Performance Management: What Do We Mean by "Performance"?

Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Copyright

1997-2008.

Adapted from Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development

Sections of This Topic Include:

On Performance in Organizations

Performance Management Applies to More than Employee Performance

On "Performance" in Organizations

(Performance management is a relatively new concept to the field of management.

Performance management literature typically starts out with various examinations
of the term "performance". The following information describes how the term
"performance" in this library is used in this library.)

Supervisors have conducted performance appraisals for years. Employees have

attended training sessions for years. Organization members have worked long, hard
hours for centuries. Processes, such as planning, budgeting, sales and billings have
been carried out for years in organizations. But all too often, these activities are
done mostly for the sake of doing them, not for contributing directly to the
preferred results of the organization.

Performance management reminds us that being busy is not the same as producing
results. It reminds us that training, strong commitment and lots of hard work alone
are not results. The major contribution of performance management is its focus on
achieving results -- useful products and services for customers inside and outside
the organization. Performance management redirects our efforts away from
busyness toward effectiveness.

Recently, organizations have been faced with challenges like never before.
Increasing competition from businesses across the world has meant that all
businesses must be much more careful about the choice of strategies to remain
competitive. Everyone (and everything) in the organization must be doing what
they're supposed to be doing to ensure strategies are implemented effectively.
This situation has put more focus on effectiveness, that systems and processes in
the organization be applied in the right way to the right things: to achieve results.
All of the results across the organization must continue to be aligned to achieve the
overall results desired by the organization for it to survive and thrive. Only then it
be said that the organization and its various parts are really performing.

Performance Management Applies to More than Employees

Typically, we think of performance in organizations, we think on the performance of

employees. However, performance management should also be focused on:

1. the organization

2. departments (computer support, administration, sales, etc.)

3. processes (billing, budgeting, product development, financial management, etc.)

4. programs (implementing new policies and procedures to ensure a safe

workplace; or, for a nonprofit, ongoing delivery of services to a community)

5. products or services to internal or external customers

6. projects (automating the billing process, moving to a new building, etc.)

7. teams or groups organized to accomplish a result for internal or external

customers

Overall Goal and Focuses of Performance Management

The overall goal of performance management is to ensure that the organization and
all of its subsystems (processes, departments, teams, employees, etc.) are working
together in an optimum fashion to achieve the results desired by the organization.

Performance Improvement of the Organization or a Subsystem is an Integrated

Process

Note that because performance management strives to optimize results and

alignment of all subsystems to achieve the overall results of the organization, any
focus of performance management within the organization (whether on department,
process, employees, etc.) should ultimately affect overall organizational
performance management as well.
Ongoing Activities of Performance Management

Achieving the overall goal requires several ongoing activities, including

identification and prioritization of desired results, establishing means to measure
progress toward those results, setting standards for assessing how well results were
achieved, tracking and measuring progress toward results, exchanging ongoing
feedback among those participants working to achieve results, periodically
reviewing progress, reinforcing activities that achieve results and intervening to
improve progress where needed. Note that results themselves are also measures.

Note that these general activities are somewhat similar to several other major
approaches in organizations, e.g., strategic planning, management by objectives,
Total Quality Management, etc. Performance management brings focus on overall
results, measuring results, focused and ongoing feedback about results, and
development plans to improve results. The results measurements themselves are
not the ultimate priority as much as ongoing feedback and adjustments to meet
results.

The steps in performance management are also similar to those in a well-designed

training process, when the process can be integrated with the overall goals of the
organization. Trainers are focusing much more on results for performance. Many
trainers with this priority now call themselves performance consultants.

Basic Steps

Various authors propose various steps for performance management. The typical
performance management process includes some or all of the following steps,
whether in performance management of organizations, subsystems, processes, etc.
Note that how the steps are carried out can vary widely, depending on the focus of
the performance efforts and who is in charge of carrying it out. For example, an
economist might identify financial results, such as return on investment, profit rate,
etc. An industrial psychologist might identify more human-based results, such as
employee productivity.
The following steps are described more fully in the topics Performance Plan,

Performance Appraisal and Development Plan, including through use of an example

application. The steps are generally followed in sequence, but rarely followed in
exact sequence. Results from one step can be used to immediately update or
modify earlier steps. For example, the performance plan itself may be updated as a
result of lessons learned during the ongoing observation, measurement and
feedback step.

NOTE: The following steps occur in a wide context of many activities geared towards
performance improvement in an organization, for example, activities such as
management development, planning, organizing and coordinating activities.

1. Review organizational goals to associate preferred organizational results in terms

of units of performance, that is, quantity, quality, cost or timeliness (note that the
result itself is therefore a measure)

2. Specify desired results for the domain -- as guidance, focus on results needed by
other domains (e.g., products or services need by internal or external customers)

3. Ensure the domain's desired results directly contribute to the organization's

results

4. Weight, or prioritize, the domain's desired results

5. Identify first-level measures to evaluate if and how well the domain's desired
results were achieved

6. Identify more specific measures for each first-level measure if necessary

7. Identify standards for evaluating how well the desired results were achieved
(e.g., "below expectations", "meets expectations" and "exceeds expectations")
8. Document a performance plan -- including desired results, measures and
standards

9. Conduct ongoing observations and measurements to track performance

10. Exchange ongoing feedback about performance

11. Conduct a performance appraisal (sometimes called performance review)

12. If performance meets the desired performance standard, then reward for
performance (the nature of the reward depends on the domain)

13. If performance does not meet the desired performance standards, then develop
or update a performance development plan to address the performance gap* (See
Notes 1 and 2)

14. Repeat steps 9 to 13 until performance is acceptable, standards are changed,

the domain is replaced, management decides to do nothing, etc.

* Note 1: Inadequate performance does not always indicate a problem on the part of
the domain. Performance standards may be unrealistic or the domain may have
insufficient resources. Similarly, the overall strategies or the organization, or its
means to achieving its top-level goals, may be unrealistic or without sufficient
resources.

* Note 2: When performance management is applied to an employee or group of

employees, a development plan can be initiated in a variety of situations, e.g.,:

a.) When a performance appraisal indicates performance improvement is needed,

that is, that there is a "performance gap"

b.) To "benchmark" the status of improvement so far in a development effort

c.) As part of a professional development for the employee or group of employees,
in which case there is not a performance gap as much as an "growth gap"

d.) As part of succession planning to help an employee be eligible for a planned

change in role in the organization, in which case there also is not a performance
gap as much as an "opportunity gap"

e.) To "pilot", or test, the operation of a new performance management system

Key terms include

domain

results

measures

indicators

organizational goals

organizational preferred results

aligning results

weighting results

standards

performance plans

observing, measurements and feedback

appraisal / review

reward

performance gap

development plans

The following basic terms will be described more fully later (through use of an
example) in the library in the upcoming subsections Performance Plan and
Development Plan.
Domain

The domain is the focus of the performance management effort, e.g., the entire
organization, a process, subsystem or an employee. A subsystem could be, e.g.,
departments, programs (implementing new policies and procedures to ensure a
safe workplace; or, for a nonprofit, ongoing delivery of services to a community),
projects (automating the billing process, moving to a new building, etc.), or teams
or groups organized to accomplish a result for an internal or external customer. A
process produces a product or service for internal or external customers, and
usually cuts across multiple subsystems. Examples of processes are market
research to identify customer needs, product design, product development, budget
development, customer service, financial planning and management, program
development, etc. The final domain is that of employee performance management.
The term domain is not widespread across performance management literature.

Results

These are usually the final and specific outputs desired from the domain. Results
are often expressed as products or services for an internal or external customers,
but not always. They may be in terms of financial accomplishments, impact on a
community, etc. Results are expressed in terms of cost, quality, quantity or time.

Measures

Measures provide specific information used to assess the extent of accomplishment

of results. Measurements are typically expressed in terms of time, quantity, quality
or cost. Results are a form of measure.

Indicators

Indictors are also measures. They indicate progress (or lack of) toward a result. For
example, some indicators of an employee's progress toward achieving preferred
results might be some measure of an employee's learning (usually expressed in
terms of areas of knowledge or specific skills) and productivity (usually measured in
terms of some number of outputs per time interval). (Note that learning and
productivity alone do not guarantee accomplishment of performance results.)
Organization's Preferred Goals

These are usually overall accomplishments desired by an organization and are often
established during strategic planning. The level of specificity of goals depends on
the nature and needs of the organizations. Typically, the more specific the goals,
the clearer the understanding of goals by the members of the organization.

Organization's Preferred Results

The performance management process often includes translating organizational

goals to be in terms of results, which themselves are described in terms of quantity,
quality, timeliness or cost.

Aligning Results

Performance management puts strong focus on ensuring that all parts of the
organization are working as efficiently and effectively as possible toward achieving
organizational results. Therefore, the results of all parts of the organization should
be aligned with the overall preferred results of the organization. Aligning results
often includes answering questions such as "Does the domain's preferred results
contribute to achieving the organization's preferred results? How? Is there anything
else that the domain could be doing to contribute more directly to the organization's
goals?"

Weighting Results

Weighting results refers to prioritizing the domain's preferred results, often

expressed in terms of a ranking (such as 1, 2, 3, etc.), percentage-time-spent, etc.

Standards

These specify how well a preferred result should be achieved by the domain. For
example, "meets expectations" or "exceeds expectations".
Performance Plan

The plan usually includes at least the domain's preferred results, how the results tie
back to the organization's preferred results, weighting of results, how results will be
measured and what standards are used to evaluate results.

Ongoing Observation, Measurements and Feedback

These activities include observing the domain's activities in terms of progress

toward preferred results, comparing progress to the preferred performance
standards and then providing ongoing feedback (useful, understood and timely
information to improve performance) to the domain.

Performance Appraisal (or Review)

In its most basic form, performance appraisal (or review) activities include
documenting achieved results (hopefully, by also including use of examples to
clarify documentation) and indicating if standards were met or not. The appraisal
usually includes some form of a development plan to address insufficient
performance. (More about this plan below.)

Rewards

The performance review process usually adds information about rewarding the
employee(s) if performance met or exceeded standards. Rewards can take many
forms, e.g., merit increases, promotions, certificates of appreciation, letters of
commendation, etc.

Performance Gap

This represents the difference in actual performance shown as compared to the

desired standard of performance. In employee performance management efforts,
this performance gap is often described in terms of needed knowledge and skills
which become training and development goals for the employee.
Performance Development Plan

Typically, this plan conveys how the conclusion was made that there was
inadequate performance, what actions are to be taken and by whom and when,
when performance will be reviewed again and how. Note that a development plan
for employee performance management may be initiated for various reasons other
than poor performance. (More on this later in Development Plan.)

Development and Contents of a Performance Plan

Most of us are used to thinking of performance management focused on the

employee, rather than the organization, groups, etc. Therefore, when first reviewing
the steps to develop a performance plan, it may be best to use the example of
employee performance management as done below. The reader should keep in
mind that these steps might be followed in performance efforts focused on the
entire organization or some subsystem of the organization.

In the example below, the focus -- or domain -- of the performance management

process is an employee. The employee is a machine operator; consequently,
application of performance management in this example is rather straightforward
for clarity in the example. Most applications are not this straightforward.

NOTE: As review about key terms in performance management, key terms are
bolded and italized below.

1. Review organizational goals to associate preferred organizational results in terms

of units of performance, that is, quantity, quality, cost or timeliness

Organizational goals are often established during strategic planning. Performance

management translates these goals to results, which typically are described in
terms of quantity, quality, timeliness or cost. Results are the primary products or
services desired from the focus of the performance process. Examples are a
percentage increase in sales, extent of impact on a certain community, etc. Goals
should be "SMART" (an acronym), that is, specific, measurable, acceptable, realistic
to achieve and time-bound with a deadline. For example, an overall goal may be to
increase the organization's profit by 30% by the end of the next fiscal year. An
associated strategy (or sub-goal), among others, may be to increase profit of the
Catalog Department by 50% over the next fiscal year.

2. Specify desired results for the domain -- as guidance, focus on results needed by
other domains (e.g., to internal or external customers)

For example, the operator's results are high-quality, printed images for the internal
customer, the Catalog Department. This aspect of performance management is
sometimes called "goal setting", particularly when the focus of the performance
process is on employees. Goals should be "SMART" and challenging.

3. Ensure the domain's desired results directly contribute to the organization's

results

Aligning results with organizational results is another unique aspect of performance

management process. Do the employee's results directly contribute to the results of
the organization? What organizational goals? How? For example, do the prints
directly contribute to the desired profit increase of 50% of the Catalog Department?
How? Is there anything else the operator could be doing that would be more
productive for this goal? Should a job analysis be done to verify efficiency?

4. Weight, or prioritize, the domain's desired results

A weight, or prioritization, is often in the form of percentage-time-spent, or a

numeric ranking with "1" as the highest. For example, the employee's results might
be weighted as follows:

a) 80% of his time over an 8-hour period, Monday through Friday over the next
fiscal year, to be spent running the machine

b)10% of this time in training

c)10% of this time in a Quality Circle.

5. Identify first-level measures to evaluate if and how well the domain's desired
results were achieved

Measures provide information to evaluate accomplishment of results. Measures are

usually specified in terms of quantity, quality, timeliness or cost. For example,
measures for the operator might be the number of prints over some time interval, a
certain grade on a test during his training and attendance recorded on attendance
sheets to his Quality Circle. Identifying which measures to take is often the toughest
part of the performance management process. You have to look at the appropriate
level or domain in the organization, its desired results, and consider what are the
most valid, reliable and practical measurements to use. With complex and rapidly
changing domains, it often helps to identify outcome and driver measures, and
patterns of effects. More about these terms in Performance Measurement, which is
also referenced back in Basic Overview of Performance Management.)

