All about the conscientious style
She is calculated, witty and doesn't miss a beat. She spends hours upon hours drawing intricate designs, and is content to doodle the details alone in her room all day. It's not enough to get an answer to something, she has to know the reason behind the answer and make sure it all adds up.
The skeptic has to have the facts. Conversations that are emotionally charged can get lost on a high C personality style - because it's all about the logic. Emotions are fine, but they aren't concrete. To find an answer to a question, you must be prepared with all of the history, the statistics, and what has been proven.
The first thing a high C is going to want to know is "how was it done in the past?" and, when asked to tell someone about themselves, their first inclination is "why (and what) do you want to know?"
Super inquisitive by nature, a high C style is task-oriented, loves detail and laying out systems. With the gift of order, there is always a method to their madness, even if, to everyone else, their office looks like chaos. The stacks and piles are all perfectly organized according to how they want them to be, regardless of how it appears to the rest of the world.
Really, Cs don't care too much about what the rest of the world thinks - they simply want to ensure that their life makes complete sense to them, and they can back it all up by facts.
Real Life Example #1:
Our tutor was an incredible lady who was a glutton for research. When she first came to us, she presented us with folders for pre-K all the way through third grade, showing us all of the standards and measurements in the school system along with example exercises and the most perfect penmanship ever. Yes, I could simply look at her handwriting and know immediately she was a high C. It looked like computer-font because it was so neat. Every week I would get a summary on what she did with the girls, along with notes on how they reacted and what worked and didn't work. She loved the process of working one-on-one and really figuring out how to teach them in a way that made them come alive and love the process. She figured out how to bring her love of education to a format that worked for her. Being in a classroom full of 20 7-year-olds would be a nightmare for her - but to pull a child out where she could really see how they tick on an individual basis; this is where she (and the child) would really thrive.
Real Life Example #2:
My oldest daughter - master negotiator, activist, and creative artist in everything she does, from her dress to her gazillions of notebooks. An entrepreneur by age 4, she's tested and experimented selling all kinds of things, and now does commission art pieces, movies, music composing and more. When she was 7, not only did she sell her greeting cards at every live event I hosted, but she worked out a consignment deal with a local vendor to sell them for her at farmer's markets and craft festivals.
The other day, when the topic of "bad words" came up in the car (heard a song with a curse word in it), her first response in our discussion was "well, if it's not a word you are supposed to say, then why was it invented and put in the dictionary?" She, like most Cs, is naturally inquisitive about facts. Cs ask a lot of questions to understand how something should work. They observe, ask and seek out information, and as a result, make some surprisingly logical connections.
C children, especially, are the rule keepers. Intent on doing the right thing, they strive to avoid mistakes because they expect perfection from their world...which of course includes themselves. Cs can be extremely sensitive to criticism, so in an effort to avoid it, they can take perfectionism to an extreme and deal with "paralysis by analysis." They can get irritated when someone else doesn't meet their standards and they feel they should "know better." And yes, all their i's are dotted and their t's are crossed.
I am so thankful for C styles - they make sure the rest of us have credibility and are educated in our decisions. They challenge us to not simply speak from emotion, but to have a valid reason behind our response. And what we can give to a C personality is encouragement to do something, even if they risk failing.
Barbara Streisand has a song that states "There are no mistakes; only lessons to be learned." Helping this personality style to let go of perfectionism allows them to learn and grow even more, and helping them grasp how to not sweat the small stuff gives them the opportunity to balance their need for everything being just right in an imperfect world.
The other day I had the perfect learning opportunity with Clara when she broke down in frustrated tears because she couldn't get her shoelaces tied so they were even. We sat down together and talked about important things, like making sure we are buckled in our car seats for safety, and how, if our shoelaces are completely untied, we can trip on them and fall. And then we looked at having slightly uneven laces and whether or not it was a true safety issue. And we laughed.
We laughed at the absurdity, and how this being perfect wasn't a serious issue. And we took one step away from perfectionism and a step closer toward human connection. And that is what it's all about. Let go of the "rightness" of it all in a haphazard world, and keep that detailed focus on the balance of love and grace amidst imperfections. (And coincidentally, when we took a breather and tried again, she was able to get her shoelaces tied exactly as she wanted them).
Do you or your children struggle with perfectionism? How do you let go of that and still embrace the intricate details of life? Please share below!
This is the fifth post in the Personality Style Series. Read through the others here:
- Personality Isn't Going Away: A Historical Intro
- Make Me Feel Important! The High D Personality Style
- Precocious People Person At Your Service: The High I Style
- Never Confuse Kindness For Weakness: The High S Personality Style
- Dot Your i's and Cross Your t's: The High C Personality Style
- In The Doing, Your Being Becomes: Understanding the Graphs
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As long as we always keep learning, nothing is a loss.
Holly, Thanks so much for your comments! Yes, sometimes we go down a path that doesn’t always aline with our personality style, and it helps to solidify and affirm what is a good fit. I definitely feel like there are so many paths we can take, and each one is a valuable learning opportunity. If you come to recognize a bad fit, you can take a different route, more prepared because of the lessons you learned along the way. Love how you compared and saw a common theme with all the reports – that shows someone who knows themselves well!
And thanks for the compliment for Clara – I’ll be sure to let her know! 🙂
How fun, Ashley! Like your daughter, I am a C and the oldest child. I can relate to shoelace moments. She is so blessed to have a mama that understands how to help her play to her strengths and become the best version of herself.
When I was trying to figure out what to do with my life, after 10+ years on the wrong path, I took all of the tests. With so many options to build a business in today’s world, and not knowing which path to take next, I decided to review the results side by side (I told you I was a C). I compared my DISC, MBTI, Strong, Strengths Finder, etc. It was amazing how well aligned they were.
What was more amazing was how well they aligned with what teachers told me and the awards I won when I was a teenager. The clues were there when I was so young, yet I chose another path. But it definitely wasn’t a mistake, I had the opportunity to use many of these skills in a practical way that will help me in future endeavors. We can’t ignore how we are wired. Nor can we change it!
PS – Tell Ms. Clara that she has the most beautiful cards I have ever seen. If I wasn’t trying to downsize, I would become a card sender.
Thanks for checking them out, Matt! Jill’s program is a definite resource for me- I’ve learned a ton from her!
Ashley –
I appreciate your posts about the personality stuff. I just completed Jill Davis’ DISC Deep Dive and find your stuff a great supplement. I love your examples!
I am fascinated about personality style – but more importantly how we can recognize someone else’s personality style and then “speak their language” to better connect with them.
Good stuff!
Matt