Talents & Burnout: Deliberative®

By Chad T. Ahern

"People exceptionally talented in the Deliberative theme are best described by the serious care they take in making decisions or choices. They anticipate obstacles."
- Gallup CliftonStrengths® Themes Quick Reference Guide - 

Burnout Concerns

People with Deliberative® talents are your team's risk detectors. They draw out risks to then develop mitigation plans. They are careful and vigilant by nature. So when your team, organization, or a whole planet unexpectedly encounters significant moments of change (like a pandemic), they can become frustrated and pushed toward burnout by,

• Trying to assess ALL the new risks
  • For our current pandemic, they are likely not only considering their own health, but the health of their families, colleagues, and communities.​
  • As organization have fewer resources they may be more worried about keeping their job (risk to their family resources) vs. doing their job. 
  • Our new world of work has put a whole host of new systems in play. Analyzing all of these risks, all at the same time could prove overwhelming. As examples, IT professionals with Deliberative® talents are likely trying to consider and address everything from potential data breach vectors to system integrity. Similarly, HR professionals are trying to consider how new work policies integrate with current labor laws (exempt vs. non-exempt in a remote, non-hourly working world?) 
    
    
• Given the pace of change, rushed reactions and decisions may exacerbate concerns over whether the right course of action has been correctly identified and planned for. Those with Deliberative® talents might continue to reassess endlessly to assure themselves (and their teams) that they arrived at the right decision.

Addressing Burnout

If you lead someone with Deliberative® talents, you can help them steer clear of potential burnout by taking some or all of these actions:

• As changes occur, provide some additional flexibility on adoption time frames. Those with Deliberative® themes may need to see others experiencing safe options before they also adopt them.​
  
  
• Include them early in the decision making process. They may be more cautious than most in the room, but when invited and assured, they are likely to voice concerns others might not be thinking about. By giving them a voice and allowing them to rationally think through the issue may provide more personal assurance in the long-run. 
  
  
• As Deliberative® talented team members are likely to be fairly private, make sure you're reaching them in quiet, private ways. Inviting them to voice concerns in a meeting may not be the best way to hear their concerns or thoughts. ​Instead, consider more one-on-one conversations where they can express and think through their concerns with you before taking the concerns to the group. In this process, make sure you also check-in about their personal lives and not just work. Remember they are assessing risks from every vector. 

As with coaching any individual, their combined set of talent themes will effect how their Deliberative® talents show up, and how to best manage them. As a beginning, next time you check-in with them, ask,

What risks concern you the most right now?

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

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