Jim Collison:
[0:00] Welcome to Season 4 of The CliftonStrengths Podcast, where we'll dive deep into how CliftonStrengths themes build powerful partnerships and help teams thrive. I'm Jim Collison, Gallup's CliftonStrengths Community Manager.
Jillian White:
[0:11] And I'm Jillian White, Gallup's Subject Matter Expert on Culture and Leadership, and our Lead Subject Matter Expert for CliftonStrengths.
Jim Collison:
[0:17] Today's theme is Deliberative. We'll explore what it means, what it brings, what it needs, and how it fosters collaboration. Jillian, always great to see you, and welcome!
Jillian White:
[0:25] Thank you, Jim. I'm excited to get into this one. You've heard me say this before, but any of these strengths that I feel like are lower for myself, I have such natural curiosity around. And this is another one of those today. So excited to share some stories around how this shows up and hear from others on how their Deliberative helps them have great partnerships.
Jim Collison:
[0:44] Yeah, likewise. Always a great review for me. And I've learned so much by just going through these one by one and talking about them, maybe deliberatively. So let's spend some time thinking about that.
Jillian White:
[0:54] I see what you did there.
Jim Collison:
[0:55] That's -- just sorry; it's a bad pun. Let's go back. Jillian, refresh us on what this theme looks like.
Jillian White:
[1:00] Yeah. So Deliberative, if you have strong Deliberative, at the heart of that strength is risk management. This is a strength that is very good at anticipating obstacles, anticipating risk, and it's an Executing strength. So it thinks about how to make a path forward that avoids those risks. So it's very vigilant. It's very cautious. It's often very serious as a result.
Jillian White:
[1:25] The image, there's a couple images that I think about with Deliberative. And Jim, I was telling you, I'm just getting ready. I'm traveling for work this next week. And so I'm going to be getting on a flight. And I think about what a pilot has to work with some of their crew and people on the ground around to create a smooth flight. So they're getting, they're getting a report of, OK, we've got some turbulence pockets here. We've got a storm happening over here. And they're looking at where the, all the potential obstacles are and thinking about how to act and route their course to avoid that. I'm going to fly at 37,000 feet instead of, you know, where the, where the, the winds are strong. And so that picture of somebody who's able to identify those obstacles and route their course as a result of it is a good picture of Deliberative. We also had a little fun, those who are on live were putting some comments in the chat before this, and they reminded us that image that actually goes back to when we talked about Activator. Activator, we oftentimes talked about as being an accelerator on a car; Deliberative might be the brake. So Deliberative is that one that's going to help you proceed with caution or stop or reroute when needed.
Jim Collison:
[2:31] Yeah, I love that image, that pilot image, because often we think about them, you know, responding to things in the air, and they do, but they file a flight plan that looks ahead and says, here's all the things that could happen. Here's some things we're going to think about before we even take off. And I love that idea of, of, of planning, you know, thinking about, Hey, OK, these, this is the situation, and we're going to plan it today. Jillian, from your consulting work, from that work that you've done, what might be a good example where you've seen this in action?
Jillian White:
[3:01] You know, I was thinking about a real example that's coming up. Jim, you and I are doing some preparation for our Learning Series that's happening in a couple weeks. And I'm actually going to be doing an interview with one of our key partners at an organization with about 800,000 employees who does a lot to help that organization be strengths-based. And she has high Deliberative. So I thought, what a fun example to actually see this in real action as a partnership. And it's been so fun. We've had several calls together to just prepare for that session. And as I watch how she is approaching it, she is intentionally thinking about where things could go wrong and what to share and not share for the good of the organization. So she may say something like, "You know what, we probably shouldn't actually put our specific leadership competencies on the screen, because that's a part of our secret sauce in our formula that makes us great." And so she's identifying that risk and thinking about how to plan her talk accordingly. So that risk identification and acting based on it is really fun to see in action.
Jim Collison:
[4:03] Well, it'll be great to hear her keynote. And I'll be listening for those notes —
Jillian White:
[4:07] I know!
Jim Collison:
[4:07] as we have her on there for the Learning Series. We have a new section, not new, within the last year in Gallup Access, where we talk about and you're able to compare your themes to someone else in there. Actually, we just spent some time that, moving that functionality or enhancing that functionality in our Gallup Access app, too, which is kind of cool. In that section, you can see what these themes bring and what they need. And so let's practice a little bit of that now. When we, when we think about Deliberative, what does it bring?
