Last week, we started a discussion
on the topic of conscientiousness. If
you missed Part 1 of this discussion, it might be helpful to catch up before
reading today’s blog.
First of all, thank you for the great
feedback on this topic. This subject seemed to resonate with several of you. Like me, some of you even saw the benefit of
forwarding this to your sons, daughters and other family members as well as
your agents and staff.
After making the case for hiring
conscientious individuals as new agents, we left an obvious question
unanswered:
Can individuals improve their level of
conscientiousness?
Again, we’ll let Erik Barker answer that
question based upon research that he collected on the topic.
Note: I adapted the excerpt below to fit
the WorkPuzzle environment by shortening it significantly. The original blog is much
longer, but worth reading if this topic intrigues you.
“Conscientiousness is the fundamental [character] trait most
closely tied to self-control and it tracks with nearly every type of success
across your lifespan.…So maybe you’re not the most conscientious person.
Maybe you can be impulsive and often lack self-control. Me too.This does not mean either of us should be shopping for a
cardboard box on skid row. Unlike IQ, self-control (and in turn,
conscientiousness) can be increased. Here’s how.Like a muscle, exerting willpower makes your
self-control ability stronger over time.
However, willpower is like energy — using it burns it up, and you have
to replenish it. Anything that involves self-control draws on that one
willpower fuel source. For example, dieting takes energy away from your ability to hold
your tongue in a conversation — and vice versa.I’ve posted many scientifically supported willpower tips over the years but I’m
just going to focus on my favorite ones here.1. Use willpower to build willpower.
Just a little bit of practice every day can increase self-control and improving
self-control in one area of life tends to improve all areas of life.2. Automate your behavior.
When something is a habit and you don’t have to make
decisions or even think about it, it doesn’t use much willpower. The more you can make something habitual, the less
self-control you burn.And you can further improve your self-control by
planning. Decide ahead of time how you will respond when willpower is taxed and
you’ll be much more likely to default to that. Without a clear plan in your
head you’re more likely to succumb.3. Pre-commit to good behavior.
How can you use pre-commitment
to keep yourself from giving in to unwanted desires? Use “precommitment devices” to rein in desire. For example, by asking your significant other, on the way to a restaurant, not to let
you order dessert when you get there, you’ll most likely be successful in
avoiding dessert.4. Replenish your
willpower regularly.Need to quickly replenish
willpower? Eat something. Yes, it’s that simple.One research study demonstrated kids who skip breakfast
misbehave more than kids who eat their Wheaties. Give them a snack and they’re
little angels again. The experiment was
conducted by telling all the children in a class to skip breakfast one morning,
and then, by random assignment, half of the children were given a good
breakfast at school. The others got nothing. During the first part of the
morning, the children who got
breakfast learned more and misbehaved less (as judged by monitors who didn’t
know which children had eaten). Then, after all the students were given a
healthy snack in the middle of the morning, the differences disappeared as if
by magic.5. Develop and maintain good relationships.
Self-control is not selfish. Willpower enables us to
get along with others and override impulses that are based on personal
short-term interests. It’s the same lesson that Navy SEAL commandos learn
during their famous Hell Week (continual running, swimming, crawling, and
shivering that they must endure on less than five hours’ sleep).At least
three-quarters of the men in each SEAL class typically fail to complete
training, and the survivors aren’t
necessarily the ones with the most muscles, according to Eric Greitens, a SEAL
officer. In recalling the fellow survivors of his Hell Week, he points out
their one common quality: ‘They had the ability to step outside of their own
pain, put aside their own fear, and ask: How
can I help the guy next to me? They had more than the ‘fist’ of courage
and physical strength. They also had a heart large enough to think about
others.’'
Summary
Back to the original question:
Can individuals
improve their level of conscientiousness (and experience all the great benefits
described in our last discussion)?
Yes.
But, it’s not easy and doing so requires an understanding of the
connection that conscientiousness has to self-control and willpower.
In essence, conscientiousness is the
character trait of saying “no” to our own selfish desires and “yes” to the
meaningful desires of others. Once we’re
convinced this is the right thing to do, it takes self-control to make it
happen (especially the saying “no” to ourselves part).
Finally, our self-control becomes stronger
when we become successful at managing our wills. Surprisingly, exercising willpower has a lot
to do with tactics (not just desire) as described above.
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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.
