Understanding and Investing in Your Consistency Talent

On this Theme Thursday Season 4 webcast, Jim Collison, Gallup's Director of Talent Sourcing, and Maika Leibbrandt, Senior Workplace Consultant, talk about Consistency.

Consistency can be described as fairness, equity and equality. It is the ability to see where things are not equal, and bring them into balance. People with high Consistency are good at setting up clear rules based on what works, and then following them. It is about getting things done not just for efficiency's sake, but also in a fair way that understands that there are reasons we follow rules.

If you have high Consistency, the value you bring is establishing stability through predictability. It is about following rules that make sense, not just creating rules. You really understand what promotes equality, and are able to translate that into something you do all the time. Consistency at its best is going beyond that awareness of when things are unfair and unbalanced, but following through with an internal nudge to take this outside of yourself. You are able to steer your organization and your family towards a more justified approach. Consistency does what works because it works over and over again. Consistency is about giving everyone the same starting point.

Raise your hand for really understanding the rules of the road. What is expected? What do you always do? Be the first person to raise your hand and get some of those assumptions out loud. Improve balance and equality by merging some of those existing norms with some that can be improved. You have the ability to see there could be better rules. Look for opportunities to do an audit of the current rules, and see what could be changed for the better. Stand up for the underdog. Help others see where there is an imbalance.

You could hear Consistency and think about it as values, but the input of Consistency is the patterns of how you think, feel and behave. Fairness is something that nobody ever has to be taught, but what this theme does is notice the fairness in others. Consistency is an adherence to the rules. The behavior with Consistency is that outward understanding of how everyone is going to work together.

Curate the best environment for someone with Consistency by making sure there's clarity on what your common mission is. You are going to be better executing towards that common mission on a scalable fashion if you have an understanding of how success will be measured.

Let go of being trendy. Let go of the necessity to couple creativity and newness with success. Novelty for the sake of novelty is never going to be something you're drawn to. You will be more refreshed and more able to get things done when you're able to settle into a routine.

Look for an awareness of what is fair in a social setting when you're partnering with someone with high Consistency. Partner with them when you're deciding if what you're planning to do can be repeated over and over again. Is it going to be something that everyone can benefit from? Is it a rule or a product that can appeal to everyone? Look for that awareness, and look for it early. Look for excellence in creating and adhering to a plan. Look for a love affair with rules. Talk about them on purpose.

Recognize the safety that individuals with Consistency create. Others can try new ideas, they can go to places they never thought they could do, because of the safety that Consistency creates. Don't make recognition a surprise. They should know how they're doing and whether or not they are hitting their benchmarks.

Help them take Consistency beyond just how they approach things, and help them connect to their values. How can they use their sense of balance to bring about a change in others? Help them spend time not just exploring what already is there. Expand their brains by asking what future routines they could establish today to help improve performance?

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

• List all the rules you have set for yourself in the course of a normal day.
• Ask somebody who knows you very well:
  • What do I always do well?
  • When am I always frustrated?
  • How do I always provide value to the group?

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

• How do you create safety and predictability for others?
• What are the most important rules to you in a social contract?