CliftonStrengths® data in Cloverleaf gives you a structured way to identify where your team naturally excels and where gaps may exist. This article shows you how to read the team view, interpret active and inactive strengths, and bring those insights into a Cloverleaf SWOT analysis.
By the end, you will be able to:
Read and interpret the CliftonStrengths® team view in Cloverleaf
Identify opportunities to support areas where your team has inactive strengths
Incorporate CliftonStrengths® data into a Cloverleaf SWOT
What Is CliftonStrengths®?
Developed by Gallup, CliftonStrengths® identifies 34 strengths organized into four domains. Each domain reflects a different type of contribution a person brings to a team.
Domain | Core Question | Team Value |
Executing | How do you make things happen? | Goal accomplishment, turning ideas into action |
Influencing | How do you influence others? | Amplifying ideas, communicating mission and value externally |
Relationship Building | How do you nurture relationships? | Creating cohesion, developing team potential |
Strategic Thinking | How do you analyze and process information? | Innovation, process improvement, long-range planning |
Understanding which domains are well-represented on your team helps you delegate intentionally and anticipate where additional support may be needed.
How Do You Read Active Strengths in the Team View?
In the CliftonStrengths® team view, active strengths are the talents most represented across your team. The number displayed next to each strength indicates how many team members have that strength in their top 5.
For example, if Achiever (Executing domain) and Strategic (Strategic Thinking domain) each show a count of 7, that means seven team members have that strength as a top talent. These are strong candidates to position as team strengths in a Cloverleaf SWOT.
In your SWOT: Active strengths with high team representation are reliable strengths to document. The broader the representation, the more consistently that talent shows up in how the team works.
How Do You Interpret Inactive Strengths?
Inactive strengths display a count of 0, meaning no one on the team has that talent in their top 5. This does not mean those strengths are absent entirely — it means they are not where the team naturally leads.
Rather than treating inactive strengths as deficiencies, treat them as signals. Ask:
Can an active strength compensate for this gap? (For example, a team strong in Relationship Building may naturally support areas where Influencing is inactive.)
Is this an area where outside resources, a new hire, or a focused development opportunity would add value?
In your SWOT: Inactive strengths are natural candidates for the Opportunities or Weaknesses quadrants, depending on whether the team can address the gap internally or needs external support.
How Do You Apply CliftonStrengths® to a Cloverleaf SWOT?
Use the following approach when building a SWOT with CliftonStrengths® data:
Open the CliftonStrengths® team view in Cloverleaf.
Note the strengths with the highest team representation — these map to Strengths in your SWOT.
Review inactive strengths (count of 0) — these inform Weaknesses or Opportunities, depending on context.
Consider which active strengths could be applied creatively to cover inactive areas — document this as a strategic note in your SWOT.
Use domain distribution (Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, Strategic Thinking) to assess whether your team is balanced or concentrated in certain areas.
A team heavily weighted in Executing with few Strategic Thinking strengths, for instance, may excel at delivery but benefit from dedicated time or resources for long-range planning.
Quick Reference: Strength Domains and SWOT Placement
Domain | If Highly Active | If Largely Inactive |
Executing | Strength: strong delivery capability | Weakness/Opportunity: may struggle with follow-through |
Influencing | Strength: effective at external communication | Opportunity: consider developing advocacy skills |
Relationship Building | Strength: high team cohesion | Weakness: potential risk to collaboration and retention |
Strategic Thinking | Strength: strong at innovation and planning | Opportunity: invest in structured strategy time |