Understanding and Investing in Your Deliberative Talent -- Season 4

To learn more about Gallup's additional strengths resources, visit
the Gallup Strengths Center: http://on.gallup.com/1l04XVZ.

Gallup's Theme Thursday is a live Webcast that targets strengths
coaches and enthusiasts to provide a deeper context behind the
language of strengths by talking in-depth about each of the 34
Clifton StrengthsFinder themes.

On this Theme Thursday Season Four webcast, Jim Collison, Gallup's
Director of Talent Sourcing, and Maika Leibbrandt, Senior Workplace
Consultant, talk about Deliberative.

Deliberative takes great care in making decisions that avoid
foreseeable risks. They are thoughtful, considerate, aware, and
really tuned in to what’s going on. It is about minimizing risk at
all costs. It’s wanting to jump, and knowing that when you’re
jumping that nobody is going to fall. When somebody with high
Deliberative is at their best their diligence and decision making
brings confidence. They are up for making choices, especially
choices that matter. Individuals with high Deliberative enjoy the
process of sorting through options to move things forward. When
they are at their best they are anticipating obstacles and
preventing mistakes.



If you are high in Deliberative get involved in big decisions.
Raise your hand for being involved in sorting through options. Sort
through the existing evidence to make the best decision moving
forward. Ask early and often for as many details as are currently
available. Ask for the agenda. Ask for the enrollment data for
students. Ask what expectations are expected of you early and
often. Slowing things down is a by-product for the amount of time
and consideration Deliberative puts into things.


Ask for the opportunity, whether that is time or information, to
consider your options, particularly with existing tasks. Ask for
clear understanding of how success is going to be determined.
Deliberative is so much better when it has had an opportunity to
really interact with all the parts of a particular task.



Worry less about making on the spot judgements. You can be
responsive by promising people that you’re going to think about
things. Avoid roles that are going to require you to make on the
spot judgement. Get in front of it by finding phrases that buy you
the time that it takes to consider things. Teach others the value
that they get by working with you.

When working for someone high in Deliberative look for caution.
Look for healthy skepticism. These are individuals that are
probably going to think before they ask. Look for that
thoughtfulness as a sign that they are starting to engage. Expect
them to be great listeners. Expect them to be discriminating and
selective. It can take them some time to warm up and recognize that
confidence in partners.



One way you can recognize high Deliberative is to know what they’ve
decided, and what they’re currently thinking about. Staying
connected with them, means staying present with them in their
execution process. Celebrate what they’ve gone all in on.



To help stretch Deliberative offer to think with them. Consider
weighing your options together. Be a sounding board by helping them
prioritize and classify the potential risks that they can see. Make
sure that you’ve offered up all the information you have about
something, and give them the opportunity to sort through it.



When partnering with Deliberative respect their privacy. Offer your
expertise. Help them know what role you play best, and how you play
it. Let them know what you can be counted on to contribute. Be a
good partner by just being transparent, patient, and showing
up.




If Deliberative is one of your Dominant Themes, invest in it this
week through the following challenge items:

Set aside 20 minutes just to yourself to sort through the current
ideas you have.
Find the right words to explain your thinking process to
others.
When working with partners find a way to communicate when you will
get back to them.

If Deliberative is not one of your Dominant Themes, invest in it
this week through the following challenge items:

Develop a coding system on your calendar.
In your next big meeting take a drink before you speak to give you
time to slow down your brain, and it will give others time to
process what is going on.