CliftonStrengths and Excellence

What If We Aimed Our Strengths Through the Lens of Love?

Most leaders want to excel. We want to do meaningful work. Lead well. Make an impact. Build something that lasts. We read books, develop skills, pursue certifications, study leadership models, and learn more about ourselves. And there is nothing wrong with excellence.

In fact, I believe we are called to it. But I have been thinking about a different question lately:

What if excellence is not simply about how well we perform, but about how we use what we have been given to serve others?

What if we aimed our strengths through the lens of love?

That is the question that has been on my mind from my recent Bible reading. Love takes us deeper than performance. It takes us to 1 Corinthians 13.

We often call it the “Love Chapter.” It is one of the most familiar passages in Scripture, especially at weddings. But Paul was not writing a wedding ceremony, he was writing to a church struggling with how to use its gifts.

They had talent. They had spiritual gifts. They had knowledge. They had passion. But something was missing.

Paul essentially tells them: You can have extraordinary gifts and still miss the point.

Then he gives them a better way. “The most excellent way.”

 

The Most Excellent Way

Paul begins 1 Corinthians 13 with a sobering thought.

You can speak with remarkable eloquence. You can understand mysteries. You can have extraordinary faith. You can give generously. You can sacrifice greatly. And yet, without love, it amounts to nothing.

That should get the attention of every leader. Because it is possible to become very good at what we do while becoming disconnected from why we do it.

It is possible to build an impressive career and neglect the people closest to us.

It is possible to become known for our expertise while becoming difficult to work with.

It is possible to achieve more while becoming less present.

It is possible to maximize our strengths and minimize our humanity.

Paul offers another definition of excellence. Not less ambition. Not less achievement. Not less leadership.

Excellence aimed through love.

That changes the question. Instead of asking only, “How can I maximize my strengths?”

We begin asking: “How can I use my strengths in a way that genuinely benefits others?”

 

CliftonStrengths Starts With What’s Right With You

One reason I continue to value CliftonStrengths is that it starts with a different question than many traditional development approaches. Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with you?” it asks, in essence, “What’s right with you?”

The 34 CliftonStrengths themes describe natural patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving, organized into four domains: Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, and Strategic Thinking. Each brings something valuable to a team, and there is no single perfect combination.

The power comes from understanding what you naturally bring and learning to use those talents intentionally, especially alongside people who bring different strengths.

CliftonStrengths gives us the what. 1 Corinthians 13 challenges us to consider the how and the why.

What If Your Strengths Were Measured by Love?

Paul doesn’t describe love as a feeling. He describes what love does and what love does not do. When we put those 15 descriptors alongside CliftonStrengths, they become a powerful leadership mirror.

1. Love is patient.

Patience creates space for people to grow.

An Achiever may naturally want to keep moving, accomplishing, and checking the next thing off the list. Through the lens of love, Achiever can learn that people are not projects. Sometimes excellence means slowing down long enough to let someone develop.

2. Love is kind.

Kindness does not mean avoiding difficult conversations.

A leader with Command can bring courage, clarity, and decisiveness to challenging situations. Through the lens of love, that strength can speak truth directly while still treating people with dignity. Strength can be powerful without being harsh.

3. Love does not envy.

Envy asks, “Why them?” Love asks, “How can I celebrate what they bring?”

Someone with Competition may naturally notice performance and want to win. Through the lens of love, that competitive energy can become a desire to bring out the best in others rather than needing to prove personal superiority. Someone else’s success does not diminish yours.

4. Love does not boast.

Boasting turns contribution into self-promotion.

A leader with Significance may be driven to make a meaningful impact and reach a high standard of excellence. Through the lens of love, that desire can become a commitment to make the mission bigger than the recognition. The question shifts from, “Will people notice me?” to, “Will this make a difference?”

5. Love is not proud.

Confidence and humility can coexist.

A leader with Self-Assurance may naturally trust their own judgment and abilities. Through the lens of love, that confidence can make room for other perspectives instead of assuming the leader must have the answer. You can know what you know without assuming you know everything.

6. Love does not dishonor others.

How we lead matters.

A strong Influencing theme can help a leader make sure an idea is heard. But love asks whether people are being heard, too. Communication is not simply about getting your message across. It is also about protecting the dignity of the person in front of you.

7. Love is not self-seeking.

This may be one of the most challenging tests of leadership.

A leader with Strategic may naturally see the best path forward. Through the lens of love, the goal is not simply to prove that your path is right. It is to help the team find the path that best serves the mission and the people involved. The question becomes: “What serves us?” instead of “What serves me?”

8. Love is not easily angered.

Strength does not require immediate reaction.

A leader with Activator may naturally want to move quickly. Through the lens of love, that energy can be paired with the wisdom to pause before reacting when emotions are high. Sometimes the most powerful action is restraint.

9. Love keeps no record of wrongs.

Healthy leadership requires accountability. But accountability is different from keeping a ledger of someone’s failures.

