Building a high-performing team is both an art and a science. For professionals and leaders, understanding each team member’s personality and strengths can be the key to better collaboration and performance. This is where the HIGH5 test comes in, a workplace personality test and strengths assessment designed to unlock your team’s potential. By leveraging what each person is great at, teams that use HIGH5 report tangible improvements: higher productivity, engagement, and even profitability. In this guide, we’ll outline how to use the HIGH5 test and its Team Strengths Report as a team-building tool, with a friendly yet persuasive approach to help you get the most out of your team.
What Is the HIGH5 Personality Test for Teams?
The HIGH5 test is a strengths-based personality assessment that identifies an individual’s top five strengths. Originally developed for personal development, HIGH5 also offers specialized personality test for teams and organizations. Each team member takes a series of thoughtful questions (with no time limit) aimed at pinpointing their talents and preferences. Once completed, the platform generates personalized reports and, importantly, a Team Strengths Report that compiles everyone’s results.
The HIGH5 Team Strengths Report is a comprehensive overview of your team’s collective strengths. Instead of focusing on one person at a time, it analyzes the group as a whole – revealing dominant team themes, potential blind spots, and how team members complement each other. For example, the report includes tools like a group strengths grid and a team culture profile, which visualize the makeup of your team’s strengths and dynamics. In short, HIGH5 provides a shared language of strengths for the team, helping everyone understand each member’s unique value. This lays a foundation for more effective team building, as the insights can guide how you align your team, assign roles, and improve communication.
Practical ways and ideas to use the HIGH5 Team Report in team building
1. Guess Each Other’s Strengths
Before revealing test results, let teammates take turns guessing each other’s top strengths. It sparks fun conversations, challenges assumptions, and often uncovers hidden talents people hadn’t noticed before.
2. Comment on Each Other’s Strengths
Invite everyone to share real examples of when they’ve seen a colleague use a particular strength. This kind of positive feedback reinforces recognition and builds genuine appreciation within the team.
3. Learn How to Work with Others
Use the “Working Together” insights to explore how strengths complement one another. For example: “How can my Strategic strength best support your Activator strength?” These discussions make collaboration smoother and more intentional.
4. Strengths-Based Brainstorming
Assign project roles based on natural strengths. A Strategist might lead the big-picture vision, an Analyst could focus on data and details, while an Empath brings in the human perspective. It shows the team how to apply strengths in practical, meaningful ways.
5. Celebrate Strengths in Action
During retrospectives or team reviews, call out moments when someone’s strength made the difference. For instance: “Your Problem-Solver strength really helped us navigate that tricky client challenge.” This turns feedback into motivation.
6. Rotate Roles to Experiment with Strengths
Give people the chance to step into new responsibilities that align with their strengths—even if they’re outside their official role. It’s a great way to surface hidden potential and keep work exciting.
7. Set Team Goals Through Strengths
Tie team objectives to what the group is naturally good at. If your team shows strong Innovator traits, set a goal around launching fresh ideas or improving a key process. This makes goals feel more achievable and motivating.
8. Pair Up for Growth Opportunities
Form pairs with complementary strengths, like matching a Peacekeeper with an Empathizer. These partnerships encourage mentoring, balance different perspectives, and create stronger collaboration.
9. Group Fit Score
Look at how individuals align with the overall team profile. This is especially helpful during onboarding, role placement, or even when imagining how a new hire might fit into the team dynamic.
10. Group Strengths Grid
Map out everyone’s strengths visually. You’ll quickly spot overlaps and gaps, like noticing the team may lack detail-oriented thinkers. Use this insight for role assignments or to plan future initiatives.
11. Team Strengths Culture
Identify the shared personality of the group, for example, calling yourselves a Connector-driven team. This internal “brand” helps clarify how the team works best together, while also sparking useful conversations about potential risks if one strength dominates too much.
12. Team Strengths Profile
Analyze which strengths show up most across the team. If Strategic thinking is common, lean into that for long-term planning projects. This “DNA” helps align the team’s natural talents with business goals.
13. Team Watch-Outs
Discuss blind spots that might come from overusing or missing certain strengths. For instance: “If our optimism goes unchecked, what risks might we overlook?” Assigning a “watch-out monitor” during projects helps keep things balanced.
14. Team Unique Contributors
Highlight what each individual uniquely brings to the table. Use these insights during recognition moments: “Maria’s visionary thinking really shaped our product roadmap.” It’s also a great tool for designing project roles.
15. Workshop Presentation Template
Make use of the ready-made slide deck for team-building sessions. It saves time and ensures that every workshop feels structured and professional.
16. Slide-by-Slide Facilitation Guide
Follow the facilitation notes to confidently lead discussions, even if you’re not an experienced facilitator. The guide walks you through step by step, so you can focus on connecting with the team.
