~20–25 minutes · four parts, all on this page, all scored instantly
This is a free self-assessment built specifically for today. It borrows ideas from two respected frameworks Strategic Coach uses alongside Unique Ability — Kolbe's four action modes (how you naturally take action) and Gallup CliftonStrengths' four strength domains (how you naturally add value) — plus Strategic Coach's own discovery questions. It runs entirely in your browser — nothing you type or click is uploaded, saved, or sent anywhere. Close the tab and it's gone, so take a photo or copy your results somewhere if you want to keep them.
Honesty note: this is not the official Kolbe A™ Index or CliftonStrengths assessment — those are paid, statistically validated instruments (kolbe.com and gallup.com/cliftonstrengths) built from decades of normed data, and worth taking properly once David is serious about this path. What's below is a fast, directional version built from the public ideas behind them, with more questions per trait than a quick quiz so the result means something — good enough to kick off today's conversation with real, specific scores, not a replacement for the real thing.
Part A
Reflection — five questions to surface the raw material
Answer in a sentence or two each. Write the first honest thing that comes to mind — don't edit yourself, and don't worry about sounding impressive. These feed directly into your snapshot at the end.
What activities give you energy rather than drain it?
Think about the days that leave you more alert at 6pm than you were at 9am.
Where are you a hero to other people — where do they specifically credit you?
Not "the school did well" — where has someone said "I couldn't have done this without you"?
What activities get better results the more you do them — instead of wearing you down?
The opposite of a chore: something where rep #50 is easier and better than rep #1.
What could you do for the rest of your life and never get tired of?
If money and status were already solved — what would you still show up for?
What's something people keep asking you to explain or teach, over and over?
This is the fastest clue of all for a teacher — the thing you get pulled aside for again and again is rarely an accident.
Part B
Your natural action style — Kolbe-inspired
Kolbe's real premise: everyone has an instinctive style for taking action, separate from intelligence or personality, and there's no good or bad position on any of the four continuums below — only where your instinct actually lives. Instead of one slider per mode, you'll rate four everyday situations per mode — that's 16 data points instead of 4, which makes your average position much more reliable than a single guess. For each one, slide toward whichever side is naturally you — not who you're trying to become.
There's no good or bad score on any of these — Kolbe's whole premise is that every position is a strength. A low score isn't a weakness to fix, it's just not where your instinct lives.
Part C
Where you naturally add value — CliftonStrengths-inspired
Gallup's CliftonStrengths groups 34 themes into four broad domains. Instead of just picking your favourite two, rate how much each of these 16 statements (four per domain) sounds like you — strongly disagree to strongly agree. Your snapshot will rank all four domains by score, not just ask you to guess.
Your snapshot
Action style (Kolbe-inspired)
Strength domains (CliftonStrengths-inspired)
Your words (Part A)
Your reflections
Bring this snapshot into the conversation with Michael — it's the raw material for naming your actual Unique Ability, not the final answer. The worksheets in the Resources section go a layer deeper.
Questions to sit with before tomorrow
Answer in a sentence or two — for you, not for anyone else. Nothing here is saved or sent anywhere.
Looking at your snapshot above — did anything surprise you, or was it mostly what you already suspected?
Either answer is useful information. Surprise means you've been underestimating something; no-surprise means you already have real self-knowledge to act on.
Which single result above feels most worth building a business around?
You don't have to be sure — a strong hunch is enough to bring into tomorrow's conversation.