We have a critical, cross-functional strategic priority for next quarter, and both our operations director and sales director want to run with it. How do we use our CliftonStrengths profiles during our quarterly session to decide who owns this Rock?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When multiple leaders are eager to own a high-profile priority, we look beyond their job descriptions and analyze their natural talents using the CliftonStrengths assessment. This helps us ensure that the person leading the initiative is naturally wired for the specific type of work required. We will map their signature themes to the specific objectives of the Rock.

If the quarterly priority is about building a repeatable operational process, implementing structured systems, or executing a detailed plan, we look for a leader with dominant Executing or Strategic Thinking themes. If the Rock requires rally-cry leadership, driving market adoption, or negotiating with external vendors, we want a leader with dominant Influencing or Relationship Building themes.

However, talent is only one part of the equation. We must also run this decision through the GWC™ filter on our Accountability Chart. The owner of the Rock must truly get the scope of the project, genuinely want the responsibility, and possess the physical and mental capacity to execute it within the ninety day window. By combining their natural strengths with the structured GWC™ tool, we remove the emotion and politics from the decision, allowing us to assign the priority to the leader who is objectively best positioned to drive it to completion.