6. Identify more specific measures for each first-level measure if necessary

For example, regarding the operator's measure for operating his machine, he may
have to produce at least 500 high-quality prints an hour for eight hours, Monday
through Friday during the fiscal year. High-quality means no smears or tears. The
Director of the Catalog Department evaluates whether the operator made this goal
or not.

7. Identify standards for evaluating how well the domain's desired results were
achieved

Standards specify how well a result should be achieved. For example, the operator
"meets expectations" if the Director of the Catalog Department agrees that the
operator produced 500 high-quality prints an hour for eight hours, Monday through
Friday during the fiscal year. If he produces 600, he "exceeds expectations", 700 is
"superior performance", 400 is "does not meet expectation", etc.

8. Document a performance plan -- including desired results, measures and

standards

The performance plan describes the domain's preferred results, how results tie back
to the organization's results, weighting of results, how results will be measured and
what standards are used to evaluate results. Developing the plan is often the
responsibility of the head of the domain (in this example, the employee's
supervisor). However, the plan should be developed as much as possible with
participants in the domain. (Note that a performance plan is not the same as a
"performance development plan", which is mentioned later below.)

NOTE: Now is the best time to take stock of overall performance plans. Does the
domain have the necessary resources to achieve preferred results, e.g., necessary
funding, training, input from other subsystems, etc? Are the standards realistic? Can
the domain realistically achieve the results within the preferred time frame? Does
everyone involved in the measures really understand how to recognize the
measures? Do they know their role in the performance management process?

Basic Steps in a Performance Appraisal

As described in that last subsection, development of the Performance Plan typically

includes the first eight steps of the basic 14 steps in performance management. The
Performance Appraisal picks up from step nine. We also continue our example of
the machine operator. At this point in our example, the Performance Plan has been
developed.

Information in this section is generic to performance management, that is, the

information generally applies to any performance management effort, e.g.,
organization, process, subsystem or employee.

NOTE: As review about key terms in performance management, key terms are
bolded and italicized below.

9. Conduct ongoing observations and measurements to track performance

The operator's supervisor would observe the number of high-quality prints,

including staying in contact with the Director of the Catalog Department.

10. Exchange ongoing feedback about performance

Feedback is information relevant to how well results are being achieved. Useful
feedback is timely, feasible and understood. Ideally, feedback address key activities
to improve or reinforce performance. Usually, the larger the number of sources
giving feedback, the more accurate is the depiction of events. In our example, the
employee, supervisor and Director of the Catalog Department should continue to
share impressions of how well results are being achieved. Any ideas to improve or
support performance should be implemented as appropriate. This ongoing feedback
is often one of the most important aspects of performance management.
11. Conduct a performance appraisal (sometimes called performance review)

A performance appraisal (or review) includes documentation of expected results,

standards of performance, progress toward achieving of results, how well they were
achieved, examples indicating achievement, suggestions to improve performance
and how those suggestions can be followed. If the above steps in the performance
management process were followed, the performance appraisal is usually quite
straightforward to carry out. In our example, the appraisal should include input from
the employee, supervisor and Director of the Catalog Department. The performance
appraisal should be carried out at regular intervals as performance tracking is
underway.

12. If performance meets desired performance standards, reward for performance

In our example, the machine operator may be due some form of reward, that is,
recognition or compensation, e.g., letter of recognition, promotion, letter of
commendation, etc. This step in the performance management process is often
overlooked when focusing on organization-wide performance improvement, or on a
major subsystem.

Development and Contents of a Development Plan

As described in these previous subsections, development of the Performance Plan

typically includes the first eight steps of the basic 14 steps in performance
management. Development of the Performance Appraisal includes steps nine
through 12. Development of the Development Plan includes steps 13 and 14. We
also continue our example of the machine operator below. At this point in our
example, the Performance Plan and Performance Appraisal have been developed.

Information in this section is generic to performance management, that is, the

information generally applies to any performance management effort, e.g.,
organization, process, subsystem or employee.

NOTE: As review about key terms in performance management, key terms are
bolded and italicized below.
13. If performance does not meet desired performance standards, develop or
update a performance development plan to address the performance gap* (See
Notes 1 and 2 below.)

If performance does not meet standards, implement a performance development

plan. This plan clearly conveys how the conclusion was made that there was
inadequate performance, what actions are to be taken and by whom and when,
when performance will be reviewed again and how. In our example, if the operator
(or other domain) was not performing to standards, then some forms of help (or
interventions) should be provided (in this example, coaching, mentoring, training,
more resources, etc).

* Note 1: Inadequate performance does not always indicate a problem on the part of
the domain. Performance standards may be unrealistic or the domain may have
insufficient resources. Similarly, the overall strategies or the organization, or its
means to achieving its top-level goals, may be unrealistic or without sufficient
resources.

* Note 2: When performance management is applied to an employee or group of

employees, a development plan can be initiated in a variety of situations, e.g.,:

a.) When a performance appraisal indicates performance improvement is needed

b.) To "benchmark" the status of improvement so far in a development effort

c.) As part of a professional development for the employee or group of employees,

in which case there is not a performance gap as much as an "growth gap"

d.) As part of succession planning to help an employee be eligible for a planned

change in role in the organization, in which case there also is not a performance
gap as much as an "opportunity gap"

e.) To "pilot", or test, the operation of a new performance management system

14. Repeat steps 9 to 13 until performance is acceptable, standards are changed,

the domain is replaced, management decides to do nothing, etc.

4 Key Benefits of Performance Management

1. PM focuses on results, rather than behaviors and activities

A common misconception among supervisors is that behaviors and activities are the
same as results. Thus, an employee may appear extremely busy, but not be
contributing at all toward the goals of the organization. An example is the employee
who manually reviews completion of every form and procedure, rather than
supporting automation of the review. The supervisor may conclude the employee is
very committed to the organization and works very hard, thus, deserving a very
high performance rating.

2. Aligns organizational activities and processes to the goals of the organization

PM identifies organizational goals, results needed to achieve those goals, measures

of effectiveness or efficiency (outcomes) toward the goals, and means (drivers) to
achieve the goals. This chain of measurements is examined to ensure alignment
with overall results of the organization.

3. Cultivates a system-wide, long-term view of the organization.

Richard A. Swanson, in Performance Improvement Theory and Practice (Advances in

Developing Human Resources, 1, 1999), explains an effective performance
improvement process must follow a systems-based approach while looking at
outcomes and drivers. Otherwise, the effort produces a flawed picture. For example,
laying off people will likely produce short-term profits. However, the organization
may eventually experience reduced productivity, resulting in long-term profit loss.

4. Produces meaningful measurements

These measurements have a wide variety of useful applications. They are useful in
benchmarking, or setting standards for comparison with best practices in other
organizations. They provide consistent basis for comparison during internal change
efforts. They indicate results during improvement efforts, such as employee
training, management development, quality programs, etc. They help ensure
equitable and fair treatment to employees based on performance.

15 Other Benefits of Performance Management

Performance Management (PM):

1. Helps you think about what results you really want. You're forced to be
accountable, to "put a stake in the ground".
2. Depersonalizes issues. Supervisor's focus on behaviors and results, rather than
personalities.

3. Validates expectations. In today's age of high expectations when organizations

are striving to transform themselves and society, having measurable results can
verify whether grand visions are realistic or not.

4. Helps ensure equitable treatment of employees because appraisals are based on

results.

5. Optimizes operations in the organization because goals and results are more
closely aligned.

6. Cultivates a change in perspective from activities to results.

7. Performance reviews are focused on contributions to the organizational goals,

e.g., forms include the question "What organizational goal were contributed to and
how?"

8. Supports ongoing communication, feedback and dialogue about organizational

goals. Also supports communication between employee and supervisor.

9. Performance is seen as an ongoing process, rather than a one-time, shapshot

event.

10. Provokes focus on the needs of customers, whether internal or external.

11. Cultivates a systems perspective, that is, focus on the relationships and
exchanges between subsystems, e.g., departments, processes, teams and
employees. Accordingly, personnel focus on patterns and themes in the
organization, rather than specific events.

12. Continuing focus and analysis on results helps to correct several myths, e.g.,
"learning means results", "job satisfaction produces productivity", etc.

13. Produces specificity in commitments and resources.

14. Provides specificity for comparisons, direction and planning.

15. Redirects attention from bottom-up approaches (e.g., doing job descriptions,
performance reviews, etc., first and then "rolling up" results to the top of the
organization) to top-down approaches (e.g., ensuring all subsystem goals and
results are aligned first with the organization's overall goals and results).

Concerns About Performance Management

Typical concerns expressed about performance management are that it seems

extraordinarily difficult and often unreliable to measure phenomena as complex as
performance. People point out that today's organizations are rapidly changing, thus
results and measures quickly become obsolete. They add that translating human
desires and interactions to measurements is impersonal and even heavy handed.

Performance Management During Rapid Change

Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Copyright

1997-2008.

Adapted from Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development

Performance Management During Rapid Change

Today's organizations seem to change much more rapidly than in the past.
Consequently, many experts have strong reservations about the numerous
measurements that must be taken in performance management. They assert that
no sooner is a measurement identified than the measurement becomes obsolete
because the organization has changed substantially.
There are numerous measurements to consider when adopting a performance
management system. However, the measurements themselves are not the major
purpose of the performance management process. The purpose of the process is to
provide a consistent frame of reference during ongoing feedback about
performance, whether the organization is entirely stable or in the midst of rapid
change. Measurements ensure that everyone involved is working and talking from
the same script. The measurements themselves may change. However,
organization members should be able to recognize and explain the change. This
assertion is true whether one is addressing the performance of an organization,
process, subsystem or employee.

Consider the implications of the above assertion. The assertion is saying, e.g., that
when performance management is carried out with an employee, filling out the
performance form and having the performance discussion is not the highlight of the
performance process -- the highlight has been occurring during the year when the
supervisor and employee exchanged ongoing feedback about performance. Filling
out the form and having the discussion are really measurements, too. If the
performance process is done well, the performance review discussion should
include absolutely no surprises for the employee. All feedback to him or her already
should have occurred.

Frankly, many supervisors dread having to fill out the employee performance review
forms. That is the time means they have to recount the employee's activities during
the year, try translate the activities to areas of knowledge and skills shown by the
employee -- they have to "reverse engineer" what's been happening, mostly to fill
out a form. They worry that they haven't spent sufficient time noticing the
employee's behavior, that they might be confronted and proven wrong. They often
believe that the employee has been doing just fine during the year, so why have to
quit work now just to fill out a form. They worry that the employee may have high
expectations that can't be met by the performance process. That's how many
supervisors see the process - because the form and the various measurements that
it recalls, are too often seen as the end in themselves.

The most important part of the performance management process is the ongoing
communication around the measurements.
Performance Measurement: Guidelines, Myths and Examples

http://www.managementhelp.org/perf_mng/measure.htm

performance management

corporate performance management - for employee performance management in

businesses and organisations - training tips beyond systems to people

Managing performance requires us to reconcile caring for and developing our

people with ensuring that departmental and organisational aims are achieved.
Managing performance requires us to strike a balance between compassion and
accountability.

Good modern managers strive to balance these two areas according to the
situations in which performance needs managing. This involves judging each
different situation on merit and deciding a course of action and management style
that is right for the situation.

For instance, we need to be caring and compassionate if, for example, an employee
needs help and encouragement to get through difficulties or challenges. On the
other hand we need to focus on accountability responsibility where, for example,
matters of health and safety or essential processes or policies are concerned.

Being able to assess situations and adapt our management response is vital to
managing people. If we manage people well, we manage performance well too.

It's important to recognise a fundamental fact: that everyone is capable of

exceptional effort, productivity, output, and performance. There is actually no such
thing as a person who is in themselves a 'poor performer'. Where people fail to
perform in any respect it is generally because of poor management or a flawed
organisation.

Understanding this - that everyone is potentially a great performer - is a key to

being a great manager of people and performance. Recognising and accepting this
principle helps us to focus on helping people to find positive solutions, rather than
focusing blame, criticism and recrimination, the traditional resorts of old-style
autocratic or incompetent management and organisations.

Sumantra Ghoshal (1948-2004), the humanist management writer and academic,

who believed that management should be above all else a force for good, got it
right when he said:

"A very different philosophy of management is arising. We are moving beyond

strategy to purpose; beyond structure to process, and beyond systems to people....
Asshole management is not inevitable."

Performance management is about people. It's not about systems or processes or

rules or computer systems. It's about people.

Getting the best out of people is not rocket science - it's mostly about helping
people to do a great job.

A big part of what people need from their managers is a clear understanding of
what is expected - in other words - explanation and clarification and agreement of
performance expectations.

A second big part of what people need from their managers is help in meeting these
standards and expectations - which logically requires the manager to first find out
what help they need, because it's different for everyone, and if you don't ask then
you won't know. So why guess? Ask people what they need.

A huge proportion of performance problems can be traced back simply to a failure

to explain and agree expectations and/or a failure to understand and provide the
help that the person needs. These are the responsibilities of the manager - not the
employee. Don't assume everything is understood and perfectly within people's
capabilities. Instead, take time to explain, check and ask until everyone concerned
is happy and sure of what needs doing, why, and how.
Expectations need explaining and agreeing for all aspects of the employee's
responsibility and performance - from the most basic standards, to the most open-
ended freedoms - yes even freedom is an 'expectation' that must be explained,
understood and agreed.

Different aspects of performance, and different tasks and responsibilities, of course

need treating in different ways, as do people according to their different levels of
experience, knowledge, capability, capacity and confidence.

Usually the aspects of performance that place the biggest demands on managers,
and create the biggest challenges and problems, are those areas concerned with a
'failure' to perform to a certain standard or target or other requirement.
Performance above standard rarely creates a management headache. It makes
sense therefore to look first at managing performance at the level of basic
standards and responsibilities.

