Command: Clarity is Key

People exceptionally talented in the Command theme have presence. They can take control of a situation and made decision.

Clifton StrengthsFinder

Gallup writes that people strong in Command “bring decisiveness and emotional clarity. They have the ability to bring to light what is often avoided or understated.” According to Gallup, Command is one of the least likely themes to appear in someone’s top 5 (along with Self-Assurance, Significance, Discipline, and Context). 14.7% of TeamMates mentees have Command in their top 5, and just 1.9% of our mentors do.

I don’t know about you, but I think it would be beneficial to have more people strong in Command. Often times, in this culture, people are afraid to say what they think due to worry of how it will be perceived. Someone with Command has the innate ability to cut through all of that; seeing the truth

and bringing a sense of decisiveness to any situation. As an influencing theme, those in Command can not only make clear decisions, but can do so in way that brings others on board. We may think of people with Command as natural leaders.

However, all leaders need to take time to understand themselves in order to be the most effective. If you or your mentee has Command in their top 5, maybe spend time working through the questions on the Strengths and Hope Cards. Or ask each other about times you have had success as a leader. Then maybe ask each other about times that have not been as success and brainstorm how you could have leveraged your strengths for a different outcome. After talking about how your Command has worked in the past, spend time devising ways you can apply your Command to a situation in the near future. This pattern of naming, claiming, and aiming themes has made Gallup Strengths so powerful. By being reflective in claiming our strengths in action, we can see how to aim them productively in the future.

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Strength Based Mentoring

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