bottom line. It's not, "Ours is better than yours," it's, "Here's what the evidence suggests. Here's the final conclusion."

JC: We're not trying to be exhaustive and comprehensive here. We're trying to give a quick but accurate read, and to help you start a conversation.

Adam Hickman's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Ideation, Command, Analytical, Competition and Individualization.