--- title: Science Points to the Single Most Valuable Personality Trait description: Research is pointing to conscientiousness as the one-trait-to-rule-them-all in terms of future success, both career-wise and personal. Via How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the... canonical: https://time.com/3136568/science-points-to-the-single-most-valuable-personality-trait/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-22T04:01:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:44:24.462Z article:section: Health og:title: Science Points to the Single Most Valuable Personality Trait og:description: Research is pointing to conscientiousness as the one-trait-to-rule-them-all in terms of future success, both career-wise and personal. og:url: https://time.com/3136568/science-points-to-the-single-most-valuable-personality-trait/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc990ae9c63704160/69869feff983e7018604f448/mans-eye.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: mans-eye og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Science Points to the Single Most Valuable Personality Trait twitter:description: Research is pointing to conscientiousness as the one-trait-to-rule-them-all in terms of future success, both career-wise and personal. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc990ae9c63704160/69869feff983e7018604f448/mans-eye.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Science Points to the Single Most Valuable Personality Trait ## Video: The Surprising Secret to Success for Jay-Z and Other Business Leaders [Watch (HLS stream): The Surprising Secret to Success for Jay-Z and Other Business Leaders](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/infQ20n3.m3u8) (1:42)  _Published 2017-12-11. The Surprising Secret to Success for Jay-Z and Other Business Leaders_ by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Aug 22, 2014 4:01 AM UTC  Boxing BoxingGetty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Aug 22, 2014 4:01 AM UTC Research is pointing to _conscientiousness_ as the one-trait-to-rule-them-all in terms of future success, both career-wise and personal. Via [How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547564651/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0547564651&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): “It would actually be nice if there were some negative things that went along with conscientiousness,” Roberts told me. “But at this point it’s emerging as one of the primary dimensions of successful functioning across the lifespan. It really goes cradle to grave in terms of how people do.” What [is it](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscientiousness)? Basically, it’s being _“efficient, organized, neat, and systematic”_: Conscientiousness is the state of being thorough, careful, or vigilant; it implies a desire to do a task well. Conscientiousness is also one trait of the five-factor model of personality, and is manifested in characteristic behaviors such as being efficient, organized, neat, and systematic. It includes such elements as self-discipline, carefulness, thoroughness, self-organization, deliberation (the tendency to think carefully before acting), and need for achievement. Yeah, that sounds like a trait we all respect. What’s amazing is just how predictive it is of so many things we all desire. It’s pretty crazy really: ## **Money and job satisfaction? –** **_Check_** **.** _“Measured concurrently, emotionally stable and conscientious participants_ [_reported higher incomes and job satisfaction._](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-personality-traits-predict-higher-income)_“_ ## **Finding a job? –** **_Check_** **.** _“…the personality traits Conscientiousness and Neuroticism have a_ [_strong impact on the instantaneous probability of finding a job, where the former has a positive effect_ ](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-personality-types-are-more-likely-to-sta)_and the latter has a negative effect.”_ ## ### 5 Horrible Habits You Need to Stop Right Now  Do Not Email First Thing in the Morning or Last Thing at Night “The former scrambles your priorities and all your plans for the day and the latter just gives you insomnia,” says Ferriss, who insists “email can wait until 10am” or after you check off at least one substantive to-do list item. Chris Pecoraro—Getty Images  Do Not Agree to Meetings or Calls With No Clear Agenda or End Time “If the desired outcome is defined clearly… and there’s an agenda listing topics–questions to cover–no meeting or call should last more than 30 minutes,” claims Ferriss, so “request them in advance so you can ‘best prepare and make good use of our time together.'” Sam Edwards—Getty Images/Caiaimage  Do Not Check Email Constantly Batch it and check it only periodically at set times (Ferriss goes for twice a day). Your inbox is analogous to a cocaine pellet dispenser, says Ferriss. Don’t be an addict. Tools like strategic use of the auto responder and Boomerang can help. Jetta Productions—Getty Images  Do Not Carry a Digital Leash 24/7 At least one day a week leave you smartphone somewhere where you can’t get easy access to it. If you’re gasping, you’re probably the type of person that most needs to do kick this particular habit. by nacoki ( MEDIA ARC )—Getty Images/Flickr RF  Do Not Let People Ramble Sounds harsh, but it’s necessary, Ferriss believes. “Small talk takes up big time,” he says, so when people start to tell you about their weekends, cut them off politely with something like “I’m in the middle of something, but what’s up?” But be aware, not everyone agrees with this one (and certainly not in every situation), and you may want to pay particularly close attention to norms around chit chat when traveling internationally. Reza Estakhrian—Getty Images ## **Long marriage? –** **_Check_** **.** _“…our findings suggest that conscientiousness_ [_is the trait most broadly associated with marital satisfaction_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-personality-trait-should-you-seek-in-a-s) _in this sample of long-wed couples.”_ ## **Healthier life? –** **_Check_** **.