Estimated reading time: 10–12 minutes

What Are Less Prominent Character Strengths?

Character strengths are positive qualities expressed in how we think, feel, and act: for example, curiosity, kindness, bravery, and gratitude. In a VIA profile, some strengths appear nearer the top and others nearer the bottom. Here, “less prominent” refers to those lower-ranked strengths, rather than to qualities that are less valuable. The ranking reflects your responses to the questionnaire; it does not establish how well you behave in every situation. A lower position also does not mean that a strength is absent. It gives you a starting point for reflection, not a verdict on your character.

Imagine someone who readily generates ideas but rarely pauses to anticipate practical difficulties. Creativity may feel familiar, while prudence requires more deliberate attention. Another person may reliably support others yet find it difficult to name what they themselves need. Neither example tells us what either person's questionnaire results must be; they illustrate why looking beyond familiar responses can be useful. The question is not how to become an entirely different person. It is whether a quality you overlook could help you respond more effectively to something that matters now.

A Low Rank Is Not the Same as Underuse

Two different questions can easily become confused: “Where does this strength appear in my profile?” and “Am I using it appropriately here?” Underuse concerns the second question. In Niemiec's account of optimal strengths use, the situation, degree, and combination of strengths matter, rather than simply using every strength more often. Someone with highly ranked honesty might avoid an important conversation; someone with lower-ranked leadership might coordinate a difficult task thoughtfully. The profile describes a pattern, whereas an individual action needs to be understood in its circumstances. Neither can substitute for examining the other.

Consider a meeting in which you remain quiet. That might reflect careful listening, uncertainty about the information, fear of criticism, or a realistic judgment that speaking carries a cost. Calling it “low bravery” before understanding the circumstances would close the inquiry too early. A more useful question is whether you had something important to contribute and what would have made participation possible. Sometimes practice is appropriate; sometimes you need information, preparation, an accessible format, or a safer environment. Recognizing these differences prevents strengths language from becoming another way to blame yourself.

What Does Research Suggest About Using These Strengths?

Proyer and colleagues' 2015 randomized trial compared using signature or lower-ranked strengths in new ways with a control activity. Its analysis included 375 adults who completed follow-ups. Both strengths conditions showed happiness benefits at some follow-ups, and short-term reductions in depressive symptoms; results were not consistently significant at every assessment. Strengths were assessed at baseline, so the study does not show that their levels increased. Attrition and the largely female, educated, German-speaking sample limit generalization. The findings support exploring lower-ranked strengths, rather than assuming that only signature strengths can be useful.

This distinction changes what a reasonable personal experiment should ask. Instead of trying to prove that a week of practice has transformed your personality, you can examine whether a particular action served a meaningful purpose. Did asking a question uncover information you needed? Did a more specific expression of appreciation communicate something that had previously remained unspoken? These are practical questions, not claims that the study tested every example in this article. The suggestions below are everyday applications to consider and adapt, rather than a validated treatment protocol or a promise of improved well-being.

Begin with a Situation, Not the Bottom of a List

There is no need to start with your lowest-ranked strength simply because it occupies the final position. Start instead with a recurring situation in which your usual response leaves something important unaddressed. Perhaps you finish tasks but overlook the people who helped, understand another person's feelings but avoid stating your own position, or gather information without making a decision. Describe the difficulty in plain language before choosing a strength. This keeps the activity connected to your life instead of turning the profile into a checklist of deficiencies. It also makes it easier to decide whether your experiment was useful.

Suppose you want to participate more actively in a discussion group. “Become a leader” is too broad to tell you what to do next, but “offer to summarize the options before we decide” identifies an observable action. You might choose leadership even if it sits low in your profile, or use judgment to compare the alternatives fairly. The choice depends on what the group needs and what you can reasonably contribute. A quiet, well-timed contribution may be more useful than taking over the conversation. You are looking for a suitable expression of strength, not a performance of confidence.

Let a Familiar Strength Support an Unfamiliar One

Working with less prominent strengths does not require setting aside your signature strengths. As a practical experiment, you can use something familiar to make a new behavior easier to attempt. If curiosity comes naturally but gratitude feels awkward, ask someone how they managed a difficult piece of work before thanking them for a specific contribution. If creativity feels familiar but self-regulation does not, design a simple cue that helps you begin a task at the intended time. The familiar quality provides an entry point, while the second quality adds something the situation needs. This is an invitation to try a combination, not a rule that particular pairings work for everyone.

The distinction matters because it is possible to use a favorite strength to avoid the behavior you intended to practice. Inventing ever more elaborate task systems, for example, may postpone starting the task itself. Likewise, asking many interesting questions does not automatically communicate appreciation. Define the contribution of each strength so that the pairing remains purposeful: curiosity helps you understand the effort; gratitude helps you acknowledge it. Afterward, ask whether both contributions actually occurred. If not, simplify the action rather than adding another layer of preparation.

