How to understand different personalities to build positive work cultures. Presented by: Simone Fitzsimon

Session 1  Go through scoring  Explain 4 Personality Indicators  Discuss personality types  Feedback Models (if time permits)  Preparation for session 2 Session 2  In groups go through cultural norms and expectations  How can our personality types work together to establish a great work culture?  What steps are we going to take as a team to improve our workplace culture?

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)  This assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions.  These preferences were extrapolated by Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers from the typological theories proposed by Carl Gustav Jung, and first published in his 1921 book Psychological Types.  Jung theorized that there are four principal psychological functions by which we experience the world: sensation, intuition, feeling, and thinking.  One of these four functions is dominant most of the time.

 Extraverted/Introverted  This reflects what generically energises a person  Extraverted types learn best by talking and interacting with others. By interacting with the physical world, extraverts can process and make sense of new information.  Introverted types prefer quiet reflection and privacy. Information processing occurs for introverts as they explore ideas and concepts internally.  Sensing/Intuitive  This reflects what a person focuses their attentions on.  Sensing types enjoy a learning environment in which the material is presented in a detailed and sequential manner. Sensing types often attend to what is occurring in the present, and can move to the abstract after they have established a concrete experience.  Intuitive types prefer a learning atmosphere in which an emphasis is placed on meaning and associations. Insight is valued higher than careful observation, and pattern recognition occurs naturally for Intuitive types.

 Thinking/Feeling  This reflects the person’s decision preferences.  Thinking types desire objective truth and logical principles and are natural at deductive reasoning.  Feeling types place an emphasis on issues and causes that can be personalized while they consider other people's motives.  Judging/Perceiving  This reflects how the person regards complexity.  Judging types will thrive when information is organized and structured, and they will be motivated to complete assignments to gain closure.  Perceiving types will flourish in a flexible learning environment in which they are stimulated by new and exciting ideas.

Did this test accurately describe your personality Indicators?

The Sandwich Model 1. Positive Feedback – start by outlining the positive things they are doing well 2. Constructive Feedback – Follow up by mentioning the area of improvement 3. Positive Feedback – Finish on a positive note by communicating that overall they are doing well

Four Stage Feedback Model 1. Current Behaviours – communicate the specific behaviour you wish to address 2. Situations – Explain the specific situations where you have observed this behaviour 3. Impacts and Consequences – Detail the impact of the current behaviour on the individual or other staff members 4. Alternative Behaviours – Suggest or give an example of a more positive way to behave in this situation

 Turn to your colleague on your left  Take turns giving positive feedback using one of the models  e.g:  Positive: “I love it when you bring me a cake for my birthday”  Constructive: “I have heard your cakes are delicious, it would be great if the next one could be gluten free as I am gluten intolerant. I believe I have mentioned this in passing the last 5 years of us working together”  Positive: “Thank you for being the only person who remembers my birthday every year and for taking the time and effort of baking me a cake”

1. Think about how your personality affects your team ▪P▪Positive influences ▪N▪Negative influences 2. Think about how you would give positive feedback to your colleagues 3. Think about the culture of your work environment WWhat does your team value? WWhat is important to your team? WWhat does your team reward? WWhat does your team criticise or look down upon?

LUNCH Please sit with your work colleagues in the next session. (DO NOT open your folders until instructed )

Open your folders and take out the question paper. Below each question write the groups answers.  What does your team value?  What is important to your team?  What does your team reward?  What does your team criticise or look down upon?

 There are a few well researched profiling techniques; one of them is by Dr Meredith Belbin a UK academic and consultant who developed the Belbin team roles model in the late 1970s.  This model has no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ roles  Some roles tend to be more extroverted while other roles tend to be more introverted. Not all extroverted roles are self-motivating and not all introverted roles need ‘motivating’ or ‘instructing’  This model gives an understanding of individual personalities and team roles.  The proactivity, direction, attitude and motivation of any role depends on a wide variety of factors such as organisational and personal aims and values, personal circumstance, emotional maturity, life-stage, leadership influences, reward systems and many other internal and external environmental conditions.  Different people respond to different stimuli so the more we understand ourselves and others the more we learn about what motivates us.

Role Strengths and Styles Coordinator ( extroverted ) Able to get others working to a shared aim, clarifies group objectives, sets agendas and establishes priorities. Is decisive but does not dominate discussions. Shaper ( extroverted ) Motivated, energetic, achievement- driven, assertive, and competitive. Looks for pattern in discussions and practical considerations regarding the feasibility of the project. Can steamroller the team, but gets results. Plant ( extroverted ) Innovative, inventive, creative, original, imaginative, unorthodox, problem-solving. They are the source of original ideas, suggestions and proposals that are usually original and radical. Monitor- Evaluator Serious, prudent, critical thinker, analytical. They contribute a measured and dispassionate analysis and stop the team committing itself to a misguided task. Implementer Systematic, common sense, loyal, structured, reliable, dependable, practicable, efficient. They turn decisions into defined and manageable tasks, sort out objectives and solve them logically. Role Strengths and Styles Resource Investigator Quick, good communicator, networker, outgoing, affable, seeks and finds options, negotiator. They go outside the team to bring in ideas, information and developments. They are the teams sales person. Team Worker Supportive, sociable, flexible, adaptable, perceptive, listener, calming influence, mediator. Operates against division and disruption in the team, particularly in times of stress and pressure. Completer-Finisher Attention to detail, accurate, high standards, quality orientated, delivers to schedule and specification. They maintain a permanent sense of urgency with the relentless follow-through. Specialist Technical expert, highly focused capability and knowledge, driven by professional standards and dedication to personal subject area.

Using the labels in your folder, stick the role on the person you think matches its description. There can be more than 1 person on the team who fits this description. DO NOT label yourself. What we believe we show to our colleagues is often not what our colleagues see.

What steps are we going to take as a team to improve our workplace culture?/Template in your folder.  List the steps  Give a time line to revisit the steps  e.g. ▪ At the regular meetings ▪ Every 2 weeks for 3 months  How will the team celebrate if there is a fantastically improved work culture

References  personality-test.pdf personality-test.pdf 