Jake is a teamwork whizz. He’s everyone’s go-to person. Stuck with an issue? Jake’s your guy. Need something fixed, pronto? Jake’s the man. At the office, Jake seems to have it all! Brilliant skills, a fantastic job, and everyone’s attention. But here’s what happens behind closed doors. By 5:00 p.m. every day, Jake’s left feeling completely wiped out, unhappy, and ready to call it quits.
“I can’t go on like this,” he murmurs to himself day after day.
Luckily, his manager is quick to notice and suggests that Jake take a personality assessment test to get to the bottom of this issue. Despite an initial reluctance, Jake decides to give the Birkman Assessment a try. And what he discovers next changes everything.
Jake learns that his exhaustion has nothing to do with his workload – in fact, the problem lies in the way things operate at his workplace. His Birkman results reveal that he has a strong need for private time to recollect, reflect, and strategize. But his role, unfortunately, keeps him engaged in back-to-back collaborative meetings. With Crosworks coaching, Jake has successfully learned to restructure his schedule to include focused solo-work sessions.
“I see a stark difference; it’s the same job but with completely new energy levels. I can’t thank you guys enough,” he shares.
Birkman vs. CliftonStrengths: Here’s What You Need to Know
Ever experienced similar feelings? Trying to be the best, to do the best, but end up feeling overburdened and burnt out. Have you ever considered taking a personality assessment test like the Birkman Method or CliftonStrengths?
Both these assessments offer valuable insights, making them unique in their own ways. At Crosworks, we highly recommend the Birkman Method. Birkman reveals why you do what you do. It uncovers the motivations behind your actions and shows what happens when your needs aren’t met. Curious about what your Birkman results might reveal? Download a sample Birkman Report to learn how your results can transform your career.
CliftonStrengths acts as your talent spotter. Built on decades of research by psychologist Don Clifton, this assessment analyzes your skills, abilities, knowledge, and personality traits while also focusing on ways to help you leverage your natural talents. Basically, it digs into and highlights the areas that you’re naturally good at. It categorizes 34 themes of talent into four domains:
- Strategic Thinking
- Executing
- Influencing
- Relationship Building
To help you understand both these personality assessments better, let’s dig in a little deeper and look at each assessment in detail, to enable you to figure out which one gives the best results.
Where Birkman Shines
It Shows You the Full Picture: Birkman connects the dots between your visible behaviors and hidden drivers. You’ll understand not just what you want to do, but why certain paths feel right for you.
It Transforms Team Dynamics: When we helped our client Carlos introduce Birkman to his sales team, everything seemed to fall into place. Team members finally understood why conflicts arose during high-pressure situations. They learned how to communicate their needs clearly and appreciate the different working styles of their peers. The result? Better collaboration and reduced misunderstandings among members. “Estupendo (super)! Thank you, team Crosworks,” he said delightfully while sharing his feedback with us.
It Guides Career Decisions: The assessment helps you identify environments where you’ll truly thrive – not just survive. You get personalized insights that make career planning less hasty and more strategic and purposeful.
The Birkman Trade-Offs
It Requires Commitment: Birkman’s results are detailed. This means that it takes time to interpret and put them into action appropriately with the help and guidance of certified practitioners if you actually want to unlock its true value.
It Has Higher Costs: Birkman requires a higher upfront investment compared to other alternatives. But if you’re serious about long-term career development and willing to engage with the insights deeply, the return is substantial.
What CliftonStrengths Does Well
It’s Simple and Straightforward: You take the assessment, discover your top five strengths, and get actionable insights promptly. No complex interpretation needed. This simplicity makes it really easy to start applying what you learn almost instantly.
It Fuels Career Growth: CliftonStrengths helps you spot roles that align with your natural talents. Instead of trying to fix weaknesses, you learn to maximize what you already do well. This strengths-based approach is empowering and positive.
Where CliftonStrengths Falls Short
Leans More Towards a Strength-Focused Approach: The strength-focused lens, although uplifting and positive, comes with its own set of limitations. This assessment does not reveal much about your stress responses or personality challenges.
Less Focus on Motivations and Needs: With this assessment, you’ll know your strengths, but you may need additional tools to understand conflict triggers, stress patterns, or leadership blind spots. Many users find themselves layering other assessments on top to fill these gaps, adding to the cost and complexity.
The Battle of Thrones
With so many personality tests available today, it feels like we’re on a battlefield. Contenders are fiercely eyeing the coveted iron throne – strategizing how to overthrow their opponents. Everyone wants the top spot. A new assessment (or contender) pops up frequently, claiming to be the ultimate tool for self-discovery. But here are the features that separate other contenders from the truly deserving winner: depth, accuracy, and real-world impact.
While other assessments might give you a quick fix and a simple win, Birkman plays the long game by providing insights that continue to pay dividends throughout your career. That’s the power of truly understanding yourself. At Crosworks, we’ve seen how the Birkman Method consistently delivers lasting transformation. It doesn’t just highlight your strengths; it paints a complete picture of who you are, how you operate, what you need, and what it will take for you to succeed.
Ready to discover how the Birkman Method can place you on the throne of success? Download a sample Birkman Report from Crosworks and witness how these insights can transform your career.