"I" type personalities are the socially active people among us that concentrate on people and interaction, often at the expense of completing tasks.

These people are often the life of a party. They love to have center stage and are always people focused and rarely task focused.

These are the Keith Ferrazzis (author of Never Eat Alone) of this world, the Ronald Reagans, the Bette Midlers. They love to talk and interact and often volunteer for any committee that involves lots of meetings and outings or for committees that plan social gatherings.

Although it sounds like these people are way too party focused to be productive members of a team, they are essential components to every team. They are the glue that bonds the team together. They create the fun atmosphere that draws people in and keeps them as part of a team. They are sensitive to others and can often read the emotional signals in team members better than anyone.

I's, like any of the personality traits, have strengths and weaknesses. I have summarized these traits in the following table:

Tendencies:

• Interacting with people


• Working in a group


• Being optimistic about circumstances and people


• Articulate


• Making a good impression


• Creating enthusiasm


• Entertaining people


• Impulsive


• Inspirational


• Excitable


• Persuasive


• Trusting

• An environment with recognition socially and recognition of ability


• People-focused or interactive


• Free from detail and overburdening controls


• Where they are free to express themselves

• Concentrate on activities


• Deal with things instead of people


• Take a logical and/or systematic approach

• Provide recognition


• Requires help with time management


• Help them set priorities


• Freedom to achieve the end result without overbearing rules


• Friendly work environment

• Optimistic


• Persuasive


• Helping others


• Flexible


• Negotiating


• Motivating


• Enthusiastic


• Manage change well

• Time management


• Too emotional


• May be sarcastic


• Not a good finisher


• Impulsive

• Listen to them


• Start on a social note and move into business


• Be friendly


• Expect fast decisions but ask questions to confirm the legitimacy of the decision


• Recognize them in public but never criticize them in public


• Ask for their input

If you are an I type personality, your biggest challenge is to ensure that you stay focused on the tasks at hand and not just pay attention to the people around you. You need to carefully manage your time because it is way too easy to spend your time frivolously with people rather than working productively. However, you need to try to work in a role that allows you to interact with people because your people skills and emotional intuition are extremely valuable to any team setting.

If you are managing an I, be aware of these things and provide an interactive and friendly environment for the Is to work in. Always start on a social note before diving into the business at hand and help the Is manage their schedule and their time.

If you follow these basic guidelines your interaction with I type personalities will be much more fun and substantially more productive!

For the last six weeks we have reviewed Values and how important they are to your success in life. This is the first part of the Strength Zone process. The second part of the Strength Zone process is to understand your personality and the strengths and weaknesses of your personality. The personality model that we will be using is called the DISC model and the first personality type we are going to examine is called the "D" personality.

D type personalities ("D" referring to the DISC personality profile system) are the bulldozers among us that concentrate on completing tasks, often times at the expense of the people around them.

These are the General Pattons of this world, the Jack Welchs, the Stormin' Normans (Norman Schwarzkopf) the Mr T's. These are the individuals that drive hard towards their goal and stop for nothing on their way to achieving this goal! I have a confession to make.....I am a D type personality. I am often guilty of being way to task focused and not enough people focused. So far this sounds rather negative, however, without D type people who stay focused on task completion there are some things in this world (including some things in your business and maybe in your family) that might not ever get done.

D's, like any of the personality traits, have strengths and weaknesses. I have summarized these traits below;

Tendencies; 

• Wants immediate results - impatient


• Loves challenge


• Very competitive


• Initiates action


• Confident


• Risk taker


• Makes snap decisions but can change a decision when new data comes in


• Questions popular thinking


• Takes authority


• Solves problems


• Manages trouble


• Task oriented

• Independence


• Authority


• Power


• Frequent and new challenges


• Individual accomplishment


• Wide scope of operations


• Direct answers


• Freedom from controls or supervision


• Ability to advance or be promoted


• Varied activities

• Review pros and cons of decisions


• Are cautious in decision making and calculate risks


• Have empathy towards others

• Must have challenging work


• Must pace themselves and relax


• Must understand that they need others


• Must take the time required for decisions and must try to have enough data to make the proper decision.

