The Strengths Studio Blog

Most teams love their strengths workshop. They walk out energized, seen, and connected. They share their Best of Us worksheets, they laugh at the balcony/basement moments, and for a while… the energy carries them.

And then, without intention, something familiar happens:

The language fades.
People get busy.
Strengths become “that training we did once.”

But strengths were never meant to stay in the room where you learned them.

When used consistently, strengths become a shared language that shapes how teams collaborate, communicate, solve problems, and appreciate one another. They fuel resilience during change. They anchor performance. They strengthen relationships. They make work feel lighter, more human, and more energizing.

So how do you keep CliftonStrengths alive beyond the training?

Below are practical, joyful, and high-impact ways teams can keep strengths front and center, long after the workshop ends.

1. Keep the Language Alive in Small, Consistent Ways

You don’t need another training. You need small rituals that make strengths part of the team’s cadence.

Strengths Spotlights

A simple weekly 5-minute ritual:

• A moment a theme helped
• A moment it slipped toward the basement
• A theme to lean into next

It keeps the language visible and grounded without adding pressure.

Strengths Pair-Ups

Rotate monthly “strengths buddies” for a 10–15 minute conversation:

• How their themes complement
• Where friction might arise
• One way they can collaborate intentionally

Strengths deepen when shared.

Strengths in Everyday Meetings

Leaders (and peers!) can normalize strengths by naming what they see:

“Your Analytical lens clarified this issue so well.”
“Your Positivity shifted the whole tone of this conversation.”
“Your Strategic thinking just saved us from rework.”

People rise to what you reflect back.

2. Turn Strengths Into a Tool for Real Work

Strengths become sustainable when they shape workflow, decision making, and team dynamics.

Strengths-Aligned Delegation

Each person should have at least one meaningful assignment that hits a top theme.

Monthly Strengths Stretch

Pick a mini-challenge based on a theme:

• Achiever → Celebrate a small win before moving to the next task.
• Relator → deepen a connection
• Strategic → simplify a decision
• Input → curate three useful resources

Themes strengthen through practice.

Strengths-Informed Change Navigation

When roles shift or priorities evolve, ask:

• Which strengths support this transition?
• Which might get overused?
• Who balances your themes?

Strengths become an anchor during uncertainty, reducing friction and boosting adaptability.

3. Use Strengths in Conversations That Matter

Feedback, coaching, and 1:1s are ideal spaces for strengths.

Strengths in 1:1 Conversations

Once a month, explore:

• Which theme helped you most?
• Where did a theme slip toward overuse?
• What do you want to lean into next?
• What support do you need to stay in the balcony?

This keeps development empowering and strengths-based, not deficit-based.

Strengths-Driven Appreciation

Praise the theme, not the task:

“Your Responsibility ensured this launch was flawless.”
“Your Harmony calmed the room and helped us move forward.”

Strengths-specific appreciation is identity-affirming and builds confidence.

Swap-the-Lens Problem Solving

When stuck:

• “What would Strategic do?”
• “How would Analytical approach this?”
• “What if we considered Relator’s angle?”

This builds creativity and normalizes strengths as a problem-solving toolkit.

4. Refresh Your Team Grid Regularly

Strengths aren’t static. They evolve as roles, relationships, and priorities shift. Quarterly, ask:

• What’s new?
• What’s in strong balance?
• Where might friction emerge?
• Which strengths are underutilized for upcoming priorities?

A living team grid becomes both a mirror and a map.

5. Make Strengths Fun (Yes — FUN!)

Playfulness keeps engagement alive, lowers barriers, and builds connection.
Here are some creative, seasonal, and energizing ways to infuse joy into your strengths culture.

Seasonal Strengths Ideas

• Strengths Christmas Tree: Decorate ornaments or choose ornaments that reflect each team member’s themes.
• Strengths Pumpkins (Fall): Design pumpkins as a representation of a theme (e.g., Strategic = maze, Analytical = geometric lines, Positivity = a smiley face).
• Strengths Gingerbread Houses: Build a structure inspired by dominant themes.
• Strengths Valentine Notes (February): Give theme-specific appreciation notes.
• Summer Strengths Passport: Each person picks a theme to “Travel” with for a month and documents where it shows up.

