How to Become a Power of 2 in Marriage

On a recent Called to Coach: CliftonStrengths Summit 2016 Edition, we spoke with Gallup-Certified Strengths Coaches Joe and Judy Bertotto. These webcasts will highlight some of the best and most popular sessions from the CliftonStrengths Summit.

After making a New Year's Resolution in 2012, Judy and Joe followed through on their commitment to pursue a professional development opportunity together. Based on their backgrounds they chose to work on the Gallup Certification and became the first married couple in the world to be Gallup-Certified Strengths Coaches.

Joe was originally certified as a Strengths Coach in 2006 with a Gallup client organization and has been working in the field of organizational culture for over 30 years. Joe has published a number of articles on strengths, leadership and culture that have appeared in a variety of publications.

Judy honed her skills over the past few decades maximizing the engagement and productivity of her teams while serving in senior leadership positions in banking and marketing. Originally exposed to StrengthsFinder as a personal tool in 2006, Judy successfully practiced a strengths-based leadership model with her own teams over the past seven years. In an effort to feed her needs, she recently chose to dedicate herself fully to coaching, let the adventure begin.

"Take pride in collaboration instead of being competitive."

In any partnership or marriage, resentment can build if you don't understand the other person. CliftonStrengths gave Joe and Judy a language to appreciate their differences and taught them how to leverage those differences. They use the StrengthsFinder tools in their own relationship. They use the Best of Us tool and the Theme Insight cards to clarify their needs with each other and to be intentional in meeting those needs. They each keep a 3x5 note card with the other person's strengths and needs to stay aware of them.

While working together, Joe and Judy have become master of their own domains. Some of their strengths overlap, but they take pride in the collaboration instead of being competitive. They share expertise and compete together to be the best they can be. Joe puts a lot of value in expertise and delivery, while Judy focuses on the journey and creating new ways to do things.

To hear more about coaching strengths for organizations, individuals and coaches, please watch the full video or listen to the audio above.

Judy Bertotto's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Adaptability, Ideation, Individualization, Strategic and Empathy.

Joe Bertotto's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Focus, Learner, Achiever, Positivity and Maximizer.