• Efficient organizers


• Focused


• Results oriented


• Responsible for actions and decisions

• Lack of people skills


• Making decisions without all of the information required

• Start with the bottom line


• Look for mutual areas of agreement (mutual wins)


• Don't lead up to the task at hand with small talk. Get to the point.


• Ask "What" questions not "How" questions.


• Stick to facts, not opinion.


• Don't over-dominate.


• Don't patronize.


• Be prepared and organized.


• Be clear and direct.

If you are a D type personality, I'm speaking from personal experience here, your biggest challenge is to ensure that you pay attention to the people issues around you and not just focus on the task(s) at hand. You need to patiently consider information from multiple sources and multiple biases before making decisions. Don't make a major decision today based on one source of information and change your mind tomorrow when you get another piece of information. You need to take time to genuinely listen to others and socially interact. Don't make the mistake that I did early in my marriage when I asked my wife to cut the chit-chat and get to the point......a very bad mistake which I have never repeated!

If you are managing a D, be aware of these things and provide a challenging environment with as much autonomy as possible. When interacting with a D, make sure you get to the point, stick to the facts and don't waste time with idle chit-chat.

If you follow these basic guidelines your interaction with D type personalities will be less antagonistic and substantially more productive!

Corporate Values and Mutual Alignment of Values

In part 1 to 4 of this series we have learned what values are, why they are important, how they are different between individuals, the value of integrity and what happens if you violate your values. We haven't discussed how to get along with other people with differing values. This is best explained by looking at corporate values.

Personal values can be different than corporate values. In most cases, they should be different. Corporate values are established to serve the corporation, its employees, and its customers. These values must align with personal values, but they don't have to be the same. Take Disney for example. Disney's values are safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency. Most family oriented people would not choose efficiency over spending time with family. However, working at Disney does not force a family-oriented person to violate the value of family. It simply means that the person's values must be aligned with Disney's values while at work. They are sharing values.

Disney understands that an employee may have to leave work should a family member become injured or sick. The company would never force that employee to remain working so it could operate a show more efficiently. Disney understands that would violate all their values (safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency would all be negatively affected due to the employee's concern about the family member). This is what shared values are all about.

Similarly individuals with different values can still interact with each other positively and build great relationships. They do this by a mutual alignment of value systems as part of their interaction. This means that while they are together they are careful to not violate the values of the other people while at the same time maintaining their own. This can be accomplished by embracing shared values while together.

Take business partners, for example, with differing sets of values. One is single and is totally career focused and the other is married and values family over his career. These two individuals can have a great personal and professional relationship if they embrace shared values while together and are careful not to violate the personal values of their partner. This takes understanding and commitment as there will always be stresses against this relationship. The single person will be inclined to want the family oriented person to work longer hours and attend business oriented functions. The family oriented person may be directly opposed to both of these objectives. The two business partners must identify these areas of contention and put agreements or shared values in place that allow for a prosperous business as well as a productive relationship. This takes commitment to shared values, respect for each other and perseverance.

In cases where differing values do violate or negatively impact personal values, action must be taken. In the corporate environment the corporation must decide if it needs to realign its values to better serve its employees. If the organization does not choose realignment, the individual must decide if he or she can continue working in that environment. Typically, the individual will have to move into a different line of work. Failure to move out of that environment will only result in continued stress and job dissatisfaction. In the case of personal relationships, if agreement around shared values cannot be reached and values are continually violated by one or both of the parties then it is best to sever the personal relationships.

Fortunately, this does not have to be a common occurrence. In most cases, individuals are serious about their relationships and a mutual agreement around shared values is reached. On these agreements wonderful, long term relationships are founded.