If you’re a coach, HR professional, or business leader looking to implement strengths-based assessments, you might be wondering: Should I use Strengthscope®, Strengths Profile, or both? This guide will break down the key differences between the two and explore when it makes sense to use them together.
What is Strengths Profile?
Strengths Profile from Cappfinity, formerly known as Realise 2, is a strengths assessment tool that measures 60 strengths.
Cappfinity define strengths as “Things you are good at or capable of doing well that also give you energy when using them.”
Strengths Profile claims to accurately assess your realised strengths (those that you use and enjoy), unrealised strengths (those you don’t use as often), learned behaviours (things you do well but don’t enjoy) and weaknesses (things you find hard and don’t enjoy).
The 60 strengths cluster into 5 domains: being, communicating, motivating, relating and thinking.
Use Cases and Potential Limitations of Strengths Profile
Strengths Profile is used primarily in recruitment, although Cappfinity does also work in development.
Strengths Profile’s 60 strength inventory means that it has the largest number of strengths of any strengths assessment and so can claim to be the most comprehensive.
It’s also the preferred strengths assessment tool in some organisations and for some practitioners, in the UK and Australia.
The associated downside is that it can be seen as rather a complex tool to work with, given the large number of strengths.
Cappfinity have published the technical manual for Strengths Profile here: and claim high levels of reliability and validity against a range of different instruments.
The challenge here is that due to its large number of strengths, Strengths Profile is limited in the number of items it can use to assess each strength.
In fact, it uses three items per strength, the bare minimum recommended in psychological assessment.
And within each set of three items, it also claims to be measuring three independent things – how often you use each strength, how energised you are by using it and how well you perform when using the strength. So in reality, each strength element (use, energy, performance) is measured only once by Strengths Profile, which falls below the minimum three-item criterion for psychological measurement.
Unlike Strengthscope®, Strengths Profile has not attained British Psychological Society test registration status.
The final point is important when selecting a positive psychology assessment. Strengths Profile explicitly describes ‘weaknesses’ in its reporting – this may have the unintended impact of diverting users’ attention away from the positive message of identifying developing strengths and back towards the more traditional deficit focus that many other psychological assessments employ.
What is Strengthscope®?
Strengthscope® is a strengths-based assessment that identifies the unique strengths individual and teams, and how they can be applied to achieve peak performance. It is the only strengths assessment with BPS (British Psychological Society) registered test status, meaning it is scientifically validated and free from bias. Strengthscope® helps individuals and teams:
- Identify their unique strengths and what energises them.
- Recognise overdrive risks, where strengths might become counterproductive under pressure.
- Develop strategies to optimise performance and engagement.
- Build resilience by understanding how to tap into strengths in different situations.
- Gather regular feedback on the visibility and effective use of their strengths.
- Measure factors that impact their leadership effectiveness and team effectiveness.
Strengthscope® highlights how each person is completely unique, helping them make conscious choices about how to apply their strengths at work.
Can Strengthscope® and Strengths Profile be used together?
We don’t recommend using the tools together as they’re both strength-based assessments.
Strengths Profile offers more around potential strengths you’ve not had the chance to discover or develop as well as potential skills and habits you’ve gained. However, Strengths Profile describes weaknesses which increases the likelihood of negativity bias.
StrengthsProfile measures 60 strengths that are divided into 4 quadrants and further categorised into 5 domains. Therefore, the reports are very long and harder to digest. Strengthscope only measures 24 strengths making each profile unique, action-based and easy to understand and digest.
Strengths Profile recommends retaking the assessment every 6 months (pointing to the tool being more open to situational changes) whereas you don’t need to take the Strengthscope® again, unless there has been significant changes in your life or your role at work. When you re-take the Strengthscope® assessment, there are unlikely to be significant changes. This feature of Strengthscope® make it more cost-effective when rolling out in organisations.
Final Thoughts: Which One Should You Choose?
Ultimately, choosing whether to use Strengthscope® or Strengths Profile will come down to a number of factors.
Recommended questions to ask of a client to help them come to a decision include:
- Is the accuracy of the assessment tool important to the intended user group? That is, will it matter if the results reported are accurate and consistent? If the answer is yes, Strengthscope® is a better option as evidenced by the British Psychological Society test registration status.
- Is it important to use a report that is simple and accessible? If the answer is yes, Strengthscope® is likely to be the better choice.
- Is the audience likely to be influenced by negativity bias, i.e. are they more likely to naturally focus away from their strengths and towards deficits/shortcomings? If the answer is yes, Strengthscope® would be the preferred option.
- Is the client looking for a strengths assessment tool to use at the early stages of recruitment? If so, Strengths Profile is the preferred choice.
Interested in how Strengthscope® can be used in your organisations or with your clients? Get in touch with us today!
Interested in becoming an accredited Strengthscope® practitioner? The foundational Strengthscope® Accreditation is delivered across 2 days. Once obtained, the accreditation is valid for life. Our accredited practitioners receive additional business development and training support to change more lives with strengths. Learn more here.
