Influencing Strengths in the Workplace: The Energy Behind Momentum

If you’ve worked with me before, you probably know I’m a big believer in CliftonStrengths®. 

Strengths-based leadership helps us focus on what’s right with people, not just what needs fixing. It helps us unlock energy, trust, and performance by understanding how each person is wired to contribute.

Over the next few months, I’m sharing a series of blogs that bring these strengths to life. Last month, we met Eli the Executor. Today, let’s meet Isaac the Influencer.

📣 Meet Isaac the Influencer

Isaac is the spark. When momentum stalls, he's the one rallying people forward. He doesn’t just have ideas - he knows how to get others on board. Whether it's championing a new initiative or getting buy-in for a bold direction, Isaac naturally draws attention to what matters and encourages action.

Isaac leads with Influencing strengths, and your team likely has (or needs) a few Isaacs.

Let’s talk about what often gets missed with influencers: Just because someone is speaking up doesn’t mean they feel heard. In fact, Influencing strengths can be misunderstood or dismissed, especially in environments that value consensus over courage.

💡 What Are Influencing Strengths?

According to CliftonStrengths®, the Influencing domain includes:

Activator • Command • Communication • Competition • Maximizer • Self-Assurance • Significance • Woo

Each of these strengths helps answer the question: “How do we get others to act?” 

Isaac may be the loudest voice in the room at times, but he’s focused on something deeper than attention. He wants to drive movement, inspire change, and help the team move forward with confidence.

✨ A Quick Note About Isaac While Isaac leads with Influencing strengths, that doesn't mean he only shows up in that domain. 

Most people have themes that span across multiple areas: Influencing, Relationship Building, Strategic Thinking, and Executing. This persona just helps us better understand what motivates someone when Influencing is their core driver.

🔥 What Motivates Isaac

• Making a visible impact

• Getting buy-in for big ideas

• Being trusted to lead, pitch, or persuade

• Recognition and response

• Moving things (and people) forward

Isaac doesn’t just want a voice - he wants to use it to make progress. 

🚧 What Drains Isaac

• Being left out of key conversations

• Vague direction with no room to contribute

• Environments that silence bold ideas

• Feeling overlooked or underutilized

• Being told to "tone it down"

Isaac may bring a lot of energy, but without the right support, even the brightest spark fades.

✅ How to Support People Like Isaac

• Invite their perspective early, not just at the end

• Show how their influence creates real outcomes

• Celebrate boldness with clarity, not caution

• Give feedback that sharpens their message, not silences it

• Pair them with teammates who can help channel energy into execution

Coming Soon… Next up in our strengths series:

💖 Rachel the Relationship Builder – The teammate who keeps connection at the center

🧠 Stacy the Strategic Thinker – The big-picture thinker who helps teams make smart decisions

Each persona brings a different kind of brilliance to the table, and each one needs something different to thrive.

Hey, thanks for being here and for watching/reading. My goal is to consistently create content that's engaging, applicable, and inspires you to continue learning and growing as a leader. If you have ideas for future content or any questions at all, please shoot me an email at: [email protected].