** _“Among adults over age 45 (n = 2,419), Neuroticism and low Agreeableness were associated with metabolic syndrome, whereas high Conscientiousness was protective._ [_Individuals who scored in the top 10% on Conscientiousness were approximately 40% less likely to have metabolic syndrome…_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-common-feeling-that-might-lead-to)_“_ ## Long life? – _Check_. _“Conscientiousness, which was the best predictor of longevity when measured in childhood, also turned out to be_ [_the best personality predictor of long life when measured in adulthood._](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-single-most-important-personality-t)_“_ And let’s not forget good grades and staying out of jail. Via [How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547564651/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0547564651&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): …conscientiousness was the trait that best predicted workplace success. What intrigues Roberts about conscientiousness is that it predicts so many outcomes that go far beyond the workplace. People high in conscientiousness get better grades in school and college; they commit fewer crimes; and they stay married longer. They live longer – and not just because they smoke and drink less. They have fewer strokes, lower blood pressure, and a lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. Can life really be that simple? Isn’t there something conscientiousness doesn’t predict that we all respect and desire? Yes. ## Creativity and independence. So the question is, _to what degree is conscientiousness universally good — and to what degree is our society merely structured to reward it?_ Our schools love to pay creativity lip service, but those aren’t the students that get celebrated. Via [How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547564651/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0547564651&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): Teachers rewarded repressed drones, according to Bowles and Gintis; they found that the students with the highest GPA’s were the ones who scored lowest on measures of creativity and independence, and the highest on measures of punctuality, delay of gratification, predictability, and dependability. Teachers often say they love creative students. [They don’t](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/12/do-teachers-love-or-hate-creative-students/): Judgments for the favorite student were negatively correlated with creativity; judgments for the least favorite student were positively correlated with creativity. Students displaying creative characteristics appear to be unappealing to teachers. The workplace isn’t any different. Via [How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547564651/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0547564651&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): Bowles and Gintis then consulted similar scales for office workers, and they found that supervisors judged their workforce the way teachers judged their students. They gave low ratings to employees with high levels of creativity and independence and high ratings to those workers with high levels of tact, punctuality, dependability, and delay of gratification. Are you a creative person? Want to be a CEO? Good luck. [You’ll need it](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/02/does-being-creative-harm-your-chances-of-beco/): In sum, we show that the negative association between expressing creative ideas and leadership potential is robust and underscores an important but previously unidentified bias against selecting effective leaders. I have no doubt that conscientiousness is a valuable trait pretty much anywhere. To be blunt, having your shit together is a respectable quality. But we should all be concerned that our system may be too extreme in rewarding conscientiousness and punishing creativity. **Join 45K+ readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). Related posts: [What does the most comprehensive study of geniuses tell us about creativity? ](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/10/what-does-the-most-comprehensive-study-of-gen/) [Are creative people more likely to be crazy?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/07/are-creative-people-more-likely-to-be-crazy/) [What are the four principles that will lead you to breakthrough creativity?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-are-the-four-principles-that-will-lead-y) _This piece originally appeared on_ [_Barking_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)[ _Up the Wrong Tree_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)_._ _Read next:_ [_Are You Secretly an Introvert?_](http://time.com/3713965/are-you-secretly-an-introvert/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3136568/science-points-to-the-single-most-valuable-personality-trait/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3136568/science-points-to-the-single-most-valuable-personality-trait/"},"headline":"Science Points to the Single Most Valuable Personality Trait","datePublished":"2014-08-22T04:01:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:44:24.462Z","description":"Research is pointing to conscientiousness as the one-trait-to-rule-them-all in terms of future success, both career-wise and personal. Via How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the...","url":"https://time.com/3136568/science-points-to-the-single-most-valuable-personality-trait/","keywords":["Psychology","efficiency","curiosity","apester"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc990ae9c63704160/69869feff983e7018604f448/mans-eye.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc990ae9c63704160/69869feff983e7018604f448/mans-eye.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"mans-eye","caption":"104293233","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3136568/science-points-to-the-single-most-valuable-personality-trait/","name":"Science Points to the Single Most Valuable Personality Trait"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Surprising Secret to Success for Jay-Z and Other Business Leaders","description":"The Surprising Secret to Success for Jay-Z and Other Business Leaders","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/infQ20n3/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-12-11T16:37:55.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/infQ20n3.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3136568/science-points-to-the-single-most-valuable-personality-trait/","duration":"PT1M42S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3136568/science-points-to-the-single-most-valuable-personality-trait/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```