People with strong Significance talents are at their best when they are challenging others to aim higher than they thought possible.

Significance®

A theme in the Influencing domain of CliftonStrengths

People exceptionally talented in the Significance theme want to make a big impact. They are independent and prioritise projects based on how much influence they will have on their organisation or people around them.

 

Full Theme Description

You want to be very significant in the eyes of other people. In the truest sense of the word you want to be recognised. You want to be heard. You want to stand out. You want to be known. In particular, you want to be known and appreciated for the unique strengths you bring.

You feel a need to be admired as credible, professional, and successful. Likewise, you want to associate with others who are credible, professional, and successful. And if they aren't, you will push them to achieve until they are. Or you will move on.

An independent spirit, you want your work to be a way of life rather than a job, and in that work you want to be given free rein, the leeway to do things your way. Your yearnings feel intense to you, and you honour those yearnings. And so your life is filled with goals, achievements, or qualifications that you crave.

Whatever your focus — and each person is distinct — your Significance theme will keep pulling you upward, away from the mediocre toward the exceptional. It is the theme that keeps you reaching.

 

This Theme’s Power and Edge

The genius of people with strong Significance begins and ends with the difference that they are determined to make. They want the world to be a better place because they are in it.

 

How People with Strong Significance Talents Describe Themselves

  • "I am interested in being seen as significant so I can accomplish something significant."

  • "I need an appreciative audience that will bring out my best."

  • "I love associating with successful people."

  • "I hate being invisible to or ignored by others."

  • "I bring a desire for wanting more."

 

Theme Contrast

Significance “I want to be admired, so I must do something admirable.”
Woo “I want to win others over, so I must be winsome.”
Significance “To be seen and heard is my desire.”
Deliberative “To watch and listen is my desire.”
 

Significance Helps and Hinders

Helps

  • You want to make a difference. This drives you to make sure your work and your contributions count.

  • You know what it feels like to do the work and then have someone else take the credit. You make sure this doesn't happen for your team — you shine a light on their accomplishments.

  • Your willingness to be in the public eye enables you to stand up and be recognised — to take a stand when it matters and to be the voice for others who shy away from the spotlight.

  • Your desire to be seen as significant in others' eyes can lead you to be a powerful mentor — investing in others and making a difference.

Hinders

  • Self-centred Significance can sound like this: "Look at me — see how great I am!" Use your Significance talents to focus the best of who you are toward team success.

  • Others can experience you as an egotistical braggart. Remember that if you are truly making a difference, you don't have to sing your own praises; your actions will do the singing for you.

  • If it's all about you, your tunnel-vision will cause you to miss the important contributions of others. Ensuring that others feel significant is one of the surest ways to be truly significant.

  • You like the spotlight, and that's OK. But don't dominate the limelight — share it with others who have made a contribution.

 

If Significance is a Dominant Theme for You, Take Action to Maximise Your Potential

  • Imagine the legacy you want to leave. Picture yourself at retirement, looking back on a life that has made the world a better place. What will you have done to get there?

  • Make a list of the goals, achievements and qualifications you want, and then post them somewhere you will see them every day. Use this list to inspire yourself.

  • Let your manager know if you perform best independently. Provide examples of how you have succeeded with that kind of freedom. After recognising the value of this insight, your manager will likely give you the space you need to create exceptional results.

  • Share your dreams and goals with your colleagues to keep you reaching and accountable for your mission. Your ambitions may motivate your colleagues to achieve outcomes they had never before considered.

  • Focus on performance. Your strong Significance talents will inspire you to achieve remarkable goals.

  • Write down your strengths and refer to them frequently. Heightened awareness of your strengths will give you the confidence you need to rebound when, for whatever reason, you don’t get the input you need.

  • Tell the significant people in your life how important their feedback and support are to you. Their words can be very motivational.

 

Potential Blind Spots to Watch Out for

  • Because of your strong Significance talents, people might perceive you as overly concerned about your reputation and success. Acknowledge that you will need to earn the respect of others through your actions and contributions.

  • Sometimes you might mask your vulnerability or come across as overly controlled, and this can make it difficult for others to know how to support you. Consider the value of making others feel important by letting them know when you need help.

 

If Significance Is a Lesser Theme for You

If you lack the intensity of Significance talents, you might be less concerned with recognition, but you no doubt want to have a positive effect on the people and projects that you are involved with.

  • Find those among your top themes that provide you energy and motivation. Achiever, Belief, Consistency and Maximizer talents may be the fire that can fuel your endeavours in the same way that Significance talents do for others.

  • Find roles where you can support and serve. Your fulfilment is connected more to the quality of your relationships with others than to independent success.

  • Find a champion among your friends and coworkers — someone who is always standing up for and recognising others. Self-promotion might not be your strongest suit, so bringing people like this into your network ensures that you get the recognition you deserve.

  • You are not likely to be highly aware of or sensitive to matters of perception or image, but it is still important to quietly let others know about your accomplishments.

 
 

Source: Gallup®

 
 

“You are not here merely to prepare to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world."

— Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States