“Conscientiousness is the root of all human excellence.”
Immanuel Kant
📖 The vocabulary definition of conscientiousness (/kɒnʃɪˈɛnʃəsnəs/) is:
- The state or characteristic of being thorough or careful in one’s task or performance.
- The state or fact of being honest and upright, not capable of being corrupted.
- The quality of being dedicated or committed to a task or purpose.
- Worthy of one’s trust or confidence.
- Things done to achieve an aim.
No wonder this competence of self-regulation has been labelled “the most successful personality trait in the workplace (and ever!)” by personnel agencies.
The Conscientious Edge 🥇
You’d want to employ someone who is:
✅ Reliable and dependable
✅ Strong and disciplined
✅ Attentive and organised
✅ Responsible and accountable
✅ Proactive and solution-oriented.
Right!? Which means you know how valuable those characteristics are to your organisation:
- Greater productivity and higher output.
- Fewer errors and/or customer complaints.
- Better risk-management = fewer crises + more sustainable growth.
- Increased credibility and reputation.
- Smoother operations and lower operational costs.
- Stronger team cohesion and a culture of excellence.
“Good luck is the willing handmaid of an upright and energetic character, and conscientious observance of duty.” James Russell Lowell
From the Top 🚠
Conscientious leaders inspire trust and confidence from their team members through:
Ethical behaviour
Acting with fairness, honesty, and transparency.
Responsibility
Taking ownership of decisions and outcomes.
Empathy
Valuing team well-being and fostering inclusivity.
Proactive approach
Anticipating challenges and planning meticulously.
“The price of greatness is responsibility and the willingness to be conscientious in the smallest of duties.”
Winston Churchill
🩺 Being Conscientious is Good for Your Health
What’s more, people with high levels of conscientiousness also consistently linked with achievement and long-term life satisfaction.
Studies have shown that:
- “People who were rated as conscientious as 8-year-olds by their parents and teachers tended to live longer.
- There are correlations between conscientiousness and lower blood pressure, lower rates of diabetes and stroke, and fewer joint problems.
- Behaviours that are among the leading causes of mortality – alcohol use, disordered eating (including obesity), drug use, lack of exercise, risky sexual behaviour, risky driving, tobacco use, suicide, and violence – are all predicted by low conscientiousness.
- Conscientiousness may shape career choices, friendships, the stability of marriage, and many other aspects of life that affect health and, ultimately, longevity.”
This is all fantastic…. unless you’re not naturally very conscientious. So…
If you scored 13 – 16:
Well done on your high level of conscientiousness! Please be careful not to let your conscientiousness become perfectionism and/or workaholism. Give yourself permission to fail and stop worrying so much about what others think of you. Allow yourself to be creative, spontaneous, and flexible.
If you scored 9 – 12:
While you are generally conscientiousness, you slip up occasionally. You would benefit from the steps below in order to maintain a more consistent level of conscientiousness.
If you scored 5 – 8:
Your creative spontaneity makes you very popular, but your low level of conscientiousness is holding you back from fulfilling your potential. Follow the steps below to give yourself a better chance of success.
If you scored 1 – 4:
Well done for being conscientious enough to complete the quiz! Your lack of conscientiousness makes even simple tasks feel like an uphill battle, so do yourself a favour and commit to improving your level of conscientiousness using the steps outlined below.
How to Become More Conscientious 👩🏫
🪞 Know thyself
You can’t improve without knowing where you currently stand and what areas you need to work on.
Personality change research has learnt that people can positively change their personalities by doing more activities that fit these three criteria: important, enjoyable, and in line with your values. Use this to help you keep your promises and commitments.
🐌 Slow down
This may seem like counter-intuitive advice, but it pays to pause and reflect every now and again.
Ask yourself, “Am I doing the thing right, or the right thing?” In our current world, there are so many distractions – from social media to ringing phones to demanding colleagues – that it can be easy to put your conscientiousness into tasks that are not worthy of your attention.
Learn to say “no” to unreasonable requests with authority and grace. By slowing down, you will become less harassed and more productive.
🛤️ Narrow your focus
This is two-fold:
- Making a resolution to be “more conscientious” lacks the specifics needed to achieve your goal. Setting yourself smaller goals – such as being punctual or keeping your desk organised – as steps towards increasing your conscientiousness increases your chances of success.
- Multitasking is a myth. Not only does it force you to keep switching your attention, but multitasking lowers your efficiency and increases your stress levels too. Focus on one challenge at a time to improve your productivity and the quality of your work.
🗃️ Get organised
Consider how much time you could put into completing quality work if you didn’t waste it looking for files on your laptop or pulling all-nighters because you forgot about an assignment.
The heavier your workload, the more essential order is to conscientiousness.
Making your own schedule daily and then sticking to it goes hand-in-hand with being organised. Use the tools on your computer or smartphone to keep track of your to-do lists, remind you to back up your data, or tackle the most important tasks during your most productive time of the day.
🧠 Concentrate
Distractions make it harder to achieve your goals. By improving your ability to concentrate, you can lift the standard of your work and focus more clearly on your responsibilities. Try training your attention through meditation and mindfulness, and by improving your environment, nutrition, and mindset.
🎁 Bonus
Not only is conscientious about holding yourself accountable to meet your objectives, it’s also about your responsibilities to others and how you interact with them. Make the time to understand other people’s needs and to put more thought into how you communicate.
Next…➡️
Complete the quiz below.