And just a quick note about performance appraisals and where they fit into
performane management: Attending to below-standard performance needs to be
handled at the time - do not wait to spring it on people several months later at the
dreaded performance appraisal. Make sure you never allow a situation to develop
where one of your people could turn round to you and say, "I wish you'd told me at
the time - if I'd known about it then I'd have sorted it out..."

Many people need to know how that are doing every day - ask them what will help
them most. Most people need feedback at least once a week. A few can get by with
feedback once a month, but even for seriously capable high-level strategic people
this is a starvation diet. Be mindful - performance management more than just a
once a year process - it's a continuous activity.

basic responsibilities and standards of performance

Certain expectations of performance are mandatory standards that are (or should
be) effectively written into employment contracts, or at least referred to in
appropriate operational procedures. Such expectations and standards form part of
the 'psychological contract' that exists between employer and employee. Other less
firm responsibilities and activities (for instance optional developmental
opportunities) of course often also form a part of the 'psychological contract', but
basic standards and job requirements are generally non-negotiable.

You must know what these things are, and you must have a clear commitment from
your people that these are 'given's, because we've all got better things to do than
fart around sorting out stuff that one might expect to come across in the primary
school playground, but not at grown-up work.

In other words, management is challenging enough without having to spend time on

things that form part of people's basic contract and published standards for doing
the job. By implication, this aspect of performance should manage itself.

So, what if performance needs managing in this area?

If performance falls short in this area you must revisit the 'psychological contract'
and probably the actual employment contract too, so as to clarify basic and non-
negotiable expectations as quickly and simply as possible.

But be compassionate and caring. Be creative about the way you handle below-
standard performance. Non-negotiable does not mean ruthless or uncaring. Be
sensitive. Be firm but be fair.

1. Are the performance standards agreed and written down?

If not, ensure they are and go through the process of reaffirming them, otherwise
you'll be building on sand. If necessary seek input from the department responsible
for employment contracts (usually HR), or if the standards in question are contained
within an operations procedure or manual, refer to the department which owns that
responsibility, for example health and safety, or quality.

2. Are the standards and expectations understood properly?

Explain them and seek confirmation of understanding and agreement.
'Understanding' extends beyond the written word or description of the standard - it
is a matter of checking people's interpretation - what it means to them. Check that
their interpretation meets the expectation or standard in practice and application
and spirit.

3. Are the standards agreed?

If not this is effectively a matter of discipline, and you should begin the disciplinary
process because you've got a problem here with the basic 'contract' between
employee and employer, and you should immediately inform whatever senior
people need to know this. Disagreement in this area amounts to defiance and
rejection of the 'contract' between employer and employee and needs dealing with
firmly and clearly, in accordance with disciplinary processes laid down by the
employer, which must be within applicable employment law. This all assumes that
the standards concerned do actually form part of the employee's formal 'contract'. If
not then the manager and if necessary representative from HR department must
revisit, redefine and agree the 'contract' with the employee to find out whether the
issue is a matter of discipline or education or re-negotiation - so watch out for these
situations. Warning signs are for instance when an employee says, "No-one ever
told me I had to do this," or "Show me where it says that I can't do (X, Y Z..)".
Sometimes people are genuinely under false impressions and simply need pointing
to the appropriate written standard somewhere. Other times people can be testing
the system. And at worst people can be actually rebelling. The manager's
responsibility is to identify the root reason that's causing the person to ignore or
flout the standards, and then to deal with it appropriately.

4. Are the standards agreed, but there's some other reason why they are not being
met?

Where there's no confusion about the standard or expectation that is not being met
you must sit down with the person and ask them what's happening that's making it
difficult for them to meet the standards. And then go from there. You must judge
the situation on merit and with sensitivity and if necessary seek input from an
appropriate person in the HR department, who will be better able to advise as
regards professional counselling, or any other support the employee needs in order
to resolve the difficulties. It's generally a matter for HR also to decide on any special
arrangements or dispensations, mindful of the circumstances. The duty of the line
manager in these situations is generally to identify what the problem is, whether
the person wants to resolve it, and to facilitate help or a solution. Managing
performance that is below 'contracted' standard starts with identifying the actual
root cause, so as to be able to take appropriate action, firmly, professionally,
creatively and compassionately.

a story about managing basic performance standards..

A school head was alerted by the caretaker to a persistent problem in the girls
lavatories: some of the girl students were leaving lipstick kisses on the mirrors. The
caretaker had left notices on the toilet walls asking for the practice to cease, but to
no avail; every evening the caretaker would wipe away the kisses, and the next day
lots more kisses would be planted on the mirror. It had become a bit of a game. The
head teacher usually took a creative approach to problem solving, and so the next
day she asked a few girl representatives from each class to meet with her in the
lavatory. "Thank you for coming," said the head, "You will see there are several
lipstick kisses in the mirrors in this washroom.." Some of the girls grinned at each
other as the head teacher continued: "As you will understand, modern lipstick is
cleverly designed to stay on the lips, and so the lipstick is not easy at all to clean
from the mirrors. We have therefore had to develop a special cleaning regime, and
my hope is that when you see the effort involved you will help spread the word that
we'd all be better off if those responsible for the kisses use tissue paper instead of
the mirrors in future.." At this point the caretaker stepped forward with a sponge
squeegee, which he took into one of the toilet cubicles, dipped into the toilet bowl,
and then used to clean one of the lipstick-covered mirrors. The caretaker smiled.
The girls departed. And there were no more lipstick kisses on the mirrors.

More stories about management, performance, communications, relationships, etc.

performance - tasks, projects and development of opportunities

Now we come to the more forward-looking aspects of performance:

How well the work is done - by individuals and by teams; the quality of service
above and beyond minimum expectations; the reaction to challenge and
opportunity. Great performance in these areas is managed and achieved by
involving the individuals and the team in contributing as much as they can towards:

defining the task or opportunity

deciding the methods, or for larger projects, creating the project plan

deciding the responsibilities and who owns them

deciding the aims and measures and timescales

creating and owning the processes

deciding on the tools and systems

deciding the inter-departmental interfaces and communications requirements

implementing (and managing) the activities

reporting and checking and completing

following up, evaluating and getting feedback

identifying future improvements for next time

and looking for further related opportunities if at all possible and appropriate

The rules of delegation and meetings and motivation provide a lot of the processes
and methods for doing these things.

When working with your people as individuals or in teams you must take into
account the following (for 'task', read also 'project', 'opportunity', 'initiative', etc):

the importance of the task - how critical is it? - first decide yourself, then discuss
and explain and check understanding with whoever else is involved

the timescale of the task

the individuals' specialisms and strengths (use whatever individual strengths

indicators are available to you, also, ask people)
people's styles and natural leanings (again, use whatever personality indicators are
available to you - see for example the VAK learning styles theory and test - also, ask
people)

people's experience and maturity (ask them)

people's confidence (ask them)

people's workloads and other priorities and demands on them (ask them)

people's alignment with the purpose and spirit of the task - does it mean something
to them? (ask them)

what people will get out of doing the task or their part of it? Again, what does it
mean to them in terms of their own personal development and aims and needs?
(ask them)

You get the idea - where you do not know any of the above - and in many cases you
will not even have a clue - you must ask people. And where you need to seek
clarification or evidence of competence or experience, then do so - it's all part of
creating clearly understood expectations and freedom and support required.

At all times you are balancing - and helping your people to balance:

the needs of the organisation to perform the task or project on time, to standard,
and within budget

with:

the needs of the people to enjoy, grow, learn and take maximum responsibility for
performing the task or running the project
If you involve people and teams in arriving at this balance, and agreeing your own
level of involvement (which will vary for each task and project) then this will help
you to manage performance more effectively.

Essential within this process is:

establishing and publishing (to all who need to know) the task or project purpose
and criteria including outcomes, deliverables, parameters (including financials) and
timescales

a plan of what happens and when

actions and responsibilities - clear accountabilities - ideally never shared or falling

between two stools

measures and monitoring actions

To provide the above for repeating tasks you should produce or use a standard
procedure or standing protocol - rather than keep reinventing the wheel. Operations
manuals would normally contain a lot of this, but in this fast-changing world, lots of
content in operations manuals is out of date, and lots of standard instructions are in
need of changing, so ensure all operational protocols and standing methods are
checked and updated accordingly.

Here an analogy which reinforces the point that we need constantly to question and
refine the ways we do things, because performance is a feature of culture and
behaviour as well as process.

a story about performance policy and process

Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a
string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs
and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of
the monkeys with cold water. After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with
the same result - all the monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, when
another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.
Now, turn off the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with
a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his
surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and
attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted. Next,
remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The
newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in
the punishment with enthusiasm. Again, replace a third original monkey with a new
one. The new one makes it to the stairs and is attacked as well. Two of the four
monkeys that beat him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the
stairs, or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey. After
replacing the fourth and fifth original monkeys, all the monkeys that have been
sprayed with cold water have been replaced. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again
approaches the stairs. Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's
always been around here.

delegation

delegating authority skills, tasks and the process of effective delegation

Delegation is one of the most important management skills. These logical rules and
techniques will help you to delegate well (and will help you to help your manager
when you are being delegated a task or new responsibility - delegation is a two-way
process!). Good delegation saves you time, develops you people, grooms a
successor, and motivates. Poor delegation will cause you frustration, demotivates
and confuses the other person, and fails to achieve the task or purpose itself. So it's
a management skill that's worth improving. Here are the simple steps to follow if
you want to get delegation right, with different levels of delegation freedom that
you can offer.

This delegation skills guide deals with general delegation principles and process,
which is applicable to individuals and teams, or to specially formed groups of people
for individual projects (including 'virtual teams').
Delegation is a very helpful aid for succession planning, personal development - and
seeking and encouraging promotion. It's how we grow in the job - delegation
enables us to gain experience to take on higher responsibilities.

Effective delegation is actually crucial for effective succession. For the successor,
and for the manager too: the main task of a manager in a growing thriving
organization is ultimately to develop a successor. When this happens everyone can
move on to higher things. When it fails to happen the succession and progression
becomes dependent on bringing in new people from outside.

Delegation can be used to develop your people people and yourself - delegation is
not just a management technique for freeing up the boss's time. Of course there is
a right way to do it. These delegation tips and techniques are useful for bosses -
and for anyone seeking or being given delegated responsibilities.

As a giver of delegated tasks you must ensure delegation happens properly. Just as
significantly, as the recipient of delegated tasks you have the opportunity to
'manage upwards' and suggest improvements to the delegation process and
understanding - especially if your boss could use the help.

Managing the way you receive and agree to do delegated tasks is one of the central
skills of 'managing upwards'. Therefore while this page is essentially written from
the manager's standpoint, the principles are just as useful for people being
managed.

delegation and SMART, or SMARTER

A simple delegation rule is the SMART acronym, or better still, SMARTER. It's a quick
checklist for proper delegation. Delegated tasks must be:

Specific

Measurable

Agreed
Realistic

Timebound

Ethical

Recorded

Traditional interpretations of the SMARTER acronym use 'Exciting' or 'Enjoyable',

however, although a high level of motivation often results when a person achieves
and is given recognition for a particular delegated task, which in itself can be
exciting and enjoyable, in truth, let's be honest, it is not always possible to ensure
that all delegated work is truly 'exciting' or 'enjoyable' for the recipient. More
importantly, the 'Ethical' aspect is fundamental to everything that we do, assuming
you subscribe to such philosophy.

The delegation and review form is a useful tool for the delegation process.

Also helpful tools for delegation, see the goal planning tips and template, and the
activity management template.

The Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum model proviodes extra guidance on

delegating freedom to, and developing, a team.

The Tuckman 'Forming, Storming, Norming Performing' model is particularly helpful

when delegating to teams and individuals within teams.

Below are:

The steps of successful delegation - step-by-step guide.

The levels of delegation freedom - choose which is most appropriate for any given
situation.
the steps of successful delegation

1 Define the task

Confirm in your own mind that the task is suitable to be delegated. Does it meet the
criteria for delegating?

2 Select the individual or team

What are your reasons for delegating to this person or team? What are they going
to get out of it? What are you going to get out of it?

3 Assess ability and training needs

Is the other person or team of people capable of doing the task? Do they
understand what needs to be done. If not, you can't delegate.

4 Explain the reasons

You must explain why the job or responsibility is being delegated. And why to that
person or people? What is its importance and relevance? Where does it fit in the
overall scheme of things?

5 State required results

What must be achieved? Clarify understanding by getting feedback from the other
person. How will the task be measured? Make sure they know how you intend to
decide that the job is being successfully done.
6 Consider resources required

Discuss and agree what is required to get the job done. Consider people, location,
premises, equipment, money, materials, other related activities and services.

7 Agree deadlines

When must the job be finished? Or if an ongoing duty, when are the review dates?
When are the reports due? And if the task is complex and has parts or stages, what
are the priorities?

At this point you may need to confirm understanding with the other person of the
previous points, getting ideas and interpretation. As well as showing you that the
job can be done, this helps to reinforce commitment.

Methods of checking and controlling must be agreed with the other person. Failing
to agree this in advance will cause this monitoring to seem like interference or lack
of trust.

8 Support and communicate

Think about who else needs to know what's going on, and inform them. Involve the
other person in considering this so they can see beyond the issue at hand. Do not
leave the person to inform your own peers of their new responsibility. Warn the
person about any awkward matters of politics or protocol. Inform your own boss if
the task is important, and of sufficient profile.

