How You Handle Your Weaknesses Shapes Your Workplace Impact
In CliftonStrengths terms, a weakness is often just a strength being overplayed. But how you respond to that matters enormously. Singapore Gallup Certified CliftonStrengths coach Victor Seet shares four distinct archetypes that describe how people handle their weaknesses and which approach actually leads to growth.
Imagine an F1 driver refusing to adjust his technique despite constant crashes in the last few races. Or a pit crew member who acknowledges his tardiness in changing the tires ibut never seem to improve on his performance. In the high-speed world of racing—and in the workplace—performance isn’t just about talent; it’s about our attitude to adapt, refine, and overcome our weaknesses.
Just like in F1, talented professionals handle their limitations and personal flaws in different ways. Some fine-tune their approaches with humility and grace while others modify their behaviours begrudgingly. Some accept their flaws but couldn’t care more to improve, and others deny their weaknesses entirely.
With the growing popularity of the use of CliftonStrengths assessment in the workplace, more are seeing the impact of overused strengths.
After attending a course on personal mastery, it dawn on me that some work on their perceived weaknesses in lightness while others manage their weaknesses begrudgingly.
Out of the reflection, I wrote this article to explore four types of archetypes. It is an attempt to showi how each archetype views personal flaws, deals with weaknesses and the impact on others.
1. The Enlightened: Accepts personal flaws and intentional to manage weaknesses
These individuals recognize that their strengths can become liabilities when overused. They accept their personal flaws and insecurities as part of being human. Rather than making excuses for their mistakes, they consistently seek to refine and grow. They understand deeply that strengths produce results only in the right context. When strengths are used without consideration of the environment and timing, they easily become weaknesses. Therefore these individuals worked hard to grow their self-awareness and adapt to the dynamic environment.
The Enlightened sees mistakes as learnings and stepping stones to success. There is a lightness when they share about their mistakes and what they have learned.
Example: Meet Arjun, a project leader in a fintech company. His CliftonStrengths Command talent theme makes him a decisive leader especially in high-pressure situations. He doesn’t shy away from challenges and he shines in crisis. He also knows that his Command theme gives him a certain presence, which can often be perceived as intimidating. When feedback revealed that his directness intimidated colleagues, he didn’t just brush it off. He sought coaching, learned how to balance assertiveness with gentleness and care, and became a leader his team trusted rather than feared.
Impact: The Enlightened creates a culture of growth. Their willingness to receive feedback, inspires others to self-reflect and improve. When leaders are in this category, their teams are engaged, motivated, and feel safe.
2. The Insecure: Resists personal flaws but will seek to improve weaknesses
These individuals struggle with admitting their weaknesses—it often feels like a blow to their ego. They do however make effort to change and improve their behaviours but often stops short to do the deeper work.
These individuals might be unaware in how their resistance shows up to others because of their efforts and sincerity to improve on their weaknesses. There is an unconscious belief that when one’s insecurities are surfaced, one will experience some form of shame. The resistance shows up when one’s insecurities are triggered. The instinct is to hide these insecurities.
For many of these individuals, the characteristics are often similar - responsible, hardworking, caring and they might even go the extra mile. However, away from the visible eyes, the behaviours and the pursuit of results are fueled by the need to hide one’s deep insecurities. Resentment, envy and self-doubt are common companions.
Example: Jia Wei, a senior analyst in a Real Estate company, thrives on her Analyticaland Maximizer talents. She dissects data with precision but tends to dismiss others’ ideas too quickly because she feels the ideas are lacking in substance. When colleagues pointed out this specific behaviour, her reaction and body language showed her resistance to feedback. She brushes the feedback aside by rationalizing that she is a person with high standards.
After repeated friction with her team, she tries to improve on her communication but becomes increasingly resentful with those who are resisting her. Unknown to her, her resentment spills out in other areas of interactions.
Impact: The Insecure are often strong contributors at work. They pride themselves in delivering results and have strong ego. What frustrates others are often the lack of awareness in interpersonal dynamics. Their insecurities spilled out in team interactions and contribute to the lack of safety in the team.
3. The Deadweight: Accepts personal flaws but ignores weaknesses
These individuals are aware of their weaknesses but make no real effort to change. They accept their flaws as part of who they are and expect others to work around them. They like others to see their strengths and expect others to ignore their weaknesses. Team members are often frustrated because of the additional work to cover for these people’s inadequacies.
Example: Daniel, a senior consultant in a consulting firm, has IdeationandStrategicas his top talents. He’s brilliant at brainstorming new strategies but terrible at execution. He openly admits, “I’m just not a details person,” and continues to miss deadlines. His team constantly has to scramble to cover for his weaknesses. The lack of effort to improve increases frustration and resentment within the team.
Impact: The Deadweight are often guilty of dragging teams down. While their self-awareness is a small step forward, their lack of action forces others to compensate for their shortcomings. Over time, this erodes team trust and lowers productivity.
4. The Blinded: Resists personal flaws and ignores weaknesses
These individuals neither acknowledge nor address their weaknesses. They power through work without self-reflection, often creating frustration and chaos around them. They do not realize strengths are based on context and use their strengths with no consideration to situations.
They blame external factors when environments limit their results and hardly stop to examine themselves.
Example: Kevin, a regional sales director in the banking sector, has Competition and Achiever as his dominant talent themes. He only focuses on profits and dismisses feedback about his aggressive approach. “Sales is about winning,” he says, ignoring how his cutthroat tactics are driving his team away. His department has the highest turnover rate, yet he remains oblivious, blaming others for being “too weak.”
Impact: The Blinded creates toxic work environments. Their blindness to their flaws leads to very disengaged teams, high turnover, and long-term damage to company culture. The worst part? They often don’t realize the destruction they’ve caused until it’s too late.
Which Archetype might fit you most closely?
Summary: Each person brings strengths as well as weaknesses to any team. At the end of the day, the way we handle our weaknesses impact the people around us. My hope is that this article can be a resource to prompt further reflection.
A related question worth exploring: when a CliftonStrengths talent appears to 'get in the way', is it really the talent or is it something beneath the surface? Check out this article on over-used strengths
Continue Reading:
Interested in working with your strengths and blind spots in coaching? Explore 1-1 coaching with Victor here.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor is an accredited ICF Advanced Certified Team Coach (ACTC) and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) based in Singapore. He is also the world's only coach to hold both the Gallup Gold and Platinum Certified CliftonStrengths Coach awards and a Newfield Certified Ontological Coach. Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops.
EXPLORING IDENTITY - Five Ways to Uncover Your True Self
The search for our true self is one of the most universal human journeys yet few practical guides exist for how to actually pursue it. Singapore Ontological and CliftonStrengths coach Victor Seet shares five specific ways to begin uncovering who you really are beneath the roles you play.
By Victor Seet, ICF (PCC, ACTC). The world's only coach to hold both the Gallup Gold and Platinum Certified CliftonStrengths Coach awards and also a Newfield Certified ontological coach. Based in Singapore.
“Be Your True Self”
Have you ever wondered what these four words mean? I have. And these are my thoughts.
“Being my true self” means consciously choosing rather than conforming to the cultural norms in the face of challenges. It is often easier said than done. The struggle with making choices that represent who we are and what we truly want usually becomes apparent when we are at the crossroads. At the crossroads, the moods and emotions we find ourselves in are usually associated with frustration, anxiety, fear, or resentment. In these moods and emotions, our choices might not necessarily reflect what we truly want.
There is also the struggle with dilemmas when we explore this idea of Self. Let me explain.
It can be a struggle to find coherence. When I look deep within, I often see a deceitful heart. I have multiple desires—tight-knit family, healthy life, spiritual depth, well-paying job, career fulfilment, vocational expertise, financial freedom, close community of friends - and some deep desires, as many of you might imagine, are inherently incompatible.
I often experience tension when a particular situation requires me to choose one desire to the exclusion of another. I have realized that going down this path of looking within makes me experience more burden than freedom.
It is a constant struggle to stay grounded.
I’m now in my mid-forties; I recall looking back at my thirty-year-old self, It felt like my life then was filled with dark moments. I was more reactive. I was more insecure. I recalled thinking what an idiot I was and how I needed to mature emotionally. Funnily, I remembered looking back at my twenty-year-old self when I was in my thirties, convinced I needed to be more mature in my life choices. If I looked even further back—myself at twenty, examining my teenage life—the desire for maturity already existed. Despite learning intentionally from my life experiences and striving to “be my true self,” the results were painfully consistent.
Perhaps history has proven that looking inwardly, and listening to my heart, might not necessarily be the wisest or most robust way to mature into being.
And so here lie the big questions:
Who am I? What is my identity? What is my true self? How does one explore this idea of “being one’s true self”?
As a pilgrim, unsure of what the pilgrimage holds for me, I would like to share five ideas I’ve integrated from authors and coaches I have interacted with. I credit Brene Brown, Tim Keller, Peter Block, James Clear, and Marcus Marsden for the insights they bring through their books and podcasts. The five areas are interconnected but presented distinctly. I hope these five ideas might meet those on a similar journey, and invite refreshed perspectives and new considerations.
