The Missing NIL Variable: Conscientiousness

Keeping what you make: The importance of conscientiousness

Part 3 of 8 in a series on athlete money personality and the NIL variable everyone is missing.

Today’s conversation centers around the second trait in the OCEAN model of personality which is conscientiousness. Academics describe conscientiousness as an individual’s propensity for:

• Organization

• Productiveness

• Responsibility

Specifically, highly conscientious people are self-starters. They show up on time and follow through. They likely only need to be told something once, and it is done. On the other side, low conscientiousness many times expresses itself as a lack of organization and follow-through. Low conscientiousness can be frustrating to work with across team environments in business and sports.

As this series of posts are specifically tailored to current and former athletes, below is a list of a few of the all-time greats. Take some time to reflect on what you think they all have in common.

• Michael Jordan

• Kobe Bryant

• Nolan Ryan

• Tom Brady

While all of them possess an incredible amount of natural ability and God-given talent, what made them superstars was their relentless pursuit of excellence over long periods of time. There truly aren’t many “overnight successes.” Behind every breakout star is usually a lot of grit and effort in the same direction.

A coach with experience intuitively knows this to be true. Certain players are the first in the facility and the last to leave.

The same trait that is correlated with follow-through and commitment on the field also affects the rest of life and yes, how an athlete handles their money.

Conscientiousness and Money

At Wealth Science, we like to call conscientiousness the “wealth trait.” In fact, it may be the most important trait to measure of all five in the planning process. Jerry Jones told Cedee Lamb two big things after he signed his major contract extension. He encouraged him to “be careful and look under the hood” of his financial matters. He ended with telling him, “You don’t have to be smart to make money.” The implication here is that it’s one thing to make money, but holding on to it is a different matter. In more technical terms, much of building wealth is about transferring income into net worth. Jerry may have been talking about conscientiousness without even knowing it.

Much of building wealth is about transferring income into net worth.

High Conscientiousness and Money

The emerging field of psychology and money demonstrates that conscientiousness correlates with several positive financial outcomes. In peer reviewed studies, individuals high in conscientiousness had higher net worths, a greater sense of financial well-being, and higher financial literacy rates.

As a practitioner, I have noticed common patterns in highly conscientious clients that support the literature. Specifically highly conscientious people seem more likely to:

• Engage in the planning process

• Maintain spending discipline

• Read important materials and documents

• Show up to meetings prepared and with questions

In the world of NIL, much of the focus is justifiably on building plans and advice around boundaries. However, the high conscientious individuals may need another prescription. The extreme end of conscientiousness trends closer towards perfectionism and good never being good enough. There is a healthy level of enjoying the fruits of your labor in the right context and with the right people. Often a high conscientiousness person needs a relief valve. In the meeting room, this may play out in several practical ways:

• Give them the trust they deserve and have earned. The job in this scenario is not to be the gatekeeper, but a trusted coach that can dole out wisdom when needed.

• Create separate accounts and set aside money for the purpose of spending. Sometimes it is okay to enjoy life here and now.

Over-emphasize and communicate that a financial plan is not a linear journey. There are tradeoffs and competing priorities. Sometimes, a “savings vacation” is needed and necessary for a season due to a pressing financial need.  In summary, highly conscientious athletes are typically high achievers that are hard on themselves when they don’t reach a goal—even if it’s financial. An encouraging advisor may be beneficial.

Low Conscientiousness and Money:

The role and recommendations of an advisor to an individual with lower conscientiousness is vastly different than the recommendations described above. A common phrase we repeat at Wealth Science is that in scenarios with lower conscientiousness, the client is “renting conscientiousness” from the advisor. They need systems designed for financial success. The simpler the better.

• Monthly contributions for big savings goals versus large lump sums. In other words, dollar cost averaging into a big number instead of planning on saving a big windfall.

• Limit spending on credit cards and who has access to them. Research has shown a significant “credit card premium” related to spending behavior on credit cards.

• Create an automated cash flow system that creates built-in boundaries and accountability on spending behavior.

• Consider a fractional CFO for bill pay that has transparency into all inflows and outflows. 

• Schedule quarterly reviews to reconcile all transactions.

Understanding the challenges with lower conscientiousness gives the advisor a greater sense of urgency with execution of planning details that may seem effortless to others. With that in mind, advisors may need an extra dose of patience in helping low C athletes.

In summary, a successful path with money can vary greatly based on conscientiousness, and one size does not fit all—especially with athletes.

- Connor Jones, CFP®

Connor Jones is a former professional baseball player and financial planner at Wealth Science Advisors in Alpharetta.

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