Through a Marketing Lens — by Katie Windfeldt

As marketers, we are constantly analyzing brands, strategy, and positioning, but rarely pause to analyze ourselves. A few months ago, I was given the advice that I should look into taking Gallup’s CliftonStrengths Assessment, an online tool that identifies your top natural talents across thirty-four themes, focusing on what you do best rather than fixing weaknesses. Feeling somewhat lost in the post-grad era, taking this assessment revealed strengths I didn’t even realize I had, which ultimately helped me gain clarity, confidence, and a stronger sense of how I want to become “known” in this next chapter of life. While insight into your strengths comes with many benefits, I believe self-awareness is one of the most powerful strategic advantages a person can have. If you don’t know who you are yourself, how are you going to be able to market yourself just like you would a product or service? These are the five strengths that define how I operate, lead, and show up every day in all aspects of life. 

My Top 5 Strengths: 

1. Consistency 

People high in consistency value fairness, clear expectations, and environments where the same standards apply to everyone. For me, I feel the most comfortable when roles, processes, and rules are clearly defined, especially since clarity creates confidence. I naturally build systems that allow me to keep work balanced and predictable, and can feel myself get frustrated when expectations shift depending on the person or situation. This made me realize that just because consistency is my number one strength, I can’t expect everyone around me to show up and be as consistent. As for my career, a strength in consistency allows me to create stable workflows, lead with fairness, and ensure that everyone I come in contact with knows exactly what they can expect from me, ultimately making myself an extremely reliable prospect. If you’ve noticed I have a slight obsession with consistency…this might explain everything. 

2. Relator

People high in relator value deep, meaningful relationships and find energy in close connections rather than wide networks. Growing up, I have always kept my corner small, filled with people I know I can trust, count on, and will show up for me and vice versa. I care far more about trust and loyalty than visibility or volume, and do my best work alongside people I genuinely respect. As someone who invests in long-term relationships, I don’t take commitments lightly when it comes to other people and believe real influence is built through depth, not breadth. In my career, this strength helps me build strong partnerships, teams grounded in mutual trust, and the relatability needed to collaborate effectively and lead with impact. 

3. Discipline

People high in discipline thrive in structured, organized environments and naturally create order where it’s needed. As someone who heavily relies on routines, timeliness, and clear processes to reduce chaos and increase efficiency, breaking large goals into actionable steps is something that is instinctive in me. In every aspect of life, I have always been driven by my own discipline to get things done. Great ideas only matter if they are executed well and a strength in discipline allows me to turn strategy into measurable action and deliver results consistently (there she is again). If you don’t have the discipline, you can’t sustain the consistency that builds credibility and trust. 

4. Harmony

People high in harmony seek agreement and look for practical ways to reduce conflict. As someone who has always withstood conflict, I intuitively search for common ground and prefer progress over being “right.” Understanding multiple perspectives and hearing all sides of a story matters to me, so I make sure I carefully listen before forming opinions. I believe alignment moves teams forward faster than confrontation ever could and this strength allows me to manage diverse personalities, navigate tension thoughtfully, and maintain productive collaboration throughout my career. To me, harmony is how real progress happens while conflict rarely moves people forward. 

5. Responsibility

People high in responsibility take psychological ownership of their commitments and feel personally accountable for outcomes. When I say I will do something, I mean it. Backing out of a promise feels heavier to me than it might to others, making accountability a foundation as to who I am, not just something that’s optional. I believe your word is part of your personal brand and as for my career, this strength builds credibility within teams, clients, and leadership because I consistently follow through. In many ways, responsibility is the cherry on top, tying all of my other strengths together and reinforcing that what I promise, I will deliver. 

Looking at my five strengths together, the results aren’t just a list of my personality traits, it’s a personal blueprint for leadership. Consistency and discipline shape how I execute, relator and harmony shape how I build relationships, and responsibility anchors how I show up for myself and others around me. The strengths influence how I lead, collaborate, and make decisions in both my personal and professional lives and will continue to guide me throughout my career. Self-awareness and reflection is one of the most strategic tools we have, but yet it’s so often overlooked. Just as we analyze brands to understand positioning, value propositions, and competitive advantage, we should analyze ourselves with the same level of intention. Because at the end of the day, the most important brand you can ever build is your own. 

What are your top 5 CliftonStrengths? 

Discover your own internal blueprint by taking the CliftonStrengths Assessment and start analyzing yourself with the same intention you analyze brands!