9 Feedback on results

It is essential to let the person know how they are doing, and whether they have
achieved their aims. If not, you must review with them why things did not go to
plan, and deal with the problems. You must absorb the consequences of failure, and
pass on the credit for success.
levels of delegation

Delegation isn't just a matter of telling someone else what to do. There is a wide
range of varying freedom that you can confer on the other person. The more
experienced and reliable the other person is, then the more freedom you can give.
The more critical the task then the more cautious you need to be about extending a
lot of freedom, especially if your job or reputation depends on getting a good result.
Take care to choose the most appropriate style for each situation. For each example
the statements are simplified for clarity; in reality you would choose a less abrupt
style of language, depending on the person and the relationship. At the very least, a
"Please" and "Thank-you" would be included in the requests.

It's important also to ask the other person what level of authority they feel
comfortable being given. Why guess? When you ask, you can find out for sure and
agree this with the other person. Some people are confident; others less so. It's
your responsibility to agree with them what level is most appropriate, so that the
job is done effectively and with minimal unnecessary involvement from you.
Involving the other person in agreeing the level of delegated freedom for any
particular responsibility is an essential part of the 'contract' that you make with
them.

These levels of delegation are not an exhaustive list. There are many more shades
of grey between these black-and-white examples. Take time to discuss and adapt
the agreements and 'contracts' that you make with people regarding delegated
tasks, responsibility and freedom according to the situation.

Be creative in choosing levels of delegated responsibility, and always check with the
other person that they are comfortable with your chosen level. People are generally
capable of doing far more than you imagine.

The rate and extent of responsibility and freedom delegated to people is a

fundamental driver of organisational growth and effectiveness, the growth and well-
being of your people, and of your own development and advancement.
levels of delegation - examples

These examples of different delegation levels progressively offer, encourage and

enable more delegated freedom. Level 1 is the lowest level of delegated freedom
(basically none). Level 10 is the highest level typically (and rarely) found in
organisations.

1 "Wait to be told." or "Do exactly what I say." or "Follow these instructions

precisely."

This is instruction. There is no delegated freedom at all.

2 "Look into this and tell me the situation. I'll decide."

This is asking for investigation and analysis but no recommendation. The person
delegating retains responsibility for assessing options prior to making the decision.

3 "Look into this and tell me the situation. We'll decide together."

This is has a subtle important difference to the above. This level of delegation
encourages and enables the analysis and decision to be a shared process, which
can be very helpful in coaching and development.
4 "Tell me the situation and what help you need from me in assessing and handling
it. Then we'll decide."

This is opens the possibility of greater freedom for analysis and decision-making,
subject to both people agreeing this is appropriate. Again, this level is helpful in
growing and defining coaching and development relationships.

5 "Give me your analysis of the situation (reasons, options, pros and cons) and
recommendation. I'll let you know whether you can go ahead."

Asks for analysis and recommendation, but you will check the thinking before
deciding.

6 "Decide and let me know your decision, and wait for my go-ahead before
proceeding."

The other person is trusted to assess the situation and options and is probably
competent enough to decide and implement too, but for reasons of task
importance, or competence, or perhaps externally changing factors, the boss
prefers to keep control of timing. This level of delegation can be frustrating for
people if used too often or for too long, and in any event the reason for keeping
people waiting, after they've inevitably invested time and effort, needs to be
explained.

7 "Decide and let me know your decision, then go ahead unless I say not to."

Now the other person begins to control the action. The subtle increase in
responsibility saves time. The default is now positive rather than negative. This is a
very liberating change in delegated freedom, and incidentally one that can also be
used very effectively when seeking responsibility from above or elsewhere in an
organisation, especially one which is strangled by indecision and bureaucracy. For
example, "Here is my analysis and recommendation; I will proceed unless you tell
me otherwise by (date)."

8 "Decide and take action - let me know what you did (and what happened)."

This delegation level, as with each increase up the scale, saves even more time.
This level of delegation also enables a degree of follow-up by the manager as to the
effectiveness of the delegated responsibility, which is necessary when people are
being managed from a greater distance, or more 'hands-off'. The level also allows
and invites positive feedback by the manager, which is helpful in coaching and
development of course.

9 "Decide and take action. You need not check back with me."

The most freedom that you can give to another person when you still need to retain
responsibility for the activity. A high level of confidence is necessary, and you would
normally assess the quality of the activity after the event according to overall
results, potentially weeks or months later. Feedback and review remain helpful and
important, although the relationship is more likely one of mentoring, rather than
coaching per se.

10 "Decide where action needs to be taken and manage the situation accordingly.
It's your area of responsibility now."

The most freedom that you can give to the other person, and not generally used
without formal change of a person's job role. It's the delegation of a strategic
responsibility. This gives the other person responsibility for defining what changes
projects, tasks, analysis and decisions are necessary for the management of a
particular area of responsibility, as well as the task or project or change itself, and
how the initiative or change is to be implemented and measured, etc. This amounts
to delegating part of your job - not just a task or project. You'd use this utmost level
of delegation (for example) when developing a successor, or as part of an
intentional and agreed plan to devolve some of your job accountability in a formal
sense.

contracts - 'psychological contracts', 'emotional contracts'

Variously called 'contracts' or 'psychological contracts' or 'emotional contracts',

these expressions describe the process of agreeing with the other person what they
should do and the expectations linked to the responsibility. It all basically means
the same, whatever you call it. The point is that people cannot actually be held
responsible for something to which they've not agreed. The point is also that
everyone is more committed to delivering a responsibility if they've been through
the process of agreeing to do it. This implies that they might have some feelings
about the expectations attached, such as time-scale, resources, budget, etc., even
purpose and method. You must give the other person the opportunity to discuss,
question and suggest issues concerning expectations attached to a delegated task.
This is essential to the contracting process.

Certain general responsibilities of course are effectively agreed implicitly within

people's job roles or job descriptions or employment contracts, but commonly
particular tasks, projects, etc., that you need to delegate are not, in which case
specific discussion must take place to establish proper agreement or 'contract'
between you and the other person.

tannenbaum and schmidt continuum

tannenbaum and schmidt - model of delegation and team development

The Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum is a simple model which shows the
relationship between the level of freedom that a manager chooses to give to a
team, and the level of authority used by the manager. As the team's freedom is
increased, so the manager's authority decreases. This is a positive way for both
teams and managers to develop. While the Tannenbaum and Schmidt model
concerns delegated freedom to a group, the principle of being able to apply
different levels of delegated freedom closely relates to the 'levels of delegation' on
the delegation page. As a manager, one of your responsibilities is to develop your
team. You should delegate and ask a team to make its own decisions to varying
degrees according to their abilities. There is a rising scale of levels of delegated
freedom that you can use when working with your team. The Tannenbaum and
Schmidt Continuum is often shown as a simple graph:

Over time, a manager should aim to take the team from one end to the other, up
the scale, at which point you should also aim to have developed one or a number of
potential successors from within your team to take over from you. This process can
take a year or two, or even longer, so be patient, explain what you're doing, and be
aware constantly of how your team is responding and developing.

When examining and applying the Tannenbaum and Schmidt principles, it's
extremely important to remember: irrespective of the amount of responsibility and
freedom delegated by a manager to a team, the manager retains accountability for
any catastrophic problems that result. Delegating freedom and decision-making
responsibility to a team absolutely does not absolve the manager of accountability.
That's why delegating, whether to teams or individuals, requires a very grown-up
manager. If everything goes well, the team must get the credit; if it all goes horribly
wrong, the manager must take the blame. This is entirely fair, because the manager
is ultimately responsible for judging the seriousness of any given situation -
including the risks entailed - and the level of freedom that can safely be granted to
the team to deal with it. This is not actually part of the Tannebaum and Schmidt
Continuum, but it's vital to apply this philosophy or the model will definitely be
weakened, or at worse completely back-fire.

Here are the Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum levels of delegated freedom,
with some added explanation that should make it easier to understand and apply.
1. The Manager decides and announces the decision.

The manager reviews options in light of aims, issues, priorities, timescale, etc., then
decides the action and informs the team of the decision. The manager will probably
have considered how the team will react, but the team plays no active part in
making the decision. The team may well perceive that the manager has not
considered the team's welfare at all. This is seen by the team as a purely task-
based decision, which is generally a characteristic of X-Theory management style.

2. The manager decides and then 'sells' the decision to the group.

The manager makes the decision as in 1 above, and then explains reasons for the
decision to the team, particularly the positive benefits that the team will enjoy from
the decision. In so doing the manager is seen by the team to recognise the team's
importance, and to have some concern for the team.

3. The manager presents the decision with background ideas and invites questions.

The manager presents the decision along with some of the background which led to
the decision. The team is invited to ask questions and discuss with the manager the
rationale behind the decision, which enables the team to understand and accept or
agree with the decision more easily than in 1 and 2 above. This more participative
and involving approach enables the team to appreciate the issues and reasons for
the decision, and the implications of all the options. This will have a more
motivational approach than 1 or 2 because of the higher level of team involvement
and discussion.

4. The manager suggests a provisional decision and invites discussion about it.

The manager discusses and reviews the provisional decision with the team on the
basis that the manager will take on board the views and then finally decide. This
enables the team to have some real influence over the shape of the manager's final
decision. This also acknowledges that the team has something to contribute to the
decision-making process, which is more involving and therefore motivating than the
previous level.

5. The manager presents the situation or problem, gets suggestions, then decides.

The manager presents the situation, and maybe some options, to the team. The
team is encouraged and expected to offer ideas and additional options, and discuss
implications of each possible course of action. The manager then decides which
option to take. This level is one of high and specific involvement for the team, and is
appropriate particularly when the team has more detailed knowledge or experience
of the issues than the manager. Being high-involvement and high-influence for the
team this level provides more motivation and freedom than any previous level.

6. The manager explains the situation, defines the parameters and asks the team to
decide.

At this level the manager has effectively delegated responsibility for the decision to
the team, albeit within the manager's stated limits. The manager may or may not
choose to be a part of the team which decides. While this level appears to gives a
huge responsibility to the team, the manager can control the risk and outcomes to
an extent, according to the constraints that he stipulates. This level is more
motivational than any previous, and requires a mature team for any serious
situation or problem. (Remember that the team must get the credit for all the
positive outcomes from the decision, while the manager remains accountable for
any resulting problems or disasters. This isn't strictly included in the original
Tannenbaum and Schmidt definitions, so it needs pointing out because it's such an
important aspect of delegating and motivating, and leadership.)

7. The manager allows the team to identify the problem, develop the options, and
decide on the action, within the manager's received limits.

This is obviously an extreme level of freedom, whereby the team is effectively doing
what the manager did in level 1. The team is given responsibility for identifying and
analysing the situation or problem; the process for resolving it; developing and
assessing options; evaluating implications, and then deciding on and implementing
a course of action. The manager also states in advance that he/she will support the
decision and help the team implement it. The manager may or may not be part of
the team, and if so then he/she has no more authority than anyone else in the
team. The only constraints and parameters for the team are the ones that the
manager had imposed on him from above. (Again, the manager retains
accountability for any resulting disasters, while the team must get the credit for all
successes.) This level is potentially the most motivational of all, but also potentially
the most disastrous. Not surprisingly the team must be mature and competent, and
capable of acting at what is a genuinely strategic decision-making level.

maslow's hierarchy of needs

Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs motivational model

Abraham Maslow developed the Hierarchy of Needs model in 1940-50's USA, and
the Hierarchy of Needs theory remains valid today for understanding human
motivation, management training, and personal development. Indeed, Maslow's
ideas surrounding the Hierarchy of Needs concerning the responsibility of
employers to provide a workplace environment that encourages and enables
employees to fulfil their own unique potential (self-actualization) are today more
relevant than ever. Abraham Maslow's book Motivation and Personality, published in
1954 (second edition 1970) introduced the Hierarchy of Needs, and Maslow
extended his ideas in other work, notably his later book Toward A Psychology Of
Being, a significant and relevant commentary, which has been revised in recent
times by Richard Lowry, who is in his own right a leading academic in the field of
motivational psychology.

Abraham Maslow was born in New York in 1908 and died in 1970, although various
publications appear in Maslow's name in later years. Maslow's PhD in psychology in
1934 at the University of Wisconsin formed the basis of his motivational research,
initially studying rhesus monkeys. Maslow later moved to New York's Brooklyn
College. Maslow's original five-stage Hierarchy of Needs model is clearly and
directly attributable to Maslow; later versions with added motivational stages are
not so clearly attributable, although in his work Maslow refers to these additional
aspects of motivation, but not specifically as levels in the Hierarchy. Maslow's
Hierarchy of Needs has been extended through interpretation of Maslow's work by
other people, and these augmented models and diagrams are shown as the
adapted seven and eight-stage Hierarchy of Needs models below.
Free Hierarchy of Needs diagrams in pdf and MSWord formats similar to the image
below are available from this page.

click to enlarge

(N.B. The word Actualization/Actualisation can be spelt either way. Z is preferred in

American English. S is preferred in UK English. Both forms are used in this page to
enable keyword searching for either spelling via search engines.)

maslow's hierarchy of needs

Each of us is motivated by needs. Our most basic needs are inborn, having evolved
over tens of thousands of years. Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs helps to
explain how these needs motivate us all.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs states that we must satisfy each need in turn, starting
with the first, which deals with the most obvious needs for survival itself.

Only when the lower order needs of physical and emotional well-being are satisfied
are we concerned with the higher order needs of influence and personal
development.

Conversely, if the things that satisfy our lower order needs are swept away, we are
no longer concerned about the maintenance of our higher order needs.
Maslow's original Hierarchy of Needs model was developed between 1943-1954,
and first widely published in Motivation and Personality in 1954. At this time the
Hierarchy of Needs model comprised five needs. This original version remains for
most people the definitive Hierarchy of Needs.

maslow's hierarchy of needs - free pdf diagram and free msword diagram

1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep,
etc.