(1) Label
Identity is a label that gives us a way to think, feel, and behave in a particular context. I can be a father, a son, a worker, a leader, a Singaporean, etc, and these roles can exist simultaneously.
Have you noticed how you usually introduce yourself to others?
What Is the default way you introduce yourself?
Have you noticed that your self-introduction is the "label" you have put on yourself?
You might find this a familiar process - multiple attempts of rehashing your self-introduction, verbally or in written form. This process makes us wonder - “How do I want to be known?”
An identity crisis can happen when we discover that the predominant label we give to ourselves is no longer relevant. For example, if I brand myself as a Marketing Director in both work and social settings, losing that job might create a sudden dissonance. The way I introduce myself to others now needs to be different. That can be disorienting.
Sometimes, not knowing how to engage an audience from an identity standpoint can lead to awkwardness. Awkwardness is the emotion made apparent when one does not know the identity to engage appropriately in a given context. The context could be a first date. It could be interacting with someone from a very different social status. Knowing our true self requires the skill of discernment - understanding (the hat to wear, the role to play) to engage effectivelyand authentically in a given context.
A suggestion is to practice introducing yourself in new ways. Notice your ability to describe yourself authentically and comfortably.
(2) Belonging
Our identity is often rooted in our sense of belonging. It is naming a community we belong to. I am a Singaporean. I am a student of XYZ school. I am an employee of company ABC. I am a member of a particular religious organization. I am a supporter of BCM football club. Wherever I go, I carry these associations, these identities, within me. We connect ourselves to people in these communities of belonging. Some called these communities their “tribes”. This identity helps me to understand with whom I can have solidarity, and with whom I might have conflict. The stronger the sense of belonging, the stronger I feel about my identity.
The key questions to answer:
- What are the communities I will identify myself with? What tribe do I belong to?
- What are the values I embody by being part of these communities?
Knowing our true self means naming the communities to which we belong. When we do so, we shape our values and boundaries in alignment with these communities.
(3) Human Operating System
Our identity is grounded when we have clarity of our human operating system. Essentially, the human operating system is a recurring set of thinking, emotional, behavioral, and conversational habits shaped by and exercised in our aggregated life experiences. We derive our strengths, motivations, fears, and emotional triggers from these habits.
Profiling tools are popular for this reason - they help to give people a sense of themselves through the data received. Across the world, coaches use profiling tools to help people derive the language to describe the human operating system. As a coach, I often use the CliftonStrengths profiling tool.
Knowing our true self means understanding our human operating system.
- What are my strengths and weaknesses?
- What motivates and drives me even when no one is looking?
- What are my deep fears and insecurities that I have to overcome regularly?
- What are my boundaries? What kind of behavior by others will trigger me to react?
Answering these questions helps us to be more grounded.
A side note: we often get into situations where we are required to think, feel and behave unnaturally, as part of the adaptive process. This is usually evident when we pursue growth and expansion of Self.
For example - a more introverted person is required to be more assertive in a particular work context. Those with a fixed mindset might have internal thoughts that shout out “This is not me”. Those with a growth mindset embrace the discomfort as part of their growth.
(4) Core Sense of Self - Values
Our identity is grounded when we understand the Core Sense of Self. The core is the unchanging self across multiple contexts. This core is a set of values and beliefs that remain constant and true of us in every setting. Some might describe them as convictions. I found this model by Marcus Marsden helpful in deepening my understanding.
The outermost layer constitutes my preferences. These include my desire to visit Japan for a holiday or have chicken rice weekly for lunch.
The next layer contains my duties and best practices. These include my duties as a citizen of Singapore, my daily routines and practices such as swimming three times a week and going for a walk after dinner.
The third layer houses my principles - doing what I have promised others, being humble and courageous to admit my mistakes, giving my best effort even when no one sees what I do and actively forgiving those who have hurt me.
The innermost layer is where my core convictions reside - loving God wholeheartedly and joyfully as a Christian, loving and serving my wife and children sacrificially.
Knowing our true self means naming and knowing what we might put into each of these circles, especially the third and innermost layers. The Core Sense of Self is derived from understanding what we consciously hold as our principles (third layer) and our convictions (the innermost layer).
(5) Sense of Worth
Finally, our identity is grounded when we know our Sense of Worth. This sense of worth imbues us with significance and creates our value in society. It is an assessment we hold, one that we build from a young age. The sense of worth comes from having a deep sense of being loved and accepted. Love and acceptance from our family and community play a strong part in cultivating a sense of worth. The stronger our sense of worth, the more confident and grounded we become.
As a coach, I observe that this is an area of struggle for many. Growing up, we often suffer trauma that diminishes our sense of worth. For some, the trauma comes from experiencing family brokenness. For some, the trauma comes from labels - stupid, slow, fat, or ugly, just to name a few. For some, the trauma comes from abuse.
The sense of worth can be severely impacted because of the shame we experienced in our childhood. We struggle to accept ourselves. We act out of our insecurities. We retaliate. We bully. We blame. We manipulate. Deep down, we feel fragile. We struggle with self-acceptance. We choose to self-protect to avoid getting hurt.
Author Brene Brown calls the act of self-protection “armouring”. When we start to practice armouring, our identity becomes a blur and we struggle to get a good grasp of our self-worth.
Knowing our true self is an intentional process of deepening our sense of worth. For many, this process becomes a spiritual journey. Some seek to follow a Higher Being. Some seek spiritual practices. I started seeking spiritual growth when I was around 17 years old. In my brokenness, I saw a void that needed to be filled. I eventually decided to follow Christ after being touched and convinced by His love and His ways.
Seeking a sense of worth is not the same journey for everyone. For me, the result of following Christ helps me experience the sense of being loved and accepted. The ongoing learning process includes (but is not limited to) opening up my heart to love and receive love despite the risk of getting hurt. Instead of practicing armouring, I choose to practice vulnerability (with wisdom). I learn to exercise self-compassion and seek forgiveness when I make mistakes. I learn to practice accountability in how I live my life. I learn to exercise humility (not overplaying or downplaying our significance). As I grow and make progress, I learn to practice empathy and compassion towards others. So being my true self means to imitate the life of Christ and to live out the identity bestowed.
Back to the question: Who am I? What is my true self?
Rather than just a vague act of looking within, I hope these five alternative ideas provide a deeper framework to explore this philosophical question. Let me know if you’ve practiced or come across other ideas too. I will be glad to learn.
Continue Reading:
Read Victor's personal story of transformation — from shame to courage.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops.
The Ontological vs Cognitive Behavioral (CBT) Approach to Coaching
Most people have heard of CBT. Far fewer understand ontological coaching or why the distinction matters. Singapore Ontological and CliftonStrengths coach Victor Seet breaks down both approaches and explains what makes ontological coaching uniquely powerful for sustainable transformation.
By Victor Seet, ICF (PCC, ACTC). The world's only coach to hold both the Gallup Gold and Platinum Certified CliftonStrengths Coach awards and also a Newfield Certified ontological coach. Based in Singapore.
As a professional coach specializing in the ontological approach, I am sometimes asked: What is the difference between the cognitive-behavioral (CBT) approach and the ontological approach to coaching?
This article discusses differences in the underlying philosophies, coaching methodology, focus areas, and the areas of applications. The distinctions are purely from my observations as a practitioner.
1. Philosophical Foundation that informs the approach
CBT is grounded in cognitive-behavioral therapy principles while the ontological approach is grounded in the study of being (ontology) and existential philosophy. The CBT approach works with the client to address thought patterns that influence emotions and behaviors. In the CBT approach to coaching, challenges and breakdowns are byproducts of dysfunctional thinking patterns.
In contrast, the ontological approach focuses on working with clients to explore ways of being (defined as the coherence between an individual’s language, emotions, and body). In the ontological approach to coaching, challenges and breakdowns are byproducts of disempowering ways of being. An example of a disempowering way of being is an individual showing up daily at work in resentment after being passed over a promotion despite consistently outperforming expectations. In resentment, an individual is prone to feel victimized rather than to explore factors that might have stopped the promotion from happening.
2. Coaching Methodology
The CBT coaching process focuses on the coach and client identifying negative thought patterns that exist and seeing the impact of these negative thought patterns. The process involves the client taking ownership of replacing the negative thought patterns with newer, empowering, and positive thoughts. The ontological coaching process focuses on a deep inquiry approach into the client’s worldview and habitual way of interacting with the world. The process often involves the client learning new distinctions, practicing generative conversations, and practicing new ways of being.
READ ARTICLE: MUSINGS ABOUT ONTOLOGICAL COACHING
3. Focus Areas
In the CBT approach to coaching, it is natural to dive into co-creating solutions to solve the problem or to reduce the symptoms that the client is facing. This approach is powerful in tackling mental health issues by exploring better-coping strategies.
In contrast, the ontological approach to coaching focuses more on personal transformation and holistic development. This approach might not be suitable for clients looking to solve short-term pain points. In ontological coaching, a key distinction lies in the coach working with the client to enhance embodied self-awareness, not just conceptual self-awareness. This integrated approach helps clients uncover their prevailing mood, and body shapes, and master assessments. By doing so, the interventions lead to sustainable change.
