Jim Collison:
[0:00] Welcome to Season 4 of The CliftonStrengths Podcast, where we'll dive deep into how CliftonStrengths themes build powerful partnerships and help teams thrive. I'm Jim Collison, Gallup's CliftonStrengths Community Manager.
Jillian White:
[0:11] And I'm Jillian White, Gallup's Subject Matter Expert on Culture and Leadership and Lead Subject Matter Expert for CliftonStrengths.
Jim Collison:
[0:17] Today's theme is Command. We'll explore what this theme brings, what it needs and how it fosters collaboration. Jillian, welcome!
Jillian White:
[0:24] Why, thank you, Jim. Always good to partner. Excited to get into this theme today.
Jim Collison:
[0:28] Me too. Let's get started with a little bit of an overview, kind of just refresh us on what this theme looks like.
Jillian White:
[0:34] Yeah, and if you remember, this is actually the least-common strength in our Gallup database. So of all 34 million people who've taken Clifton StrengthsFinder, only 5% of people have Command that shows up in their Top 5 strengths. So I oftentimes think this is actually one that gets misunderstood as a result. When you look at the heart of somebody who has Command, it's an Influencing strength. It is one, it is very comfortable stepping in, leading the charge, being very direct, helping to direct other people. It's one that oftentimes has a strong sense of presence with it, so you'll notice other people just listen to that person who has that high sense of Command.
Jillian White:
[1:16] And I was I was telling a story to Jim before this, but one of, I always like to try to pick an image that goes with each strength. And I was talking to one of my colleagues who does executive coaching with CEOs from some of the world's largest organizations. And he has Command in his Top 5 strengths. He was telling me an image that he actually uses with command is a bulldozer. And when I first heard this, I thought, A bulldozer? That sounds a little aggressive. Once he started describing what that actually looked like, think about what Command has the power to do. Command can come in, directly confront something, can directly knock down obstacles. And he saw it as a strength that helps him clear paths for other people to be able to move forward. So that was an image that really stuck with me. It's something powerful to think about, when you think of it as that Influencing strength that can directly touch something.
Jim Collison:
[2:12] In an earlier version of CliftonStrengths for me, years ago, Command much higher. I think Woo actually took over in the newer version that I have of that. But I always used to say, "My command is leadership in the absence of leadership." That was the, I'd step into situations, and if there wasn't a leader assigned, I would become the de facto leader. Like I would say, I would step up. We think about that Influencing, and why maybe we've put it in the Influencing Domain, of then saying, OK, people can't be leaderless when we need to go places. And so I didn't have, I didn't need to have it all the time. I didn't need to be the one. And maybe this is why it's shifted more towards Woo here in the future. But I didn't need to have it, but I would do it, because I couldn't let people be leaderless. So that's kind of how —
Jillian White:
[3:03] I think that's a, I mean, it's a great thing to remember, when you, when you look at that Command: It doesn't have to be in charge, but it needs to know someone is in charge. So to your point, it's comfortable if someone else actually leads, but in the absence of leadership, it will step in, and it's comfortable being directive. Another image I have with it is, you know, imagine, like, an emergency situation, where you've got an accident that happens. And someone needs to just direct everyone and say, "Hey, you call 911. Who knows CPR?" You know, like, that person is comfortable, in the absence of leadership, being the leader.
Jim Collison:
[3:35] Yeah, no, love that. We have a new section in Gallup Access for everyone who's taken CliftonStrengths, in the Community tab. If you log in, go to the Strengths Dashboard, it's there. There's some comparison chart that's in there between two that have shared their CliftonStrengths. But there's a Bring and a Need section in there. I think it's probably the most underutilized thing, the newest thing we have. We'd love folks to use it. We're going to give you an example of that. Jillian, when we think about Command, What does it bring?
Jillian White:
[4:01] Well, we're talking about some of the things already. But with Command, it brings that ability to step up, to lead, to take charge, to be decisive. It brings emotional clarity. Oftentimes, people with that high Command really value directness. And so they can directly address something in a way that just brings clarity to a situation. They also bring a strong sense of presence. One of my favorite examples of Command, we have a colleague of ours who is a former minister, maybe some of you know Al Winseman, but he leads a lot of our different sessions, courses around the world. And when you listen to him talk, Command in its purest form is actually a very natural commanding presence. And so oftentimes these are just people, they bring this ability to say something and have people listen, and they have that ability to command a room.
Jim Collison:
[4:57] We just had a whole new report come out on the Needs of Followers, right?
Jillian White:
[5:02] We did.