2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.

3. Belongingness and Love needs - work group, family, affection, relationships, etc.

4. Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status,

dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.

5. Self-Actualization needs - realising personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking

personal growth and peak experiences.

This is the definitive and original Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

While Maslow referred to various additional aspects of motivation, he expressed the

Hierarchy of Needs in these five clear stages.
Here is a quick simple self-test based on the original Maslow's 5-level Hierarchy of
Needs. It's not a scientific or validated instrument - merely a quick indicator, which
can be used for self-awareness, discussion, etc.

1970's adapted hierarchy of needs model, including cognitive and aesthetic needs -
free pdf diagram and free msword diagram

1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep,
etc.

2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.

3. Belongingness and Love needs - work group, family, affection, relationships, etc.

4. Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status,

dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.

5. Cognitive needs - knowledge, meaning, etc.

6. Aesthetic needs - appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc.

7. Self-Actualization needs - realising personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking

personal growth and peak experiences.
N.B. Although Maslow referred to additional aspects of motivation, 'Cognitive' and
'Aesthetic', he did not include them as levels or stages within his own expression of
the Hierarchy of Needs.

1990's adapted hierarchy of needs including transcendence needs - free diagram

and free msword diagram

1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep,
etc.

2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.

3. Belongingness and Love needs - work group, family, affection, relationships, etc.

4. Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status,

dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.

5. Cognitive needs - knowledge, meaning, etc.

6. Aesthetic needs - appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc.

7. Self-Actualization needs - realising personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking

personal growth and peak experiences.

8. Transcendence needs - helping others to achieve self actualization.

N.B. Although Maslow referred to additional aspects of motivation, 'Cognitive',
'Aesthetic', and 'Transcendence', he did not include any of these as additional
stages in the Hierarchy of Needs.

Here is a quick self-test based on the extended 8-level Hierarchy of Needs. Like the
5-level Hierarchy of Needs self-test it is not a scientific or validated instrument -
merely a quick indicator for helping self-awareness, discussion, etc.

what hierarchy of needs model is most valid?

Abraham Maslow created the original five level Hierarchy of Needs model, and for
many this remains entirely adequate for its purpose. The seven and eight level
'hierarchy of needs' models are later adaptations by others, based on Maslow's
work. Arguably, the original five-level model includes the later additional sixth,
seventh and eighth ('Cognitive', 'Aesthetic', and 'Transcendence') levels within the
original 'Self-Actualization' level 5, since each one of the 'new' motivators concerns
an area of self-development and self-fulfilment that is rooted in self-actualization
'growth', and is distinctly different to any of the previous 1-4 level 'deficiency'
motivators. For many people, self-actualizing commonly involves each and every
one of the newly added drivers. As such, the original five-level Hierarchy of Needs
model remains a definitive classical representation of human motivation; and the
later adaptations perhaps serve best to illustrate aspects of self-actualization.

Maslow said that needs must be satisfied in the given order. Aims and drive always
shift to next higher order needs. Levels 1 to 4 are deficiency motivators; level 5,
and by implication 6 to 8, are growth motivators and relatively rarely found. The
thwarting of needs is usually a cause of stress, and is particularly so at level 4.

Examples in use:
You can't motivate someone to achieve their sales target (level 4) when they're
having problems with their marriage (level 3).

You can't expect someone to work as a team member (level 3) when they're having
their house re-possessed (level 2).

maslow's self-actualizing characteristics

keen sense of reality - aware of real situations - objective judgement, rather than
subjective

see problems in terms of challenges and situations requiring solutions, rather than
see problems as personal complaints or excuses

need for privacy and comfortable being alone

reliant on own experiences and judgement - independent - not reliant on culture

and environment to form opinions and views

not susceptible to social pressures - non-conformist

democratic, fair and non-discriminating - embracing and enjoying all cultures, races
and individual styles

socially compassionate - possessing humanity

accepting others as they are and not trying to change people

comfortable with oneself - despite any unconventional tendencies

a few close intimate friends rather than many surface relationships

sense of humour directed at oneself or the human condition, rather than at the
expense of others

spontaneous and natural - true to oneself, rather than being how others want

excited and interested in everything, even ordinary things

creative, inventive and original

seek peak experiences that leave a lasting impression (see the Hellespont Swim
case study)

See the Maslow inteviews DVDs - especially Maslow and Self-Actualization to

understand the subject more fully. These films were made in 1968 and are helpful
on several levels, and both wonderful teaching and learning aids.

See also the newer Maslow MP3 talks series.

The above materials are published on behalf of the estate of Abraham Maslow.
Businessballs takes no commission and recommends them simply because they are
wonderful materials for all students and followers of Maslow's very special work.

maslow's hierarchy of needs in advertising

To help with training of Maslow's theory look for Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
motivators in advertising. This is a great basis for Maslow and motivation training
exercises:

Biological and Physiological needs - wife/child-abuse help-lines, social security

benefits, Samaritans, roadside recovery.

Safety needs - home security products (alarms, etc), house an contents insurance,
life assurance, schools.

Belongingness and Love needs - dating and match-making services, chat-lines,

clubs and membership societies, Macdonalds, 'family' themes like the old style Oxo
stock cube ads.

Esteem needs - cosmetics, fast cars, home improvements, furniture, fashion

clothes, drinks, lifestyle products and services.

Self-Actualization needs - Open University, and that's about it; little else in
mainstream media because only 2% of population are self-actualizers, so they don't
constitute a very big part of the mainstream market.
You can view and download free Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs diagrams, and two
free Hierarchy of Needs self-tests, based on the original Maslow's five-stage model
and later adapted eight-stage model, ideal for training, presentations and project
work, at the businessballs free online resources section.

Free diagrams include:

Pyramid diagram based on Maslow's original five-level Hierarchy of Needs (1954).

Adapted seven-level Hierarchy of Needs diagram (which seems to have first

appeared in the 1970's - after Maslow's death).

Adapted eight-level Hierarchy of Needs diagram (appearing later, seemingly

1990's).

interpreting behaviour according to maslow's hierarchy of needs

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is an excellent model for understanding human

motivation, but it is a broad concept. If you are puzzled as to how to relate given
behaviour to the Hierarchy it could be that your definition of the behaviour needs
refining. For example, 'where does 'doing things for fun' fit into the model? The
answer is that it can't until you define 'doing things for fun' more accurately.

You'd need to define more precisely each given situation where a person is 'doing
things for fun' in order to analyse motivation according to Maslow's Hierarchy, since
the 'fun' activity motive can potentially be part any of the five original Maslow
needs.

Understanding whether striving to achieve a particular need or aim is 'fun' can

provide a helpful basis for identifying a Maslow driver within a given behaviour, and
thereby to assess where a particular behaviour fits into the model:

Biological - health, fitness, energising mind and body, etc.

Safety - order and structure needs met for example by some heavily organised,
structural activity

Belongingness - team sport, club 'family' and relationships

Esteem - competition, achievement, recognition

Self-Actualization drivers - challenge, new experiences, love of art, nature, etc.

However in order to relate a particular 'doing it for fun' behaviour the Hierarchy of
Needs we need to consider what makes it 'fun' (ie rewarding) for the person. If a
behaviour is 'for fun', then consider what makes it 'fun' for the person - is the 'fun'
rooted in 'belongingness', or is it from 'recognition', ie., 'esteem'. Or is the fun at a
deeper level, from the sense of self-fulfilment, ie 'self-actualization'.

Apply this approach to any behaviour that doesn't immediately fit the model, and it
will help you to see where it does fit.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs will be a blunt instrument if used as such. The way you
use the Hierarchy of Needs determines the subtlety and sophistication of the model.

For example: the common broad-brush interpretation of Maslow's famous theory

suggests that that once a need is satisfied the person moves onto the next, and to
an extent this is entirely correct. However an overly rigid application of this
interpretation will produce a rigid analysis, and people and motivation are more
complex. So while it is broadly true that people move up (or down) the hierarchy,
depending what's happening to them in their lives, it is also true that most people's
motivational 'set' at any time comprises elements of all of the motivational drivers.
For example, self-actualizers (level 5 - original model) are mainly focused on self-
actualizing but are still motivated to eat (level 1) and socialise (level 3). Similarly,
homeless folk whose main focus is feeding themselves (level 1) and finding shelter
for the night (level 2) can also be, albeit to a lesser extent, still concerned with
social relationships (level 3), how their friends perceive them (level 4), and even the
meaning of life (level 5 - original model).

Like any simple model, Maslow's theory not a fully responsive system - it's a guide
which requires some interpretation and thought, given which, it remains extremely
useful and applicable for understanding, explaining and handling many human
behaviour situations.

maslow's hierarchy of needs and helping others

There are certainly some behaviours that are quite tricky to relate to Maslow's
Hierarchy of Needs.

For example:

Normally, we would consider that selflessly helping others, as a form of personal

growth motivation, would be found as part of self-actualisation, or perhaps even
'transcendence' (if you subscribe to the extended hierarchy).

So how can we explain the examples of people who seem to be far short of self-
actualising, and yet are still able to help others in a meaningful and unselfish sense?

Interestingly this concept seems to be used increasingly as an effective way to help

people deal with depression, low self-esteem, poor life circumstances, etc., and it
almost turns the essential Maslow model on its head: that is, by helping others, a
person helps themselves to improve and develop too.

The principle has also been applied quite recently to developing disaffected school-
children, whom, as part of their own development, have been encouraged and
enabled to 'teach' other younger children (which can arguably be interpreted as
their acting at a self-actualising level - selflessly helping others). The disaffected
children, theoretically striving to belong and be accepted (level 3 - belongingness)
were actually remarkably good at helping other children, despite their own negative
feelings and issues.
Under certain circumstances, a person striving to satisfy their needs at level 3 -
belongingness, seems able to self-actualise - level 5 (and perhaps beyond, into
'transcendence') by selflessly helping others, and at the same time begins to satisfy
their own needs for belongingness and self-esteem.

Such examples demonstrate the need for careful interpretation and application of
the Maslow model. The Hierarchy of Needs is not a catch-all, but it does remain a
wonderfully useful framework for analysing and trying to understand the subtleties -
as well as the broader aspects - of human behaviour and growth.

self-actualisation, employees and organisations

Maslow's work and ideas extend far beyond the Hierarchy of Needs.

Maslow's concept of self-actualisation relates directly to the present day challenges

and opportunities for employers and organisations - to provide real meaning,
purpose and true personal development for their employees. For life - not just for
work.

Maslow saw these issues fifty years ago: the fact that employees have a basic
human need and a right to strive for self-actualisation, just as much as the
corporate directors and owners do.

Increasingly, the successful organisations and employers will be those who

genuinely care about, understand, encourage and enable their people's personal
growth towards self-actualisation - way beyond traditional work-related training and
development, and of course way beyond old-style X-Theory management autocracy,
which still forms the basis of much organised employment today.
The best modern employers and organisations are beginning to learn at last: that
sustainable success is built on a serious and compassionate commitment to helping
people identify, pursue and reach their own personal unique potential.

When people grow as people, they automatically become more effective and
valuable as employees.

In fact virtually all personal growth, whether in a hobby, a special talent or interest,
or a new experience, produces new skills, attributes, behaviours and wisdom that is
directly transferable to any sort of job role.

The best modern employers recognise this and as such offer development support
to their staff in any direction whatsoever that the person seeks to grow and become
more fulfilled.

classic 1968 maslow interviews now on dvd

Both filmed in 1968, after Maslow's heart attack, and obviously prior to his death in
1970, these superb Maslow DVDs show Dr Maslow being interviewed, respectively
by Dr Everett Shostrom, and also interestingly, Warren Bennis.

Both films - available here - were made in 1968 and were remastered in black and
white in 2007. The remarkable content, and the 1960s styling and production add to
the seductive and powerful effect of these films, which stems chiefly from Maslow's
brilliant thinking and natural charismatic presence.

Being Abraham Maslow is half an hour long, and features Maslow talking to Warren
Bennis about his life, his views of the world and his work. It is utterly compelling and
shows Maslow's staggering perception of the issues which challenge society and
humankind today - and this was recorded in 1968. The film, basically irresistible
throughout, includes some marvelous moments, such as Maslow's questioning
observation as to "...how good a human nature does society permit?...", and the
visionary statement that: "...The Good Society now has to be one world - it has to be
one world or it won't work - nationalism is dead - it just doesn't know it yet..."

He said this in 1968 and still today our leaders don't see it.

Maslow and Self-Actualization is an hour long, in two parts, in which Maslow is

interviewed by Dr Everett Shostrom about Self-Actualization, in which Shostrom
uses references and quotes extracts from Maslow's book Motivation and Personality,
and Maslow explains and develops the themes. The structure is excellent - ideal for
teaching and training.

Self-Actualization is presented by Maslow through a series of answers, working

through the concept in four sections: honesty, awareness, freedom and trust.
Maslow brings these headings to life, conveying some very complex intangible ideas
- such as objectivity, detachment, maturity, love, acceptance, modesty and grace -
in the most understandable way. Personally this video is one of the most powerful
things I've ever seen.

The film can be used as a teaching aid, and/or as the presenter suggests, to help
people understand Self-Actualization as goals or values to aspire to: "...ideas for
living and being, fully functioning to one's full capacity..."

For anyone teaching or studying motivation, psychology, Maslow, and related areas
- or simply interested in living a fulfilled and good life - these films will be
fascinating, and for some people deeply inspirational too. Both films are available
here.

In terms of format/compatibility, these US-made films wouldn't play on my (cheap)

UK DVD player, but they ran happily on my (cheap) UK PC.

The above materials are published on behalf of the estate of Abraham Maslow.
additional maslow talks now on mp3

In August 2009 further exciting Maslow material became available for download in
mp3 format after extensive work by publisher Maurice Bassett.