4. Areas of Applications
The CBT approach to coaching addresses a range of psychological issues ranging from performance anxiety to stress management. This approach works powerfully for clients seeking concrete solutions to challenges, especially in mental health.
In contrast, the ontological approach to coaching caters to clients seeking support in leadership development, professional and personal growth, and navigating life transitions. The ontological approach works powerfully for clients seeking holistic development and personal transformation at a deeper level.
In summary, the cognitive-behavioral approach to coaching is more commonly employed to address challenges faced in the mental health space. The CBT approach has a track record of helping clients change thought patterns to alter behavior. The ontological approach to coaching focuses on a broader and longer-term horizon, emphasizing shifts in being and bringing embodied self-awareness to clients to effect a transformative change.
Continue Reading — The Ontological Coaching Series:
Interested in experiencing ontological coaching firsthand? Explore 1-1 coaching with Victor here.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops.
(Updated) A Guide: Using CliftonStrengths at Work
Getting your CliftonStrengths results is just the beginning. The real question is: how do you actually use them at work? Singapore Ontological and CliftonStrengths coach Victor Seet shares three practical areas where your strengths can make an immediate difference.
By Victor Seet, ICF (PCC, ACTC). The world's only coach to hold both the Gallup Gold and Platinum Certified CliftonStrengths Coach awards and also a Newfield Certified ontological coach. Based in Singapore.
One of the most common questions I get after a CliftonStrengths workshop is:
What’s next? How can I use my strengths more effectively at work?
I'm writing this article to highlight three key areas where you can leverage your strengths.
(1) Performance Management: expanding our effectiveness at work
In performance conversations, we often explore the areas we do well and the possible obstacles to achieving performance. Such discussions often highlight our negative behaviors and whether we are self-aware.
Applying our CliftonStrengths Themes is about applying self-awareness as a practice.
The practice is to notice the patterns in our lives and make the needed adjustments to achieve what we want. This practice requires us to examine our past experiences to identify the patterns and the results.
In my coaching conversations, some examples of behavioral patterns that came up include:
Saying a lot of “Yes” to others
Drifting off-topic in discussions and not being concise
Shifting goalposts, making it hard for others to be in alignment
Leaving decisions till the last minute, putting others under tighter deadlines unnecessarily.
The list goes on.
Applying our CliftonStrengths themes in performance management is to be aware of how our dominant themes show up in helpful ways and not so helpful ways. When our dominant strengths show up in not so helpful ways, they become hindrances to our work performance.
An example:
Jackson, who has the Connectedness theme, enjoys seeing connections between different ideas and experiences. He believes in better outcomes when people connect the dots and import learnings from past experiences.
He started to notice that more and more people were giving feedback on his communication. “What’s the point you are trying to make?; I am not sure of the connection between these two incidents that you have just shared; You tend to talk about stuff that seems unrelated to the agenda and our meetings overrun.”
Realizing that his Connectedness theme was hindering his communication effectiveness, Jackson started practicing holding back instead of the tendency to verbalize connections that came to his mind. He saw that his communication was confusing others and decided to make adjustments. Jackson has since learned to communicate by giving context to his shared example or declaring his key point before sharing the connection. By doing so, he expands his ability to communicate clearly and improves his performance as a manager.
(2) Relationship Building: improving our social effectiveness
In relationship building, one critical factor is the level of trust forged between the parties. Applying CliftonStrengths in relationship building is to regulate the behaviors that will hinder trust building. One of the critical skills in trust-building work is how well we listen to others. Behaviors such as interrupting conversations, jumping quickly to conclusions, etc, show a lack of listening. These behaviors diminish trust.
An example:
Asher, who has the Strategic theme, sees his recurring pattern of seeking more efficient ways to achieve the desired outcomes.
He noticed he gets impatient in meetings because he already sees the solutions to the problems raised when others are still clarifying the issues. His impatience caused him to multitask and attend to other matters while his colleagues were still discussing. He also noticed his tendency to interrupt conversations to stop others from “wasting time” in meetings. These observations came after he received different feedback from colleagues that others have been irritated by his behaviors. They perceived that he did not care and respect others.
Realizing that it could be his Strategic theme that is hindering him from building trusting relationships, Asher practiced turning down his Strategic theme and turning up his Input theme instead. He consciously aims to be curious by using his Input theme rather than be quick to judge. The adjustments helped him to slow down and to show care. That started the process of rebuilding the trust of others in the team.
(3) Collaboration: improving our communication effectiveness
In collaborative work, we often need to coordinate between different stakeholders. Effective communication is one of the crucial factors in driving good collaboration. Applying CliftonStrengths in communication starts with recognizing our own needs and the needs of other stakeholders. Each CliftonStrengths theme has specific needs. When the different needs are met, communication flows naturally. Coordination work becomes more effective.
An example:
Julia, who has the Context theme, sees her recurring pattern of seeking background information and asking “how things came about”. To her, background information helps produce better quality thinking and eventually, decisions. However, she noticed that her teammates prefer to jump into problem-solving mode. She notices their tendency to quickly explore different solutions before understanding the real issue. That has often made her frustrated during meetings. Julia realized her needs from her Context theme were not met.
After exploring with her coach, she made adjustments by learning to articulate her need for background information to other team members. She is now intentional in making specific requests to acquire quick updates on background information or historical data before any solutions work.
The team has since felt a significant difference in results whenever Julia contributes. She asks good questions and brings fresh perspectives. The team now leverages her Context theme for more robust thinking and quality outcomes.
In summary, applying CliftonStrengths is learning to dial up our behavioral patterns in situations that will get us positive outcomes and dial down in situations that will create negative impacts.
The three basic but crucial steps to get there:
(1) Get clarity and understanding of our dominant CliftonStrengths themes and how these themes show up at work. Getting feedback from team members in this area is helpful to get this clarity.
(2) Notice the recurring patterns of our thoughts, feelings, and behavior by reflecting on our past experiences. This includes reflecting about when we feel energized during work, when we get triggered etc.
(3) Intentionally aim these recurring patterns towards our desired outcomes by making adjustments to our behaviors
Ultimately, applying CliftonStrengths in all aspects of work, such as performance management, relationship building, and collaboration, can lead to personal and professional growth. It involves recognizing and leveraging our dominant themes to improve self-awareness, build trust, and enhance communication. By consciously practicing to adjust our behaviors and tendencies associated with our CliftonStrengths, we can create a more effective and harmonious work environment while maximizing our individual potential.
Continue Reading — The CliftonStrengths Series:
Ready to explore your strengths in a coaching context? Enquire about a CliftonStrengths workshop or coaching session here.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops.
8 Reasons to use CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder) for Team Building
Most team building activities are forgotten within weeks. Singapore Ontological and CliftonStrengths coach Victor Seet explains why CliftonStrengths creates something more lasting and shares 8 specific reasons why hundreds of teams across Singapore and Asia have chosen it over conventional team building programs
By Victor Seet, ICF (PCC, ACTC). The world's only coach to hold both the Gallup Gold and Platinum Certified CliftonStrengths Coach awards and also a Newfield Certified ontological coach. Based in Singapore.
Since 2015, there has been a great increase in the number of companies in Singapore and across Southeast Asia enquiring about the CliftonStrengths (formerly Gallup StrengthsFinder) Team Building Program. Since 2021, the CliftonStrengths Profiling has been taken over 30 million times globally.
Organisations that have used this program include: Marriott International, Johnson & Johnson, Zebra Technologies, Prudential, AIA, Singapore Management University, Pico Art International, Ministry of Education Singapore, VF Corporation, and Church of Our Saviour, among others.
This article is written especially for Team Leaders and those in Human Resource, who are regularly looking out for team building programs that can be beneficial to their team and organization.
Based on past experience and participants' feedback from over hundreds of CliftonStrengths workshops I have conducted, I am giving 8 reasons on why a CliftonStrengths workshop could just be the ideal Team Building Program that a team or an organization should consider.
1. It's incredibly uplifting!
How often do people have the opportunity to hear the good things that other colleagues have to say about their own strengths?
Leveraging on the Strengths Language which is derived from the field of positive psychology, conversations that take place build up the morale of the team. The conversations in the workshop revolved around what is right with people rather than what is wrong. In many work cultures where affirmations and encouragements are in deficit, team members received a much needed morale boost. The overall morale of a team has been observed to be greatly heightened after a CliftonStrengths team building workshop.
2. All new partnerships start with a Conversation
It begins with a conversation. As cliche as it sounds, new partnerships can be formed from having a conversation on how different strengths complement. It is one thing to discover why certain people work well together. It is another to intentionally build partnerships that revolve around different strengths that complement. One of the most powerful segments during an interactive workshop is called “getting the best of me”. It is so important to hear from our colleagues how they feel they can bring out their best at work and what support they need from the team.
