Can I Use Old StrengthsFinder Results For New Team Training?
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Today\\u2019s episode is a question that comes up every time we prepare clients for a training event that includes StrengthsFinder. The question today is whether you can take old or existing results and use them in a team or leadership training event today.
I know this question is a bit tactical and technical compared to our usual topics, yet I thought it would be important to answer because we get asked so often. As you listen on, you will hear both HOW to find existing results (even if you think they\\u2019re wayyyy old), and we will offer a quick reason WHY it\\u2019s important to get old results.
You\\u2019ll also get a list of books that you may have used a code from that you can import into the newest, snazziest report layout and dashboard.\\xa0Even if you have your personal results already, if you\\u2019re a people manager or strengths champion, this could be an important question for you to know the answer to because your new hires or future people you\\u2019ll coach will likely have this question.
Have You Downloaded Your Strengths Tools?
One of the best ways leaders can build a strengths-based culture is to offer an appreciation of strengths in action. If you\\u2019ll notice what works, you\\u2019ll get more of what works because people can replicate what they\\u2019ve already done well. Get started by downloading this awesome tool that offers you\\xa0127 Easy Ways to Recognize Strengths\\xa0on your team.
What To Do If You Have Existing Results But You Don\\u2019t Know Where They Are
If you have existing results, you can use your credentials from any of the old Gallup sites to import your data into the newest version of the Gallup Strengths Center. If you\'re working with a leadership and strengths training company like mine, you\\u2019ll get asked for each person\\u2019s individual results so that we can give you better insights and make custom company level reports that take the individual insights and turn them into team level conversations.\\xa0
Over the years, there have been different landing pages and dashboards for all of these different places where you could get started with strengths. Although the books were different, the assessment is the same. So you can take your login information from those old sites and use the same credentials in the Gallup Strengths Center.\\xa0If you do that, it will import your old results into the most recent report layout and dashboard.\\xa0
This is helpful if you\\u2019re a busy person and you have a calendar already filled with meetings and to do\\u2019s \\u2014 because when you have a training coming up and you\\u2019d rather not spend 45 minutes of your life answering questions you already answered when you did it years ago \\u2014 you can just pull in your existing data. The problem is that people say, \\u201cOh geez \\u2026 I did StrengthsFinder like 3 jobs ago. I have no idea how to find it.\\u201d
Or if you\\u2019re like me and you first did the StrengthsFinder assessment over 15 years ago, you\'ll probably have no way of guessing your username and password from those days.
If You Had An Account At One Point But You Have No Idea What Site To Log Into\\xa0Or What Your Credentials Are
My recommendation is to first go into the Gallup Strengths Center,\\xa0click Sign In at the top right (or if you\\u2019re on mobile, tap the main menu in the top left to get the sign in). THEN do a test with your old email addresses.\\xa0Check your old work and personal email addresses you might have used with the forgot password function. On their site, their version of \\u201cforgot password\\u201d is a link called "Need help with your username or password?"\\xa0If you do this first, it will help you confirm whether an account exists at Gallup with a given email address.
For example, I found mine with a yahoo account from the 1990s. If you type in your old address and it works, you\'ll get a message back from Gallup saying they sent you an email to update your account. Boom you\\u2019re in.
Even when you are unsuccessful, It helps you narrow down the accounts. For example I typed in my old email address from the employer I worked for in those years. And I got a message that says, \\u201cYour email address does not match any accounts that we have on record. Please try again or create an account." So it\\u2019s a step in your sleuth work to tell you whether you used that address back in the day.\\xa0
Now, of course if you no longer work there, you would not be able to get the password recovery data in your inbox \\u2014 because that inbox no longer exists. If that were to happen where you learn that the account exists but you can\\u2019t get the recovery by email, you can use the Gallup Strengths Center support team. They are extremely helpful. I will link to their support page in the show notes so you have access to that too. Their Contact Us page from there also has a phone number where you can troubleshoot with a human if you don\\u2019t want to do it by email.\\xa0
You Think You May Have CliftonStrengths Results But Your Book Or Assessment Had A Different Name
There are also a bunch of books from Gallup press that have a code for StrengthsFinder. Over the years, you may have used a code from these books and now you want to import it in for your team StrengthsFinder training. Only the most recent copies would have flap with a CliftonStrengths assessment code. All of the older ones would have called it StrengthsFinder. It\\u2019s the same assessment \\u2014 just a name change to honor Donald Clifton, the original creator. Regardless of the original Gallup website you went to to redeem the code, you can get them all imported into the Gallup Strengths Center site today.
Here are 5 of the books our corporate clients most commonly used when they\\u2019re importing \\u201cold\\u201d StrengthsFinder results in:
- StrengthsFinder 2.0\\xa0
- How Full Is Your Bucket? The Expanded Anniversary Edition
- Strengths-based Leadership
- StrengthsQuest or CliftonStrengths for Students
- Strengths-based Selling\\xa0
If you originally did StrengthsFinder through a code in one of those books, you\\u2019ll want to get yourself transferred into the new system. And when I say transferred in, I mean remember your login because your old credentials will work over on these (if you remember them).
It Has Been A Long Time, So Should You Retake StrengthsFinder Anyway?
There\\u2019s a whole episode-worth of conversation on that topic, but the short answer is\\xa0we recommend using your original results. Here are a couple of links from Gallup on whether your strengths change over time and how retaking the assessment can change your results (even decrease the accuracy of the results).
Another Step If You\\u2019ve Done The CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder) More Than Once
If you have already taken StrengthsFinder more than once, you can contact the Strengths Center support team to have them combine your data so that it represents the data of a single person (versus making it appear that two people have similar results). Gallup takes their data integrity seriously, so they would appreciate having the most accurate database possible. And It also helps us make you the best charts possible because our comparisons against the entire database will be more accurate, which means that your team charts will be more meaningful if you help us keep a nice and tidy database.
Remember to Downloaded Your Strengths Tools
One of the best ways leaders can build a strengths-based culture is to offer an appreciation of strengths in action. Get started by downloading this awesome tool that offers you\\xa0127 Easy Ways to Recognize Strengths\\xa0on your team.
Enjoyed The Podcast?
To subscribe and review, here are your links for listening in iTunes and Stitcher Radio. You can also stream any episode right from this\\xa0website. Subscribing is a great way to never miss an episode. Let the app notify you each week when the latest episode gets published.
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