How to implement and use the HIGH5 test for teams
Using HIGH5 for team building is straightforward. Below is a step-by-step guide for professionals and team leaders to roll out the HIGH5 test and make the most of the Team Strengths Report:
Step 1: Initiate a Strengths Assessment for Each Team Member
Start by having everyone on the team take the HIGH5 strengths test. You can invite your team through the HIGH5 platform by creating a team group and sending invitations. The test itself is user-friendly – it’s not timed, so individuals can respond thoughtfully at their own pace.. Encourage honesty and self-reflection in this stage, and reassure your team that there are no “right or wrong” answers, just insights into what they naturally do best. (Tip: As a leader, take the test as well! This sets an example and adds your strengths to the mix.)
Step 2: Generate the Team Strengths Report
Once all team members have completed their assessments, you can unlock the Team Strengths Report using the platform (usually this involves applying an access code or making a purchase for the team report). The Team Report is generated instantly once everyone has taken the test.. In this report, you’ll find a wealth of information tailored to your group. For example, you’ll see a Group Strengths Grid, team culture insights, a collective profile of top strengths, “watch-out” areas, and each member’s unique contribution highlighted.
Take some time as the team leader to review this report in detail. Look for patterns – do you have many people with similar strengths? Is there a balance between, say, analytical and empathetic strengths? Identifying these patterns will prepare you for the next step.
Step 3: Share and Discuss the Results with the Team
Plan a meeting or workshop to go over the Team Strengths Report together. HIGH5 makes this easy by providing a ready-to-use presentation deck and facilitation guide with the report. Use these materials to walk the team through the findings. During the session, encourage open dialogue about the results – let each person share their top strengths and whether they resonate, and discuss as a group how these strengths appear at work. This conversation can be a fantastic team-building exercise on its own, as colleagues often gain a new appreciation for each other.
For example, someone might realize “Ah, that’s why Alice excels at client relationships – one of her top strengths is Empathy,” while Alice might learn that Bob’s Strategic strength is why he always has a plan. The goal of this workshop is to foster understanding and trust. When team members openly talk about how they can support each other’s strengths and cover each other’s weaknesses, it creates a more cohesive and supportive team environment.
Step 4: Integrate Strengths into Team Work and Roles
After discussing the results, it’s time to put insights into action. Use the knowledge from the HIGH5 report to align tasks and projects with your team’s strengths. For instance, if your report shows that certain team members have a strength in Detail Orientation, you might assign them to quality-check a project, while those with Visionary or Strategic strengths can take the lead on long-term planning. The HIGH5 philosophy encourages “natural strength-based task allocation” – essentially, letting people do more of what they’re naturally good at. This doesn’t mean people can’t grow or stretch, but it ensures that each person is set up for success in their role.
You can also use HIGH5’s “Working Together” insight for pairs of colleagues. If two team members need to collaborate closely, check how their strengths profiles match up – the report can highlight how these two can best work together or where they might clash. By reorganizing some responsibilities and team pairings in line with strengths, you’ll likely see boosts in efficiency and morale. And don’t forget to acknowledge and celebrate when someone’s strengths lead to a win – this reinforces the value of using strengths at work.
Step 5: Apply Insights to Ongoing Team Development
Team building with HIGH5 isn’t a one-off event – it’s an ongoing process. After the initial implementation, keep the momentum by regularly referencing strengths in your team’s day-to-day operations. For example, when kicking off a new project, you might say, “Given our team’s strengths profile, let’s have Maria (whose strength is Analytical) handle the data analysis, and Jordan (Activator) spearhead the quick pilot program.” Incorporate strengths language into feedback and one-on-one meetings (e.g., “One of your strengths is Empathy, and I saw you use it effectively in that client call – great job!”).
HIGH5 also offers features like Weekly Insights and Team Reflections on its platform, which provide ongoing tips and exercises tailored to your team’s strengths.. These can be great for keeping the strengths conversation alive over time. By continually using the HIGH5 framework, you’ll help the team form a true strengths-based culture rather than a one-time event.
Step 6: Update and Expand as Your Team Grows
Teams are dynamic – people join, roles change, and new challenges arise. One advantage of HIGH5 is that you can update your team’s profile whenever needed. If you add new team members, have them take the test and then regenerate or update the Team Report. The platform is designed to accommodate any team size (minimum of 3 members for a valid analysis, and no upper limit).. It also keeps historical data, so you can see how your team’s strengths composition evolves over time.
This is useful for tracking development: for example, you might compare the team’s current strengths distribution to last year’s and notice growth in certain areas. Continuously leveraging the HIGH5 test for new hires or reorganized teams ensures you maintain that strong foundation of understanding, no matter how your team changes.
By following these steps, you’ll embed the HIGH5 strengths approach into your team-building efforts. The process is straightforward, but the impact can be profound – from smoother collaboration to higher performance. Next, we’ll address benefits and some frequently asked questions that professionals often have about using the HIGH5 test with their teams.