A leader with Restorative may naturally see what is broken and want to fix it. Through the lens of love, that talent can move beyond identifying what went wrong toward helping people repair, learn, and move forward. The goal is restoration, not punishment.

10. Love does not delight in evil.

Love does not celebrate what damages people.

A leader with Belief may have strong values and a clear sense of what matters. Through the lens of love, conviction becomes more than standing firmly for what is right. It also means refusing to find satisfaction in someone else’s failure or downfall. Truth and love belong together.

11. Love rejoices with the truth.

Truth is not the enemy of love. In fact, real love requires truth.

Someone with Analytical may naturally look for facts, evidence, and what is actually happening. Through the lens of love, that strength can help a team face reality without using truth as a weapon. Truth should help people become better, not simply make us feel right.

12. Love always protects.

Protection is not the same as avoidance.

A leader with Responsibility may naturally take ownership and make sure commitments are honored. Through the lens of love, that responsibility can extend to protecting trust, people, standards, and the health of the team. Sometimes leadership means carrying something so someone else does not have to carry it alone.

13. Love always trusts.

Trust does not mean ignoring reality. It means creating an environment where people have the opportunity to contribute, grow, and demonstrate what they are capable of.

A leader with Individualization may naturally see what makes each person unique. Through the lens of love, that talent can become a willingness to trust people according to who they are rather than forcing everyone into the same mold. People flourish when they are known and trusted.

14. Love always hopes.

Hope sees more than what currently exists.

This is where Futuristic can become especially powerful. A leader with Futuristic naturally sees what could be. Through the lens of love, that vision becomes more than an inspiring picture of the future. It becomes a way to help other people believe that their future can be bigger than their current circumstances. Hope gives people something to move toward.

15. Love always perseveres.

Love stays.

A leader with Focus may naturally keep attention on the destination and help others stay on track. Through the lens of love, perseverance means continuing to show up when progress is slow, the conversation is difficult, or the outcome is not yet visible.

Excellence is not always a spectacular finish. Sometimes it is simply faithful consistency.

 

What If Your Strengths Became an Expression of Agape Love?

The Greek word used throughout 1 Corinthians 13 is agape, often associated with self-giving, committed love.

That gives us an interesting lens for CliftonStrengths. What if the strengths we naturally bring to our work, leadership, and relationships became one of the primary ways we express that kind of love?

Executing can express love through service and follow-through.

When you use your strengths to get things done, keep commitments, solve problems, and create stability, you make life better for the people depending on you.

Influencing can express love through courage and encouragement.

Your voice can advocate for others, inspire people toward a shared vision, speak truth when it matters, and help good ideas gain momentum.

Relationship Building can express love through connection and care.

These strengths can help people feel seen, valued, understood, and connected. They create space for trust, belonging, and genuine relationships.

Strategic Thinking can express love through wisdom and perspective.

Your ability to process information, see patterns, consider possibilities, and think about what comes next can help others make wiser decisions and see a path forward.

The strength is the talent. Love becomes the aim.

 

Excellence Asks a Different Question

Most leadership development asks some version of: How can I become better?

That’s a good question. But 1 Corinthians 13 invites us to ask another: Better for what?

-More influence for what?
-More achievement for what?
-More knowledge for what?
-More authority for what?
-More success for what?
-More impact for what?

Paul ends the chapter with three things that remain: Faith. Hope. Love.

“And the greatest of these is love.”

Then he tells them to “eagerly desire” the gifts and immediately follows with: “And yet I will show you the most excellent way.”

That connection is fascinating. The gifts matter. The strengths matter. The talents matter. But there is a way to use them. And Paul calls that way excellent.

Try This With Your Own CliftonStrengths

Take your Top 5 CliftonStrengths and choose one. Now read 1 Corinthians 13 slowly. Don’t read it as a description of someone else. Read it as a leadership mirror.

Ask yourself:

-Where does this strength help me express patience?
-Where can this strength become an expression of kindness?
-Where might this strength become self-focused?
-How could I use this strength to make someone else’s work or life better?
-Where might I need to slow down?
-Where might I need more courage?
-Where could this strength become less about proving myself and more about serving others?

Then ask the question I think matters most: If I aimed this strength through the lens of agape love, what would change?

That question can transform the way you lead.

The Most Excellent Way

Excellence is worth pursuing.

-We should develop our talents.
-We should sharpen our skills.
-We should pursue meaningful goals.
-We should hold ourselves to high standards.

But perhaps the highest expression of our strengths is not what they help us accomplish for ourselves. It is what they allow us to contribute to others.

Every domain has something to give. Every strength has something to contribute. And every strength can be aimed toward something greater than ourselves. That is the invitation of 1 Corinthians 13.

Not to become less ambitious. Not to become less excellent. Not to stop using your strengths. But to aim them differently.

What if the fullest expression of your strengths is not simply excellence in what you do, but excellence in how you love people while you do it?

That may be the most excellent way of all.