Jillian White:
[4:38] Think about, you're partnering with somebody who has that high Deliberative. What are they bringing? They're bringing vigilance. They're bringing conscientiousness. They are going to potentially help you make a lot more sound decisions in your partnership, because they're very thorough in thinking things through and identifying those obstacles. They will help you reduce risk in your partnership, because they're thinking about where something could go wrong or where there's a potential obstacle and how to work around it. That risk identification, and mitigating that risk, what it also brings to a partnership is stability. So these are partners that their ability to reduce risk, plan around obstacles can actually make a smoother flight, to go back to our plane example, because somebody is very thoughtful in how they're moving forward.
Jim Collison:
[5:25] I had a friend with high Deliberative, and I would give him intentionally things to think about over the next couple days. So I would say, "Hey, I've been thinking about this. I'm not going to make a decision yet" — because high Activator, so I just make decisions — "I'm not going to make a decision. Would you think about this and come back to me in a couple days, and tell me what your thoughts are?" And that was a very intentional relationship item for us. He brought that for me. He brought, and I valued that. It was, you know, it was very, very important for him to do that. We often think about what they, Deliberative is one of those where we spend a lot of time with what they bring, but what do they need? I think this is just as important.
Jillian White:
[6:04] I think you just hit on some of it. If I am partnering with somebody who's high Deliberative, they need that time to think and identify risk. So an example I like to use with that is, let's say I'm going to do a one-on-one session with somebody with high Deliberative. I may send a few questions in advance for them to think about, right? It's going to probably show up better when they've had time to be thoughtful and to think about, OK, should I say this? Should I not say this? Right? But to have some of that ability to plan ahead. So they need opportunities to plan ahead and consider obstacles. They need time to listen before they speak. So similar to that example that you gave, you know, giving them that chance to be thorough, be conscious, be vigilant. They're going to show up better in their partnerships if we are giving them that space and that time.
Jillian White:
[6:51] They may also need a close network of competent and trusted colleagues. So remember, Deliberative has a little caution to it. And from working with individuals that have high Deliberative, I find that can show up in different ways. You may have a little caution in how much you're sharing with people, how fast you trust. You may have a little caution in who you're letting close. Tends to be a bit of a serious strength. So they're going to do well when they are able to work with some competent, trusted individuals that they can be close with.
Jim Collison:
[7:21] I love that. I have this image of two or three high Deliberative getting together. Lots of silence, but there's lots of thinking going on.
Jillian White:
[7:30] it sounds a little different than your Woo in the room, Jim.
Jim Collison:
[7:33] Yeah, you know, every once in a while, you just got to get out of your comfort zone and hang out with people like that, right? I love that. In the new CliftonStrengths Top 5 report, we've added a section, really, we call it Theme Dynamics. It's what do two themes look like when they're put together? We do this kind of naturally in our Top 5. We're going to think about it from both an individual and a teams standpoint. We have some commonly paired themes, though. When we think about that, what is most commonly paired with Deliberative?
Jillian White:
[8:01] Yeah. And I'm just going to remind folks as you're listening, and remember this is most commonly paired in one person. So we're almost looking at, like, an internal partnership, where a couple of our next things will look at, like, an external partnership. So most commonly showing up alongside of Deliberative is Responsibility. Think about what those two strengths bring together, right? Deliberative a bit, can show up serious, has that vigilance, that thoroughness. Responsibility wants to follow through on its commitment. So these are people, they are going to very thoughtfully own something. And that's a cool combination to look at, that thoughtful ownership.
Jim Collison:
[8:39] How would you, how would this idea of Theme Dynamics, then — what you just alluded to — show up in partnerships and collaboration?
Jillian White:
[8:45] Yeah, let's look at both sides of this. You know I always like to talk about, Who's going to be some partners that a high Deliberative person should think about working with that's just going to light up that strength? So what is Deliberative good at? It's very careful in decision-making. It's great at that risk management. Think about strengths that might partner with that to help it proceed thoughtfully. That might be that Responsibility that we just mentioned. They might partner well with somebody who has that. Think about strengths that might provide some helpful background for careful decisions. So Input, Context, Analytical; you know, maybe Strategic helps them see kind of "what if" for their route forward. But those are all strengths that can help it be very thoughtful in its planning process and help that thoroughness that Deliberative naturally has and that seriousness and carefulness in decision-making.
Jillian White:
[9:35] Then on the flip side of that, I always say, Who's your complimentary partner? You know, and it's interesting with Deliberative. You and I have talked about this before, but I think we live in a really, really fast-paced world. And so, you know, we kind of jokingly talk about that if Deliberative is the brake, there might be people that are like, "Don't slow me down!" right? But think about the flip side of what does Deliberative mean? We need some people who slow us down and help us be more cautious and prevent accidents from happening, because they put in the thought early on, right? But they likely do benefit from working with somebody who can get things going. So those Activators, it might feel very different how you're looking at the world, but having that gas and that brake together, right, those Activators might be a nice complementary partner for getting things going.
