Marty Knight, PMP Certified Independent Consultant Effective Team-Building Using the Birkman Method®

What is the Birkman Method®? Respondent data is gathered through a confidential, web-based assessment Assessment measures five dimensions of behavior: Usual Behavior Underlying Needs and Motivations Stress Behaviors Areas of Interest Organizational Focus Data placed into 11 different component behaviors

Birkman Reports Information gathered during assessment is used to generate the following reports: Life Style Grid® Areas of Interest Career Management Strengths and Needs Prescriptive Reports – Stress, Coaching, etc.

Birkman Reports – Life Style Grid® Direct Implementer Communicator Task People Administrator Planner Indirect

Life Style Grid® - Interests Direct Build, organize, see finished product, solve problems Sell, promote, persuade, and motivate Implementer Communicator Task People Plan, innovate, work with ideas, think of new approaches Do detail work, schedule activities, work with numbers Administrator Planner Indirect

Life Style Grid® - Usual Styles Direct Friendly, decisive, energetic, frank, and logical Competitive, assertive, flexible, excited about new things Implementer Communicator Task People Insightful, selectively sociable, thoughtful, reflective, and optimistic Orderly, cautious, concentrative, insistent Administrator Planner Indirect

Life Style Grid® - Needs Direct Strong, direct authority; casual, matter-of-fact relationships; energetic environment; directive scheduling Individual approval; defined authority; active environment; broad scheduling Implementer Communicator Task People Individual reassurance; suggestive direction; stimulating activities; personalized scheduling Friendly, but casual relationships; specific direction; demanding activities; close scheduling Administrator Planner Indirect

Life Style Grid® - Stress Behavior Direct Impatient; dismisses others’ feelings; being busy for the sake of doing so; finds it hard to give individual support Becomes easily distracted; distrusts others; fails to follow the plan; becomes domineering Implementer Communicator Task People Becomes indecisive; ignores social convention; finds it hard to act; sees the worst possibility Over-insistent on rules; resists necessary change; reluctant to confront others; tends to be “taken in” Administrator Planner Indirect

Life Style Grid® - Example (Me!) Usual Style: Competitive, assertive, excited about new things Interests: Planning, innovation, thinking of new approaches with some tendency toward selling, persuasion, and motivation Needs: Individual reassurance, suggestive direction, stimulating activities, personalized scheduling Stress: Sees the worst possibility, ignores social convention, becomes indecisive, finds it hard to act

11 Component Behaviors ESTEEM – Measures shyness, sensitivity, one-to-one relationships ACCEPTANCE – Measures comfort with group interaction STRUCTURE – Measures adherence to precedence and detail AUTHORITY – Measures verbal dominance ADVANTAGE – Measures the need to win ACTIVITY – Measures need for physical / kinesthetic movement CHALLENGE – Measures tendency toward self-criticism EMPATHY – Measures comfort with emotional expressiveness CHANGE – Measures need for variety and change of pace FREEDOM – Measures need to be different and stand out THOUGHT – Measures time needed for decision-making

Common Misconceptions – Uncovered and Dispelled by Birkman Others have the same needs that I have The way that a person acts is the way that he/she wants to be treated I can understand a person’s needs by the way that he/she talks

Team-Building Considerations What strengths do you have as a team? How will this work for them? Against them? Is there someone who stands out from the group? In what way? What are the differences between individuals and how do we deal with them?

Effective Team-Building with Birkman Communication WHAT INFORMATION DOES MY TEAM NEED FROM ME? WHEN AND HOW DO THEY NEED THAT INFORMATION DELIVERED? STAKEHOLDERS? SPONSORS? Understanding WHAT ARE MY TEAM MEMBERS GOOD AT? WHAT WILL MY TEAM EXPECT FROM ME? ME FROM THEM? RIGHT PEOPLE, RIGHT PLACE! Trust Effectiveness WHAT DO THE TEAM MEMBERS FIND FUN? STIMULATING? IN WHAT WORK SETTING WILL THEY BE MOST EFFECTIVE? WHAT DO THEY NEED TO BECOME BETTER?

Why Birkman? Non-Judgmental Both Descriptive and Prescriptive Profiles Relational Needs Organizational Strengths and Comparisons Prescriptive Reports: Coaching Page Differences to Watch Team Grid

Questions? Marty Knight, PMP Birkman Website 501.269.0450 (Cell) mknigh@acxiom.com Birkman Website http://www.birkman.com