How to Improve Your Wellbeing With Deliberative®

Below are audio and video plus a transcript of the conversation, including time stamps.

Your CliftonStrengths^® can empower the 5 elements of your wellbeing -- career, social, financial, community and physical. But how does this happen if you are struggling in one or more of these elements? If you have Deliberative, Appendix 1 of Gallup's Wellbeing at Work book has Strengths Insights and Action Items that can move you from struggling to thriving as you apply your Deliberative talent to fuel your wellbeing. Join Jaclynn Robinson and Jim Collison on this CliftonStrengths Podcast to discover how.

This person [with Deliberative] thrives when they're in an environment that honors whatever amount of space they need just to sort through information, identify a path or a plan, again, with the least risky obstacles or outcomes.

Jaclynn Robinson, 2:35

As an individual [with Deliberative], when you need that extra boost, start thinking about the colleagues and friends around you who can really inspire you to take it to that next level or to take that first step.

Jaclynn Robinson, 6:34

Jim Collison 0:00
I am Jim Collison, and welcome to the CliftonStrengths Podcast. On this podcast, we'll be covering topics such as wellbeing, teamwork, professional development and more. Now enjoy this episode.

Jim Collison 0:10
In this CliftonStrengths Podcast, we'll look at the Strengths Insight and Action Planning items from Appendix 1 in the Gallup book Wellbeing at Work one theme at a time, and today's theme is Deliberative. If you're listening live, love to have you join us in our chat room. There's a link right above me there on our live page; that'll take you to the Google page. Sign in with your Google account and join us in chat. If you're listening after the fact, love to have you send us an email: coaching@gallup.com. Dr. Jaclynn Robinson is our host today. She works as a Gallup Learning and Development Consultant -- which sounds super important -- and is the primary contributor (more proud of you for this) of Appendix 1 in the Wellbeing at Work book. And Jaclynn, always great to see you. Welcome back!

Jaclynn Robinson 0:52
Thank you, sir.

What's the definition of Deliberative?

Jim Collison 0:53
Let's get kicked off with the theme definition. When we think about Deliberative, what do we think about?

Jaclynn Robinson 1:00
Yes. We think about someone who is described by the serious care they take in making decisions. This is an individual that tends to anticipate obstacles and risks.

Jim Collison 1:10
I love that: "serious care they take" making decisions, I think it's a great way to phrase it, by the way. Yeah, indeed. How does that relate to the individual, and then maybe how does that relate to others?

Jaclynn Robinson 1:23
Well, from an individual perspective, someone with Deliberative likely feels confident knowing that the life I would say they created is one that is well-thought-out. Hardships arise, but if they're steering the ship, there's this sense of calm and knowing that, you know, they've identified the least risk, the least risky path forward. So sometimes that's what I think of with Deliberative. And then how it relates to others, I think when they're given some time and space -- and it doesn't have to be lengthy time, so let's get away from that -- but just some time and space, others know that they can count on them to anticipate any of the risks and take a thoughtful approach to whatever topic is on the table. And again, that could be 5 minutes; it could be, it could be an hour; could be a day, just depending on other themes that also surround it. But that's how I see those, those two, between self and others.

How does Deliberative look when it's thriving vs. struggling?

Jim Collison 2:10
I'm going to try to deploy what little Deliberative I have at this point, because I interrupted you in a post, in a past podcast on this question. So I'm going to practice my, as much as I can. Let's talk a little bit about this theme of Deliberative, when it's thriving -- when we think about this idea of well -- thriving in wellbeing. So what's it look like thriving maybe versus struggling?

Jaclynn Robinson 2:34
I think this person thrives when they're in an environment that honors whatever amount of space they need just to sort through information, identify a path or a plan, again, with the least risky obstacles or outcomes. And then, this person can struggle in an environment where maybe an iterative approach is taken, in which they, they and others are learning along the way, time and time again. And it, and it feels like it's falling flat, or maybe others around them might not be honoring, I would say, a place for them to be able to just take a more thoughtful approach. You know, if you're constantly just deep-diving in, and you're building your, your wings along the way, for some, that can just get to be too much.

Jim Collison 3:20
I don't usually comment on this section. I will, though, I think. You know, we're doing a lot of work around burnout at Gallup -- that concept. And I think this is an area, when we think about Deliberative and struggling, where ample time, and that time frame can be anything, or the repetition of, We've thought through this, but we're still gonna do it differently, even though, you know, whatever that might be. You know, this burnout's happening because we, lack of hope, loss of control and, and repetition of things that are disastrous in some ways. And so I think, this is for, for those high in Deliberative, this is a good chance, I think, to do a good check on that. How am I feeling during these times? Right? How am I feeling -- as we're recording this, it's January of 2022.

Jim Collison 4:13
And so I think there's some interesting things with that, in some ways. We're going to talk a little bit more about that. We have some examples in Appendix 1 in the back of the book Wellbeing at Work. As we have some, as we look at each of the 5 elements and then best practices of, of each of those 4 -- Deliberative in this case -- can you bring one of those out, Jaclynn, and talk about it with us?

Jaclynn Robinson 4:36
Yes! So I wanted to select physical wellbeing for this one. So this person might appreciate talking to an expert to identify the best options for stress relief, nutrition and exercise. They won't have confidence in a plan and won't start or continue it unless they've, they've thoroughly studied it and vetted it. Physical wellbeing.

For those with Deliberative, how can it be used to support others?

