Good to great: the CliftonStrength of maximizer

A few years ago, I worked with a client who was beta-testing a new product idea. They’d experienced some internal conflict between two employees on their implementation team and asked Millennial Guru to help.

One employee was excited about the idea and eager to get the product into the hands of potential customers. She wanted to get their feedback, implement their suggestions, and take the new product idea from good to great.

A co-worker on the team was also excited about the product idea but felt that there were too many potential problems to get it out the door. She wanted to wait, identify those issues, and make improvements before sending the product information to potential clients.

Serious conflict ensued.

The conflict occurred not because one was right and the other was wrong but because these two talented employees had contrasting CliftonStrengths.

The first employee had the CliftonStrength of Maximizer. Maximizers relentlessly pursue perfection and don’t want to spend energy fixing what’s broken, which feels like a waste of time to them. Instead, they prefer to concentrate their efforts on transforming good things into great things. 

By contrast, the second employee had the CliftonStrength of Restorative, which we’ll talk about at length in our next post. For now, what’s important to know is that, in direct contrast to people with Maximizer, people with Restorative thrive on identifying possible trouble spots. They want to use their creativity and problem-solving skills to find solutions.

 The Benefits of Having Team Members with Maximizer

When you have an employee with the CliftonStrength of Maximizer, you have someone who wants to exceed expectations in everything they do. They’re committed to excellence, quality (not quantity), and are driven to succeed. They want to maximize performance in every way, from their day-to-day work tasks to the products and services your company delivers to customers.

Possible Bumps in the Road

While you can see how having a Maximizer on your staff can be a boon for your company, the flip side is that they can be perceived by co-workers as incredibly picky, never-satisfied perfectionists.

This might happen if others think something is “good enough,” and want to be done with it, while the Maximizer will always push for “best.” “Good enough” feels like a poor grade in school would have felt to them!

Depending on their other CliftonStrengths, Maximizers might also take a bit longer to get things out the door because they want to perfect them. In that case, it’s a good idea to give Maximizers deadlines for project improvements, which can help prevent delays. It can also be useful to partner them with someone who has contrasting strengths like Activator or Achiever, to ensure the work is completed and ready to go on time.

Getting the most from team members with the CliftonStrength of Maximizer

To tap into the talents that Maximizers bring to the workplace, you might consider:

• Putting them in roles that focus on improving the quality of your product or service. Their natural inclination to bring “the best” to fruition will thrive.

• Appoint them to create an employee-productivity recognition or “pat on the back” program. They’ll be good at analyzing what excellence in each role looks like and how to measure and reward it.

• Recognize their accomplishments. They want to be valued for doing what they love to do – make things better. Focusing on their weaknesses is a true downer. Instead, acknowledge weakness and pair them with a co-worker who has a contrasting strength so they can both use their natural gifts to your company’s benefit.

Talk to Us About How We Can Help

If capitalizing on your team’s individual strengths in order to strengthen your team sounds like a great idea (it is!), we’d love to talk about how we can help.

Schedule an informational meeting with Millennial Guru today to learn more about how we can empower your team by teaching them to make the most of their natural talents and strengths, creating efficiency and effectiveness that produces solid results.