Conscientiousness refers to the degree to which a person is responsible, dependable, persistent, and
 Conscientiousness, a personality trait, reflects the degree to which a person is dependable, responsible, perseverant, and achievement driven. It specifically refers to the individual difference in the propensity to follow a socially prescribed norm for impulse control, to be task and goal directed, to be a keen planner and delay gratification. It has been reported by researchers in organizational psychology that conscientiousness is not truly a single unitary entity, but is thought of as a conglomerate of certain specific traits and trait domains. Conscientious managers or leaders are found to be highly task focussed, carry a higher degree of concern for legal aspects and rules, be mindful of ethics, and hold their teams in high ethical standards, be driven for a need for structure. It has been observed by experts that these personality traits are not merely behavioural summaries; rather they are relatively enduring patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviour that are manifested in situations that can accommodate traits. If you made your team undergo a basic personality test, it is highly probably that those people who are reliable who shall score high in conscientiousness. A strong sense of conscientiousness results in a scrupulous, punctual, reliable, dependable, purposeful, organized, strong-willed and a highly determined character. Unsurprisingly, research has demonstrated that people with these characteristics become great managers since they ensure that things are achieved. Moreover, they pay attention even to the smaller details that spell the difference between success and failure. Therefore, there is always a tendency to get these folks on a management track early. There are at least five facets, which can form components of conscientiousnessindustriousness, orderliness, impulse control, reliability and conventionality. Competencies of Emotional Intelligence Ever since our childhood, we have been forced to believe in stories that always link success with intelligence. It has been deeply ingrained within us that success comes to those who achieve the highest scores- from preschool admissions to colleges. Paul Tough, in his book How children succeed: grit, curiosity, and the hidden power of character, pitches in with the argument that the character driven qualities such as- self-control, perseverance, optimism and curiosity, are the ones that matter the most. He states that the above competencies of emotional intelligence are the ones that define the pathway to success. Tough also writes in his book that people who test high in conscientiousness get better grades in school and college, commit fewer crimes and stay married longer. Drake Baer, blogger and a columnist for Business Insider, takes this argument one-step further and states that conscientiousness is that personality trait that paves the way for consistent success. It is further believed that such people live longer, have fewer strokes, lower blood pressure and a lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease, which cannot be only attributed to the fact that they smoke and drink less. There is a staggering amount of research linking conscientiousness with success. Conscientious people earn higher salaries and have greater job satisfaction; conscientiousness is also the most important factor for finding and retaining employment. Research shows that showing up on time, doing thorough work, and being thoughtful towards your colleagues helps people regardless of their job function or workplace situation. Conscientiousness Drives Success Conscientious people tend to be super-organized, great planners and are responsible. They work hard in the face of challenges and can control their impulses. They are better at setting goals and working towards them, as well as persisting amid setbacks. If an ambitious goal cannot be realized, they will switch to a more attainable one rather than getting discouraged and giving up. As a result, they tend to achieve goals that are consistent with the expectations of the employers. They organize their lives well and are sticklers for punctuality. They make great employees. Why are highly conscientious people so successful? “Highly conscientious employees do a series of things better than the rest of us,” says Brent Roberts, the Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois, who also studies conscientiousness. He states that they plan to achieve their goals better: setting them, working towards them, and persisting amid setbacks. If they realize that a highly ambitious goal cannot be reached, instead of getting discouraged and losing hope, they will switch to a goal that can be achieved. This is one strong reason as to why they reach goals that are consistent with the aspirations of the employer. He further states that such people carry the grit and shall remain persistent in finding a solution to a problem after repeated failures, and traverse that extra mile to ensure that they achieve their aspirations. In addition, they plan, decide and draft on paper and write down important dates. Highly successful people like Richard Branson, carry a notebook in their pockets all the time. Greek Shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis had said “Writing it down will make you act upon it. If you don’t write it down, you will forget it.” Once, when Richard Branson did not have his notepad with him, he wrote an idea down in his passport! Another research on conscientiousness demonstrated in a study by McCall, Spreitzer and Maloney in 1994, which was published in the Harvard Journal, identified eleven traits or dimensions for early identification of leaders. Inspired by this research, McRae and Furnham, the HPTI authors, conducted further detailed research and found that six factors could be used as an indicator for measuring the potential for future leadership. From this research, they developed HPTI, which is both practical to use, and statistically valid in predicting potential for leadership roles in the future at work. HPTI measures these six traits Conscientiousness Adjustment Curiosity Risk Approach (Courage) Ambiguity Acceptance Competitiveness The Link to honesty and integrity Psychologists classify conscientiousness as one of the ‘big five’ personality traits, along with agreeableness, extroversion, neuroticism and openness to experience. These people are dependable and are a lot less likely to back out, miss or forget appointments. They rarely show up late, and, know that succumbing to convenience kills long term goals, and that good things take time and hard work. Perhaps, this is why conscientiousness is linked to honesty and integrity. In the Humm-Wadsworth temperament model, conscientiousness is equivalent to the engineer. People with this component make great employees, however it can be a hindrance in a manager. Conscientiousness can make people monomaniacs; they find it difficult to multi-task. In addition, they tend to focus on tasks, and not on the people — and it is people skills that differentiate the successful manager. Finally, there is major issue of decision-making. Conscientiousness people tend to get bogged down by the details, and, therefore, often the cost of making a decision outweighs future benefits. Therefore, it should be kept in mind that being conscientious can be detrimental to some jobs. It can translate to fewer tasks being done or taking longer to complete a set of tasks. In short, it is hard to be thorough and fast. Perhaps in some jobs being meticulous is more important than being fast. But, this is not true in all jobs. This personality characteristic also involves appreciation of rules. However, at times following the rulebook can stifle innovation. There are some jobs where following the rule could interfere with productivity. Therefore, if you have a conscientious employee in your team, here are a few suggestions to help them develop their critical skills: Keep track of their assignments: Make sure that you are not loading them up with extra tasks just because you know that they will take care of them Reward them. If you have overloaded your conscientious folks, reward them with sometime and space to work on projects dear to them. That autonomy and appreciation strengthens their bond to the company. It also provides you with more opportunities to observe where their greatest contributions to the organization may lie. Dr Manavi Pathak is an Organizational Psychologist and Consultant. She can be reached at Thanks for reading! :) If you enjoyed it, hit that heart button below or share and help other people see the story.
What is a conscientiousness person?When someone is conscientious, they are able to exercise self-discipline and self-control in order to pursue and ultimately achieve their goals. People with high conscientiousness are also organized, determined, and able to postpone immediate gratification—all of which contribute to a more successful life.
What does conscientiousness mean in psychology?Conscientiousness is defined as individual differences in the propensity to follow socially prescribed norms for impulse control, to be goal-directed, planful, able to delay gratification, and to follow norms and rules (Roberts, Jackson, Fayard, Edmonds, & Meints, 2009).
What are the Big 5 traits of conscientiousness?Those who score high on conscientiousness can be described as organized, disciplined, detail-oriented, thoughtful, and careful. They also have good impulse control, which allows them to complete tasks and achieve goals.
What are two of the terms associated with conscientiousness?Conscientiousness: self-efficacy, orderliness, dutifulness, achievement-striving, self-discipline, cautiousness.
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