Probably not. The re-test validity of Strengths is very high. Even if you were to re-take the assessment, the chances are that c85% of your themes will be in the same place on your report. The other shifts would be relatively insignificant. This is because the assessment takes into account all of your life experiences to date and is not situational. However, if more than 10/15 years has passed since you last completed the assessment and/or you have experienced significant life changes, please speak to one of our qualified coaches about whether you should consider re-taking the assessment.

The ‘Godfather’ of Clifton Strengths, Don Clifton, once asked “What will happen when we think about what is right with people rather than what is wrong with them?” This was the starting point for Strengths based development and signalled a shift from focusing on fixing weaknesses to instead working with what people naturally have that make them uniquely powerful. There are 5 ‘Guiding Principles’ in Strengths coaching which underpin everything we do, and should reassure of the power of this unique approach. They are: Themes are neutral CliftonStrengths themes don’t make people good or bad. People make themes good or bad. It all depends on whether you productively apply your themes. Themes are not labels Human beings are much too complex to be defined or described by one word, be it a gender, an age, a race or a theme name. The purpose of CliftonStrengths is not to provide another method of labeling people, but rather to help people understand and appreciate the tremendous complexity and diversity of humanity. Lead with positive intent Becoming aware of others’ talents gives you insights into how they tend to think, act and feel. The best opportunity to work and partner with others is connected to understanding, appreciating and using this information in a meaningful way. Differences are advantages Humanity’s differences are not problems that we need to solve. Our differences are resources that create an advantage when we develop and use them wisely. People need one another Strengths do not develop in a vacuum. We are all uniquely gifted, but it is with others’ support and encouragement that we can become the best of who we are. We need other people to help us appreciate our contributions and gain greater self-awareness.

Immediately after completing the CliftonStrengths assessment, you'll receive your results in a report featuring customised descriptions of your rank-ordered dominant strengths. Your report will help you understand your preferred ways of doing things, as well as how you typically view and respond to different situations. When you get your results, your 34 are in your own unique rank order. They are not yet Strengths – this comes with effective application of these themes in what you want to achieve. Your results therefore show you the natural resources you have readily available to you in order to prevail. It is important to understand that your report is not an indicator of skill. Skills are developed off the back of understanding your natural talents. Similarly, you are able to do all of the 34 themes – however, the themes lower down on your report will take more effort and may leave you feeling drained of energy. In contrast, the themes higher up your report come so naturally to you that once you are conscious of them, you can do more of them easily. This approach leaves you feeling energised, engaged and optimistic in the face of life’s challenges.

CliftonStrengths is different to most other psychometric tools in that it gives an almost infinite number of potential results – it is not based on your current situation, nor does it measure you against anyone’s particular view on what ‘good’ looks like. What it does is give you a rank order of natural talents – these are themes (patterns of thought, feeling and behaviour) which Gallup have distilled down from decades of data on the different ways people work. There is a 1 in 34,000,000 chance that your results will be even similar to that of a colleague or friend, and the assessment is the only one we are aware of which does not put you in a box or category. The report you receive is so detailed and personalised, which gives rise to the other advantage of CliftonStrengths – you can use the report as the basis of your development for years to come. The ‘so what’ is clear and unique to you, and tells you not only how your themes play out, but how you can use them to maximum effect (whilst also mitigating any ‘blind spots’ of each theme). One report provides a lifetime of peronsalised value.

Your results are for your self-awareness and development. You can use your report on your own, with your team and with your coach to unlock your personal route to success. CliftonStrengths is NOT an assessment of skill or fit for role and organisations are not permitted to use CliftonStrengths as a standalone selection tool for recruitment and interview processes. The reason for this is two-fold: 1) talent does not equal Strength until it has been developed and 2) anyone can do any role they wish to, but will only succeed via the understanding and application of their unique talent profile (i.e. two candidates for a Manager role could have very different profiles, but could both succeed in the role depending on how well they maximise their natural talents).

Our Strengths coaches are Gallup-certified and have a natural interest in helping others to be the best they can be, to improve engagement, performance and wellbeing. Strengths coaching is a process of asking questions which help you work through and answer the challenges you face - the answers are often within you already, the talent of a coach is to draw them out, listening to you deeply, and helping you create an action plan to achieve your goals. In particular, Strengths coaches are trained to help you flourish by helping you focus on doing more of what you naturally do best. Working with people's Strengths leads to a very uplifting and empowering type of coaching that leaves people fired up to achieve their goals, more engaged in their work and feeling confident in really being themselves and having pride in the talents they bring to their team. Strengths coaches will treat everything you discuss in confidence, come without their own agenda and are genuinely interested in helping you achieve your goals.

Based on positive psychology, Strengths coaching is all about: - Helping you to identify the things that you are naturally great at (your natural patterns of thought, feeling and behaviour) - Understanding the successes these talents have given you so far, and - Helping you to find a path forward that focuses on doing even more of what comes naturally to you – we help you be you, but more! Gallup research has shown that focusing on Strengths as opposed to weaknesses is what really leads to long-term and sustainable success. Fixing weaknesses can prevent failure, but it doesn’t set the world alight like your Strengths do. And the great news is that anyone can do anything, just that their route there will be different – so for any areas of ‘lesser talent’ we work with you to apply your natural Strengths in their place, and we have every faith that you will succeed. We should also say that Strengths coaching is NOT therapy, counselling, sector/role specific, an IQ/Skills test, or us telling you what you need to do. We will ask you questions to help you discover and apply your natural talents, listen attentively to your answers, and help you to prevail by shaping an onward journey that leverages what you are naturally great at.

We genuinely believe that Strengths coaching is beneficial to everyone. However, we do notice that there are some key points at which Strengths coaching can help people in their professional and personal lives – particularly those who are experiencing: - A change in role/responsibilities/a new project - Frustration at their level of performance or a feeling that they could/should be achieving more - A bout of Imposter Phenomenon - A lack of progress/focus - A lack of direction in their career - A lack of motivation - Burnout/fatigue/disengagement - High levels of stress - A desire to improve their authentic management and leadership capabilities Strengths coaching is applicable to all roles, all sectors and all levels within organisations (unlike some coaching solutions which are aimed at the ‘C-Suite’). We also love to work with teams to increase interpersonal performance leading to increased business success. Teams that are newly formed, don’t get to spend much time together in person, who are being brought together for a specific project, who are going through changes, are all examples of teams who can really benefit from Team Strengths solutions. You don’t have to have a concrete goal at the outset of your coaching – exploring your natural talents and successes to date can help you hone this within your initial coaching session. We just ask that you come with an open mind and a desire to improve what you already have.

The online test, Clifton Strengths, measures the intensity of your talents in each of the 34 CliftonStrengths themes. These 34 themes represent what people do best. They categorise all that's right with humankind -- distilled down to 34 different themes. When completing the assessment you will respond to 177 paired statements, answering which of the options is most like you. There is a time limit for each question and the best advice is not to overthink and, instead, go with your honest gut reactions. Your answers help the system to rank the 34 themes of Talent into a rank order, which is unique to you (in fact, there is a 1 in 34 million chance that you will have the same Top 5 Themes in the same order as someone else – how amazing is that?)

Decades of Gallup research show that people who have the opportunity to use their Strengths every day are: - Up to 3x as engaged in their work - Up to 8x as productive - 3x as likely to report having an excellent quality of life Strengths based coaching unleashes your natural talents and fast-tracks you to your unique brand of high performance. Being able to use your Strengths every day starts with your assessment and coaching to increase self-awareness and your ability to apply and develop your talents in an effective way.