Getting to know Clifton Strengths’ Guiding Principles:
5. People Need One Another
The creator of Clifton Strengths Assessment, Don Clifton, said that “strengths develop best in relation to one another”. I wrote about this truth in a previous post regarding a New Testament metaphor about the church being a body, with each member important for its ability to function.
This idea might be more challenging to accept in a highly individualistic culture. Our instincts are to praise the lone person who can take care of everything. Our hierarchies (even often in churches) move up with fewer people at the top, until you reach the one person with presumed well-rounded abilities. In actuality that one person has not performed all necessary tasks, or even could.
I suggest we refer back to the metaphor of the body, an image that reflects how each of us enhances another. The author of the New Testament book, Hebrews, writes an encouragement to followers of Jesus regarding their routine habits of meeting together. He writes, “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds”. Another version writes it to “be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works”. Yet another version of the same line says “let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works”. This is the reason for Kaleo Coaching. Kaleo, coming from a Greek word that means to be called forth, exists to build others up in their strengths to provide the good work they are called to. This final guiding principle from Clifton Strengths reflects the impact that working with a coach can have, not only to understand partnerships with other strengths, but to live in a community that spurs one another, promotes, and stirs each other towards our callings.
Do you want to know how you are designed to make your unique impact in the world? Contact Gallup’s Certified Strengths Coach, Dan Vincent, at dan@kaleocoaching.com to get your Clifton Strengths Assessment code. Kaleo Coaching is currently working with organizations and individuals to interpret your assessment results, and make a plan on how to aim them towards your goals.