In college and throughout my 20s I played competitive rugby. I was not that great, but my teammates often said that I was intense. I took that as a compliment until I looked up the meaning of the word. Intense means “existing in an extreme degree.” I realized then that my teammates were telling me I needed to lighten up on my competitive edge.

In the talent world we talk about Talent Intensifiers. Two talents in our Top 5 may combine to intensify, escalate, or boost one another. The result can be brilliant, exponentially strengthening each other to an acute dynamic of greatness. But there is also the potential for a more lethal punch of Kryptonite from the uber effect as well.

The two most common Intensifiers are Achiever and Responsibility. Achievers have an intrinsic drive to get more things done and push high accomplishment by checking to-dos off a list. One person with Achiever said, “It’s almost like a drug. This inner force to complete something keeps...

I’m often asked how the Top 5 talents show up in other countries. Are there patterns we see based on different cultures? In 2018 Gallup released the Top 5 CliftonStrengths for 32 countries. The Top 5 for the United States:

1. Achiever - Face it, we love our lists!
2. Responsibility - We don't like to let other people down.
3. Learner - That push from our parents to get an education still drives us.
4. Relator - We like our relationships deep and our inner circle tight.
5. Strategic - At least we think we know where we want to go.

What about our neighbors to the north and south? Achievers are still #1 in Canada, which looks much like the US except Relator and Responsibility changed places at 2nd and 4th. Mexico starts to mix things up with Learner coming in at #1 and Analytical replacing Strategic at #5. That trend continues in other countries south of our border, so if you want to pursue a profession in teaching it may interest you to know Learner shows up as the top talent in...

Many people have trouble differentiating between the Learner and Input talents. One way to observe the difference between the two may be to watch how two different people might read a book. The person with Learner will sit and read every page, the footnotes and the appendix, then make note of the author’s recommended books on the same subject. The person with Input might skim the book jacket, the introduction, the chapter titles and maybe the first paragraph of each chapter and then put the book down and pick up another on a completely different subject.

Most Learners want to funnel new knowledge into some sort of application. Maybe it’s another degree or certification, a new skill, a presentation or report, a hobby or home project. Input collects information or things of interest to them and stores it in an accessible place (often just in their minds) for later reference or use. 

Both talents have a curiosity or thirst for information. Learner wants new knowledge....