DELIBERATIVE: How DELIBERATIVE People Do It
StrengthsFinder Theme / CliftonStrengths Theme: DELIBERATIVE
What Is the DELIBERATIVE Theme
These are the people in our lives who think everything through very carefully before taking action or making a decision. They are thoughtful, sharp-eyed, and patient in virtually all that they do—never rushing into anything. For them, it is a priority to consider the risks, consequences, and implications of everything they notice, experience, and plan. Their vigilance is a type of awareness that they are always cultivating, one that allows them to consider a given situation from multiple perspectives and make informed decisions. They have a evolved sense of danger, which is ultimately at the core of their thinking: To identify the risks, bring them into the light, and avoid them. Deliberative people generally see the world as a series of moving parts, which, to them, makes for an unpredictable place, one that merits careful attention at every step and turn. They are planners and, in that way, visionary. They can think in a multi-dimensional way for prolonged periods of time—assessing, weighing, calculating, revisiting, and evaluating every component of a scenario. They are masters of decision making and remind us that a level of care, attention, and intention can be brought to all areas of our lives.
Why Should We Care
Deliberative people have incredibly good judgement and, because their radar is always up, they are always in the process of refining their awareness and senses. They are likely to be asking themselves: Is this situation really what it seems? Has something been overlooked? What are the risks? What are the main elements here, and what do I need to be aware of first and foremost? We can count on them to make consistently sensible decisions, regardless of popularity or mass appeal. Once they have done the math, they are happy to take action—whether others like it or not. In that way, we can trust them to be impartial and fair because they are driven almost entirely by objective, not subjective factors. People with the Deliberative strength take life rather seriously and they can draw us up and out of a slump and into that perspective with them. They show us that, because our decisions matter, we matter.
Ten Things to Know About People with DELIBERATIVE
1. Private. They are generally private people who are not in a rush to be ‘known’ or even understood. They have a kind of quiet confidence that sustains them, and they don’t feel the need to explain themselves to others.
2. FOMO. Deliberative people don’t really care about “missing out” on things. Since they would rather make the right decision than rush into something and regret it, they don’t feel fearful or anxious about passing up what might feel like an opportunity.
3. Friends. It is likely that they have a tight circle of people that they trust with their lives and would do anything for. They understand that true friendship takes work; they may even build their counsel of friends strategically, evaluating exactly what each person brings to the table.
4. Humor. They may have a dry, dark wit and prefer deadpan delivery in their comedy. Generally, humor that reveals a truth about humanity or, better yet, that reveals something absurd about our world is very much at home with them.
5. Ripples. They have a very developed sense of cause and effect, so they are often considering the impact of a decision three of four steps down the line. They are hyper-alert to things that might circle back to haunt them or others.
6. Awareness. They have a very high level of self-awareness and environmental awareness, even though they might seem like they don’t. They do. And, they like to blend in.
7. Complements. They might not give a lot of praise, however, when they do, they mean it one- hundred percent. In addition to that, they probably oppose participation awards and value those who work hard day after day toward personal goals.
8. Independence. Many Deliberative people value autonomy above almost everything else. They will not be receptive to being told what to do, what to think, or how to act. In fact, they might be explosively reactive to such things.
9. Challenging. It may seem like they are often playing devil’s advocate, which, perhaps they are, but it isn’t for the sake of being difficult. Instead, challenging the ideas of others is one of the ways that they develop a depth of understanding that they need to make a decision or take a stance.
10. Love. Deliberative folks are likely to hold out for the right person and then savor all of the various stages of human connection. For them, the value is in developing an appreciation, an understanding, and, most of all, a level of authentic trust with others. They will experience love like a ripening that cannot be rushed, lest it spoil.