Full Theme Descriptions Strengths

Achiever

Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive. Achiever describes a constant need for achievement. You feel

as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good

about yourself. And by “every day” you mean every single day — workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter

how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no

matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied. You have an internal fire burning inside you. It pushes you to do

more, to achieve more. After each accomplishment is reached, the fire dwindles for a moment, but very soon it

rekindles itself, forcing you toward the next accomplishment. Your relentless need for achievement might not

be logical. It might not even be focused. But it will always be with you. As an Achiever you must learn to live

with this whisper of discontent. It does have its benefits. It brings you the energy you need to work long hours

without burning out. It is the jolt you can always count on to get you started on new tasks, new challenges. It is

the power supply that causes you to set the pace and define the levels of productivity for your work group. It is

the theme that keeps you moving.

Activator

“When can we start?” This is a recurring question in your life. You are impatient for action. You may concede

that analysis has its uses or that debate and discussion can occasionally yield some valuable insights, but deep

down you know that only action is real. Only action can make things happen. Only action leads to perfor

mance. Once a decision is made, you cannot not act. Others may worry that “there are still some things we

don’t know,” but this doesn’t seem to slow you. If the decision has been made to go across town, you know that

the fastest way to get there is to go stoplight to stoplight. You are not going to sit around waiting until all the

lights have turned green. Besides, in your view, action and thinking are not opposites. In fact, guided by your

Activator theme, you believe that action is the best device for learning. You make a decision, you take action,

you look at the result, and you learn. This learning informs your next action and your next. How can you grow

if you have nothing to react to? Well, you believe you can’t. You must put yourself out there. You must take the

next step. It is the only way to keep your thinking fresh and informed. The bottom line is this: You know you

will be judged not by what you say, not by what you think, but by what you get done. This does not frighten

you. It pleases you.

Clifton StrengthsFinder®, and the 34 Clifton StrengthsFinder theme names are trademarks of Gallup, Inc. 1

Full Theme Descriptions Strengths

Adaptability

You live in the moment. You don’t see the future as a fixed destination. Instead, you see it as a place that you

create out of the choices that you make right now. And so you discover your future one choice at a time. This

doesn’t mean that you don’t have plans. You probably do. But this theme of Adaptability does enable you to

respond willingly to the demands of the moment even if they pull you away from your plans. Unlike some, you

don’t resent sudden requests or unforeseen detours. You expect them. They are inevitable. Indeed, on some

level you actually look forward to them. You are, at heart, a very flexible person who can stay productive when

the demands of work are pulling you in many different directions at once.

Analytical

Your Analytical theme challenges other people: “Prove it. Show me why what you are claiming is true.” In the

face of this kind of questioning some will find that their brilliant theories wither and die. For you, this is pre

cisely the point. You do not necessarily want to destroy other people’s ideas, but you do insist that their theo

ries be sound. You see yourself as objective and dispassionate. You like data because they are value free. They

have no agenda. Armed with these data, you search for patterns and connections. You want to understand

how certain patterns affect one another. How do they combine? What is their outcome? Does this outcome fit

with the theory being offered or the situation being confronted? These are your questions. You peel the layers

back until, gradually, the root cause or causes are revealed. Others see you as logical and rigorous. Over time

they will come to you in order to expose someone’s “wishful thinking” or “clumsy thinking” to your refining

mind. It is hoped that your analysis is never delivered too harshly. Otherwise, others may avoid you when that

“wishful thinking” is their own.

Clifton StrengthsFinder®, and the 34 Clifton StrengthsFinder theme names are trademarks of Gallup, Inc. 2

Full Theme Descriptions Strengths

Arranger

You are a conductor. When faced with a complex situation involving many factors, you enjoy managing all of

the variables, aligning and realigning them until you are sure you have arranged them in the most productive

configuration possible. In your mind there is nothing special about what you are doing. You are simply try ing

to figure out the best way to get things done. But others, lacking this theme, will be in awe of your ability.

“How can you keep so many things in your head at once?” they will ask. “How can you stay so flexible, so will

ing to shelve well-laid plans in favor of some brand-new configuration that has just occurred to you?” But you

cannot imagine behaving in any other way. You are a shining example of effective flexibility, whether you are

changing travel schedules at the last minute because a better fare has popped up or mulling over just the right

combination of people and resources to accomplish a new project. From the mundane to the complex, you are

always looking for the perfect configuration. Of course, you are at your best in dynamic situations. Confronted

with the unexpected, some complain that plans devised with such care cannot be changed, while others take

refuge in the existing rules or procedures. You don’t do either. Instead, you jump into the confusion, devising

new options, hunting for new paths of least resistance, and figuring out new partnerships — because, after all,

there might just be a better way.

Belief

If you possess a strong Belief theme, you have certain core values that are enduring. These values vary from

one person to another, but ordinarily your Belief theme causes you to be family-oriented, altruistic, even

spiritual, and to value responsibility and high ethics — both in yourself and others. These core values affect

your behavior in many ways. They give your life meaning and satisfaction; in your view, success is more than

money and prestige. They provide you with direction, guiding you through the temptations and distractions

of life toward a consistent set of priorities. This consistency is the foundation for all your relationships. Your

friends call you dependable. “I know where you stand,” they say. Your Belief makes you easy to trust. It also

demands that you find work that meshes with your values. Your work must be meaningful; it must matter to

you. And guided by your Belief theme it will matter only if it gives you a chance to live out your values.

Clifton StrengthsFinder®, and the 34 Clifton StrengthsFinder theme names are trademarks of Gallup, Inc. 3

Full Theme Descriptions Strengths

Command

Command leads you to take charge. Unlike some people, you feel no discomfort with imposing your views on

others. On the contrary, once your opinion is formed, you need to share it with others. Once your goal is set,

you feel restless until you have aligned others with you. You are not frightened by confrontation; rather, you

know that confrontation is the first step toward resolution. Whereas others may avoid facing up to life’s

unpleasantness, you feel compelled to present the facts or the truth, no matter how unpleasant it may be. You

need things to be clear between people and challenge them to be clear-eyed and honest. You push them to take

risks. You may even intimidate them. And while some may resent this, labeling you opinionated, they often

willingly hand you the reins. People are drawn toward those who take a stance and ask them to move in a cer

tain direction. Therefore, people will be drawn to you. You have presence. You have Command.

Communication

You like to explain, to describe, to host, to speak in public, and to write. This is your Communication theme

at work. Ideas are a dry beginning. Events are static. You feel a need to bring them to life, to energize them,

to make them exciting and vivid. And so you turn events into stories and practice telling them. You take the

dry idea and enliven it with images and examples and metaphors. You believe that most people have a very

short attention span. They are bombarded by information, but very little of it survives. You want your infor

mation — whether an idea, an event, a product’s features and benefits, a discovery, or a lesson — to survive.

You want to divert their attention toward you and then capture it, lock it in. This is what drives your hunt for

the perfect phrase. This is what draws you toward dramatic words and powerful word combinations. This is

why people like to listen to you. Your word pictures pique their interest, sharpen their world, and inspire them

to act.

Clifton StrengthsFinder®, and the 34 Clifton StrengthsFinder theme names are trademarks of Gallup, Inc. 4

Full Theme Descriptions Strengths

Competition

Competition is rooted in comparison. When you look at the world, you are instinctively aware of other peo

ple’s performance. Their performance is the ultimate yardstick. No matter how hard you tried, no matter how

worthy your intentions, if you reached your goal but did not outperform your peers, the achievement feels hol

low. Like all competitors, you need other people. You need to compare. If you can compare, you can compete,