The Flexible Planner the Partnership of Adaptability® and Deliberative®
January 13, 2022
If you read my post on Why CliftonStrengths® you may remember the story of my frustrated boss. The one that couldn’t understand how I could be so anal rentative one moment and so ‘fly by the seat of my pants’ the next. If you don’t remember or heaven forbid haven’t read it, you can catch it here: “Why CliftonStrengths®.'' I should clarify for the record the boss in the story was named Todd. Actually, his name is still Todd. 🙂
If you watched the video you hopefully caught the definition at the beginning: “React immediately and be a positive force for change.”
Listening to Maika you should have heard things like, ‘have a plan but prefer to react to the situation’ or ‘adjust to the moment.’
But my favorite line was when she said, “live and thrive in the moment.”
Now take a moment (literally 70 seconds) to hear Maika describe Deliberative®
What did you hear?
I heard that a person high in Deliberative® takes great care in making decisions. They want to make sure to minimize the risk and they look for credible sources. They want things to be safe, secure, and stable.
But did you read the definition at the beginning of the video? “Stop, listen and assess before taking action.”
Are you seeing the problem? Or maybe I should face the potential problem?
Early in my strengths journey I struggled with this parity between Adaptability® and Deliberative®. I often questioned myself and asked, “What is wrong with me?”
But that is the beauty of CliftonStrengths® there wasn’t anything wrong with me! As a person of faith I believe I was designed by an all knowing God. One, I chose to believe, doesn’t make junk!
If you’re still reading, you may be asking, “How do these potentially conflicting talents actually work together?” I am so glad you asked!
For me they form a beautiful partnership. My “day” job is a technology trainer for a university. I’ve been doing this job for over 25 years and love it! Partly, because of the ever changing nature of technology (live and thrive in the moment) and the opportunities I’ve had to help people do more with their tech.
My Deliberative® helps me anticipate the needs of my trainees. As an in-house trainer I understand their roles and how the tech will help them be more effective in their role. It helps me be prepared to answer their questions. Honestly, I rehearse in my head over and over the flow I want for each of my training sessions. My goal is to be prepared for anything! (Minimizing the risk)
Yet, when the session comes… My Adaptability® steps to the plate to deliver the training. Because no matter how much I’ve prepared, there are almost always questions that I didn’t anticipate or worse yet, unexpected technology fails. Whether it is the network going down or Google changing a feature between reviewing it for class and the actual session. Yes, I have literally said in a class, “Wow! That feature wasn’t there this morning!” (Oh, Adaptability® how I love thee!)
Without my Adaptability® my Deliberative® would freak out! But they are truly partners, they work together and support one another.
A few months ago I was in a training session discussing Deliberative®. One of the other attendees was Gallup Strengths Coach, Jan Peters. We were having a backchannel chat (Sorry Simon) about Adaptability® and Deliberative® and she shared that her husband has both Adaptability® and Deliberative® in his top 5. Her next statement blew my mind…
He says his Deliberative® prepares him to be adaptable.
Fireworks went off in my head! My ability to anticipate the risk helps me to prepare (and sometimes over prepared, if there’s such a thing) and then when the time comes I easily slip into Adaptability® and just go with the flow, adjusting the situation. It’s glorious!
What about you?
Do you have Adaptability® and Deliberative®? How do they show themselves in your life?
Or do you have other strengths that seem to be at odds with each other? Share your stories.
Would you like to talk more?
Gallup®, CliftonStrengths® and the 34 CliftonStrengths Themes of Talent are trademarks of Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. The non-Gallup information you are receiving has not been approved and is not sanctioned or endorsed by Gallup in any way. Opinions, views and interpretations of CliftonStrengths, Clifton Youth StrengthsExplorer or BP10 results are solely the beliefs of Holly Magnuson, Executive Coach, MagnusonHouse Coaching
Photo Credit Link: Image by neo tam from Pixabay