3. Knowledge-Based Learning
Most team building activities are interactive and fun in nature and CliftonStrengths workshops are no different. One thing that stands out about a CliftonStrengths Team building workshop is that extra dimension of knowledge-based learning, especially in facilitating self-awareness and in gaining data to understand other colleagues. This is usually missing from the usual one-off team building cooking, art-jamming session or a laser quest mission.
A well facilitated CliftonStrengths workshop empowers and equips participants with practical handles on how to move forward with the knowledge gained. These handles allow the different team members to build on the positive energy gained from the workshop. Feedback from many participants have demonstrated that the strengths conversations that took place after the Strengthsfinder workshop usually transmit into greater synergy in the workplace.
4. Increase in An Individual's Self-Confidence and Self-Awareness
A well facilitated CliftonStrengths session is not only fun but participants leave with a greater level of self-awareness. By learning how they think, feel and behave in unique ways that are very different from their colleagues, participants have commented that the insights can help them in designing interventions for professional development. The knowledge gained from understanding their own strengths and the strengths of their colleagues gives people a renewed sense of confidence in themselves as well as for the team.
5. Understand How Strengths Cause Conflicts
A CliftonStrengths team building workshop helps participants understand how certain strengths among team members can clash and turn into potential conflicts. For example, a CliftonStrengths theme of Harmony prefers emotional efficiency while the theme of Strategic prefers operational efficiency. Harmony believes work gets done faster without the conflicts that suck up more emotional energy of the team. Strategic believes that efficiency lies in cutting down unnecessary steps even if the process has been established and executed in the past.
Such understanding and awareness usually helps people to realize how certain conflicts are non-personal in nature and is really a result of different perspectives. A CliftonStrengths workshop can provide participants with very effective handles on how to manage and resolve conflicts that happen in teams.
6. A Long Term Strategic Investment
A CliftonStrengths team building workshop is a long term strategic investment for companies as compared to one-off bonding sessions. Strategies to manage teams can become more customized because of the strengths data and hence more productive. Out of knowing different strengths of the team members, strategies devised can be more targeted especially in complex work environments.
It is often observed that after a CliftonStrengths team building workshop, many leaders take up the follow-up recommendation to receive individualized coaching. Often the purpose of the coaching session is to learn more about how to leverage the different strengths of the team members to grow team performances. This is one opportunity that can be captured after a CliftonStrengths team building workshop.
7. A Practical Alternative for DIVERSE Groups
A CliftonStrengths session provides a strong and practical alternative whenever a team building exercise needs to be catered to participants of a wide age range (or with vastly different physical fitness levels). The workshops usually take place indoors. While the activities are interactive and fun, they are not physical in nature and do not require any additional insurance liability coverage.
8. Understanding Human Relationships
The most common feedback from participants who attended the CliftonStrengths Team Building Workshops come down to understanding human relationships. "You learn to withhold your judgement because you now see a person for who they are and you learn to accept them”.
This is immensely transforming for any kind of human relationship!
What Does a CliftonStrengths Team Building Workshop Look Like?
A typical CliftonStrengths team building workshop with Victor Seet runs as a half-day or full-day session and includes:
Each participant completing the Gallup CliftonStrengths assessment before the workshop
A facilitated and guided group coaching segment that empowers individuals to unpack their own strengths results
Facilitated Team conversations to deepen trust, respect and collaborations.
Team exercises exploring how different strengths complement and create tension
Practical frameworks for applying strengths in day-to-day work
A closing session on how the team can continue using strengths language after the workshop
Workshops are available in English and can be customised for corporate teams, non-profits, schools, and leadership teams across Singapore and Asia.
Some Testimonials from TEAM Leaders
“Victor has been a very professional coach, walking with us patiently through our CliftonStrengths results. It was a fun and interactive team building workshop and we are glad to find out our individual strengths through this workshop. Thank you Victor!
Chloe Teo | Senior Director, Enterprise Clients | Colliers International
"The StrengthsFinder workshop went down very well with everyone and it struck me that was a near-perfect and flawless session. The session was very balanced, well-paced and well-organized. The session was peppered with personal (and often hilarious) anecdotes that the team found to be very helpful and relevant. Personally, understanding my own strengths and those of my team has helped to make sense of some of the behaviours from my team members and myself and caused me to make adjustments to some of the ways I interact with my team."
Wong Rin Rin | Former Legal Director & Associate General Counsel, Asia Pacific (MNC)
"The StrengthsFinder workshop was excellent and the feedback from all the team members was that it was one of the most valuable workshops they have been a part of. The concepts and team exercises certainly helped the teams to grasp the strength-based thinking, as well as enabled the team leads to get a closer view of their team dynamics, diversity and strengths."
Saurabh Mandal | Head – Supply Chain (MNC)
Excellent workshop! What was most impactful was understanding the strengths of my team and how we all have different talent to bring to the table. I learnt how to meet their needs and be mindful of their unmet needs. Victor is funny and love all his stories and anecdotes. He brings to life many day to day nuances we see in the team and also in our personal relationships! I love the various interactive activities. Appreciate the workshop!
Rena Tan | Head of Brand and Corporate Communications | Singapore Management University
"The greatest benefit for me was to understand and start appreciating different talents of different individuals. That enables me to work better towards common goals. I find this workshop interactive, comprehensive and lively! I rate this workshop a 10/10!"
Michael Wu | Chief Financial Officer (MNC)
"This workshop helped me understand the team differences and what makes each person unique and what we have in common. I think this leadership program is a great one and I highly recommend it for leaders & teams."
Richa Goswami | Head of Digital, Asia Pacific (MNC)
How do I run the CliftonStrengths Team Workshop Programs?
Fun & Interactive, focusing on team DYNAMICS, TRUST BUILDING and EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION.
Continue Reading — The CliftonStrengths Series:
A Manager's Guide to Leveraging Your Team's CliftonStrengths
CliftonStrengths Complementary Partnerships: Unlikely Pairings Part 1
Ready to bring a CliftonStrengths workshop to your team? Enquire about a workshop here.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops.
8 things to know about CliftonStrengths Leadership Domains
Are you one of those who read the book Strengths-Based Leadership and wonder about how to interpret the four domains? Or are you one of those who got your results and wondered what the colors mean? Singapore Ontological and CliftonStrengths coach Victor Seet, gives his input and insights about the Four Domains of Leadership Strength and how leaders can interpret their results.
By Victor Seet, ICF (PCC, ACTC). The world's only coach to hold both the Gallup Gold and Platinum Certified CliftonStrengths Coach awards and also a Newfield Certified ontological coach. Based in Singapore.
As a CliftonStrengths coach, whenever I facilitate leadership workshops across Singapore and Asia, I often get asked many questions about the CliftonStrengths profiling tool. One of the most common questions I've been asked has to do with the four domains of Leadership strengths.
What do the domains mean and how should individuals interpret their CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder) results based on the domains?
This article is written as a resource with the hope of answering some of the common questions asked. This article contains my own opinions as a Gallup Certified Coach, gathered from my training, facilitation and coaching experiences accumulated. Please feel free to check out some of the workshops I have conducted in this Portfolio.
Two key things to note as you read this article.
(1) CliftonStrengths is commonly positioned as a developmental tool and used by managers and coaches in a variety of ways.
(2) Similar to each of the CliftonStrengths assessment results, the way to interpret and understand a person's domain is uniquely individualized.
1. What are the CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder) Leadership Domains about?
Each of the 34 CliftonStrengths Talent Themes are categorized under four different domains, namely Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building and Strategic Thinking. These four domains are categorized by Gallup as a reference and for a different perspective on how the talent themes can be interpreted. The categories work more like a signpost and a guide. The different talent themes are surveyed and categorized in one of the four domains. The key idea is this: the type of activities linked to the particular domain will be the type of activities that the talent theme will most likely thrive in.
2. What is one common misconception that people have about the domains?
In my experience (as a Gallup Certified Coach), one of the most common misconceptions is people believe that a particular theme can only excel in the domain it is categorized in.This is definitely untrue. The categorization of the domains in no way suggests that a particular talent theme will not be able to function well in another domain. It is by no means exclusive. For example, the Learner theme, which is categorized under the Strategic Thinking domain, is often used to build relationships. Learners are curious. They use their curiosity to discover what makes their friends tick and what makes them upset. Learners are also curious to find out how they can strengthen their relationships with people from different communities.
The categorization of the domains simply highlights the area in which each talent theme can manifest its greatest impact when rightly engaged. When we subscribe to the common misconception, we will often believe an internal voice in our head: "Oh no, I do not have any strengths (in this domain)!" This deficit mindset causes the knowledge of the domains to be disempowering rather than empowering.
One of the most common thinking traps that Corporate Leaders fall into is this idea that "I need more people with Influencing Talents". This is usually the instinctive response when a Team Leader begins to analyze the team strengths data. Some even go as far as to comment that they need to hire people with specific influencing talents (which are rare to come across). I usually have to spend time coaching the team leaders and help them understand how to develop their staff to leverage their non-influencing domain talents to hit the objectives of influencing others.