Jim Collison:
[5:03] And this idea of, I think, when you say presence, I think of Stability, right? Someone who comes in, things may be chaotic, and brings this stable, it's going to be OK. And, you know, it's going to be OK. And they bring that to the group. And all of a sudden, then, people who may have been, oh, maybe afraid to move or afraid to act, do it, because they feel that Stability, that comfort, that, which I think leads to the Hope. But yeah, it's kind of, I love that word "presence," because all of a sudden, I feel like people rest in that presence.
Jillian White:
[5:37] Yes, that's a great point. And just to put a little tidbit out there, for anyone who's listening in on this, Jim, you referenced the Global Leadership Study that we did. It's pretty cool to look at. We've done this in the past, but it was only based in the U.S. So this latest study took a global view. And essentially, we ran the same study again and asked people to think about somebody who they looked to as a leader that positively influences their lives. Same four things that we've seen show up in the past. People need Trust, Stability, Compassion and Hope from their leaders. Let me say that one more time. What do people need from their leaders? They need Trust, Stability, Compassion and Hope. What pops in our current context, 56% of people said that Hope was the dominant trait that they appreciate in a leader. Inside of organizations, 64% said that Hope was important in a leader.
Jillian White:
[6:29] So the current context we're leading in, you know, let's think about how each of these strengths can help to bring Trust, Stability, Compassion and, ultimately, Hope to people. Bring that back to Command, right? How can Command bring that? To your point, that clarity can help bring stability for people, that clarity that they can bring to step into maybe be a chaotic or messy situation and say, "Let's put some structure around this. Let's put some direction on this." It can help people see what needs to be done that brings both that stability and that hope for how to move forward.
Jim Collison:
[7:01] Love that. Love that that timed nicely with Command, right?
Jillian White:
[7:06] Yeah, Well, the truth is you can map any of these strengths to it, right? I mean, it's really how we live them out.
Jim Collison:
[7:11] No, right on. Although, though, thinking about that, you know, from a Command perspective, very, very interesting. Theme Thursday Season 3 is all on leadership, and actually we spend a bunch of time talking about that. So more resources for you there. OK. We've been distracted long enough. What about — what it, it's awesome!
Jillian White:
[7:27] Jim, you warned me that these get, that we get chattier throughout the season. This might be that happening right now.
Jim Collison:
[7:33] I'll tighten it up. What about what we need?
Jillian White:
[7:35] So what we need — let's imagine you're partnering with somebody that has that high Command. What do they need from you? They need freedom to be direct. That's when they're at their best. They value that directness. Remember, it is an Influencing strength. Command needs followers. They need people who are willing to listen to them and to be able to follow some of their directives. They also need challenges and conflict. I remember working with a leader who had Command in her Top 5, and she told me, "Jillian, I speak in absolutes, but I don't actually mean it. I just put it out there because I want to see if someone will push back on me. And they actually appreciate at the fundamental root of Command is a belief that growth happens in that confrontation and pushback." So it might seem a little intimidating to other people, but they actually need and thrive in some of that pushback back to them.
Jim Collison:
[8:30] In the new CliftonStrengths Top 5 report, we've added a section around Theme Dynamics — what two themes might look like together. It's actually one of the most popular parts of that new report. We had a lot of people talk a lot about it. But Jillian, as we look at Command, what does it commonly pair with, and maybe why?
Jillian White:
[8:47] Yeah, the most common strength that Command pairs with is Strategic. Let's think about those two together. Command, willingness to take charge. Strategic, seize pathways going forward. Put those two things together. What do you get? You get someone who is willing to lead people down a path, right, and good at that. So you can see how those two can combine to bring some strategy to your direction.
Jim Collison:
[9:11] And it's honestly one of those, as we talk about these themes by themselves, oftentimes we can get a little narrowed in on them, and the themes around them make a difference. These Theme Dynamics and these hints that are on your report, gives you a great opportunity to break out beyond that, to see how maybe, just like Jillian did here, how does that work with Strategic? And so don't miss that exercise on there. It's just not a pretty picture. It's some things to think about and some things to do as well. Jillian, as we think about this idea of Theme Dynamics in partnerships and collaboration, how might a team take advantage of this?
Jillian White:
[9:45] Yeah. And Jim, I want to bump back for just a minute here, because I want to think about our partners, too. So imagine on a team, the words we've been using have just been, Who's somebody who's a catalyst partner? Who's somebody who's that complementary partner? So just, as you think about Command on a team, think about how you might partner, right? Your catalyst partner, that's someone who you want to think about partnering with that's just going to bring out the best of that strength. What do we know about Command? It's decisive. It's good at taking direction. What might just light up that Command?
