What does it mean to be a strengths-based College?

Gateway Technical College focuses and builds on what is best in individuals, teams, the college and the greater community to increase engagement, productivity and student success.

What’s the evidence for Strengths?

CliftonStrengths emerged from the field of positive psychology and research into the factors driving happiness and success. A range of research indicates that those who know and intentionally use Strengths consistently report much higher satisfaction and success. You can learn more and find detailed literature on Gallup’s website.

What’s the difference between a talent and a strength?

Talents are qualities that individuals are innately good at and are natural ways of thinking, feeling and behaving. When you take the CliftonStrengths assessment, it will tell you your top five talent themes out of a possible 34. As you invest time and energy in applying those five talent themes, they will turn into Strengths.

Will my talents change?

Because your talents emerge out of your thought, emotional and behavioral patterns, chances are that there will be consistency across time. But some people who take Strengths assessments several years apart (such as during their freshman and senior years) find that while several talent themes persist and a few change. More than likely, all the talents were in your top 10 previously, but more recent usage of other talents has emphasized them as Strengths. 

How can I improve my weaknesses?

Strengths-based approaches generally hold that it is more effective to focus on strengths than weaknesses because the development from good to great tends to be easier than the leap from poor to mediocre. But if you are concerned about your weaknesses, consider how you might use your talents to overcome them. Consider someone who may be very strong in Strategic and Executing domains but lack many themes in Influencing or Relationship-building.  To develop more influence with others and improve relationships, that person might use and further develop their Strategic Thinking and Executing themes to develop more connections and involve others.

Keep in mind, too, that every talent can have a “basement” as well as a “balcony.” A person who has deliberative as a strength can be extraordinarily skilled at collecting research to make informed, thoughtful decisions. But in stressful circumstances or without intention, they could become indecisive and delay making a decision since they can always find more information. 

Will taking Strengths help me decide on a career or major?

Strengths will not tell you what career to pursue. But having a sense of your unique top talents can be a huge asset in finding opportunities in which to excel, choosing which ones to pursue and marketing yourself in the job search process. Understanding your talents will help you to decide what sort of position would best fit you and how you fit into the Four Leadership Domains. If you’re interested in getting more support identifying a career that will be a good fit for you, Gateway offers a variety of free career exploration counseling services, assessments and workshops. 

Why can I only see my top five?

Gallup suggests that individuals can make greater strides by focusing on a more select number of talents to really develop and intentionally use in your life rather than having a list with all 34 talents.

How likely is it that someone else has my same five talents?

According to Gallup, the chances that two people have the same top five talent themes is 1 in 278,000. Those odds increase to 1 in 33 million if you want to meet someone with the same five talents in the same exact order.