The 34 Strengths
Talent Themes
CliftonStrengths (formerly known as StrengthsFinder) describes 34 talent themes that explain our naturally occurring patterns of thought, feeling and behaviour.. These strengths help individuals understand where they do their best work and how they can contribute effectively to their team. Below you’ll find the list of all 34 CliftonStrengths themes. This list (often searched as the StrengthsFinder list of 34 strengths) gives a short explanation of each theme and how it shows up at work.
Using the 34 strengths in your team
Understanding the 34 strengths is the first step. Many organisations use this insight to improve communication, collaboration and performance. If you want support applying CliftonStrengths in your team, explore our CliftonStrengths coaching and team workshops.
What is a 'strength'?
StrengthsFinder (also known as CliftonStrengths) defines a strength as the ability to provide consistent, near-perfect performance in a given activity. This ability is a powerful, productive combination of talent, skill and knowledge.
StrengthsFinder Themes
Below is the full list of all 34 CliftonStrengths themes, grouped into their four domains. Each theme describes a different way that people naturally think, feel and behave. Use this overview to understand the strengths in your team or explore the individual theme pages for more detail.
The 34 Strengths:
Achiever®
The Strengthsfinder Achiever theme describes individuals who have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.
Activator®
The Strengthsfinder Activator theme describes individuals who make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.
Adaptability®
The Strengthsfinder Adaptability theme describes individuals who prefer to "go with the flow." They tend to be "now" people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.
Analytical®
The Strengthsfinder Analytical theme describes individuals who search for reasons and causes. They think about all the factors that might affect a situation.
Arranger™
The Strengthsfinder Arranger theme describes individuals who can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.
Belief®
The Strengthsfinder Belief theme describes individuals who have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for their life.
Command®
The Strengthsfinder Command theme describes individuals who have presence. They can take control of a situation and make decisions.
Communication®
The Strengthsfinder Communication theme describes individuals who find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters.
Competition®
The Strengthsfinder Competition theme describes individuals who measure their progress against the performance of others. They strive to win first place and revel in contests.
Connectedness®
The Strengthsfinder Connectedness theme describes individuals who have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.
Consistency® / Fairness™
The Strengthsfinder Consistency theme (also called Fairness in the first StrengthsFinder assessment) describes individuals who are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same. They try to treat everyone in the world fairly by setting up clear rules and adhering to them.
Context®
The Strengthsfinder Context theme describes individuals who enjoy thinking about the past. They understand the present by researching its history.
Deliberative®
The Strengthsfinder Deliberative theme describes individuals who take serious care in making decisions or choices. They anticipate the obstacles.
Developer®
The Strengthsfinder Developer theme describes individuals who recognize and cultivate the potential in others. They spot the signs of each small improvement and derive satisfaction from these improvements.
Discipline™
The Strengthsfinder Discipline theme describes individuals who enjoy routine and structure. Their world is best described by the order they create.
Empathy™
The Strengthsfinder Empathy theme describes individuals who can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others' lives or others' situations.
Focus™
The Strengthsfinder Focus theme describes individuals who take a direction, follow through, and make the corrections necessary to stay on track. They prioritize, then act.
Futuristic®
The Strengthsfinder Futuristic theme describes individuals who are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.
Harmony®
The Strengthsfinder Harmony theme describes individuals who look for consensus. They don't enjoy conflict; rather, they seek areas of agreement.
Ideation®
The Strengthsfinder Ideation theme describes individuals who are are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.
Inclusiveness® / Includer®
The Strengthsfinder Inclusiveness theme describes individuals who are accepting of others. They show awareness of those who feel left out, and make an effort to include them.
Individualization®
The Strengthsfinder Individualization theme describes individuals who are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively.
Input®
The Strengthsfinder Input theme describes individuals who have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.
Intellection®
The Strengthsfinder Intellection theme describes individuals who are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.
Learner®
The Strengthsfinder Learner theme describes individuals who have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.
Maximizer®
The Strengthsfinder Maximizer theme describes individuals who focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.
