Skip to main content

A Look at Consistency


People exceptionally talented in the Consistency theme are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same. They try to treat everyone with equality by setting up clear rules and adhering to them.
CliftonStrengths

This week our guest blogger is Cathy Hanna. Cathy is the co-coordinator for the TeamMates program at Chase County Schools in Imperial, Nebraska. Her top five strengths are Responsibility, Deliberative, Consistency, Discipline, and Harmony. Here’s what Consistency looks like for Cathy:




I am in my third year as Elementary School Counselor and as co-coordinator for our Chase County TeamMates Chapter.  I went to the Strengths Training this last summer so I am in the beginning stages of Strengths spotting.  We introduced Strengths to our mentors in September and to our mentees in November and have had great feedback from those who have been trained.  

Consistency is my number three strength and defined by Gallup as being keenly aware of the need to treat people the same.  Consistency is achieved by setting up clear rules and adhering to them.  I see this strength when I want to know the rules or guidelines that exist in any given situation so that I can follow them.  I not only want to follow the rules but I want people to live by the rules so that everyone has the same opportunities and the “playing field is level”.  I notice Consistency when I am driving down the interstate in a line of cars passing a slow vehicle and another vehicle zooms by and cuts into the line of cars waiting to pass. I am miffed!  Waiting your turn is a big part of Consistency for me and cutting in line is not o.k.

Years ago, as a young mom, I had a rule for everything.  One of the rules that we lived by was no dessert until you had eaten what was on your plate.  I had tried a new recipe one night and it was bad.  We offered the boys cinnamon rolls and our middle son said “no, I have a lot of this stuff left”.  He knew there was no hope of ever getting his plate of food eaten and no chance that I would forget our rule! 

I do not expect special treatment and am indignant when others do!  I don’t think I’m better than the next guy and don’t ask people to do something that I am not willing to do myself.  I don’t like it when people don’t get a fair shot because of some circumstance in their life that they cannot control. 

I see Consistency “shine” everyday at my job.  As elementary school counselor, I truly believe that people (especially elementary students) function best in a consistent environment where the rules are clear and are applied to everyone equally.  Rules provide boundaries that give kids comfort and a sense of security.  Life is not fair but giving everyone an equal opportunity to succeed is what we strive for at school.  Objectivity and viewing things more matter-of-factly are also characteristic of being consistent.  This serves me well when dealing with students who are at times emotional and seeing things subjectively.  I hold a special place in my heart for the underdog but I sincerely try to treat every student with equal love and respect.

Recess always gives me opportunities to use my strength of Consistency.  One day last year, the students playing four square were having a terrible time getting along with each other and agreeing on how the game should be played.  I asked a few questions based on my limited experience playing four square and quickly decided that we all needed to learn the “right way” to play the game.  The following week, every Guidance lesson I taught was on the rules of four square.  The way I saw it, every elementary student at Chase County was going to know the rules and play by the rules.  Consistency to the rescue once again! 
-Cathy



If you are interested in guest blogging about one of your Top 5 StrengthsFinder themes this school year, please email Tess at tstarman@teammates.org

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Strengths Activity: DBT House

The featured activity this week has become a recent favorite of the TeamMates Strengths Team. I learned of it by attending the Green Hills AEA Conference this past summer. The breakout presenter, Louise El Yafoori, taught on mitigating culturally sensitive trauma. This activity comes from the practice of Dialectical Behavior Therapy. While it can be used in very targeted ways for working with certain groups of kids, we found it a powerful reflective exercise that we all could benefit from. We facilitated this activity at our annual strengths day at the Gallup campus this year and the results of this learning and self reflection were highly impactful. Consider doing this activity with your mentee as a way to deepen the conversation around strengths and talent by incorporating discussions of values, role models, support systems, and more. Activity Instructions:  On a blank piece of paper, sketch out a house. Your house should include: a foundation, walls, windows, a door, roof, ch

Achiever: Fulfillment from Accomplishment

People exceptionally talented in the Achiever theme work hard and possess a great deal of stamina. They take immense satisfaction in being busy and productive. Clifton StrengthsFinder We are excited to hear from Stephanie Pravecek about Achiever this week. Steph is the Events Coordinator for TeamMates and leads with Achiever, Responsibility, Discipline, Consistency, and Relator. People with high Achiever are hard workers, list makers, and doers. It is very difficult for Achievers to take a break when there is a task at hand that needs to be completed.  Once one task is complete it is on to the next and then the next. Achievers set out each day to accomplish at least one task but, there is much more fulfillment when multiple things are crossed off the “to-do” list for the day. This does include weekends and vacations, as REST or RELAX are not words you often hear in the vocabulary of an Achiever. As a guest blogger this week, I am going to put more of a personal ton

Strengths Activity- Strengths Metaphors

A fun activity we have done with students is Strengths Metaphors. We often have a tendency to limit and confine our strengths to the two-sentence definition of the theme we find on the 34 list. Strengths manifest uniquely in each person based on their other 5 or 2 themes, their age, their background, their life experiences, and so much more. The Strengths Metaphors activity is a great way to break the themes of out of the boxes we put them in. Fill out the worksheet or engage in a conversation using the prompts on the sheet. Pick one of your top 5 or top 3 themes.  Describe what the theme looks like, what color you would associate with it, what it smells like, what it sounds like, and any other sensory descriptors you would add to the selected theme.  Share with your mentee and ask your mentee to share with you. Share with each other why you chose to assign these specific descriptors to the strength.  If you have similar strengths to each other, discuss the differences between