By Omolola Precious
Change Agent Cohort 6, YMCA Nigeria
This is the third in a series of articles by Precious, sharing the experience of being a World YMCA Change Agent and the knowledge and perspectives gained along the way; read the second article here.
What was just another coursework requirement on our learning platform turned into one of those rare moments of clarity: The Gallup CliftonStrengths exercise.
My top five strengths from the exercise are: Strategic, Adaptability, Relator, Ideation, and Empathy. Five words that somehow managed to capture the essence of how I move through the world, how I lead, and how I create change.
Understanding my strengths
People with Strategic strength can sort through clutter and find the best way forward. That’s me! In meetings, planning sessions, moments of crisis, my mind naturally moves to “okay, so what are our options here? What’s the smartest path forward?”
Empathy is the ability to put yourself in other people’s shoes, to feel their joy, their pain, their frustration as if it were yours. When we write about the work we’re doing in communities, we are not just reporting facts; we are channeling the humanity behind those facts.
What’s fascinating is how Strategic and Empathy work together. One sees the map; the other feels the people on the journey. As a Change Agent, I need both.
Relators find deep satisfaction in working closely with others toward a goal. I naturally build deep, one-on-one connections—the mentors I’ve stayed connected to for years, the colleagues who’ve become friends, the young people who still reach out long after programs have ended. I don’t have a hundred surface-level connections; I have a handful of deep, meaningful ones.
Adaptability and Ideation showed up in my top five, and honestly, I didn’t see them coming.
Adaptability is the ability to live in the moment, to be flexible and comfortable with change. When I first read this, I thought, Really? Me? I’ve always thought of myself as someone who likes plans, structures, and timelines. But the more I reflected, the more I realized that yes, I like plans, but I’m also incredibly good at pivoting when those plans fall apart.
People with Ideation are creative thinkers who can take existing concepts and turn them upside down to find fresh perspectives. I’ve always seen myself as an ideas person—I love brainstorming, conceptualizing, imagining what could be. Ideas are my fuel. They are what wake me up at 3 a.m. to write in my journal.
Using strengths for impact
Here’s the thing about discovering your strengths: it doesn’t just help you understand yourself better. It helps you understand what you’re meant to be doing.
The Gallup CliftonStrengths exercise wasn’t just about personal development; it was about understanding how I could be more effective at creating impact. We can’t create change if we don’t know ourselves. We can’t lead others if we don’t understand our own patterns, tendencies, and gifts. Self-awareness is the foundation of intentional, sustainable impact.
Knowing that I lead with Strategic and Empathy means I can consciously leverage those strengths when designing programs or engaging with communities. Knowing that Relator is in my top five means I can stop trying to network with a hundred people at a conference and instead focus on building a few deep, meaningful partnerships. Knowing that Adaptability is one of my strengths means I can trust myself to navigate uncertainty. And knowing that Ideation drives me means I can create space for creativity and brainstorming.
The exercise also reminded me that every strength has a shadow side. Strategic thinking can become overthinking. Empathy can become emotional exhaustion. Ideation can become distraction. Relator can mean I struggle with larger group settings. Adaptability can mean I sometimes lack the stubbornness needed to push through resistance. But knowing the shadow side is useful—it’s a warning system.
Moving forward
The Gallup CliftonStrengths exercise gave me language for things I’ve always felt but couldn’t quite name. It validated parts of myself I’d dismissed as quirks or flaws. It helped me see that the way I think, feel, and connect isn’t random. It’s patterned, purposeful, and powerful.
I’m grateful for the mirror this exercise held up. I’m grateful for the clarity it brought. And I’m grateful to be on this journey of becoming not just a better change agent, but a more fully realized version of myself.
This is about showing up in the world with all of who we are, strengths and shadows alike, and trusting that our authentic selves are exactly what the movement needs.
A special shout out to the team that designed the courses of the Change Agents program, you change lives!
If you are in doubt, you should take the exercise too.