Volumes One and Two include a total of 28 and a half hours of Abraham Maslow's
talks and workshops at the Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California, from the mid and
late-1960s. The materials comprise:

Volume One:

Self-Actualization (1 mp3 file, total playing time 1 hour)

Psychology and Religious Awareness (1 mp3 file, total playing time 1 hour)

The Aims of Education (1 mp3 file, total playing time 1 hour)

The B-language Workshop (5 mp3 files, total playing time 5 hours, 35 minutes)

Weekend with Maslow (9 mp3 files, total playing time 4 hours, 25 minutes)

Volume Two:

The Eupsychian Ethic (6 mp3 files, total playing time 5 hours, 45 minutes)

The Farther Reaches of Human Nature (10 mp3 files, total playing time 9 hours, 45
minutes)

Samples and the entire recordings are available at

www.abrahammaslow.com/audio.html

The above materials are published on behalf of the estate of Abraham Maslow.

douglas mcgregor - theory x y

Douglas McGregor's XY Theory, managing an X Theory boss, and William Ouchi's
Theory Z

Douglas McGregor, an American social psychologist, proposed his famous X-Y

theory in his 1960 book 'The Human Side Of Enterprise'. Theory x and theory y are
still referred to commonly in the field of management and motivation, and whilst
more recent studies have questioned the rigidity of the model, Mcgregor's X-Y
Theory remains a valid basic principle from which to develop positive management
style and techniques. McGregor's XY Theory remains central to organizational
development, and to improving organizational culture.

McGregor's X-Y theory is a salutary and simple reminder of the natural rules for
managing people, which under the pressure of day-to-day business are all too easily
forgotten.

McGregor maintained that there are two fundamental approaches to managing

people. Many managers tend towards theory x, and generally get poor results.
Enlightened managers use theory y, which produces better performance and
results, and allows people to grow and develop.

theory x ('authoritarian management' style)

The average person dislikes work and will avoid it he/she can.

Therefore most people must be forced with the threat of punishment to work
towards organisational objectives.

The average person prefers to be directed; to avoid responsibility; is relatively

unambitious, and wants security above all else.

theory y ('participative management' style)

Effort in work is as natural as work and play.

People will apply self-control and self-direction in the pursuit of organisational

objectives, without external control or the threat of punishment.
Commitment to objectives is a function of rewards associated with their
achievement.

People usually accept and often seek responsibility.

The capacity to use a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in solving
organisational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population.

In industry the intellectual potential of the average person is only partly utilised.

tools for teaching, understanding and evaluating xy theory factors

The XY Theory diagram and measurement tool below (pdf and doc versions) are
adaptations of McGregor's ideas for modern organizations, management and work.
They were not created by McGregor. I developed them to help understanding and
application of McGregor's XY Theory concept. The test is a simple reflective tool, not
a scientifically validated instrument; it's a learning aid and broad indicator.

characteristics of the x theory manager

Perhaps the most noticeable aspects of McGregor's XY Theory - and the easiest to
illustrate - are found in the behaviours of autocratic managers and organizations
which use autocratic management styles.

What are the characteristics of a Theory X manager? Typically some, most or all of
these:

results-driven and deadline-driven, to the exclusion of everything else

intolerant

issues deadlines and ultimatums

distant and detached

aloof and arrogant

elitist
short temper

shouts

issues instructions, directions, edicts

issues threats to make people follow instructions

demands, never asks

does not participate

does not team-build

unconcerned about staff welfare, or morale

proud, sometimes to the point of self-destruction

one-way communicator

poor listener

fundamentally insecure and possibly neurotic

anti-social

vengeful and recriminatory

does not thank or praise

withholds rewards, and suppresses pay and remunerations levels

scrutinises expenditure to the point of false economy

seeks culprits for failures or shortfalls

seeks to apportion blame instead of focusing on learning from the experience and
preventing recurrence

does not invite or welcome suggestions

takes criticism badly and likely to retaliate if from below or peer group

poor at proper delegating - but believes they delegate well

thinks giving orders is delegating

holds on to responsibility but shifts accountability to subordinates

relatively unconcerned with investing in anything to gain future improvements

unhappy
how to manage upwards - managing your X theory boss

Working for an X theory boss isn't easy - some extreme X theory managers make
extremely unpleasant managers, but there are ways of managing these people
upwards. Avoiding confrontation (unless you are genuinely being bullied, which is a
different matter) and delivering results are the key tactics.

Theory X managers (or indeed theory Y managers displaying theory X behaviour)

are primarily results oriented - so orientate your your own discussions and dealings
with them around results - ie what you can deliver and when.

Theory X managers are facts and figures oriented - so cut out the incidentals, be
able to measure and substantiate anything you say and do for them, especially
reporting on results and activities.

Theory X managers generally don't understand or have an interest in the human

issues, so don't try to appeal to their sense of humanity or morality. Set your own
objectives to meet their organisational aims and agree these with the managers; be
seen to be self-starting, self-motivating, self-disciplined and well-organised - the
more the X theory manager sees you are managing yourself and producing results,
the less they'll feel the need to do it for you.

Always deliver your commitments and promises. If you are given an unrealistic task
and/or deadline state the reasons why it's not realistic, but be very sure of your
ground, don't be negative; be constructive as to how the overall aim can be
achieved in a way that you know you can deliver.

Stand up for yourself, but constructively - avoid confrontation. Never threaten or go

over their heads if you are dissatisfied or you'll be in big trouble afterwards and life
will be a lot more difficult.

If an X theory boss tells you how to do things in ways that are not comfortable or
right for you, then don't questioning the process, simply confirm the end-result that
is required, and check that it's okay to 'streamline the process' or 'get things done
more efficiently' if the chance arises - they'll normally agree to this, which
effectively gives you control over the 'how', provided you deliver the 'what' and
'when'.

And this is really the essence of managing upwards X theory managers - focus and
get agreement on the results and deadlines - if you consistently deliver, you'll
increasingly be given more leeway on how you go about the tasks, which amounts
to more freedom. Be aware also that many X theory managers are forced to be X
theory by the short-term demands of the organisation and their own superiors - an
X theory manager is usually someone with their own problems, so try not to give
them any more.

See also the article about building self-confidence, and assertiveness techniques.

theory z - william ouchi

First things first - Theory Z is not a Mcgregor idea and as such is not Mcgregor's
extension of his XY theory.

Theory Z was developed by not by Mcgregor, but by William Ouchi, in his book 1981
'Theory Z: How American management can Meet the Japanese Challenge'. William
Ouchi is professor of management at UCLA, Los Angeles, and a board member of
several large US organisations.

Theory Z is often referred to as the 'Japanese' management style, which is

essentially what it is. It's interesting that Ouchi chose to name his model 'Theory Z',
which apart from anything else tends to give the impression that it's a Mcgregor
idea. One wonders if the idea was not considered strong enough to stand alone with
a completely new name... Nevertheless, Theory Z essentially advocates a
combination of all that's best about theory Y and modern Japanese management,
which places a large amount of freedom and trust with workers, and assumes that
workers have a strong loyalty and interest in team-working and the organisation.
Theory Z also places more reliance on the attitude and responsibilities of the
workers, whereas Mcgregor's XY theory is mainly focused on management and
motivation from the manager's and organisation's perspective. There is no doubt
that Ouchi's Theory Z model offers excellent ideas, albeit it lacking the simple
elegance of Mcgregor's model, which let's face it, thousands of organisations and
managers around the world have still yet to embrace. For this reason, Theory Z may
for some be like trying to manage the kitchen at the Ritz before mastering the
ability to cook a decent fried breakfast.

To develop your understanding of McGregor's X-Y Theory, complete the free

McGregor XY Theory Test (pdf), or doc version, which indicates whether your
organisation is more Theory-X or Theory-Y, as well as indicating your own (or the
particular individual's) preference to be managed by X or Y style. The test is a
simple reflective tool, not a scientifically validated instrument, designed to give a
broad indication of XY Theory tendencies and to aid understanding of the model.

The free XY Theory diagram (pdf) or doc version, is helpful for teaching and training,
presentations and project work, and is adapted from McGregor's ideas so as to
convey simply and quickly the essence of the concept.

adams' equity theory

j stacey adams - equity theory on job motivation

John Stacey Adams, a workplace and behavioural psychologist, put forward his
Equity Theory on job motivation in 1963. There are similarities with Charles Handy's
extension and interpretation of previous simpler theories of Maslow, Herzberg and
other pioneers of workplace psychology, in that the theory acknowledges that
subtle and variable factors affect each individual's assessment and perception of
their relationship with their work, and thereby their employer. However, awareness
and cognizance of the wider situation - and crucially comparison - feature more
strongly in Equity Theory than in many other earlier motivational models.

The Adams' Equity Theory model therefore extends beyond the individual self, and
incorporates influence and comparison of other people's situations - for example
colleagues and friends - in forming a comparative view and awareness of Equity,
which commonly manifests as a sense of what is fair.

When people feel fairly or advantageously treated they are more likely to be
motivated; when they feel unfairly treated they are highly prone to feelings of
disaffection and demotivation. The way that people measure this sense of fairness
is at the heart of Equity Theory.

Equity, and thereby the motivational situation we might seek to assess using the
model, is not dependent on the extent to which a person believes reward exceeds
effort, nor even necessarily on the belief that reward exceeds effort at all. Rather,
Equity, and the sense of fairness which commonly underpins motivation, is
dependent on the comparison a person makes between his or here
reward/investment ratio with the ratio enjoyed (or suffered) by others considered to
be in a similar situation.

adams' equity theory

Adams called personal efforts and rewards and other similar 'give and take' issues
at work respectively 'inputs' and 'outputs'.

Inputs are logically what we give or put into our work. Outputs are everything we
take out in return.
These terms help emphasise that what people put into their work includes many
factors besides working hours, and that what people receive from their work
includes many things aside from money.

Adams used the term 'referent' others to describe the reference points or people
with whom we compare our own situation, which is the pivotal part of the theory.

Adams Equity Theory goes beyond - and is quite different from merely assessing
effort and reward. Equity Theory adds a crucial additional perspective of comparison
with 'referent' others (people we consider in a similar situation).

Equity theory thus helps explain why pay and conditions alone do not determine
motivation.

In terms of how the theory applies to work and management, we each seek a fair
balance between what we put into our job and what we get out of it. But how do we
decide what is a fair balance?

The answer lies in Equity Theory. Importantly we arrive at our measure of fairness -
Equity - by comparing our balance of effort and reward, and other factors of give
and take - the ratio of input and output - with the balance or ratio enjoyed by other
people, whom we deem to be relevant reference points or examples ('referent'
others).

Crucially this means that Equity does not depend on our input-to-output ratio alone
- it depends on our comparison between our ratio and the ratio of others.

We form perceptions of what constitutes a fair ratio (a balance or trade) of inputs

and outputs by comparing our own situation with other 'referents' (reference points
or examples) in the market place as we see it.
In practice this helps to explain why people are so strongly affected by the
situations (and views and gossip) of colleagues, friends, partners etc., in
establishing their own personal sense of fairness or equity in their work situations.

Adams' Equity Theory is therefore a far more complex and sophisticated

motivational model than merely assessing effort (inputs) and reward (outputs).

The actual sense of equity or fairness (or inequity or unfairness) within Equity
Theory is arrived at only after incorporating a comparison between our own input
and output ratio with the input and output ratios that we see or believe to be
experienced or enjoyed by others in similar situations.

This comparative aspect of Equity Theory provides a far more fluid and dynamic
appreciation of motivation than typically arises in motivational theories and models
based on individual circumstance alone.

For example, Equity Theory explains why people can be happy and motivated by
their situation one day, and yet with no change to their terms and working
conditions can be made very unhappy and demotivated, if they learn for example
that a colleague (or worse an entire group) is enjoying a better reward-to-effort
ratio.

It also explains why giving one person a promotion or pay-rise can have a
demotivating effect on others.

Note also, importantly, that what matters is the ratio, not the amount of effort or
reward per se. This explains for example why and how full-time employees will
compare their situations and input-to-output ratios with part-time colleagues, who
very probably earn less, however it is the ratio of input-to-output - reward-to-effort -
which counts, and if the part-timer is perceived to enjoy a more advantageous ratio,
then so this will have a negative effect on the full-timer's sense of Equity, and with
it, their personal motivation.
Remember also that words like efforts and rewards, or work and pay, are an over-
simplification - hence Adams' use of the terms inputs and outputs, which more aptly
cover all aspects of what a person gives, sacrifices, tolerates, invests, etc., into their
work situation, and all aspects of what a person receives and benefits from in their
work and wider career, as they see it.

inputs equity

dependent on comparing own ratio of input/output with ratios of 'referent' others

outputs

Inputs are typically: effort, loyalty, hard work, commitment, skill, ability,
adaptability, flexibility, tolerance, determination, heart and soul, enthusiasm, trust
in our boss and superiors, support of colleagues and subordinates, personal
sacrifice, etc. People need to feel that there is a fair balance between inputs
and outputs. Crucially fairness is measured by comparing one's own balance or ratio
between inputs and outputs, with the ratio enjoyed or endured by relevant
('referent') others. Outputs are typically all financial rewards - pay, salary,
expenses, perks, benefits, pension arrangements, bonus and commission - plus
intangibles - recognition, reputation, praise and thanks, interest, responsibility,
stimulus, travel, training, development, sense of achievement and advancement,
promotion, etc.

If we feel are that inputs are fairly rewarded by outputs (the fairness benchmark
being subjectively perceived from market norms and other comparable references)
then generally we are happier in our work and more motivated to continue inputting
at the same level.
If we feel that our ratio of inputs to outputs is less beneficial than the ratio enjoyed
by referent others, then we become demotivated in relation to our job and
employer.