Jillian White:
[10:20] Other people who help give a destination or a purpose to that leadership. So imagine a Command partnering with a Significance that's able to dream big, or Belief that's able to give it some mission and purpose; Focus that's able to give it a goal; Activator that gets people moving or on that vision or that directive. So something that helps give some direction and purpose to that Command can be a really powerful catalyst.
Jillian White:
[10:44] On the flip side of that, think about how you team and partner with people who are different than you that might complement you well. So because that Command can lead in a very direct way, oftentimes it may have a little of a wake or ripple effect that's unintended with that directness. And there's certain Influencing strengths that can influence through pushing or through pulling people. Think about what Command does: It tends to be more of a push Influence strength. So what does it need to be mindful of partnering with? Partner with other strengths that help pull people in, bring people along. Those might be strengths like Harmony, Developer, Empathy, Woo, Includer. These are all going to be conscious of bringing other people with you. That's the biggest complementary element you want to think about with that Command strength.
Jim Collison:
[11:36] Specifically, we want to think a little bit about leaders in this — leaders, teams, and we'll wrap this with individuals. So let's talk about leaders. What can leaders recognize and harness Command with those folks that they're leading in a team or an organization?
Jillian White:
[11:50] Yeah. First of all, just think about how you spot this on your team. Look for your people who are comfortable stepping up and leading. Look for your people who are decisive, maybe even opinionated. When they speak, people listen. If you are a leader leading someone like this on your team, be direct with them. They are going to value that directness from you as a leader. Give them clarity. That's where they thrive is in clarity. Provide pushback with them. Even for me, when I'm coaching somebody who has high Command, I don't have it high, but I push back a little more, because I know that they're going to appreciate that in our conversation. So push back from them. Expect pushback from them when you're leading this person. Remember, that's where they believe that growth happens. They're not personally attacking you; they're really trying to create opportunity for confrontation to lead to growth. And put them in places where they can naturally lead. Remember, it's an Influencing strength. It's good at being decisive. When you need somebody who can be that in-the-moment leader, decisive, put them in that place.
Jim Collison:
[12:52] Yeah, they can move teams. Speaking of teams, let's think of some quick tips for those teams that are working with someone with high Command.
Jillian White:
[12:59] Yeah, and we've talked about some of these concepts already, but just think about, somebody with high Command does not do well with passivity or avoidance. If you're partnering with somebody who's got high Command, shoot straight with them. They're going to appreciate that. I would also just encourage people, because this is a little less understood, remember that that strong presence can be a bit intimidating sometimes, but don't let that stop you. Remember what they value is a little bit of pushback. So even though it may seem like a strong opinion, share your strong opinion back and be willing to have some of that debate with them. They're going to appreciate that. And then leverage them when you need somebody to be in that spot where they can call the shots.
Jim Collison:
[13:42] As we wrap this, let's think about the individual again and someone with high Command. Final thoughts on how they can amplify this theme with their current partnerships or teams that they're working with?
Jillian White:
[13:52] Yeah, two thoughts for people that are high in Command. One, I would encourage you, help claim your strength and how it shows up. Because this one is a little less understood just because it's less dominant in the population, help other people understand where you're coming from. So, you know, say, "I really value directness. And so I may say some things in a strong way, but I do that so that we can quickly get to the root of the issue or to talk about something. And I want to invite you to push back." So use some words to help claim how that strength shows up in partnering with other people.
Jillian White:
[14:25] I would also encourage — Jim, you and I were talking about this in a bit of the preshow, but a really fun challenge to think about in collaborating when you have high Command, think about how to use that Command to empower others. Go back to the image I shared with you at the beginning of the podcast today. How can you be that positive bulldozer, I'll say, for other people? Listen to what's most important to your partners. Where can you directly help address something that's going to remove an obstacle or bring clarity to them or help diffuse a situation or help them know what next step to take because you're decisive and can give that leadership? Use that dominance to actually empower others as a part of that strength.
Jim Collison:
[15:09] Love that. Well, with that, we'll remind everyone to take full advantage of all the resources we do have available in Gallup Access. Actually, head over to the resources tab and just put in "Command." All the podcasts, all the documents, everything we've created around it is there for you. Continue the learning, have those discussions, take it with you, and you can get that today in Gallup Access. If you're listening live, we'd love to have you stay around for a midshow. If you're listening to the podcast, we probably have another episode already ready for you. Just click Next, and we'll see you in about 30 seconds. With that, we'll say, Goodbye, everybody.
Jillian White's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Input, Learner, Belief and Responsibility.