Strengths-Based Icebreakers (Quick, Fun, and Insightful)

Perfect for team meetings, retreats, or onboarding sessions.

• Theme of the Day: A fast check-in: “Which strength do you want to lean into today, and why?”
• Strengths Snapshot: Share a moment a strength helped recently OR a moment a theme slipped toward the basement and what you learned
• Strengths as a Superpower: If a top theme became a literal superpower, what would it do? (E.g. Strategic = time travel, Woo = crowd energy lift, Analytical = logic laser vision). Keep it fun AND illuminating.
• Strengths Swap: Ask - “Which strength on the team do you admire and why?” This builds appreciation and highlights partnerships.
• Strengths Pitch: In pairs, pitch why one of your strengths would be essential on a desert island, a project launch team, or a space mission. Laughter meets clarity.
• Two Truths and a Strength: A twist on the classic: Two truths + one strengths story (or basement moment). Everyone guesses which is which.
• Strengths Emoji Check-In: Pick an emoji that represents one of your top strengths today. Share why. Low-lift, expressive, energizing.

Share the News:
Include a “Strengths Highlight” section in your Newsletter where each month you feature:

• One theme in action
• A team member story
• A quick team challenge
• A strengths-based question for reflection

It’s a high-touch, low-effort way to keep strengths visible.

6. Distribute the Accountability, Don’t Centralize It

One person can’t keep strengths alive for an entire team.
But shared responsibility? That’s powerful.

Strengths thrive through distributed ownership.

Strengths Coach of the Month

A rotating, light-hearted role:

• Name strengths you see
• Bring a strengths question to a meeting
• Spotlight one theme a week

This creates distributed leadership and keeps strengths alive.

7. Use Strengths for Goal Setting & Performance

When setting goals, planning for the next quarter or year, discuss:

• Which themes fuel this work/goal?
• Where are potential overuse traps/risks?
• Which team combinations create momentum?
• What do we need from one another?

This shifts goals from pressure to partnership.

8. Make Strengths Part of Your Onboarding Culture

One of the strongest signals that a team truly lives its strengths is what happens when a new person joins the team. 

If newcomers never see strengths, they assume it was just a training. But when strengths are woven into onboarding, new employees immediately understand: “This is who we are. This is how we work.”

Here’s how to integrate strengths into every new hire experience:

• Start with the Assessment: New team members should take the CliftonStrengths® assessment early in their onboarding, ideally within the first week. Provide them with a mini-training, if possible.
• Invite, Don’t Pressure, Sharing: After reviewing their report, they can share their Top 5 or full 34 when they feel ready. This creates psychological safety and personal ownership of their strengths story.
• Model It: Team Shares First: Existing team members share their Best of Us, Balcony and Basement insights, what energizes them and what they need. This sets the tone for trust, safety, and belonging.
• Add Them to the Team Grid: Update the team’s strengths map so the newcomer’s themes are included. A living grid creates visibility, alignment, and a shared language for collaboration right from day one.
• Use Strengths in Early Conversations: In 1:1s and team check-ins, ask:
• Which theme is helping you settle in?
• What do you need to stay in the balcony?
• Where do your strengths feel most activated so far?

Onboarding becomes strengths-driven, not task-driven. Teams that embed strengths in onboarding maintain a strengths-based culture long-term, no matter who joins or who leaves.

Bringing It All Together

Strengths aren’t meant to be a one-time event.

They’re meant to be:

• The way you collaborate
• The way you give and receive feedback
• The way you navigate change
• The way you appreciate one another
• The way you solve problems
• The way you build culture

Strengths transform teams when they become the default lens, not just a training topic.

Consistent, small actions - not big programs - are what turn strengths into a way of working that transforms teams.

CliftonStrengths® is a registered trademark of Gallup, Inc. The Strengths Studio is independently owned and operated by Jen Williams-West, Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach.