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Don Clifton
Born(1924-02-05)February 5, 1924
Butte, Nebraska[1][2]
DiedSeptember 14, 2003(2003-09-14) (aged 79)
Lincoln, Nebraska[3][4]
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Chairman of Gallup, professor of educational psychology at University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Known forGallup, CliftonStrengths
Notable workNow, Discover Your Strengths

Donald O. Clifton (February 5, 1924 – September 14, 2003) was an American psychologist, educator, author, researcher, and entrepreneur. He founded Selection Research, Inc., which later acquired Gallup Inc., where he became chairman, and developed CliftonStrengths, Gallup's online psychological assessment. Clifton was recognized with a presidential commendation from the American Psychological Association as "the father of strengths-based psychology and the grandfather of positive psychology".

Early life and education

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Clifton was born in Butte, Nebraska, in 1924.[2] He attended University of Nebraska–Lincoln on a regents scholarship, earning a degree in mathematics and two in educational psychology.[2] Later in life, Clifton received honorary doctorates in humane letters (1990) and laws (2001) from University of Nebraska and Azusa Pacific University, respectively.[5]

Clifton joined the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, where he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross.[4][5]

Career

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Clifton taught and researched educational psychology at University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1950 to 1969.[5][6] During this time, Clifton researched and studied talent and what distinguished talented people from others.[7] Specifically, he studied why some university tutors were more effective than others.[7]

According to Clifton, psychologists typically studied what was wrong with people, not why they excelled.[7][8] He also identified that successful people had certain personal attributes that benefited them in their work.[7] When Clifton left the university, he founded Selection Research Inc. (SRI) in Lincoln, Nebraska, helping private and public entities with employee selection.[2] Clifton's firm SRI acquired Gallup in 1988, four years after Gallup founder George Gallup died.[2] Clifton became chairman.[5]

Under Clifton, Gallup expanded beyond its public opinion polls by entering the management consulting business.[2] Gallup consulted with companies on ways to improve their businesses by honing in on their employees' strengths.[9] Clifton is viewed as a leading figure in strengths psychology, which identifies, examines, and uses a person's strengths to excel professionally.[2]

After 50 years of research, Clifton created the online assessment tool Clifton StrengthsFinder (now known as CliftonStrengths) in 1999.[2] He co-authored the 2001 book Now, Discover Your Strengths, updated to a new version called StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath in 2007,[10] which is among Amazon's 20 bestselling books of all-time as of 2017.[11] His CliftonStrengths is an online personality-assessment tool that focuses on 34 themes that make up the user's personality.[12][13] Now, Discover Your Strengths offers advice on determining employees' strengths and using those qualities for success at work.[14] This and Gallup's other books fueled significant growth for the consultancy.[14] In 2002, the American Psychological Association honored Clifton with a lifetime achievement award as "the father of strengths-based psychology and the grandfather of positive psychology".[4]

After retiring as chairman of Gallup, Clifton was chairman of Gallup's International Research and Education Center and senior archivist of its World Leader Study.[5]

Following his death, Gallup and The Clifton Foundation donated $30 million to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln to create the Don Clifton Strengths Institute, focusing on early identification and development of future entrepreneurs.[15]

Personal life

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Clifton and his wife, Shirley, had four children.[5] Clifton died in Lincoln, Nebraska, on September 14, 2003.[4]

Published works

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  • Soar With Your Strengths with Paula Nelson, ISBN 0-385-30414-5. Delacorte Press, 1992.
  • Now, Discover Your Strengths with Marcus Buckingham, ISBN 0-7432-0114-0. Free Press, 2001.
  • How Full Is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life with Tom Rath ISBN 1595620036. Gallup Press, 2004.
  • StrengthsQuest with Edward "Chip" Anderson, ISBN 0972263705. Gallup Press, 2002.
  • Living Your Strengths: Discover Your God-given Talents and Inspire Your Community with Albert L. Winseman and Curt Liesveld, ISBN 9781595620026. Gallup Press, 2004.

References

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  1. ^ "Clifton Strengths School". strengths.org. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Piersol, Richard (June 5, 2015). "Cliftons, Gallup give $30 million to UNL". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "Dr Donald O. Clifton". Find A Grave. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d "Donald Clifton, 79; Former Head of Gallup Polling Firm". Los Angeles Times. September 19, 2003. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Piersol, Richard (September 16, 2003). "Gallup's Clifton dies at age 79". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  6. ^ "Don Clifton". DefenceIQ. July 1, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d Kingston, Peter (April 4, 1995). "Staff selection: Heading for Uniformity". The Guardian. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  8. ^ Hannon, Kerry (August 30, 2004). "Praise cranks up productivity". USA Today. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  9. ^ "Donald Clifton, 79; Former Head of Gallup Polling Firm". Los Angeles Times. September 19, 2003. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  10. ^ Lesko, Ashley Prisant (12 October 2015). "How Do You Lead the Pack? A Resource to Develop Personal Strengths for Students and Practitioners". Journal of Management Education. 40 (108): 102–108. doi:10.1177/1052562915609958. S2CID 220355762.
  11. ^ "The top 20 best-selling books of all time on Amazon include two Christian books (but not the Bible)". Christian Today. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  12. ^ Feintzeig, Rachel (10 February 2015). "Everything Is Awesome! Why You Can't Tell Employees They're Doing a Bad Job". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  13. ^ Adams, Susan (28 August 2009). "The Test That Measures A Leader's Strengths". Forbes. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  14. ^ a b Spiro, Leah Nathans (July 21, 2003). "Gallup, the Pollster, Wants to Be Known for Its Consulting". The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  15. ^ Mochari, Ilan (June 5, 2015). "Why Gallup Is Funding a $30 Million B-School Lab at the University of Nebraska". Inc. Retrieved November 6, 2018.


Category:1924 births Category:2003 deaths Category:American psychologists Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Category:People from Boyd County, Nebraska

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