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Johnston County commissioners take CliftonStrengths assessment to guide teamwork
Summary
The board completed a CliftonStrengths team session, with a Withers Ravenel facilitator reviewing members’ dominant talent themes and how the board might use those strengths in teamwork and decision making.
Jess Fulmer, chief people officer at Withers Ravenel, led an hour‑plus CliftonStrengths workshop for the Johnston County Board of Commissioners during the strategic planning retreat, summarizing aggregated results and discussing how the group’s top themes can affect board functioning.
How it was done: Commissioners and select staff took Gallup’s CliftonStrengths assessment in advance. Fulmer presented the board’s most frequent top themes across four domains: executing, influencing, relationship building and strategic thinking. She noted the board’s top five themes included Arranger, Positivity, Strategic, Communication and Developer.
Why it matters: Fulmer and county staff framed the session as a governance and team‑development tool intended to improve collaboration and decision making rather than a policy directive. Commissioners used the session to identify complementary skill sets on the board — for example, members who favor strategy or execution — and discussed how to pair those strengths when reviewing policy or capital projects.
What board members said: Several commissioners praised the session for increasing mutual understanding. Commissioners described the board as “doers” who can combine open‑ended adaptability with core belief and mission‑focus; several members also called out “blind spots” that can be managed using awareness and pairing of complementary talents.
Next steps: Fulmer recommended commissioners review follow‑up CliftonStrengths materials and suggested staff circulate the board‑level strengths grid as a reminder. The board endorsed continuing the approach as a recurring tool for onboarding new commissioners and staff.
