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

2. 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

3. 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.

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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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?

13. 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?

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

15. Questions? Marty Knight, PMP Birkman Website 501.269.0450 (Cell)
Birkman Website