Positivity®
The Strengthsfinder Positivity theme describes individuals who have an enthusiasm that is contagious. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do.
Relator®
The Strengthsfinder Relator theme describes individuals who enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.
Responsibility®
The Strengthsfinder Responsibility theme describes individuals who take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.
Restorative®
The Strengthsfinder Restorative theme describes individuals who are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.
Self-Assurance®
The Strengthsfinder Self-assurance theme describes individuals who feel confident in their ability to manage their own lives. They possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their decisions are right.
Significance®
The Strengthsfinder Significance theme describes individuals who want to be very important in the eyes of others. They are independent and want to be recognized.
Strategic™
The Strengthsfinder Strategic theme describes individuals who create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.
Woo®
The Strengthsfinder Woo theme describes individuals who love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person.
StrengthsFinder® is a Trademark of the Gallup Organization, Washington, D.C.
How is a ‘Strength’ different from Talents or Skills?
Talents are naturally recurring patterns of thought, feeling, or behaviour that can be productively applied. Your inborn predispositions. They 'happen like breathing'.
Skills are the abilities to perform the steps of an activity. Skills can be learned and show your area of expertise.
Knowledge is what you know which can be acquired as factual learning or through the insights you have gained in your experiences.
A strength is the ability to bring these altogether to provide a consistently high performance in a given activity.
The four CliftonStrengths domains
Each of the 34 Strengths in the StrengthsFinder Themes are divided into 4 distinct domains and these domains cover the areas of: strategic thinking, relationship building, influencing and executing. All of the 34 Strengths sit under one of these four domains.
To explore how these domains work together in practice, view our CliftonStrengths coaching and team workshops.
Relationship Building
Executing
Strategic Thinking
Influencing
Apply the 34 strengths in your team
If you would like support using the CliftonStrengths framework in your team, we design practical workshops and coaching sessions that help teams and leaders apply their strengths with confidence.
StrengthsFinder Resources
Kate Jennings offers a number of free resources and education on StrengthsFinder and how to use it in your organisation or team.
Frequently asked questions about the 34 CliftonStrengths themes
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The 34 CliftonStrengths themes describe different patterns of how people think, feel and behave at their best. Each theme captures a particular way of contributing, such as building relationships, driving execution, influencing others or thinking strategically. Together, they give a shared language for understanding strengths at work.
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Yes. CliftonStrengths is the updated name for what was originally called StrengthsFinder. The underlying research and the list of 34 themes are the same. Many people still search for the StrengthsFinder list of 34 strengths, but Gallup now uses the CliftonStrengths name.
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The 34 themes sit within four broader domains. Executing themes describe how people get things done. Influencing themes describe how people take charge, speak up and move others to action. Relationship Building themes explain how people connect and build trust. Strategic Thinking themes describe how people analyse, plan and create ideas.
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You can discover your themes by completing the CliftonStrengths assessment. Many people choose to explore their results with someone experienced so they can understand what their strengths mean in practice. If you’d like support interpreting your report or applying your strengths at work, take a look at our CliftonStrengths coaching and team workshops.
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Your most dominant themes tend to stay relatively stable over time because they reflect long standing patterns of how you naturally think, feel and behave. How you use them can change as you grow, take on new roles or gain more experience. Many people find that developing greater awareness helps them use their strengths more intentionally.
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Teams often use the 34 strengths as a shared language for understanding how people contribute. Mapping the themes across a team can highlight where there is strong coverage, where there are gaps and how different people can support one another. Some organisations use the themes as part of workshops or coaching to improve communication, collaboration and performance. Take a look at our CliftonStrengths coaching and team workshops.
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Good question. Strengths are a bit like coffee. The right amount is great, too much isn’t! They can help us achieve remarkable results and trip us up. Under pressure many of us can overplay our strengths which causes detrimental effects to us and / or others. We call these ‘shadow sides’. Self awareness is key to keeping strengths as strengths.
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CliftonStrengths themes are related to personality, but they are not simple “types”. Instead of putting people into a small number of boxes, the 34 themes combine in many different ways. This allows a more nuanced and flexible picture of strengths that can be applied directly to day to day work