3. How are the talent themes categorized and what does each domain mean?
The CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder) Talent Themes that are categorized in the Executing domain include Achiever, Arranger, Belief, Consistency, Deliberative, Discipline, Focus, Responsibility and Restorative. You can read more specifically about any of the talent themes in the 34 CliftonStrengths theme articles I have written.
When your talent themes are largely Executing in nature, it means you are someone who often intuitively wants to get things done and finish tasks successfully. The structure, system, budget, processes, timeline and rules are usually areas you are concerned about. While you might be often thought of as being task-oriented, people who work with you know that you can be highly depended on to get things done.
The CliftonStrengths Talent Themes that are categorized in the Strategic Thinking domain include Analytical, Context, Futuristic, Ideation, Input, Intellection, Learner and Strategic.
When your talent themes are mostly Strategic Thinking in nature, it means you are someone who loves thinking. Your playground is in your mind. Facts, data, concepts, ideas, strategies, dreams, and having a big picture are often areas that are of concern to you. You need to know the purpose behind a plan. You enjoy opportunities to create new strategies and explore ideas and meaning. You need room to imagine, and you need your mind to be engaged. People who work with you know that you are often a source of wisdom, counsel and ideas because of your agile mind.
The CliftonStrengths Talent Themes that are categorized in the Influencing domain include Activator, Command, Communication, Competition, Maximizer, Significance, Self-Assurance and Woo.
When your talent themes are largely Influencing in nature, it means you are someone who wants to rally people towards a particular direction. People see you as someone with lots of energy. You are more likely to be perceived as an extrovert than introvert. You are concerned with motivating others, persuading others to take action, and pushing others towards breakthrough. The freedom to speak out, freedom to act, and freedom to make changes are often areas you are concerned with. People who work with you know that you are passionate when it comes to inspiring and rallying others for a cause. The Influencing talent themes are rarer (statistically) compared to others. It is extremely rare to find someone with all their 5 top talents in this domain.
The CliftonStrengths Talent Themes that are categorized in the Relationship Building domain include Adaptability, Connectedness, Developer, Empathy, Harmony, Includer, Individualization, Relator and Positivity.
When your talent themes are largely relationship building in nature, it means you are someone who often wants to show care and concern to others, often through an emotional connection. People see you as someone who cares. You send the message that human relationships triumph over everything. You are concerned with authenticity, encouragement, listening to the unvoiced, and ensuring no one is left out. Hearing the hearts of people, feeling their emotions and connecting to communities are often areas you are concerned with. People who work with you know that you are well aware of the human needs of people and you are highly sensitive to them.
4. How do the CliftonStrengths Leadership Domains affect people and tasks?
In my personal opinion, we can also divide the four CliftonStrengths Leadership domains into two general categories - task-oriented or people-oriented. Strategic Thinking and Executing talents are primarily task-oriented. It isn't the case that they do not care about relationships - only that they enjoy finishing the tasks at hand and they leverage the different tasks to build relationships with others. The Influencing and Relationship Building talents are primarily people-oriented. For these two domains, it's not that the task is unimportant, only that the tasks are completed because they give meaning to the relationships that exist. Simply put, their motivation to complete the tasks comes from the relationships they are building.
5. Why is it important to understand the CliftonStrengths Leadership Domains?
Domains help us to understand talent themes from another angle. It is discovered that a well-rounded team with a representation of talent themes in each of these four domains often have valuable contributions that lead to high levels of performance. In the Strengths-Based Leadership philosophy, it is often taught that individuals need not be well-rounded, but teams should be.
As individuals, by understanding our dominant domains (the domain that most of our talents lie in), we can understand the kind of tasks we are likely to excel in. We become aware of our biggest contributions to the team we are in. This knowledge also helps us to seek complementary partnerships. We can seek partners to leverage and strengthen the domains we are not so dominant in. Understanding domains also gives us an idea of how we usually impose ourselves on others (often without much awareness) - through the lenses of the domain filters. This understanding allows us to have greater self-awareness and help us regulate our behaviors when it comes to working in a team. Understanding domains thus opens up new possibilities for us to grow our talents into strengths. Domains also allow a team to know from another perspective the areas it needs to watch out for in terms of its most competitive edge and its weakest link.
6. What does it mean when a person's strengths are dominant in a particular domain?
It essentially means that the tasks and scope of work in that particular domain will be the individual's greatest value-add to any team or community that they are in. These people will often feel most engaged when they contribute in their strongest domain (provided that their contributions are also appreciated by the team). A team leader would do well to take note of such a great value that exists in the team, and intentionally create opportunities that can leverage and maximize this person’s unique contribution.
Team Leaders should also note that the reverse is true. When someone whose talents dominate a particular domain but feel that the tasks and responsibilities given do not give opportunities for the talents to be sufficiently-engaged, then this individual is likely to become disengaged over time. Team Leaders will do well to intervene and make quick and necessary adjustments.
7. What if an individual's talents are evenly spread out among all the domains?
There is no cause for alarm. Firstly, this person can give different perspectives (spanning across all domains) without overweighing a particular area. This person's views will tend towards being a more "balanced" one and that is a great value-add to any team. Most people usually overweigh their judgements in a particular domain.
8. What are some things I should watch out for if I am very strong in one particular domain?
In my personal opinion (as a Gallup Certified Coach), there are a few points to be noted:
The perspectives in that particular domain can be extremely strong. Any job that does not strongly engage the talents in that domain can easily lead to the person becoming disillusioned. For people who have 4 or 5 of their dominant themes in one particular StrengthsFinder domain, they need to be quite selective in the job they are in. Regular check-ins with the manager is helpful to ensure sufficient engagement.
A person who is strong in a particular domain needs to form good partnerships with others who are strong in the other domains. (For example, as a person high in influencing and executing, I intentionally surround myself with people high in Empathy, Positivity, Harmony. I do so to grow my relational skills as well as to leverage their unique insights and perspectives to grow my strengths). Strong partnerships can be formed by operating in humility and being very conscious of the need to be interdependent. By being very open to the perspectives of others (especially in the weaker domains), blind spots can be uncovered. This naturally gives the individual a greater chance of success as he or she focuses on strengths and manages weaknesses.
A person needs to have a deep sense of security about themselves. Unfortunately, what usually becomes the talking point among others are usually the domains that an individual lacks rather than the one that individual is strong in. We live in a world filled with people who look more at the bad rather than the good (I believe this mindset can be changed, but I’m just being a little realistic here.)
While I believe strongly that coaching is for everyone, I would strongly advise a person with very dominant talent themes in one domain to find a personal coach or mentor who understands how to bring out the best in him/her.
Concluding Thoughts: This topic on the CliftonStrengths Leadership domains remains one of the most important areas to be understood, especially for Managers and Team Leaders. In a very competitive business environment, the leader who can strongly leverage on the unique contributions of each team member is the one who can lead a team to perform at a very high level. Gallup's research has shown that it is the role of the manager to have the wisdom and understanding to create such a culture. I strongly believe this to be true.
Continue Reading — The CliftonStrengths Series:
Why Strengths-Based Coaching Skills Transform How Leaders Develop Their Teams
CliftonStrengths: Complementary Partnerships Through Unlike Pairings (1)
CliftonStrengths: Complementary Partnerships Through Unlike Pairings (2)
Want to explore your Leadership Domains in a workshop or coaching session? Enquire here.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops.
Frequently Asked Questions About CliftonStrengths Leadership Domains
Q: How do the four CliftonStrengths Leadership Domains differ from one another in plain language?
A: Each domain describes a default mode of contribution that shows up when a person has several of their dominant talents concentrated there. Strategic Thinking - people with concentrated talents in this domain naturally process information, see patterns, and chart paths forward. Executing - people with concentrated talents in this domain turn ideas into completed tasks. Influencing - people with concentrated talents in this domain persuade and move others to action. Relationship Building - people with concentrated talents in this domain build the trust and care that hold teams together. An important caveat is that domains only describe a person meaningfully when their talents are concentrated in that domain. If someone has only one or two themes in a particular domain, the domain says very little about them. Treating the domain framework as a fixed identity is one of the most common ways CliftonStrengths gets misused. The framework is meant to surface contribution patterns, not stereotype people based on what they appear to lack.
Q: Can a talent theme contribute to a domain it isn't categorised under?
A: Yes, and this is one of the most useful things to understand about the domains. The categorisation shows where each talent theme is most likely to thrive, not the only place it can show up. Learner sits under Strategic Thinking but is often used to build relationships. Learners are curious about what makes their friends tick, what makes them upset, how to connect across communities. Command sits under Influencing but can drive remarkable strategic insight by creating clarity during strategic planning and discussions. The domain categorisation is a signpost, not a fence. When we treat it as a fence, we start telling ourselves we lack strengths we actually have.
Q: What if a team is heavily missing in one of the four domains?
A: Firstly, many teams are not evenly distributed across all four domains especially when we only look at the top 5 profile, and that is normal. The data produces an opportunity to act on this gap. Second, we can look at the team members’ #6-10 themes as well as the supporting themes that touch the missing domain. Often there is more representation than the top 5 themes suggest. Third, develop the missing capacity rather than trying to hire it. A team without strong Influencing themes can still produce influence by leveraging other talents - Relator's deep one-to-one trust, Responsibility’s strong trust built on reliability. Gallup’s research has shown that awareness of each team member’s strengths has twice the impact on team effectiveness compared to the composition of the team strengths.