People respond to a feeling of inequity in different ways.

Generally the extent of demotivation is proportional to the perceived disparity with

other people or inequity, but for some people just the smallest indication of
negative disparity between their situation and other people's is enough to cause
massive disappointment and a feeling of considerable injustice, resulting in
demotivation, or worse, open hostility.

Some people reduce effort and application and become inwardly disgruntled, or
outwardly difficult, recalcitrant or even disruptive. Other people seek to improve the
outputs by making claims or demands for more reward, or seeking an alternative
job.

Understanding Equity Theory - and especially its pivotal comparative aspect - helps
managers and policy-makers to appreciate that while improving one person's terms
and conditions can resolve that individual's demands (for a while), if the change is
perceived by other people to upset the Equity of their own situations then the
solution can easily generate far more problems than it attempted to fix.

Equity Theory reminds us that people see themselves and crucially the way they are
treated in terms of their surrounding environment, team, system, etc - not in
isolation - and so they must be managed and treated accordingly.
A free fully detailed diagram similar to the image below explaining Adam's Equity
Theory is available in various formats.

When using or referring to the diagram emphasise that the calibration of the scales
- the comparison of input/output ratios - is the crucial aspect, not merely a
judgement of whether rewards are appropriate for efforts:

Adams' Equity Theory diagram (mono pdf)

Adams Equity Theory diagram (mono doc)

Adams Equity Theory (colour pdf)

Adams Equity Theory diagram (colour doc)

click to enlarge

This interpretation of Adams' Equity Theory was updated and improved in

December 2007. The previous summary failed to emphasise the pivotal significance
of the comparative aspect within the theory. Thanks NT for your guidance in making
these improvements.
see also

Adair's Action-Centred Leadership Model - its systemic approach very relevant to

Equity Theory

Personality Theories and Types - Jung, Myers Briggs, Keirsey, Belbin, etc

Charles Handy

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

McGregor's X-Y Theory

McClelland's Motivational Theory

Teambuilding and motivational activities, for example the Hellespont Swim case
study and exercise

Free online resources section, which includes many other useful free training
materials, management tools, tests and diagrams.

training or learning?

modern principles of effective employee training and development - plus training

policy and template - and training manuals and templates tips

focus on learning, not training

'Training' suggests putting stuff into people, when actually we should be developing
people from the inside out - so they achieve their own individual potential - what
they love and enjoy, what they are most capable of, and strong at doing, rather
than what we try to make them be.

'Learning' far better expresses this than 'training'.

Training is about the organisation. Learning is about the person.

Training is (mostly) a chore; people do it because they're paid to. Learning is quite
different. People respond to appropriate learning because they want to; because it
benefits and interests them; because it helps them to grow and to develop their
natural abilities; to make a difference; to be special.

Training is something that happens at work. Learning is something that people

pursue by choice at their own cost in their own time. Does it not make sense for
employers to help and enable that process? Of course it does.

The word 'learning' is significant: it suggests that people are driving their own
development for themselves, through relevant experience, beyond work related
skills and knowledge and processes. 'Learning' extends the idea of personal
development (and thereby organisational development) to beliefs, values, wisdom,
compassion, emotional maturity, ethics, integrity - and most important of all, to
helping others to identify, aspire to and to achieve and fulfil their own unique
individual personal potential.

Learning describes a person growing. Whereas 'training' merely describes, and

commonly represents, transfer of knowledge or skill for organisational gain, which
has generally got bugger-all to do with the trainee. No wonder people don't typically
enjoy or queue up for training.

When you help people to develop as people, you create far greater alignment and
congruence between work and people and lives - you provide more meaning for
people at work, and you also build and strengthen platform and readiness for any
amount of skills, processes, and knowledge development that your organization will
ever need.

Obviously do not ignore basic skills and knowledge training, for example: health and
safety; how to use the phones, how to drive the fork-lift, etc - of course these basics
must be trained - but they are not what makes the difference. Train the essential
skills and knowledge of course, but most importantly focus on facilitating learning
and development for the person, beyond 'work skills' - help them grow and develop
for life - help them to identify, aspire to, and take steps towards fulfilling their own
personal unique potential.
Experiential learning contains many of the principles explained here. See the guide
to facilitating experiential learning activities.

focus on emotional maturity, integrity, compassion - these are the characteristics

that really matter

When organisations work well it's always due to emotional maturity and integrity,
which together enable self-discipline and right thinking and actions. Compassion
helps you to sustain people, and to foster a culture of cooperation and mutual
support. Compassion is the bedrock of tolerance and understanding, which governs
the effectiveness of internal and external communications and team-working.

develop the person, not just the skills and knowledge

Skills and knowledge are the easy things. Most people will take care of these for
themselves. Helping and enabling and encouraging people to become happier more
fulfilled people is what employers and organisations should focus on. Achieve this
and the skills and knowledge will largely take care of themselves.

give people choice

Give people choice in what, and how and when to learn and develop - there is a
world of choice out there, and so many ways to access it all. People have different
learning styles, rates of learning, and areas of interest. Why restrict people's
learning and development to their job skills? Help them learn and develop in
whatever way they want and they will quite naturally become more positive,
productive and valuable to your organisation. (You may need to find bigger and/or
different roles for them, but that's entirely the point - you want people to be doing
what they are good at, and what they enjoy - this is what a good organisation is.)

Talk about learning, not training, focus on the person, from the inside out, not the
outside in, and offer relevant learning in as many ways as you can.
training policy and training manuals - definitions, structures, and template
examples

A training policy is different to a training manual. A policy is a set of principles. A

manual is a far more detailed set of operating procedures and supporting notes for
trainers and trainees. This generally dictates that training manuals are required in
two different formats - one for trainers and one for trainees.

A policy is more fixed and concise than a manual. A manual is subject to greater
and more frequent and detailed changes. A policy provides the principles and
system on which the manual(s) can be built. A policy reflects philosophy and values
and fundamental aims. A manual deals with how the aims are to be achieved in
terms that describe (and if appropriate illustrate too) specific tasks and duties.

Because training manuals contain operating procedures, instructions and

supporting notes that are specific to the training concerned, most training manuals
are more liable to change than a policy, and this flexibility for changing and
updating content is an important aspect in deciding the overall system for
producing and administrating training manual documentation, which is best
addressed and defined in the training policy.

While a training policy tends to be established and agreed at a higher executive or

managerial level than individual training manuals, the above point demonstrates
why input from and consultation with training design and delivery staff are
important in designing an effective training policy.

training and development policy - definitions and template

Here's a quick simple template or basic structure for a modern effective and socially
responsible training and development policy.

You might prefer to call it a learning and development policy, or any other title
which will be most meaningful for your situation and people. The structure can also
be used to create a training and development manual.

Drafting or re-drafting a policy inevitably requires an examination - and ideally a

consultation among those interested - focusing on what you are trying to achieve, in
this case for people's learning and development. This process connects with and
potentially improves just about every aspect of the organization, so it's a useful
exercise if you've not done it or it needs revisiting.

You will find many and various examples of actual training and development
policies in use. Several are now published on the web by the organizations which
operate them, because this is a demonstration of organizational quality.

As such, an effective modern training and development (or learning and

development) policy is an increasingly important part of any organization's visibility
and image in the eyes of its customers, staff, potential new employees, and the
market as a whole.

Training policies vary greatly because (rightly) they tend to be very specific for the
organization.

That said, broadly a good training and development policy will cover the following
aspects. There is no set or definitive order. Other people and organizations will have
different ideas.

learning/training and development policy structure

introduction/definitions/scope (purpose and reach of policy)

cultural/philosophical (values, vision, ethos, guiding principles, etc)

legal (health and safety, discrimination, etc)

people (where people stand in organizational priorities, input, care, compassion,
etc)

methods (of T&D, career development, succession, recruitment and selection)

systems/tools (for T&D - training manuals, media, knowledge and information

management, responsibilities, etc)

process/operations (how T&D relates to operations)

financial (planning, budgets, prioritisation, etc)

responsibility/authority (how T&D is managed, enabling voluntary and extra T&D)

social responsibility (CSR, ethics, environment, sustainability, diversity, etc)

review and measurement (of T&D, accreditation, qualifications, independent audit,

etc)

scale, geographical and timing factors (can be appended and flexible - relevant to
the policy and situation)

Your own policy (and structure/template you start with) needs to be suitable for
your own situation.

You might find other useful ideas in the induction training checklist and other
training templates on this website, because they all provide different aspects and
potential headings/content for an overall training policy.

The challenge in developing an effective training policy is including all the key
issues but keeping it concise and compact, so people will actually read and refer to
it.

Importantly also, a training policy must provide the basic system and management
guide for the people who design and develop training manuals within the
organization - for example whether manuals must contain, or instead refer to, the
training policy; whether manuals are course-specific or job-specific or departmental-
specific; who is responsible for designing and updating manuals; and whether the
media formats of manuals (printed, online, etc).
Whatever is included in the training policy, keep it simple - the use of short bullet
points under each heading will enable greater clarity. Policies are no use if they are
so dry and wordy that people are not inclined to read and use them.

Seek input from all interested people - especially those who are responsible for
fulfilling training responsibilities - again a policy is no use if it is developed in
isolation of those who need it.

Circulate draft versions of your new policy to people at all levels and in all functions,
so that you can be sure the wording is understood and meaningful - and also to
arrive at a policy which is agreed and acceptable.

More detailed or changeable points can always be appended to the main document,
which enables easier changes, and avoids cluttering the main principles.

Detailed aspects of training content and trainee notes are not for inclusion in a
training policy - specific training (and trainers') notes are for training manuals, not
the overriding training policy document.

training manuals - definitions and templates

As stated, a training manual is different to a training policy. A training policy deals

with relatively fixed overriding principles and strategy and systems. Training
manuals deal with specific training notes and training content such as instructions,
procedures, standards, diagrams and illustrations, technical data and trainer's
notes. Before writing lots of training manuals it is useful to decide and describe how
the manuals should be structured and organized - which logically is best addressed
in the training policy, typically within 'systems/tools' considerations or similar.

A training manual can take various forms, and typically covers a defined training
area or subject or course.
Therefore organizations of a very modest scale (over 20 employees for example)
will typically produce and maintain several or many different training manuals.

Irrespective of the size of the organization, it is perfectly reasonable to assemble all

training manuals within one compendium, which is helpful for all staff and also for
the overall management/overseeing of training manual materials.

A training manual can cover departmental or job-specific training, or a particular

training course (for example sales, finance, operation of equipment, etc). A training
manual can also cover training that is relevant to all jobs and departments (for
example, induction, health and safety, IT, employment law, management, etc).

The two main different versions of training manuals are:

manuals used by trainers - to enable appropriate training planning, design, delivery,

assessment and development

manuals used by trainees - to provide all necessary information for trainees in

support of the respective training received.

Each version contains essentially the same material, but extended and adapted for
the different purposes of trainer or trainee.

A training policy can be included in a training manual, or kept separate as a

reference document, but one way or another it must be made available to people
and referred visibly in all training manuals.

Whether to include the full training policy within training manuals largely depends
on the size of the training policy document and the amount of training manuals
updates. A concise inspiring training policy of between one and three pages would
fit very well within any number of training manuals, and is probably an ideal
approach. However in larger organizations requiring wordier policies, an
unavoidably heavy policy of ten pages is instead probably best merely summarised
in training manuals, and a reference given for obtaining the whole policy document.
Keeping a large policy separate is also sensible where lots of updates are made to
manuals.
Increasingly training policies and manuals can be made available online, via an
intranet or similar, which enables easier and faster updating and communication of
changes. Again this is a principle which should initially be agreed at the training
policy stage.

Here is a sensible structure for a training manual. In this example it is assumed that
the training policy is a separate document:

learning/training manual structure template

title or heading of subject/course/department/job training

index, timetable, programme (especially itemising training content and elements)

training policy or policy summary (and reference to full current policy document -
emphasise issues about equality and employment/discrimination law)

introduction/definitions (manual structure and glossary, terminology, training design

rationale, etc)

aims, expectations, measures (setting the scene - explaining what will happen -
mutual expectations and standards - the Kirkpatrick model is useful for this)

use of manual (how the manual works and how it relates to the training and the job)

training methods, support, media, materials (the training formats and options,
tutors and support)

training content/elements (itemised and presented in logical sequence and in

suitably sized elements for delegates' learning ability, and reflecting the order of
training activities and delivery - see example formats below - again see Kirkpatrick's
model which can be used as a structure for each element - and also see the VAK
learning styles and Kolb learning cycle/styles model, both of which are helpful in
ensuring delivery formats meet needs of all preferred learning and communications
styles

ongoing learning and follow-up (especially help with practical implementation -

optionally this section can be included after each training element, which is
preferable where content is extensive or complex - include any relevant information
to help and encourage learners to apply new capabilities and to continue learning)

bibliography and references (further information sources - again optionally this

section can be included after each training element if more effective for delegates)
copyright and authorship information (as appropriate - obviously more significant
for externally provided training)

This template is an example. Sequence and items can be changed to suit situations.
Where training is delivered by a trainer (as distinct from online or distance learning)
then a trainer's version of the manual should include additional sections covering
these aspects, as appropriate to the situation:

training manual - trainer's versions - additional sections/items

trainer's checklist/inventory (all materials and equipment required for

course/training - including clarification of anything open to interpretation or
confusion)

trainers content notes (for the presentation of each section including options and
alternatives for different learning styles, levels of ability, and anything relevant,
useful or potentially arising in delivery - not restricted to contingencies but also
extending to tips and ideas for improving delivery, enjoyment and learning transfer
- ideally a growing resource of trainer's help in running the course or programme,
assuming a trainer is involved)

master copies of trainee notes and handouts (in case of loss or omission or spoiling,
and where no copying facilities exist then ample spare copies should be part of the
checklist/inventory - web addresses or links can suffice instead of hard copies where
materials are organized and available reliably online)

trainer's course/training management notes (regarding venue, domestic

arrangements, travel and accommodation info, etc)

trainer's contact points (for trainer's clarification or assistance with any aspects of
course/training delivery - typically an expert or department directly involved in
designing the course and/or responsible for the function in which technical content
resides in the organization or training provider)
You should develop a structure for your own situation that meets the needs of
people using it and what you are aiming to achieve.

training content notes in training manuals - sample formats

There are so many ways to do this. Essentially delegates need notes and supporting
information that are appropriate and relevant to the training content being
imparted, and also to the preferred styles of the trainees.

