In today’s economy, every rand, dollar or euro spent on learning must show a clear return. The pressure is on L&D leaders to prove that leadership development, team training, and employee growth are not just tick-box activities — they must move the needle on performance, engagement, wellbeing, and retention.
70% of generic learning is forgotten in the first 24 hours. Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve
Only 12% of employees apply new skills learned in training to their jobs. HBR
70% of development happens on the job, not in the classroom. Centre for Creative Leadership
Too often, learning is designed for the ‘average employee’ — but no such person exists. Generic leadership workshops, standardised skills training, and broad competency models struggle to deliver lasting change. Participants nod along in the room, but back at their desks, old habits return. It’s not because they don’t care — it’s because one-size-fits-all learning doesn’t stick.
One way to amplify that impact? Build your learning programmes around what people do best: their strengths.
Each person’s talents are enduring and unique. Donald O. Clifton
💡The Gallup CliftonStrengths Advantage
CliftonStrengths developed by Gallup, flips the script by helping individuals and teams discover their unique patterns of excellence — the natural talents that, when intentionally applied, deliver outstanding results.
When organisations use CliftonStrengths as a foundation for learning, they gain three big advantages:
✅ Relevance: Learning instantly becomes personal. People engage more deeply when they see how new skills align with their unique strengths.
✅ Application: Strengths give people a clear path to turn theory into action — faster and more sustainably.
✅ Ownership: Employees feel more motivated because they are developing in areas where they have the greatest potential for growth.
Your weaknesses will never develop, whilst your strengths will develop infinitely. Donald O. Clifton
💡 How Strengths Make Training Stick: A 70-20-10 Perspective
We know from decades of leadership research and workplace learning studies that formal training alone isn’t enough to change behaviour. The 70-20-10 model explains why:
- 70% of learning impact comes from doing the work — real tasks, stretch assignments, and daily problem-solving.
- 20% comes from social learning — feedback, coaching, mentoring, and peer exchange.
- Only 10% comes from formal training — workshops, courses, seminars.
So, the big question for any organisation is: How do you make the 10% fuel the 70% and the 20%? This is where Gallup CliftonStrengths plays a vital role.
1️⃣ Strengths connect training to real work (the 70%)
Generic training can feel abstract. Strengths give every learner a personal blueprint to apply new knowledge in the context of what they already do well.
For example:
- A leader with Analytical can learn to use data more deeply in decision-making.
- A manager with Relator can strengthen stakeholder relationships by consciously building trust.
- A sales rep with Activator can turn ideas from training into quick experiments in the field.
By seeing how new skills match their natural talents, people move faster from classroom to daily practice — which is where real behaviour change happens.
2️⃣ Strengths boost social learning (the 20%)
When people know their own strengths — and each other’s — coaching and feedback become more meaningful.
- Teams have a common language to talk about how they work best.
- Peer learning shifts from generic advice to targeted support: “How can I use my Individualization to better coach my team?”
- Managers can tailor stretch assignments that align with each person’s unique talents — accelerating real growth.
This turns routine feedback into actionable insight, making coaching a catalyst, not just a tick-box.
3️⃣ Strengths make formal training personal (the 10%)
Finally, strengths make the classroom more engaging. Participants don’t just absorb content — they personalise it.
They ask: “How does this leadership model fit my talents? Where can my natural strengths speed up my impact? What potential blind spots do I need to watch for?”
This self-awareness deepens motivation and primes them to take action — which is what drives ROI for any learning investment.
The acid test of a strength? The ability is a strength only if you can fathom yourself doing it repeatedly, happily, and successfully. Donald O. Clifton.
💡The Bottom Line
Generic training is easy to deliver — but difficult to embed. Without personalisation, relevance, and practical application, training slides into the “forgetting curve” and fails to deliver lasting behaviour change. When you pair training with strengths-based development, you solve this problem — because people see immediate value, apply it to what they naturally do best, and stay engaged longer.
🔑 Strengths bridge the gap between training and transformation. They help the 10% fuel the 20% and 70% — so that new skills stick, learning is lived, and people do more of what they do best, every day.
For organisations, working with BHG means training budgets deliver real value — not just good intentions.
#LearningAndDevelopment #CliftonStrengths #Leadership #EmployeeEngagement #ROI #PeopleDevelopment #StrengthsBasedLeadership
