Consistency

People strong in the Consistency theme (also called Fairness in the first StrengthsFinder assessment) are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same. They try to treat everyone in the world fairly by setting up clear rules and adhering to them.

 

You can tell a person strong in Consistency by these attributes (source: Dr. Hulme, APU):

  • Balance is important
  • Clear rules and procedures enable them to treat everyone fairly and equally
  • Warrior against special treatment or favoritism
  • Predictable and even-handed
  • Fair and just in their treatment of others
  • Good at designing and implementing policy

More about consistency:

    • Needs on a team: To have things be fair
    • As a Leader: Treat people the same
    • In Conflict: Set up clear rules
    • Partner with: Maximizer or Individualization theme
    • In academics: – loves fairness – prefers courses where expectations are clear and spelled out in advance – loves grading rubrics – dislikes being in courses where the prof plays favorites or where expectations change during the term – surprises are no fun to these students, so they will want to map out their educational plan well in advance and then stick to it – enjoys routines, processes, and other sequential procedures, so may enjoy the sciences, statistics, accounting, music, engineering or law

Where does Consistency Theme rank in the population?

  • Overall, Consistency ranks 23rd, occurring in around 11% of the population’s Top Five (13% of Females and 11% of Males)

15

23

22

25

Out of your Top 5 CliftonStrengths, it’s statistically:

  • most likely to appear with Harmony and
  • least likely to be found with Command and Self-Assurance

Your genius strength of Consistency involves both the way you think and process information and the way you see what is fair and equitable. Whereas others often take a long time to determine what is fair and equitable, to you it is obvious. You can quickly determine what should be done so that problems are solved in ways that treat everyone in a just and equal manner. is process of determining what is equitable often involves processing a great deal of information. But the genius of your Consistency talent sorts through information and comes to equitable decisions so quickly that you may not see anything special about what you do because you do it with such ease. In your relationships, you strive to treat everyone equally and consistently. is helps you win the confidence of others. You are a great, fair and just thinker because of your Consistency talent.

At your best (Balcony):

  • just, problem-solver, policymaker

At your worst (Basement):

  • “by the book,” inflexible, unwilling to customize/individualize

Consistency may be one of your signature themes if…

  • You value balance and fairness at all times.
    • You dislike when the scales tip in the favor of selfishness and excessive individualism.
    • You stand up for people who are unfairly disadvantaged.
    • You are most offended by nepotism and the way “connections” award people privilege.
    • You feel people perform best in consistent environments with very clear rules.
    • You feel best when things are predictable and evenhanded.

A more detailed explanation from Gallup:

Balance is important to you. You are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same, no matter what their station in life, so you do not want to see the scales tipped too far in any one person’s favor. In your view this leads to selfishness and individualism. It leads to a world where some people gain an unfair advantage because of their connections or their background or their greasing of the wheels. This is truly offensive to you. You see yourself as a guardian against it. In direct contrast to this world of special favors, you believe that people function best in a consistent environment where the rules are clear and are applied to everyone equally. This is an environment where people know what is expected. It is predictable and evenhanded. It is fair. Here each person has an even chance to show his or her worth.

Action Items for This Theme

  • Make a list of the rules of Consistency by which you can live. These rules might be based upon certain values that you have, or upon certain policies that you consider “non-negotiables” within your organization. Counterintuitively, the more clear you are about these rules, the more comfortable you will be with individuality within these boundaries.
  • Seek roles in which you can be a force for leveling the playing field. At work, or in your community, you can be a leader in helping provide disadvantaged people with the platform they need to show their true potential.
  • Cultivate a reputation for pinpointing those who really deserve the credit. Ensure that respect is always given to those who truly performed the work. You can become known as the conscience of your organization.
  • Find a role in which you can enforce compliance to a set of standards. Always be ready to challenge people who break the rules or “grease the wheels” to earn an unfair advantage for themselves.

Be ready to:

  • Partner with someone with a strong Maximizer or Individualization theme. This person can remind you when it is appropriate to accommodate individual differences.
  • Keep your focus on performance. Occasionally, the Consistency theme might lead you to overemphasize how someone gets work done, and ignore what he or she gets done.
    • The Clifton StrengthsFinder and the 34 Clifton StrengthsFinder theme names are protected by copyright of Gallup Inc., 2000. All rights reserved.
For the more visually inclined:

A fantastic website with insightful discussion of Consistency, including

  • Building your brand through this strengths
  • Strengthening your performance at work
  • Tips for managing someone with this strengths
  • Partnering with someone with this strength

Consistency Power and Edge takes an interesting approach highlight not just what the strength is and how it shows up if you have it in your top five, but also how to navigate the world when this strengths is one of your lesser ones.

More ideas on going deeper:

THEME INSIGHTS:

  • I am (Being) ———-> More interested in group needs than individual wants
  • I will (Doing) ———-> Reduce variance and increase uniformity
  • I Bring (Contribution) ———-> Rules and policies that promote cultural predictability
  • I need (Requirement) ———-> Standard operating procedures
  • I love (Value) —————> Repeating things in the exact same way
  • I Hate (Value) —————> Unnecessary customization
  • Metaphor/Image ———-> The beauty and efficiency of a consistent golf swing
  • Barrier Label ———-> Rules trump relationships and results

THEME CONTRAST:

  • CONSISTENCY: Treating people similarly promotes fairness
  • Individualization: Treating people differently promotes fairness.——————————————————————————————
  • CONSISTENCY: I like merry-go-rounds
  • Adaptability: I like roller coasters.
More from Gallup:
Gallup’s Called to Coach is an excellent podcast series exploring the Consistency strengthsfinder theme in detail over several seasons:

 

 


Podcast episodes to help you understand and leverage your Consistency Strength

  • Episode 1: Building Habits for Success – “The Tim Ferriss Show”
  • Episode 2: Maintaining Stability in a Changing World – “The Tony Robbins Podcast”
  • Episode 3: Creating Routines for Productivity – “The Productivityist Podcast”
  • Episode 4: The Psychology of Consistency – “The Science of Success”
  • Episode 5: Reliability and Predictability in Leadership – “The Leadership Podcast”
  • Episode 6: Women in Leadership: Maintaining Consistency in Success – “Women’s Leadership Success” (Host: Sabrina Braham)
  • Episode 7: The Consistent Woman: Strategies for Success – “Lead Like Her” (Host: Angela Brooks)

Listen to great Strengths Podcasts

  • Theme addicts is a series created by UnleashStrengths to highlight the massive impact the StrengthsFinder assessment through interviews and discussions.
  • Lead through your strengths features many interesting guests and Career Q and A about leverage your strengths at work.
  • Maximize Your Strengths features interviews and discussion on developing your strengths. She really drills into each of the themes by interviewing real people on how a specific theme shows up in their lives.
  • Called to Coach is a webcast resource for those who want to help others discover and use their strengths. We have Gallup experts and independent strengths coaches share tactics, insights and strategies to help coaches maximize the talent of individuals, teams and organizations around the world.
  • ISOGO TV promises a lot: So dramatically increase your energy and decrease your frustration at work, that you cannot help but take the Strengths paradigm home to your family. Fueling life-changing stories.
  • The True Strength Podcast by Ian Pettigrew (Kingfisher Coaching) features inspiring true stories of how people succeed through applying their strengths and being resilient. It often includes a Gallup StrengthsFinder profile.
  • If you are looking to identify and develop your strengths and talents, take calculated risks and make decisions, The Strengths Revolution with Steve Morgan will help your personal development, as well as helping you support your clients, employees, teams and wider organisations. Knowing your strengths will also support positive risk-taking and decision making as part of good risk management.

 

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