Jim Collison 4:59
Yeah, I like, I do, I do like that, I do like that idea and that concept. And I think they have a lot to bring in that particular area. Again, I often, we tend to think of that wellbeing element fitting into career. And especially -- we're going to talk about this here in just a second -- their involvement in a team. But I love the way we have one for each one of these. There's 4 other ones written for Deliberative. If you haven't made it your way to the back of the book, they're there and available for you. I think great, great coaching resources as well. So Jaclynn, with, as we think about Deliberative, then, with it, How can it be used -- and I think this is really important -- how can it be used to support others?

Jaclynn Robinson 5:40
Ooh, I like this one. So if you're a manager, or you're leading a team, you can help the team steer clear of obstacles or risks, oftentimes before they even occur, due to the, you know, due diligence and thought that, that you've already placed into that situation or that goal or that expected outcome. If you're on a team, when teams are working in high-risk environments that require quick action, this person might have some pre-thought-out patterns of action that can help navigate or negate risk. So given even 5 minutes, that could help this person quickly gather their thoughts and express that to the team so that they can move quick.

Jaclynn Robinson 6:19
And then as an individual, this person is adept at thinking through things. And again, it doesn't have to mean that they're slow to act, but there's that careful thought and consideration that's placed into, you know, goal-setting or situations. So as an individual, when you need that extra boost, start thinking about the colleagues and friends around you who can really inspire you to take it to that next level or to take that first step. This might be your, this might be, if we throw some themes around like your Activator or similar to Self-Assurance, it's like, "Oh, you've got this! You've thought it through; I know you can do it." And that sometimes is just that, that one boost you need to just get started.

Jim Collison 6:59
I love this idea of -- there was a billboard here in the Bellevue area where I live, and it was for an insurance company and it said, "We're bubble wrap for your company."

Jaclynn Robinson 7:08
Oh, that's good. Deliberative!

Jim Collison 7:11
Yeah, it's kind of bubble wrap. And you use the word "risk mitigation," which I think is really, really important. They can be, I think, as you were talking about their role on a team, they can kind of be bubble wrap for that team. They can kind of protect it and kind of, Hey, let's take a moment, even if that's 30 seconds, let's take a moment to really kind of think through this. And let's deliberate on it for a moment, think through it have some conversation. That deliberation can take on different kinds of forms. But again, somebody with high Deliberative is thinking that framework; they're thinking about it all the time, to be like, Wait -- wait a minute! Should we, should we spend a little more time before we move on? And I think it's a great question and it's a great risk-mitigation question in that. So I think they really bring great value to a team, from that sense of making sure that you don't have folks like me just rolling.

Jaclynn Robinson 8:08
Build the wings on the way down.

Jim Collison 8:09
That's it. We'll figure it out. We'll figure it out when we get there. Well, should you think about it? Nah! Let's just, we'll, we'll figure it out as we go. In Appendix 2, we have a framework to kind of work through each one of these elements. And I, and I've asked you, when we think about Deliberative, let's, let's do an exercise with that, Jaclynn. Work us through that framework.

Jaclynn Robinson 8:29
Yes. So I'm gonna stick to the physical wellbeing theme for this one in Appendix 2. So one thing you could Ask Yourself is, Where do I need help making progress in my physical wellbeing efforts? Ask Your Team Members: What physical wellbeing obstacles do we encounter at work? You have got the skill set to help them think through those obstacles so that wellbeing becomes more a part of the workplace. And then for Take Action: Set positive defaults when you shop for groceries. Load up on natural instead of processed foods. I know some folks will make a list, and they'll work their, their, you know, way around the grocery store, based on just what's on the outside aisles, which is going to be more of your produce versus the processed foods that are in the actual aisle sections. So someone with Deliberative, those really called out to me that might be helpful to you, as you think about your physical wellbeing and helping others as well, with physical wellbeing.

Jim Collison 9:27
I would deploy a good friend, Ryan Wolf. We've had him on the program before and, to share something -- "Hey, here's what I'm thinking, and I think I'm gonna do this today." And he'd be like, "Well, you know, you have a little bit of time to think about this before we -- ." You know, very gentle about it. We got some time to think about this or let's talk through it. Are you dead set on it today? You know, and in the area of financial wellbeing, I think that's another great opportunity -- Hey, you're thinking --. This happened when I was young and first married, and I was gonna go buy a car. And I had a friend -- and I had no business buying a new car at that point -- and I had a friend say, "Do you got some time to think this through with me a little bit? Can we -- " and he gave me a book, and we spent some time. Saved my, saved my bacon from, from a financial standpoint of like making the right decision. So I love that --

Jaclynn Robinson 10:22
It's a great approach.

Jim Collison 10:23
Yeah, I think we just, I think there's a superpower in Deliberative that we, we just don't look for or use enough. And so folks who have high Deliberative, I value you. Because you don't have it, and I don't have it. We definitely need you in these situations. Jaclynn, anything else before I wrap this up?

Jaclynn Robinson 10:44
I think the, the key thing that we can hone in on here is with Deliberative, it's not always about slow progress and moving forward. There's just a thoughtful approach that's taken before acting. That thoughtful approach could take 5 minutes; it could take 5 weeks; it could take a year, just depending on what the situation is and the other themes that surround it. So let's, let's, let's think about that as we speak with our Deliberative folks and just honor, honor the space they need, but also ask, and just based on situations, "How much time might you need to feel comfortable moving forward?"

Jim Collison 11:23
Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of the CliftonStrengths podcast. Make sure you like and subscribe wherever you listen, so you never miss an episode. And if you're really enjoying this podcast, please leave a review. This helps us promote strengths globally.

Jaclynn Robinson's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Strategic, Maximizer, Positivity and Relator.

Gallup^®, CliftonStrengths^® and each of the 34 CliftonStrengths theme names are trademarks of Gallup. Copyright © 2000 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.