Q: How do I work well with someone whose dominant domain is very different from mine?
A: Start by understanding how their dominant domain contributes and what their dominant domain values. Executing types value reliability and follow-through - show up when you said you would, and finish what you started. Strategic Thinking types value being given time to process and to use their brains - make it a point to resist telling these people what to do. Influencing types value energy, autonomy and the freedom to speak - shine the spotlight on them and give them space for their voice to be heard. Relationship Building types value being seen and heard as a person, not just as a role - make time to listen and connect beyond just the work. Most cross-domain friction comes from one person reading the other's natural style as a deficiency. The work is to recognise that what looks like resistance is often just a different operating logic. Once you see it that way, the partnership becomes possible.
Q: Is one domain more valuable for leadership than the others?
A: No, and the question itself is one of the most common traps in CliftonStrengths thinking. The context of the business and teams require different types of leaders. Many corporate leaders instinctively assume they need more Influencing strengths to lead well, because Influencing themes are visible and verbal. But a leader strong in Relationship Building creates the safety required for teams going through a lot of change. The leader strong in Executing brings the reliability and drives tangible results for teams that are struggling in that area. A leader strong in Strategic Thinking gives the team direction and meaning for teams that have been stagnant and need to innovate. Effective leadership comes from leading authentically from your dominant domain, while being humble enough to surround yourself with others who lead from theirs.
CliftonStrengths: Complementary Partnerships Through Unlikely Pairings - Part 2
Some of the most effective working partnerships come from people whose strengths look nothing alike. Singapore Ontological and CliftonStrengths coach Victor Seet shares more examples of unlikely but powerful strength pairings in this second instalment of his complementary partnerships series.
This is part 2 of Complimentary partnerships through the unlikely pairs of the CliftonStrengths themes.
The key question asked from the first article was:
“How can people with very different strengths work together?”
I’m attempting to answer the question by examining the polarities that I derive from the unlikely pairs from the list of CliftonStrengths 34 themes. From Gallup’s research data, the unlikely theme pairings which bring insights into polarities are:
1. Deliberative - Woo;
2. Developer - Command;
3. Empathy - Self Assurance;
4. Discipline - Ideation;
5. Harmony - Strategic;
6. Maximizer - Restorative;
7. Positivity - Deliberative.
In this part 2, I will be touching from the fourth to the last pair. I will share my observations of how each theme within the pair has contrasting thinking, feeling and behavioural patterns. I will attempt to name the polarity so that we get an idea why these pairings can be powerfully complementary. Again, these are my own personal views as a coach based in Singapore.
4. Discipline and Ideation
People with Discipline require their world to be predictable. They set up routines and they need precision. They like things to be in order and planned. The need for structure often means they prefer to work within the box and not be taken by surprises. People with Ideation, on the contrary, enjoy newness and seeing things fresh. They are energized by out-of-the-box ideas. Innovative solutions are new perspectives developed on familiar challenges. They are often easily bored by routines and enjoy going beyond previously set parameters to develop fresh ideas and perspectives.
What does this partnership bring out?
The named polarity here is the need for stability AND change. Often, the routines bring a sense of predictability, which in turn, bring a sense of stability and safety. In a country like Singapore where survival is often a key narrative, stability at work is a need that workers require. On the other hand, what workers need and what businesses want creates the tension. Businesses need constant change and innovation to adapt to the dynamic business landscape. People with Ideation brings innovation and fresh perspectives. Leveraging this polarity helps to create a needed dynamic critical to building high performance teams.
5. Harmony and Strategic
People with the Harmony theme look for areas of agreement and consensus. They instinctively listen out for shared points of views. They prefer to help team members find common ground and have a preference for emotional efficiency, even if it means going on a longer route together. The journey towards camaraderie is often more valued than output efficiency. People with Strategic, on the other hand, prefer operational efficiency and having speed. Finding shortcuts is in the DNA. The results are often more valued than the team building process. They seek the path of least resistance and are prepared to rock the boat if they assess that a new path might bring greater results.
What does this partnership bring out?
The named polarity here is the need for emotional efficiency AND the need for outputefficiency. To build a sense of togetherness, there is often the need for alignment through some levels of consensus building. Moving too fast without team alignment creates conflicts which in turn creates an emotional state that can be detrimental to team performance. Having the right level of emotional efficiency is helpful.
On the other hand, in the fast moving world of businesses, there is also a need for output efficiency and getting results. Leveraging this partnership allows for constructive exchanges on when it is critical to get buy-in from the team and when it is necessary to act efficiently and with speed to achieve the required outcomes. Leveraging this polarity creates more respect for each other and ultimately creates a stronger bond within the team. .
6. Maximizer and Restorative
People with the Maximizer theme see their world through the lens of excellence and beauty. They dislike mediocrity and being average. To a Maximizer, fixing something that is broken is akin to taking something from below average to average. That process takes a great deal of effort and often does not bring quality results. Maximizer prefers to focus on strengths to enhance quality and create high performance. On the other hand, people with Restorative love to solve problems. They see the world as a broken world and the world can be a better place by solving one problem at a time. Statistically, this pair is also the most unlikely to appear together in an individual’s top 5.
What does this partnership bring out?
The named polarity here is Exceeding Expectations AND Meeting Expectations. Customers are constantly looking for higher levels of quality in products and services and making comparisons. Customers are also ready to complain if the products and services are not up to the committed standards. Leveraging this polarity allows for the delivery of strong business results.
Another possible polarity is building on strengths AND managing weaknesses. Leaders have often seen how a non-performing member pulls down the overall team performance and morale. Managing the weaknesses of team members is part of a key process to build high performance teams. Yet, self-actualization is a powerful driver. The ability to achieve excellence through focusing on our strengths is greatly desired. This polarity creates a powerful partnership in the people development space.
7. Positivity and Deliberative
People with Positivity are generous with praise, quick to smile, and always on the lookout for the positive in any situation. They have the desire to keep environments lighthearted and look to inject vitality and life into areas that feel dead and lifeless. People with Deliberative on the other hand are always on the lookout for danger and what might go wrong. They believe that life is better when expectations are managed well and precautions are well taken.
What does this partnership bring out?
The named polarity here is being optimistic AND realistic. Having an optimistic mindset helps us to have lightness in our approach at work. People with Positivity often draws on this lightness to spread the positive energy around. When team members catch on the positive energy, there are more laughter, a greater sense of psychological safety and more effective collaboration. In times of setback, the positive energy empowers the team to be resilient. On the other hand, having the realistic mindset helps the Deliberative to actively anticipate challenges that might derail the team’s efforts. The realistic mindset often carries a sense of burden which in turn, creates a sharp focus on delivering results. Creating back up plans and planning for worst-case scenarios are the norm.
Leveraging this polarity creates the ability to draw on the lightness to create a positive team spirit and the operational prowess of burden to create focus.
In conclusion: the above examples illustrate how many of the CliftonStrengths themes can be powerfully leveraged. The conflicts in perspectives between the different themes are not problems to be solved. They should be seen as perspectives to be leveraged. Leveraging these polarities can help teams and businesses thrive in this VUCA world.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor is an accredited ICF Advanced Certified Team Coach (ACTC) and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) based in Singapore. He is also a Newfield Certified Ontological Coach and the world's only coach to hold both the Gallup Gold and Platinum Certified CliftonStrengths Coach awards CliftonStrengths Coach. Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops.
CliftonStrengths: Complementary Partnership Through Unlikely Pairings
We tend to gravitate toward people who think like us. But in CliftonStrengths terms, the most powerful partnerships often come from people whose strengths are almost opposite. Singapore Ontological and CliftonStrengths coach Victor Seet explores why and what these unlikely pairings look like in practice.
As a CliftonStrengths Coach based in Singapore, one of the questions I’m often asked during workshops or coaching sessions is “how can people with very different strengths work together?”
As I listen to the deeper concerns, I discovered two common struggles. First, there are those who struggle with certain individuals in tension-filled relationships and wondering if the conflicts are a result of “opposite strengths”.
Second, some people saw the deficit in their decision making outcomes. There is a tendency to be over focused on one side of the coin to the neglect of another. It is a bias that surface regularly in decision making. Increasingly, polarity management is gaining traction in organisational development.
Polarities are interdependent opposites and each dimension is needed for the healthy functioning of the system. There is a necessity of both dimensions. Central to the idea of a polarity is the expectation that each opposite dimension will have an impact on the system. Having one but not the other creates issues within the system. From this point of view, the complementary partnerships of people with opposite strengths, are very powerful in bringing better business outcomes.
Taking a step back, you might be now wondering: “What are strengths that are considered to be very different?”