Jillian White:
[10:21] Do remember, this is a bit of a serious strength, and that can be incredibly powerful in moments. But sometimes partnering with something that can help lighten it up a little, so maybe Positivity on the other side of that that says, Hey, when do we need to kind of break out of the seriousness and lighten the mood for people? Or I also think Deliberative is very thoughtful in how it proceeds, but it might not naturally share that thought process. So working with somebody who's high Communication and can give words to how you're thinking about mitigating risk may help give the "why" behind some of your actions or your thinking.
Jim Collison:
[10:56] Yeah, we often use that "slowdown" word, but I think sometimes we can say, We slow down so we can speed up in the future.
Jillian White:
[11:03] That's a great way to look at it.
Jim Collison:
[11:04] In a point in time, it may seem slow, but if we can — back to your, your, you know, pilot idea, we may slow down now to do the flight plan, but that's going to save us hours by going around the storm or, you know, flying at a different altitude to pick up the speed, whatever that is. And so I think we have to see beyond, we used to, Jim Krieger, our CFO, our past, he used to say, "You got to think beyond Friday night." And I think sometimes, you know, we see it only in a point in time, and it can be very, very powerful when stretched out over long periods of time in that ability to, Hey, let's, let's think this through, slow it down, consider all the options before we can speed up on some of those things as well.
Jillian White:
[11:49] I love that catchphrase. Jim, you've got a knack for coming up with some catchphrase for things. I remember which one you came up with for Activator. It was like, "I've already started."
Jim Collison:
[11:58] "Already started."
Jillian White:
[12:00] And then Deliberative, you know, just this idea with Deliberative, "Go, go slow so that you can go fast," right? Put in that thoughtfulness up front.
Jim Collison:
[12:09] For sure. We have some tips for leaders and teams and individuals. Let's start with the leaders. How can leaders recognize and harness this theme in their teams and organizations?
Jillian White:
[12:19] Yeah. First of all, if you're a leader, you're working with people on your team who have high Deliberative, think about how to spot it. These are probably your people on your team, they're a little bit more serious, a little more cautious around things. They identify obstacles. They like to think through decisions well. I always encourage, just think about how to position people to play to their strengths. And so, position these people to be your risk managers on the team. Maybe they're the person who you ask them explicitly. You say, "Hey, where do you think things could go wrong? Or where do you see risk that we need to be aware of right now?" Tap into that on your team. Position them to do more of that. And then, similar to what we talked about earlier, give them time to think and gather. If you're a leader, and you're doing one-on-ones with that high Deliberative, I do encourage, Send some things ahead of time. Give them the chance to think about it, right? They're going to be a little bit, they're going to feel more comfortable and more confident, likely, when they've had some time to thoroughly think about it, prepare, maybe even anticipate obstacles in that conversation and be very thoughtful about it.
Jim Collison:
[13:20] Advice for teams for working with somebody with high Deliberative?
Jillian White:
[13:24] You know, I was thinking about this. I have a friend that's also high Deliberative. And I was thinking, like, what do you need to keep in mind if you're working with somebody? Because they do have a little bit of that caution, it might show up personally. So Jim, maybe unlike you and me, who have a little bit higher Woo, and we're a little quick to share or things like that, that Deliberative, it might be a little bit of a longer warm-up process, and they're really going to value having high-trust partners. So I think if you're partnering with somebody with high Deliberative, just be respectful of that process, but also really think about how to create psychological safety in those conversations, because when they feel safe is when they're going to really let out even more of that strength as you're working together.
Jim Collison:
[14:10] And maybe what do we, some advice, last little bit of advice, as we think about individuals with high Deliberative.
Jillian White:
[14:16] Yeah, I want to go back to the phrase, Jim, that you gave us. And if you've got high Deliberative, help us go slow. Help us be thoughtful of where you see risk. Call out the risk, and help us know how to go faster because of what you're identifying. So give that gift to the world around you. Like we talk about with all strengths, take time to claim it. Help people see that contribution that you're bringing. Say, "Hey, I'm helping our team think about how to be more efficient in the future by identifying some places that we might have risk right now." So help us go slow to go fast.
Jim Collison:
[14:51] With that, we'll remind everyone to take full advantage of all the resources we do have available in Gallup Access. If you log in and go up to the upper left menu, choose Resources, just put "Deliberative" in there, and all the podcasts and written content we have about that, you can continue to learn and grow on that as well, available there in Gallup Access. If you are listening live, stay around for a little bit of a midshow. If you're listening to the podcast, chances are we have another one for you. Just click Next, and we'll see you at the next one. With that, we'll say, Goodbye, everybody.
Jillian White's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Input, Learner, Belief and Responsibility.