Benefits of Using HIGH5 for Team Building
Using the HIGH5 test with your team can yield numerous benefits for your workplace. Here are some of the key advantages:
- Improved team dynamics and communication
- Higher engagement and productivity
- Better role alignment and talent management
- Increased motivation and retention
- Data-driven team development
Improved team dynamics and communication
When team members know each other’s strengths, it fosters mutual respect and understanding. Teams that discuss and leverage their strengths tend to have fewer conflicts and misunderstandings.. Instead of working in silos or at cross-purposes, the team develops stronger cohesion and better conversations.
Higher engagement and productivity
People working in their strength areas are generally more engaged and motivated. Organizations that use HIGH5’s strengths-based approach have seen a 39% boost in productivity and 74% higher employee engagement on average. By focusing on what energizes employees, you create more enthusiasm and drive in daily tasks. This often translates into tangible performance gains (including a noted 17% increase in profitability for strengths-focused teams).
Better role alignment and talent management
The insights from HIGH5 help managers assign the right tasks to the right people, based on each person’s natural talents. For example, if one team member’s top strength is in strategy, they might excel in planning roles, while another with relationship-building strengths might shine in client-facing tasks. HIGH5’s Group Fit feature even allows scenario planning for new hires or team changes, so you can predict how a new member might complement the team. This leads to smarter hiring decisions and a team composition that fits well together.
Increased motivation and retention
When individuals feel that their unique contributions are recognized and utilized, job satisfaction rises. HIGH5 helps pinpoint each person’s “unique contributors” within the team (like what special value they bring).. As a result, team members feel more valued and engaged, which can reduce turnover. In fact, strengths-based teams often experience higher retention rates (one study showed 21% higher retention when teams focus on strengths). Motivated, engaged employees are also more likely to stay and grow with the company.
Data-driven team development
The HIGH5 platform provides concrete data and analytics on your team. The Team Report highlights not just strengths but also watch-outs – areas where your team might face challenges if certain strengths are over- or under-represented.. Armed with this information, leaders can make data-driven decisions about team development, rather than relying on guesswork. For instance, if the team’s report shows a potential blind spot in detail-oriented thinking, you might introduce processes or training to compensate, or consider adding someone with that strength to the team.
By understanding these benefits, it becomes clear that HIGH5 is more than just a feel-good exercise – it’s a strategic tool for team building. Next, let’s look at how you can implement the HIGH5 test and Team Report with your team step by step.
FAQ
How is the HIGH5 Team Report different from individual personality test results?
An individual HIGH5 report reveals one person’s top strengths and personal insights. The Team Strengths Report, on the other hand, focuses on the collective – it analyzes your group’s strengths as a whole. This includes identifying common themes in your team, the overall team culture, potential blind spots, and how members’ strengths complement each other.
How many people are needed to generate a Team Report? Is there a maximum team size?
You need a minimum of 3 team members to create a meaningful Team Report on the HIGH5 platform.. With fewer than three, it’s hard to identify group patterns. There is no strict upper limit on team size – you can analyze teams as large as entire departments or even organizations. The platform’s visuals and analytics will adjust automatically, no matter how many people you include.
How do we get the Team Report, and how long does it take?
Getting the Team Report is simple. After your team members complete the HIGH5 test, the team administrator (like the manager or HR lead) can unlock the Team Strengths Report via the HIGH5 platform. Typically, this involves purchasing the report (if you haven’t already) and then the report is generated instantly online.. There’s no waiting period or manual processing – as soon as the last person finishes their questionnaire, the consolidated team insights are available on your dashboard. You can then view it online or download it as needed.
Do we need a coach or special training to interpret the Team Report?
No special training is required. The HIGH5 Team Report is designed to be user-friendly and self-explanatory, even for those new to strengths-based development.. Each section of the report comes with clear explanations and actionable insights. For example, it will not only show a data chart but also text explaining what that means for your team.
Can the HIGH5 test and Team Report be used for hiring or forming new teams?
Yes, the insights can be very useful for building new teams or making hiring decisions (with some best-practice caution). The HIGH5 Group Fit feature lets you simulate how a potential new hire’s strengths would complement the current team.. This can inform your decisions when aiming for a balanced team. However, it’s important to use this as one data point among many – always consider a candidate’s full profile and qualifications.
What if our team changes? Can we update the report over time?
Absolutely. The HIGH5 platform allows you to update your Team Report whenever the team’s composition changes.. If you add new members, simply have them take the test and include them in your team on the platform. The report will be refreshed to incorporate everyone. The system keeps track of historical data too, so you won’t lose the old information – you can see how the team evolved. This means that as your team grows or people move roles, your strengths analysis stays current.
How can we make the most of HIGH5 in the long run?
To get the full benefit, make HIGH5 a part of your team’s culture. Encourage team members to remember and leverage their strengths in daily work – managers can remind folks during planning or retrospectives about using their strengths. Regularly hold team discussions or check-ins about how strengths are being used and what could be improved. Set team goals that account for who is naturally good at what, so everyone has a chance to shine in pursuit of those goals.. You might also integrate HIGH5 into your onboarding for new team members, so they and the team quickly understand each other.