There are multiple ways of answering this question. I approach this from a coaching lens. Through some research data published by Gallup, I discovered that there are some CliftonStrengths talent themes that are very unlikely to be paired together in an individual’s top 5 strengths results. From Gallup’s data, these unlikely pairings are:
1. Deliberative - Woo
2. Developer - Command
3. Empathy - Self Assurance
4. Discipline - Ideation
5. Harmony - Strategic
6. Maximizer - Restorative
7. Positivity - Deliberative
So how can people with very different strengths work together?
In this article, I will be touching on the first three pairings to explore this question. These are my own personal views as a professional executive coach.
1. Deliberative and Woo
People with Deliberative are quite private in nature, selective about those they allow into their inner circle and preferring quality over quantity. They are very careful in the way they use social media and doing networking online in the digital world today. They are often very aware of the dangers in the social media online space. Those with Woo are considered to be socially adventurous. They love meeting strangers because they see it as an opportunity to make new friends. They tend to enjoy playful banter, as it helps them build rapport quickly. They are likely to initiate in reaching out to others to build a greater network of contacts, aware of the power of leveraging relationships in the social media space today. This is probably the reason for the unlikely pairing in the two talent themes. When you speak to two different individuals, a Deliberative and a Woo, it is fairly common to observe some distinct differences in perspectives.
What does this partnership bring out?
The named polarity here is the human need for protection AND connection. There is both the need to create strong personal boundaries and strong social connections. In work partnerships, Woo brings the perspectives and learnings of leveraging connections for business development, job search and ideas exchange. Deliberative brings the learnings and perspectives on risk assessment. That means learning how to spot scams, guard against wrongdoings within and out of the system. Deliberative can also share perspectives about the danger of being overly vulnerable and friendly.
2. Developer and Command
People with the Developer theme tend to be perceived as nurturing and patient while those with Command can come across with a colder and more intimidating presence. In terms of people development, Developer enjoys encouraging people to take baby steps in facing challenges. The Developer celebrates every growth and milestone. Command enjoys challenging people to move out of their comfort zones and overcome their fears. While the development goals looked similar, the emotional journey can be in stark contrast. Another contrasting perspective is how each might look at results. Command tends to polarize and see results as either success (“you have overcome”) or failure (“you succumbed to your fears”). The Developer tends to focus on the growth and progress even with not so desirable results (“you did better than before, that is worth celebrating”).
What does this partnership bring out?
The named polarity here is the need for Support AND the need for Challenge. Leveraging this partnership allows for constructive exchanges on when it is necessary to push people to overcome personal challenges and when to take a step back and give people some breathing space. This is a common tension seen in coaching, mentoring and teaching. Leveraging this polarity creates better results in the space of people development, talent retention and employee engagement.
3. Empathy and Self Assurance
People with the Empathy theme tend to be others centered. They naturally want to put themselves in another person’s shoes in order to understand how that person is feeling. Their confidence come from their ability to connect deeply with others and being able to sense what others are feeling. In a rather contrasting fashion, those with the Self-Assurance theme build confidence by developing a keener sense of self. They rely a lot on their gut and have faith in their own strengths and judgments. Like an anchor of a ship, those with Self-Assurance can often withstand different kinds of pressure and they have a great self-belief that is often unwavering. The decision making process is very different for each side. Empathy often makes decisions based on meeting peoples’ needs and concerns. The sensing of peoples’ emotions (fears anxieties, hope and excitement etc) are key data points for decisions. Self-Assurance enjoys taking risks and decisions are often based on their personal gut feel and sensing about the situation. Decisions do not necessarily concern how others might be feeling.
What does this partnership bring out?
The named polarity here is the relying on Others as a resource AND relying on Self as a resource. When should one move ahead decisively and depend on the gut instinct? When should one choose to listen, gather data and sense the mood of the community? Leveraging the contrasting perspectives bring rich learnings and is crucial in a context of fast changing landscape with much unknowns.
In conclusion: the above examples illustrate how many of the CliftonStrengths themes can be powerfully leveraged. The conflicts in perspectives between the different themes are not problems to be solved. They should be seen as perspectives to be leveraged. Leveraging these polarities can help teams and businesses thrive in this VUCA world.
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor is an accredited ICF Advanced Certified Team Coach (ACTC) and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) based in Singapore. He is also a Newfield Certified Ontological Coach and the world's only coach to hold both the Gallup Gold and Platinum Certified CliftonStrengths Coach awards. Based in Singapore.. Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops.
The 15 Beliefs That Stop You From Learning and Being Resistance to Change - Coaching Guide
Resistance to learning is rarely about intelligence or motivation. It's almost always about beliefs and invisible assumptions that quietly block us from growing. Singapore Ontological and CliftonStrengths coach Victor Seet shares 15 specific beliefs he has observed holding people back, drawn from his coaching work with leaders and teams.
By Victor Seet, ICF (PCC, ACTC). The world's only coach to hold both the Gallup Gold and Platinum Certified CliftonStrengths Coach awards and also a Newfield Certified ontological coach. Based in Singapore.
In the book “Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth”, author Amy C. Edmondson describes the learning zone as the high-performance zone. This is the zone where people can collaborate, learn, and get complex work done. In a VUCA world, high performance occurs when people are actively learning as they go.
This article is about the beliefs that hinder people from learning. When we struggle with learning, we struggle with navigating change.
There are 15 beliefs described here and they are termed as “enemies of learning”. I learnt about these beliefs while doing my ontological coaching course under Newfield and have used these actively for my own coaching work. I often find that these beliefs can help unlock certain blindness, especially in how people resist learning which underpins the ability to navigate change in this increasing complex world. I have observed that these beliefs can be used powerfully to spark transformation and can be used as a guide for coaching conversations, leadership conversations and performance conversations.
I have added in my own understanding and elaborations about what these 15 beliefs are so that readers can benefit further. I have also grouped them into 4 categories.
Category 1: The Knowing Trap
These are Beliefs about what we already know.
1. Unwillingness to admit “I don’t know”
This was one of the dominant beliefs that I had to address for myself. For me, this belief is closely tied to a common mindset: “not knowing is a sign of weakness”. For many people, it’s the idea of “I have experienced this before so I know how this works.” The lack of curiosity is usually more obvious to observers than the person himself. The unwillingness to admit “I don’t know” because of the experience gained closes up the space for curiosity. Learning is hindered. There is an ongoing assessment that he or she already possessed the information and knowledge needed for a particular situation.
Conversely, people who are naturally curious often dwell in a “I don’t know” headspace. In this space, the brain actively look for new knowledge, information and pathways.
I observed that this unwillingness to admit “I don’t know” is common among leaders and managers who feel that leadership competency is closely tied with “knowing” and the assumption that when one has experience, it means one must have some knowledge of the subject. Any sign of “not knowing” can jeopardize power and influence so to admit “I don’t know” is a huge barrier.
2. When you don’t know that you don’t know but act as if you do
This particular enemy of learning centers around “acting” in a way to make others perceive that we know. The focus for such an individual is on making sure his or her responses and actions do not show the “lack of knowledge or understanding”. In summary - “don’t look stupid”.
There is little priority on learning about the unknowns. This belief can also be possibly tied to the popular idea of “fake it till you make it”. There is an ongoing practice to produce an answer in every situation and to act as if one knows a solution even when he or she does not. This can be a trap for consultants, lawyers, or anyone who is highly paid because of the knowledge they have.
Overtime, this practice of faking lowers a person’s ability to be truly curious. The person’s brain is usually busy trying to come up with answers so as to be seen as one who knows. There can be multiple reasons why people choose to fake. The fear of “not looking stupid in front of others” is one idea.
3. Unaware that we have blindspots
Do you deliberately consider points of view shared by others? Do you intentionally reflect on what could be your blindspots? Do you actively gather feedback and pondered over why those feedback were given? These questions could help you discover if you are aware that we live in blindness.
When one is unaware that a person can have blindspots, the priority is often on justifying and defending one’s views more than considering other perspectives. It’s the inner voice that says “I’ve seen this before. I know how it works.”
This enemy of learning is highly correlated to people who often operate with strong assumptions and have little awareness of what is commonly termed as unconscious bias.
I observed that this phenomenon is especially common for people who experienced some level of success and live with an assessment that there is nothing much more to learn (since they have already experienced success). They tend to be confident in their abilities to perform and deliver results. They might not be conscious of how they are coming across to others. They can be less sensitive to power dynamics and less sensitive to how others who are less experienced, less privileged, less resourced, are feeling.
4. Confusing “knowing” with “knowing about”
Will you want to learn swimming from someone who cannot swim or learn driving from someone who does not have a driving license? The response might be obvious but we can be easily confused by those who know and those who simply have lots of opinions about a subject.
Many are led to believe that they have learnt a lot because they know so much details about a particular topic. The inner voice says “I’ve read this before so I know.” This confusion is often made worse by the vast amount of information that can be found on the web. Anyone can be an “expert”. Just look at how many influencers have become experts overnight and strategically use this confusion to spread untruths.
As a side note, it is useful to do a personal reflection because of the massive information we possess on our fingertips:
Do you notice if you are happy with simply having lots of information about a subject? What do you notice about your ability to act on the knowledge you have gained?
5. Not granting permission to be taught
The inner voice says “Who are you to tell me what to do?”