What Might Change in Everyday Relationships?

In relationships, the value of an unfamiliar response may lie in making something visible that others cannot reliably infer. Imagine someone who expresses care through practical help but seldom tells a friend why their company matters. A brief, specific acknowledgment could communicate affection without requiring an extravagant declaration. Or imagine someone who notices tension but usually withdraws; social intelligence could mean checking their interpretation instead of assuming they know what the other person feels. These examples describe possible changes in communication, not guaranteed changes in the relationship. The other person's needs and response remain part of the picture.

Strengths practice should also preserve boundaries. Kindness does not require agreeing to every request, honesty does not require disclosing private information, and forgiveness does not require restoring trust without evidence of change. If a relationship is unsafe, a practice that increases exposure or pressure is not a useful test of personal growth. You might instead express bravery by seeking support or prudence by considering how to protect yourself. A strength is not helpful merely because its name sounds positive. The consequences of the action, including consequences for you, need to be considered.

Applications in Study and Work

A student who enjoys learning but hesitates to ask for clarification might experiment with one prepared question after class. The aim is to obtain needed information, not to become the most outspoken person in the room. A colleague who reliably completes individual tasks might practice teamwork by checking how their handover affects the next person's work. Someone who tends to persist with a familiar method might use judgment to examine evidence that a different approach is needed. Each example begins with an ordinary task and identifies a contribution that could improve it. None requires treating the person as deficient or assuming that the same strength should be developed by everyone.

Workload and resources still matter. If instructions are contradictory, deadlines are impossible, or a student lacks the necessary support, asking for more perseverance or self-regulation may miss the actual obstacle. A useful experiment might therefore include requesting clearer priorities, changing the environment, or negotiating what can realistically be completed. Strengths describe how you engage with those actions; they do not create time, equipment, or authority that you do not have. Include these conditions when evaluating what happened. Otherwise, an unsuccessful plan may be misread as a personal failure when the plan itself needed different conditions.

You can also distinguish a strength from the skill needed to express it. Wanting to contribute through leadership does not automatically teach you how to chair a meeting; you may need a simple agenda, a model to observe, or feedback on how you allocate time. Similarly, an intention to practice bravery during a presentation may benefit from rehearsal and a clearer understanding of the audience. These supports do not make the strength less authentic. They help translate an intention into a behavior that the setting can accommodate. When practice feels difficult, ask what knowledge or preparation is missing before concluding that the quality is unavailable to you.

A Small Experiment You Can Actually Review

Choose one situation likely to occur this week and one strength that could contribute something useful. Write the action in ordinary language, including when you will attempt it and what would count as doing it. For example: “At our next planning meeting, I will ask whose perspective we have not yet considered.” Depending on your intention and the context, that action might express fairness, curiosity, or judgment; you do not need to force it into only one category. Keep the experiment small enough to fit your current responsibilities and energy. Repeating one thoughtful action is more informative than announcing a complete personal reinvention.

After the attempt, make a brief note of the situation, what you did, and what followed. Include any effort, discomfort, benefit, or unintended effect that seems relevant. You can also ask a trusted person a concrete question, such as whether your summary helped them understand the available options. Their response is useful information, not an authoritative score of your character. Decide whether to repeat the action, change its timing, reduce its intensity, or try something different. The review is part of the practice, especially when the first attempt does not go as expected.

Notice Progress Without Chasing a New Ranking

A more useful action can matter even if your profile never changes position. If you ask for clarification sooner, communicate appreciation more clearly, or pause before making an unrealistic commitment, those are specific developments worth noticing. A ranking, by definition, still places some strengths below others, even when several improve. Trying to move every strength toward the top therefore creates a goal the ranking cannot satisfy. Look instead for a response that serves your values and circumstances better than the alternative. The practical outcome matters more than winning an imaginary competition within your own personality.

It is equally reasonable to discover that a particular practice is not useful now. Perhaps the strength was poorly chosen, the action was too demanding, or another response would better respect the situation. You can keep relying on familiar strengths while remaining open to others when a need arises. The aim is a wider range of thoughtful choices, not equal scores across all twenty-four qualities. Less prominent strengths deserve attention because they may offer another way to act. Their value becomes clearer when you connect them to a real purpose, try an appropriate expression, and examine what actually happens.

References

• Niemiec, R. M. (2019). Finding the golden mean: The overuse, underuse, and optimal use of character strengths. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 32(3–4), 453–471. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2019.1617674
• Proyer, R. T., Gander, F., Wellenzohn, S., & Ruch, W. (2015). Strengths-based positive psychology interventions: A randomized placebo-controlled online trial on long-term effects for a signature strengths- vs. a lesser strengths-intervention. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 456. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00456
• VIA Institute on Character. (n.d.). Frequently asked questions. https://www.viacharacter.org/faq

Original character strengths and virtue symbols © VIA Institute on Character. The abstract opening illustration does not depict VIA symbols.