Clifton Strengths:Unlocking Team Potential at Gitlab

At GitLab, we believe that understanding and leveraging each team member’s unique strengths is fundamental to building high-performing teams. CliftonStrengths provides a framework that helps us move beyond traditional team-building approaches to create truly exceptional teams– by focusing on what we are already naturally good at.

By providing us with the tool to recognize and leverage the diversity of strengths within our teams, we are empowered to:

1. Identify talents across team members
2. Foster an environment where vulnerability is welcomed
3. Build the trust necessary for high performance

So what is CliftonStrengths?

TL;DR: CliftonStrengths helps you understand what you’re naturally good at, so you can focus your energy on developing those talents into true strengths.

CliftonStrengths is an assessment tool that helps people identify their natural talents and strengths. Based on decades of research by Gallup, this tool measures your natural patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving across 34 potential strength themes. Rather than focusing on fixing weaknesses, CliftonStrengths empowers you to discover and leverage what you naturally do best. Watch this video to dive a bit deeper.

Why CliftonStrengths Is Valuable for Our Teams

Understanding and leveraging strengths directly connects to our Collaboration value. When teams recognize and appreciate each member’s unique contributions, we can create an environment where:

1. Understanding strengths fosters innovation - Teams with diverse strengths approach problems from multiple angles
2. Communication improves- Understanding how others process information leads to clearer interactions
3. Trust deepens- Appreciating teams- strengths builds mutual respect and psychological safety

When to use CliftonStrengths

There are so many use cases for CliftonStrengths across GitLab:

1. During team formation and onboarding
2. For conflict resolution and improving collaboration
3. In career development conversations
4. When planning complex projects
5. During team retrospectives and growth discussions

Typical Clifton Process

Please note timelines may vary depending on request. Find request form here.

Clifton Strengths Process

1. Request Access
   • Submit intake form
   • Member of Talent Management & Development Team will schedule a kickoff meeting
2. Kickoff Meeting + Timeline
   • Attend Kick-Off Meeting
   • Agree on goal & objectives of session, timeline, & budget
3. Take Assessment
   • Team members complete online assessment
   • 30-45 min time commitment
4. Receive Results
   • Individuals receive results before session
   • Goal for team members to digest information before session
5. Team Debrief
   • Bring team together to attend a team session to understand and apply collective strengths