By Teresa Peters, Accelerator Coaching Ltd
Why knowing what makes you tick is just the start.
Stephen Covey once said, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” That phrase has stuck with me ever since I first heard it – and not just because it’s wise advice in any team meeting or family gathering. It gets to the heart of something I believe deeply as a coach: if we don’t first understand ourselves, how can we possibly connect well with others?
This is where Gallup’s CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder) model comes in. It’s one of the tools I return to again and again – whether I’m working 1:1 with a senior leader or running a team development day in a muddy car park. It helps us name what we’re naturally wired to do – our talents. But here’s the clincher: talent is not the same as strength.
A talent is a natural pattern of thought, feeling or behaviour – like Relator, Strategic, Empathy, or Positivity. But it only becomes a strength when we apply it consistently, with skill and intention. Just like a seed only grows if we plant and nurture it, talents only flourish if we invest in them.
And often, we don’t even notice them.
Recently, I was coaching someone and we looked at their top five Gallup talents. One of them was Positivity – and they practically rolled their eyes. “Oh, I don’t think I’m that positive,” they said. Yet five minutes later, they were lighting up the room, reframing setbacks and spotting potential in everyone around them. The room could see it – they just hadn’t fully owned it.
That’s the gift of this work. It helps us notice what we notice. To catch ourselves in the act of being who we are – and to decide how we want to dial things up or down.
In our team coaching at Accelerator Coaching, we start by helping people get curious about their own patterns. We ask:
When does this talent help you shine?
When does it trip you up?
How can you flex it in a team setting?
Because no talent is ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Empathy, for example, can be a superpower – attuning to others, building trust, and reading a room in seconds. But if left unchecked, it can lead to emotional overload or decision-paralysis. Likewise, Competition can spark ambition – or cause unhealthy comparison. It all depends on awareness and use.
So what makes a great team? Is it better to have everyone with the same strengths, or a blend?
In short: it depends. A finance team might benefit from more Analytical and Deliberative talents, while a creative or innovation team might fly with Ideation, Futuristic, or Woo (Winning Others Over). But the real magic happens when teams understand not just their own styles – but each other’s. It builds psychological safety and gives permission to communicate more openly.
At Accelerator Coaching, we don’t just hand over reports and tick a box. We explore.
We reflect. And we connect dots. We talk about strengths in action, under pressure, or at play. We use visuals, questions, walkand-talks, and even the odd campervan metaphor. Because growth isn’t linear. It’s layered.
We’ve been doing this work for over 10 years now. And we’ve seen time and time again: when people truly understand what drives them – and what drives their teammates – they work smarter, faster, and with far more joy.
So the next time you brush off a compliment or downplay what feels easy, pause for a moment. That might just be your talent whispering.
Are you ready to listen?
acceleratorcoaching.co.uk