Personality Profiling: boxed in or set free?

Are you a personality profiling sceptic? 

I believe that profiling can provide a useful way of getting to know yourself and others. However, the flip side is that people may feel boxed into a category. I want to provide you with some positive reasons why embarking on profiling can be beneficial to both you and your teams.

I am an MBTI accredited provider and believe strongly in the value of using tools to discover more about who you are an how you interact. I have always been drawn to helping people find out more about who they are and how they can develop as a person and reach their potential.  

The aim of profiling is to identify and work to your strengths as a leader/manager, while being self-aware of your weaknesses. however, it should not stop here, if you share this knowledge with your team and gain their committment to study their profiles, team synergy can be achieved.

Benefits of profiling 

Individual development – identifying leadership style, developing managerial potential, time and stress management, and executive coaching

Team building and team development – improving communication, enhancing team problem solving, valuing diversity and resolving conflict

Organisational change – understanding and dealing with responses to rapid change, understanding team and corporate culture

Career development – identifying learning styles, motivations & providing career guidance 

Take the challenge, discover the synergy achieved through a better understanding of yourself and your team members.

Carpe diem

Karen

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Living in the present

We bought a banner several months ago to put up at home, the quote by someone anonymous got our attention: "Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, Today is a gift". It wasn't until my seven year old daughter quoted it to me on the second of January, while I was being preoccupied with worry, that I realized it's profoundness.

It is so easy to spend time regretting the past and worrying about the future that we miss the gift of today. It was humbling to think that out of the 'mouth of babes' came a gift for that day. I must confess living in the present and focussing on today has not come easy lately. I am reminded again that it is in the present that we live the moments, draw from them, and shape our past and future.

At this time of year we are looking at setting goals for all areas of our lives. Let's be mindful that in our work as leaders and managers we need to set goals and have daily achievable actions to keep us focussed in the present. Goals that are not easily broken down into daily actions will be fruitless.

Our challenge: find ways to live in the present in all areas of life and work.

Carpe diem
Karen

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Your Focus Style

Confronted with an unfamiliar problem or challenge, most of us tend to focus on the information provided in two distinct ways. Each of these approaches has it's advantages and disadvantages.

Take the quick quiz below by answering A or B. We will talk about your results later.

1. When deciding on a holiday destination, I usually;
A Conduct in depth research and take my time
B Choose on the basis of what catches my eye

2. When choosing a new electrical appliance, I principally base my decision on;
A Product reviews and careful comparison of features
B Which one I feel more drawn to by it's look or feel

3. When deciding on a course of action, I;
A Plan steps that lead to my specific goal
B Know roughly what my goal is but work out how to get there as I go

4. I feel happiest when I know;
A The single best way of achieving a goal
B The full range of options open to me

5. When working towards a solution to a complex problem, I;
A proceed one step at a time
B Keep my eyes on the big picture

6. I firmly believe that what matters most in life is;
A Achieving clearly defined goals
B Exploring a full range of possibilities

7. When working towards a goal I tend to;
A Follow a detailed plan
B Think on my feet as I go along

8. I would sooner learn how to do something by;
A Studying in depth and mastering the rules
B Finding out by trail and error

9. If I lose something at home, I start by;
A Methodically searching all the places where it could be
B Having a quick look around in the most likely places

10. When solving a problem, I spend more time on;
A Studying all the details
B Coming up with as many different solutions as possible

Count up you A and B responses.

If you had more A's than B's your natural style is that of a "Pathfinder"

More B's than A's would indicate that your focus style is that of a "Pilot".

Same amount of A's and B's means that you are able to switch your style to match your problem.

Pathfinder

Pathfinders adopt a methodical. Step-by-step approach to gathering information. They are detail focussed. This focus style is appropriate for technical problems, that have a single or few solutions. The main drawback of this style is that you can expect to find limited solutions to problems or issues, whereas there may be multiple options.

Pilots

Pilots take a broader approach to problem solving. They tend to have a high-level view of information. They can also rely on intuition and gut feelings. The Pilot approach works best where there is a wide range of viable options.

The idea is to be proficient in both styles of focus. This promotes flexible, creative and adaptive thinking.

Later,

Brad

(adapted from Think Smart Act Smart, Darren Bridger & David Lewis)

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Procrastination: the enemy of time

Do you ever find yourself in a rut, worrying about what needs to be done rather than getting it done. Well you are not alone. We all have our reasons for why we put things off and choose not to act, and instead procrastinate.

Whatever the reason, we need to realise that inaction reaps: stress, worry, anxiety, concern and the list goes on. On the other hand adhering to the motto "never put off until tomorrow what you can do today" we are less likely to find ourselves in a place where we have incomplete tasks, projects, bills and more.

Procrastination is opportunity's assassin. ~Victor Kiam

Carpe Diem

Karen

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