Strengths First

The CliftonStrengths Assessment is a development tool that helps you discover your natural talents. By self-identifying what aligns with your own thinking, you can better understand what makes you unique and highlight where you have the greatest potential to develop strengths.

Talent x Investment = Strengths!   

This is a growth mindset view from a position of strength vs. weakness. 

This assessment helps you better understand your natural patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors—how you communicate, how you solve problems, how you manage conflict, and how you show up for yourself and others. The CliftonStrengths tool can help you build self-awareness and confidence, connect with peers, and positively influence others from day one at Carolina. 

Email learntolead@unc.edu to inquire about obtaining a CliftonStrengths Access Code.  Please include your PID, academic year, major, and how you expect to use your Strengths results.  If you are faculty or staff, please indicate your role at UNC and unit. And if you lost your access code, we can assist.   

Most students complete the CliftonStrengths assessment in approximately 30 minutes.  To get the most accurate results, choose a time when you can focus without interruptions and answer honestly based on what feels most natural to you.

During the assessment, you will respond to a series of paired statements that describe different ways people think, feel, and behave.  For each pair, you will:  

• Choose the statement that best describes you;  

• Indicate how strongly it fits; and   

• Respond within a brief time limit designed to capture your natural instincts.  

Remember, Tar Heels – There are no right or wrong answers! 

Taking the assessment is only the beginning.  After discovering your strengths, you’ll have opportunities to:  

• Learn more about your Top 5 talent themes;  

• Participate in strengths-based workshops and experiences at UNC;  

• Connect with other students through strengths conversations;  

• Apply your strengths in leadership, academics, and involvement opportunities; and  

• Continue your Strengths journey through Name It! Claim It! Aim It!  

Your Strengths data is protected through the Gallup platform and your SSO login.  You will be prompted to answer the following Consent Statement before taking the assessment: 

Welcome to Gallup’s CliftonStrengths® Assessment.  If you have purchased access to the assessment for your personal development, your results will only be available to others when you disclose them directly, or by clicking “SHARE.”  If your access to the assessment was purchased for you by your company, a coach, school or other individual organization (“third party”), Gallup will share your results with both you and the third party to facilitate development and education. 

You may accept or not.   

Purpose and strengths are closely connected.  

Purpose is your sense of direction, meaning, and contribution. Strengths help you understand the natural talents you can use to pursue that purpose.  As you explore your Carolina experience, your strengths can help you identify how you learn, lead, build relationships, and contribute to the communities around you. Understanding both your purpose and your strengths can help you make more intentional choices about your academic journey, involvement opportunities, leadership experiences, and future goals.  

Purpose helps you understand where you’re headed; strengths help you understand what you naturally bring to the journey.  

After completing the assessment, you will receive a personalized report highlighting your Top 5 CliftonStrengths talent themes, along with insights and strategies for developing them into strengths you can apply at UNC. 

Your results can help you understand:  

• How you naturally approach learning and problem-solving;  

• How you build relationships and work with others;  

• How you communicate and contribute to teams; and  

• How you can leverage your strengths in academics, leadership, and personal growth. 

Your strengths can support you throughout your Carolina experience.  You can use them to:  

• Build effective study habits;  

• Navigate transitions and challenges;  

• Strengthen roommate and peer relationships ; 

• Engage in student organizations;  

• Develop leadership skills;  

• Explore career interests and goals; and  

• Contribute positively to your communities.  

Strengths are most powerful when you intentionally apply them to the opportunities and challenges you encounter every day. 

Your CliftonStrengths themes reflect enduring patterns of talent. While your themes tend to remain relatively stable, the way you develop and apply them can grow significantly over time.  Strengths development is about intentionally investing in your talents through experiences, learning, reflection, and practice.  

Although your talent themes generally remain consistent, your understanding of them and your ability to use them effectively will continue to evolve.

No!  CliftonStrengths is designed to increase self-awareness, not limit your potential. Your results provide a language for understanding your natural talents and offer insight into how you can develop them into strengths.  

Your report is a starting point for growth, exploration, and development—never a label.  

Many students immediately recognize themselves in their results, while others need more time to see how their strengths show up in everyday life.  If your results feel unexpected:  

1. Revisit your theme descriptions and examples.  

2. Reflect on moments when you felt energized, successful, or most like yourself.  

3. Talk with friends, family members, mentors, or peers who know you well.  

4. Consider how your strengths show up in academics, relationships, leadership, and daily life.  

Your results are intended to help you better understand yourself and provide a framework for continued growth.  

CliftonStrengths is rooted in positivity psychology research and the science of talent development. Strengths are actionable and reflect your patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors, not personality traits. It is designed to help people understand their strengths and how to use them to achieve their goals. You can see how CliftonStrengths compares to popular personality assessments below:  

• Enneagram  

• Myers-Briggs 

• DiSC Assessment 

• Insights Discovery