Managing Your Talents [17] - Deliberative

According to Gallup, the essence of the talent theme of Deliberative is the following:

You are careful. You are vigilant. You are a private person. You know that the world is an unpredictable place. Everything may seem in order, but beneath the surface you sense the many risks. Rather than denying these risks, you draw each one out into the open. Then each risk can be identified, assessed, and ultimately reduced. Thus, you are a fairly serious person who approaches life with a certain reserve. For example, you like to plan ahead so as to anticipate what might go wrong. You select your friends cautiously and keep your own counsel when the conversation turns to personal matters. You are careful not to give too much praise and recognition, lest it be misconstrued. If some people don’t like you because you are not as effusive as others, then so be it. For you, life is not a popularity contest. Life is something of a minefield. Others can run through it recklessly if they so choose, but you take a different approach. You identify the dangers, weigh their relative impact, and then place your feet deliberately. You walk with care.

But a talent like this on itself is quite meaningless unless you develop and manage it. That is why we believe that "a well managed talent becomes a strength, but a mismanaged talent becomes a detriment".

How do you manage the talent of Deliberative?
  
Your critical thinking is an unique strength....if managed well.  You have a very unique ability to think carefully and critically about things. Most people do not understand this ability of yours.  They probably perceive you as negative, pessimistic and over-cautious.  This is not necessarily the case....but it could be. You really need to be aware of this and manage it well, otherwise your extremely strong critical ability may well drag you down. Fact is, you most probably are very hesitant. You see potential dangers and pitfalls. You have a critical mind.  This is NOT a bad thing - this is a strength. But you should learn how to offer this to others so they can also see it as a strength.

 How?

For the talent of Deliberative the issue is most often not in the fact that you see things others don't and are much more critical, but it is in the way you present or communicate those thoughts....or even the fact that you decide to keep quiet rather than face the frowns from others.
I like to say it this way:  with Deliberative, we need to change our feedback  from a "No this won't work" response to a "I am wondering if" response. You will find that some people love to rush in without considering the dangers or pitfalls.  You cannot understand this.  But, remember that they do not have your lens of Deliberative, and cannot see what you see.  Maybe they have a talent like Activator or Adaptability that prefers to rush right in and handle obstacles as they pop up.  Your approach aren't wrong, but neither are theirs.  It is a matter of when to use which approach.  The best way to start is to explain to others why you think the way you do, and that you need to first count the cost before you engage.  If they see your talent as a strength that adds to the bigger picture, they will embrace it more and you can make a practical impact with it.

Understand that your Deliberative needs time.  You need time for your Deliberative to function effectively.  This does not mean that you are "slow'.  It means you are meticulous and detailed in your thinking patterns. You consider plans, ideas or strategies in much more detail than most others can.  For this you need time to think, analyze, consider and weigh up different options before you make a decision.  You consider a multitude of facts before deciding.  You troubleshoot from all angles.  This is a timely process.  The problem is that others do not always understand your need for time.  They may push you for a decision.  This in itself can be to your and their detriment, and needs to be managed.

How?

Do everything you can to plan for having time before deciding. Create more time for yourself. "Plan for time".  Structure your meetings, your projects and your day is such a way that it allows for time to deliberate in between. Do whatever you can to create the spaces and places where you can think without being rushed.

Your Deliberative talent is like the brakes on a racing car. But, do not brake if speed is needed....and do not speed up when you need to brake.  Your  Deliberative slows things down on purpose:  in order to gather all the facts and to make the best possible decision according to the facts at hand. This is especially positive when decisions are made at such a pace that certain facts are left unconsidered. Your Deliberative tries to prevent that. Just like brakes on a racing car are used to slow the car down when approaching a bend in the road or an obstacle, your Deliberative does the same when it comes to decisions.  But, when miss managed, the "Deliberative-brakes" can slow down the car when it needs to speed up....and then even fail to slow it down when danger lurks.  You need to manage this well, in order for your talent to be most effective and useful.  

How?

You need to discern when to brake.  This is a skill you can learn from knowledge and from experience.  You can also make use of other Talents that naturally have the strong ability to know when speed is needed and when not - like Strategic, Arranger, Command or Connectedness, to name a few.  If you do not consider the situation and simply follow your natural need to slow things down and think, you may well be sidelined by others because you hold them back.  On the other hand, do not be afraid to strongly offer up your ability to view things critically when needed.  Speak up!  Some talents need you to slow them down - like Activator, Competition, Self Assurance and Adaptability, to name a few.  What you need to develop is the skill and balance to use your Deliberative qualities at the right time and in the right manner.  Then you will truly add something special to your surroundings!


 
Your Deliberative Talent is needed!. Speak up and serve others with it, in a well managed manner.

- by Dries Lombaard, founder and owner of Africanmosaic and TALENTmosaic.

Important note when reading this: in this series, I simply focus on the specific talent in isolation. I do not take the crucial element of Talent Dynamics (two or more talent themes combining) into consideration. This is very important as any Coach should take that into consideration when coaching people in their talents. But you need to understand the challenges that the talent theme on its own might hold. Therefor the challenges in managing the talent as explained below might not be applicable to everyone, as the dynamics with some of their other talent themes might override the specific challenge and "make up for it". But, knowledge of the most common management challenges in every talent theme still is crucial in talent development and when turning the talent into a strength.  All information is my own, acquired by years of Strengths Coaching experience, and not verified or scientifically tested by Gallup. The definition at the beginning is the intellectual property of Gallup, and well researched.