Leaders with conscientiousness take ownership of their own emotions and responsibilities. By taking conscientious ownership of your emotions, you have options. You are not at the mercy of others; you are in control. This gives you the power to decide what to do or say next. A leader that lacks conscientiousness does not have ownership of his emotions and responsibilities, blames others, has a poor follow through, and is disorganized in his work and personal life. You can easily spot one as they are chronically late, and are constantly missing appointments, breaking promises, and letting others down. Conscientiousness is a scale and all you need to do is work on moving up the scale until you reach the point at which you are getting the results that you want from life. To build or enhance your conscientiousness skills, consistently, practice the following:

• Enhance your emotional self-management: Develop the skill of managing your own emotions and their consequences in your decision-making process.
• Set goals: Conscientious leaders are goal oriented--sit down and set some goals that are important to you, and create a plan for achieving those goals.
• Plan your day: Take 5 minutes at night and plan your next day. Create a realistic daily schedule, and stick to it.
• Be punctual: By being punctual, you show respect for your time and for the people that work and live with you.
• Always finish your tasks: Create the habit of sticking to a task, project, or goal, until you cross the finish line.
• Don't commit to more than you can handle: When you make a commitment to do something, uphold your commitment.
• Be perseverant: Conscientious leaders have grit; they persevere until they get the job done.
• Bring order to your working space: Start by decluttering your working space and then create a cleaning schedule that works for you. Take a few minutes to clear your desk before you leave work each evening.
• Be respectful of others: Brush up on your etiquette and pay more attention to how your behavior affects others.
• Meet deadlines: Stop procrastinating and start handing assignments in on time and meeting project deadlines.
• Follow a sleep schedule: Ensure that you get enough sleep, and get up when the alarm goes off.
• Exercise on a regular basis: Take up a physical activity that you enjoy and do it on a regular basis make it a routine.