Family Packages
Why Strengths?
Your family is the first chance your kids get to practice being on a team! How well you function as a team contributes to their success on future school, sports, and work teams. So, give them a head start by encouraging your family’s individual and team strengths.
How does this work?
- Identify your assessment needs
Each member of the family (ages 8+) needs a code to complete Gallup’s CliftonStrengths assessment (according to their age). - Decide which sessions make sense
With your assessment results, we’ll dive into what they mean and how they impact your teamwork. Sessions are available for the whole family, parents, and/or students. - Purchase your package
Once you’ve added all the assessments and sessions you need to your cart, complete the secure checkout process. Within one business day, you’ll receive an email with everything you need to complete the assessments, receive your results, and book your encouragement sessions!
When we use our strengths daily, we are more resilient, productive, energized, hopeful, and impactful.
When you book a family session, you will come away with a greater awareness of what motivates and demotivates each family member. This knowledge has the power to improve how you interact with, appreciate, and have fun with each other.
Our family session with Wendy was incredibly helpful! As a result of understanding our strengths better, I actually feel like I know my children better. I understand what drives them and fulfills them. Now we are enjoying strength sightings—spotting when each person’s strengths are on display in their words and actions. The time and energy invested in the assessment and session were well worth it!”
—Encouraged Parent of four teens
*Ask about discounted sessions when purchasing in bulk! I also offer a sliding fee scale that may be applicable to your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Family Sessions
What is the assessment all about?
My preferred tool is Gallup’s CliftonStrengths. They charge about $20 to reveal your top five strengths, or $60 for your full ranking of 34 strengths. If you’re not sure, the top five is fine. But if you enjoy learning about yourself and how you can apply that knowledge to improve your relationships, parenting, or career, I suggest taking the plunge and purchasing the full 34. It’s well worth the investment to identify not only your top 10-15 dominant strengths, but also those in the lower portion of your ranking. (If you decide to start with your top five, you can upgrade later, but you’ll end up paying about $10 more in total.)
The assessment consists of 177 paired statements and takes about 45 minutes to complete. You are asked to identify which statement sounds more like you, and you specify your answer on a scale. You are given a time limit for each set of statements, because you should go with your gut instinct and not overthink your answers. Gallup provides a personalized ranking of strengths based on your answers.
Note: There is a “neutral” option for each paired statement but only select that when you genuinely feel exactly the same about each of the statements.
What about kids taking the assessment? Is it only for adults?
The adult version of the assessment requires at least a 6th grade reading level and the ability to respond to each question on the screen within 20 seconds. I’ve seen many middle and high school students successfully complete the “adult” assessment. Because their brains are still growing and learning, many parents prefer to only pay for the Top 5 results, expecting the student will retake the assessment for the full results after reaching adulthood. Others choose to pay for the full 34 results for their students, preferring to have the full appreciation of where their capabilities lie presently. The choice is yours.
Gallup does have a version for younger students that does not have a time limit and is appropriate for someone with at least a 3rd grade reading level. I do recommend a parent facilitates the assessment to help keep things moving. This version has 10 larger “buckets” of strength categories, instead of the full 34 ranking. Each participant is told their top 3 categories out of the 10 that are available.
Do you meet in person or remotely?
We meet remotely, either via phone or Zoom (whichever you prefer).
How is this different from other personality tests?
First, you’re right that there are a lot of personality tests out there! After having completed most of them, what I particularly enjoy about CliftonStrengths is that it shows how I am unique (not just a “type” shared with many other people) and is based on peer-reviewed scientific research (unlike those rooted in pop-culture). And, CliftonStrengths is a actually performance assessment, as opposed to a personality assessment, meaning it identifies what motivates you to success.
Beyond that, check out Gallup’s explanation on the science of strengths. The bottom of that page also includes information about how CliftonStrengths compares with many of the other personality tests out there, such as the Enneagram and MBTI.
Our family is… unique. We have some interesting dynamics…
Yes, you are unique! And that is exactly why exploring your talents together can be a really helpful activity for strengthening family bonds.
I’ve worked with lots of parents who are struggling to see their kids strengths and find this activity to be especially impactful in that regard. Together with my husband, we’ve parented more than two dozen kids through foster care, so we have certainly seen our fair share of difficult situations. If you’re wondering if your difficult situation might benefit from strengths discovery, set up a free no-obligation consultation to chat further.