A sense of entitlement can often hinder us. Have you felt like you have spent more time researching on a subject or you have more experience in a particular area and therefore reject learning from others (especially when you believe they are unworthy)?
Ego and pride is often a big hindrance to one’s capacity to learn and navigate change.
This is commonly seen in people who are in senior positions, important roles and assess themselves as expert in their own field. Enough said.
6. Living in the belief “I cannot learn, given who I am”.
The inner voice says “I just can’t. This is not me.”
I observed this commonly in two kinds of people - those who consider themselves as experts and those who see themselves as “stupid” in a particular field.
There is a distinction between a Master and an Expert. The Master stay out of the “I know the answer zone” as long as possible. An Expert stay in the “I know the answer” zone as long as possible. Individuals who feel a need to maintain the public identity of “being an expert” in a particular field are often in danger of not asking the questions necessary to open up learning.
When someone feels “stupid” in a particular field, the person often generates an identity (subconsciously) to maintain that they are right in their assessment. “I can’t dance; I am bad at math; I suck at public speaking” etc are the common beliefs that people generate to reinforce the assessment of their “identity”.
To let go of the belief we have of ourselves can be rather painful especially when we have held on to this belief for a long time. Letting go fully means we have to act against the belief (and might end up with results that might make us uncomfortable).
Personal story: I assess that I can’t dance. When I eventually did a dance in front of a group of friends, it actually felt freeing. I had a good laugh at myself. I also felt I had a breakthrough.
Category 2: The Control Trap
These are Beliefs that grasp at certainty.
7. “I have to be clear about everything, all the time”
The inner voice says “I need to know more to be safe.”
Have you met people who you feel are “control freaks”? They ask many questions and often demonstrate their insecurities and anxieties through the extensive amount of questions asked.
The belief centers around “the more information I get, the more certain I will become.” This leads one to be obsessed with information finding to handle uncertainties. Unfortunately, having information (knowledge) and processing information (learning) are two separate distinctions.
This belief focuses a person towards an excessive search for information and often hinders a person from learning how to handle uncertainties and change. This was evidently seen during the Covid context. The fears and anxieties lead many to find out as much information as they possibly can, hoping that the information can bring a sense of control.
When there is an assessment that everything can be managed and be under control (with enough knowledge), a sudden or surprise change (leading to many unknowns) usually triggers a negative emotional response such as panic, fear or anxiety. The negative emotion subsequently shuts off the neocortex part of the brain. This limits the ability for the brain to learn and find new pathways to respond to changing circumstances.
8. Addiction to novelty
The inner voice says “I’m bored. What’s next?”
Are you one of those who moves quickly towards things that are novel or new? Are you easily bored by doing the same thing again and again? It has been researched and observed that the road to mastery on a particular skill or competency often includes seasons of plateau. The grind to practice something over and over again creates grit and patience and ultimately lead to mastery. The one who moves on too quickly out of boredom misses the boat.
You might want to notice if you move on quickly from one thing to another. While there is seemingly nothing wrong with this practice, it does create a learning habit that might potentially stop you from experiencing deep personal transformation.
9. Addiction to answers
The inner voice says “ I’ve solved it. Let’s move on.”
There is a common perception that not knowing the answer makes a person feels unintelligent. For most jobs, people are paid to find answers. The addiction to answers however can be a big stumbling block to learning.
When efficiency is prized above innovation, one prioritizes answers over questions. Yet, often it is the curiosity zone where good questions are asked and breakthroughs are experienced.
This particular enemy of learning is seen in behaviours where one gets hooked to the initial answers and solutions without holding the space for uncovering underlying roots. This recurring thought pattern stops one from going deeper to gain transformation.
I invite you to practice staying in the curiosity zone for a tad longer even when you feel that you already have an answer.
Category 3: The Emotion and Body Trap
These are Beliefs that ignore mood and embodiment.
10. Forgetting the domain of emotions and its impact on learning
The inner voice says “Don’t be emotional about this.”
People living with this belief give little regard to the emotional context surrounding learners and how emotions influence the effectiveness of learning. Researcher and Author Amy C. Edmondson wrote that when a person feels psychologically safe, it shapes the propensity to engage in learning behaviors, such as information sharing, asking for help, or experimenting”
Parents (including myself) are the big culprits, often rebuking and dishing out knowledge at the same time while the child is emotionally affected. There is little awareness that the child has very limited ability to retain what is being shared. Rather, the child remembers the trauma of the “scolding received” and remembers how the parent made the child feel. As learners, our ability to learn is largely connected to how we are feeling at the moment of the learning.
There are also many cultures that hold strong beliefs that emotions often lead to unfavorable and unwise decisions. The cultural belief is that we are to shut our emotions down to have improved performances. “Men do not cry” is the classic belief that illustrates this enemy of learning.
Rather than tap into the emotion (such as sadness and what the sadness could be revealing) as a source for learning, the focus is on shutting off the emotion to conform to cultural behaviours. Leaders who ignore the domain of emotions are observed to have very limited leadership effectiveness.
11. Making everything overly significant or trivial
“What a disaster!”
“This is really no big deal.”
To make a mountain out of a molehill was a term coined when a person makes too much of a minor issue. We might even say such a person is over-dramatic. This person could be habitually bursting into tears, having anger outbursts or spiraling into a chain of negative thoughts.
The challenge here is when such a person regularly assigns tremendous weight to something that has happened and makes a big drama, there is little emotional space left to engage learning.
In this context, some form of lightness is helpful. The ability to laugh at oneself is a big friend of learning.
Making everything overly trivial also hinders learning. Have you met those who are unwilling to let the conversation get serious enough to get to the real issues? Conversations usually stop at the superficial level. There is a habit of deflecting (usually through humor) when something important is about to be revealed. This can be commonly observed in team setting where learning is hindered because humor is used to quickly defuse tension.
12. Forgetting the body as the domain of learning
The inner voice says “I know how. That’s enough.”
In many countries, there is a common perception that learning occurs when a person gains understanding. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth.
For most things in life, learning occurs in the body more than in the head. When there is no practice, there are no new results.
Whether it is using excel, doing slides on powerpoint, cooking, driving, swimming, cycling, public speaking, listening, negotiations, selling etc, only practice brings new results.
An active listener is one who practices listening and navigates the challenges involved rather than one who has completed courses on active listening. Huge difference.
Category 4: The Identity Trap
These are Beliefs that fix who we are.
13. “I should already know”
Is this an internal talk that you have after you made a mistake? There is a tendency to beat yourself up rather than being curious to learn (after a mistake is made). This belief unfortunately hinders learning that can take place from a setback. Instead, the belief focused the individual towards self-blame. During a setback, this belief triggers an emotional response (usually negative) and generates negative thoughts for the individual.
The possible assessment held by is “why am I so stupid? I should have known better!” Such an assessment is prevalent in cultures where speed and efficiency is worshipped. Failures are amplified and there is an assumption that if people are of a particular status, position, experience, success should be “in the bag”. There is little tolerance to embrace failures. “I should already know” comes from the belief that because of past experiences gained, success is to be expected.
This particular enemy of learning is also prevalent in sub-cultures that believe that knowledge is the key to learning and knowledge equals the ability to do. When someone fails to do something and achieve certain results, the internal self-talk of “I should already know”” can be quite condemning.
14. Distrust
The inner voice says “What could this person possibly teach me?”
A teacher walks into the room and you immediately assess that you will not learn much from this teacher. Whatever the reasons might be, distrust is a big enemy of learning. It is important to be aware if we are generally more trusting or less trusting. That has implications on our ability to learn from others, from our experiences or from our failures. If you are someone who perhaps acknowledge that you are easily skeptical and less trusting in nature, this could be an area to be watchful.
In the working world, trust and distrust are major contexts, the backgrounds out of which actions (or non-actions) spring. As more collaborative and coordinating work are being demanded across organizations, the theme of trust is a great indicator to assess how teams are learning, innovating and performing.
As an ontological coach, I’ve encountered many leaders who do not pay attention to the context of trust and how the mood of distrust severely hinders learning and the ability to navigate change.
15. Living in permanent assessments or judgments
Have you had such a strong opinion about something or someone that make others feel like it’s unlikely for you to accept another point of view? Not being aware that we hold what is essentially an opinion as a Truth (or an assertion) can hinder us from learning. There is little or no space to perhaps hold a counter perspective in tension.
“He is always so full of himself.”
”The situation will never change”.
”What’s the point of trying when we will end up getting hurt ourselves?”
If your language and internal thoughts often reflect any of these statements above, this could be an enemy of learning (unconsciously) that you might be holding.
Thank you for your patience in finishing this article. Hope this article creates a reflection for you as much as it did for me.
Continue Reading — The Ontological Coaching Series:
Written by Victor Seet
Activator • Communication • Strategic • Self-Assurance • Command
Victor facilitates teams to leverage their collective strengths, get clear on ways of engagement and ways of working to strengthen team and interpersonal dynamics. Victor specializes in integrating strengths-based and ontological approach into his team coaching and leadership workshops.