For example if the trainees tend to prefer lots of detail, then ensure notes contain
lots of detail. If trainees prefer quicker visual representations and diagrams and
pictures, then ensure such images feature strongly in the supporting notes.

If trainees are very active and practical and seek lots of participative hands-on
experience then ensure these aspects are built into the supporting materials.

Whatever, make sure that each element of the training content is structured to
explain its characteristics, standards/parameters, inputs and outcomes.

Charts and grid layouts containing numbered points, comparisons, graphs are much
more effective than free-running text and narrative.

You can also use/adapt the main structure of a training planner (or your own local
equivalent) to define and present each part or element of the training content in
clear consistent sections, for example:
This is a just a broad suggestion of format and possible sections - sections sizes
depend on the content you'd need to insert in each.training manual - notes page
structure example

skill/ability/area to be trained - definition

purpose/relevance of capability

element or part of area to be trained - definition

purpose/result/aim of training element

required standard or parameter

current knowledge or ability

activity or exercise

tools, equipment, materials

timings, venue, person responsible

notes, diagrams

completed

references/further info

follow-up and measurement

Other frameworks can be used instead or in association with relevant sections

above. Select a framework or structure for the format of the notes which fits the
situation and the needs of the delegates. The following models and methods
provide possible structures to use or adapt or blend in developing a helpful format
for the actual training content notes pages of a training manual. Once you have a
format you can then more easily fill in the boxes, or even delegate the task of doing
so to someone who understands the technicalities of the training element without
necessarily being able to design training from scratch. The format is the key.

Kirkpatrick

Kolb

Bloom
VAK/Skills Attitude Knowledge/Multiple Intelligence

Conscious Competence

Process steps - the 'flatpack' approach - numbered instructional points with

diagrams - look at the instructions you get with flatpack furniture - good examples
that is..

presentation slide copies with notes (powerpoint or similar) - care is required or this
becomes overly dependent on the quality of the slides - supporting notes have to
fulfil a different and more instructional and detailed purpose

cartoons and illustrations (cartoonists like Jim Barker and Cartoon Motivators can
help transform dry text-laden content into far more enjoyable and stimulating
learning materials)

These templates are a guide - a starting point or a default.

Provided you follow an appropriate structure of some sort then your options are
limitless - particularly when one begins to consider the growing possibilities of
digital and online media.

Whatever, strive for a training policy and a training manual methodology that meets
the needs of your people and what you are aiming to achieve in the widest and
most adventurous way possible.

Training must be structured and logical, because it must be appropriate and

measurable - moreover it should also be innovative, enjoyable, ethical, and
responsive to the increasing expectations of your people and your customers.

nlp (neuro-linguistic programming)

NLP - neuro-linguistic programming - free training introduction, NLP principles and

techniques guide
This free introduction to NLP is provided by Robert Smith MBA, a leading
international practitioner in neuro-linguistic programming and NLP Master Trainer.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) was created in the early 1970s by Richard
Bandler, a computer scientist and Gestalt therapist, and Dr John Grinder, a linguist
and therapist. Bandler and Grinder invented a process known as 'modelling' that
enabled them to study three of the world's greatest therapists: Dr Milton Erickson,
father of modern hypnotherapy; Fritz Perls, creator of Gestalt therapy; and Virginia
Satir, the mother of modern-day family therapy. They wanted to know what made
these therapists effective and to train others in their methods. What is offered today
as NLP is the product of this modelling process.

how does nlp optimise individual and organizational performance?

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is an extremely powerful concept. It is said by many

to contain the most accessible, positive and useful aspects of modern psychology,
and so can be helpful in virtually every aspect of personal and inter-personal
relations. NLP has many beneficial uses for self-development, and for businesses
and organizations; for example NLP enables better communications in customer
service, and all types of selling. NLP enables better awareness and control of
oneself, better appreciation of the other person's feelings and behavioural style,
which in turn enables better empathy and cooperation. NLP improves understanding
in all one-to-one communications, especially interviewing and appraisals (whether
used by the interviewer or the interviewee). NLP certainly features strongly in
facilitative selling. NLP is an enabling tool of Emotional Intelligence (EQ), which is an
aspect of multiple intelligence theory. Neuro-Linguistic Programming can also be
very helpful for stress management and developing self-belief and assertiveness
and confidence. The empathic caring principles of NLP also assist the practical
application of ethical and moral considerations (notably achieving detachment and
objectivity), and using loving and compassionate ideas (simply, helping people) in
work and life generally. These few examples illustrate the significance of NLP as a
concept for personal and organizational development.

The experience of undergoing NLP training is a life-changing one for many people,
and its techniques offer substantial advantages to people performing most roles in
organizations:

Directors and executives

Managers at all levels

Sales people
Administrators

Engineering and technical staff

Customer care operatives

Receptionists

Secretarial staff

Trainers

HR and counselling staff

NLP techniques help particularly by making it possible for people to:

Set clear goals and define realistic strategies

Coach new and existing staff to help them gain greater satisfaction from their
contribution

Understand and reduce stress and conflict

Improve new customer relationship-building and sales performance

Enhance the skills of customer care staff and reduce customer loss

Improve people's effectiveness, productivity and thereby profitability

nlp operational principles

NLP consists of a set of powerful techniques for rapid and effective behavioural
modification, and an operational philosophy to guide their use. It is based on four
operational principles, which below these headings are explained in more detail.

1. Know what outcome you want to achieve. (See nlp principle 1 - achieving
outcomes.)
2. Have sufficient sensory acuity (acuity means clear understanding) to know if you
are moving towards or away from your outcome (See nlp principle 2 - sensory
awareness.)

3. Have sufficient flexibility of behaviour so that you can vary your behaviour until
you get your outcome. (See nlp principle 3 - changing behaviour.)

4. Take action now. (See nlp principle 4 - time for action)

It is important to have specific outcomes. Many people do not have conscious

outcomes and wander randomly through life. NLP stresses the importance of living
with conscious purpose. In order to achieve outcomes it is necessary to act and
speak in certain ways. NLP teaches a series of linguistic and behavioural patterns
that have proved highly effective in enabling people to change the beliefs and
behaviours of other people.

In using any of these patterns NLP stresses the importance of continuous calibration
of the person or people you are interacting with in order to see if what you are
doing is working. If it is not working it is important to do something different. The
idea is to vary your behaviour until you get the results you want.

This variation in behaviour is not random. It involves the systematic application of

NLP patterns. It is also important to take action, since nothing ever happens until
someone takes the initiative. In short, NLP is about thinking, observing and doing to
get what you want out of life.

nlp principle 1 - achieving outcomes

The importance of knowing your outcome cannot be stressed enough. Many people
do not have conscious outcomes. Others have no idea what they want but know
what they don't want. Their life is based on moving away from those things they
don't want. NLP stresses the importance of moving towards those things you want.
Without outcomes life becomes a process of wandering aimlessly. Once an outcome
is determined you can begin to focus on achieving that outcome.

NLP lists certain well-formedness conditions that outcomes should meet. The first of
these is that the outcome needs to be stated in positive terms. This means that the
outcome must be what you want and not what you don't want to happen. Outcomes
must be capable of being satisfied. It is both logically and practically impossible to
give someone the negation of an experience. You can't engage in the process of
'not doing'. You can only engage in the process of doing.

The second well-formedness condition for outcomes is that the outcome must be
testable and demonstrable in sensory experience. There must be an evidence
procedure. Unless this is the case, there is no way to measure progress towards the
achievement of the outcome. With an evidence procedure for the outcome it is
possible to determine whether or not you are making progress towards achieving
the outcome.

Third, the desired state must be sensory specific. You must be able to say what you
would look like, sound like and feel like if you achieved the outcome.

Fourth, the outcome or desired state must be initiated and maintained by the
subject. This places the locus (ie position) of control and responsibility for achieving
the outcome with the subject and not with someone else. It is not a well-formed
outcome when someone else does something or changes in some way. All you can
do is have an outcome in which you can change yourself or your behaviour so as to
bring about a change in someone else.

Fifth, the outcome must be appropriately and explicitly contextualised. This means
that outcomes must not be stated as universals. You must never want either 'all the
time' of 'never', but only under specific circumstances. In NLP we always strive to
create more choice and never to take choice or reduce the number of possible
responses. The goal instead is to make the choices or responses available in the
appropriate circumstances.
Sixth, the desired outcome must preserve any positive product of the present state.
If this is not the case then symptom substitution may occur.

Seventh and finally, the outcome or desired state must be ecologically sound. You
should consider the consequences for yourself and for other people and not pursue
outcomes that lead to harm to yourself or other people.

nlp principle 2 - sensory awareness

Once you know your outcome you must next have sufficient sensory acuity to know
if you are moving towards it or not. NLP teaches the ability to calibrate or 'read'
people. This involves the ability to interpret changes in muscle tone, skin colour and
shininess, lower lip size and breathing rate and location. The NLP practitioner uses
these and other indications to determine what effect they are having on other
people. This information serves as feedback as to whether the other person is in the
desired state. An important and often overlooked point is to know to stop when the
other person is in the state that you desire.

nlp principle 3 - changing behaviour

The third operational principle of NLP is to vary your behaviour until you get the
response you want.

If what you are doing isn't working, then you need to do something else. You should
use your sensory acuity to determine if what you are doing is leading you in the
desired direction of not. It what you are doing is leading towards your outcome,
then you should continue. If, on the other hand, what you are doing is leading away
from your goals, then you should do something else.

nlp principle 4 - time for action

The fourth and final operational principle of NLP is to take action now. There is no
place for the slogan 'Complacency rules, and I don't care.' NLP is about taking
action now to change behaviour for yourself and for others, now and in the future.
So, to use another catchphrase: 'Don't delay; act today.'
nlp presuppositions

There are certain presuppositions underlying NLP. These are things that are
presupposed in effective communication. Some of these are as follows. Below these
headings each presupposition is explained in more detail.

1. The meaning of a communication is the response you get.

2. The map is not the territory.

3. Language is a secondary representation of experience.

4. Mind and body are parts of the same cybernetic system and affect each other.

5. The law of requisite variety (also known as the first law of cybernetics -
cybernetics is the science of systems and controls in animals, including humans,
and machines) states that in any cybernetic system the element or person in the
system with the widest range of behaviours or variability of choice will control the
system.

6. Behaviour is geared towards adaptation.

7. Present behaviour represents the very best choice available to a person.

8. Behaviour is to be evaluated and appreciated or changed as appropriate in the

context presented.

9. People have all the resources they need to make the changes they want.
10. 'Possible in the world' or 'possible for me' is only a matter of how.

11. The highest quality information about other people is behavioural.

12. It is useful to make a distinction between behaviour and self.

13. There is no such thing as failure; there is only feedback.

nlp presupposition 1 - meaning equals response

In communication it is usually assumed that you are transferring information to

another person. You have information that 'means' something to the other person
and you intend for the other person to understand what it is you intend to
communicate.

Frequently a person assumes that if they 'say what they mean to say', their
responsibility for the communication is over. Effective communicators realise that
their responsibility doesn't end when they finish talking. They realise that, for
practical purposes, what they communicate is what the other person thinks they
say and not what they intend to say. Often the two are quite different.

In communication it is important what the other person thinks you say and how they
respond. This requires that the person pays attention to the response they are
getting. If it is not the response they want, then they need to vary their own
communication until they get the desired response.

There are several major sources of 'misunderstanding' in communication. The first

arises from the fact that each person has a different life experience associated with
each word in the language. Frequently, what one person means by a word (their
complex equivalence for that word) may be something different from what another
person means by it. The second misunderstanding arises from the failure to realise
that a person's tone of voice and facial expression also communicate information,
and that the other person may respond to these as much as they do to what is said.
As the old saying goes: 'Actions speak louder than words,' and in NLP people are
trained that when the two are in conflict, the person should pay more attention to
the actions.

nlp presupposition 2 - map and territory

Good communicators realise that the representations they use to organise their
experience of the world ('map') are not the world ('territory').

It is important to distinguish between several semantic levels. First there is the

world. Second comes the person's experience of the world. This experience is the
person's 'map' or 'model' of the world and is different for each person. Every
individual creates a unique model of the world and thus lives in a somewhat
different reality from everyone else. You do not operate directly on the world but on
your experience of it. This experience may or may not be correct. To the extent that
your experience has a similar structure to the world it is correct and this accounts
for its usefulness.

A person's experience, map, model or representation of the world determines how

they will perceive the world and what choices they will see as available to them.
Many NLP techniques involve you changing your representation of the world to
make it more useful and to bring it more into line with the way the world actually is.

nlp presupposition 3 - language and experience

Language is a secondary representation of experience.

Language is at a third semantic level. First is the stimulus coming from the word.
Second is the person's representation of experience of that stimulus. Third is the
person's description of that experience by way of language. Language is not
experience but a representation of it. Words are merely arbitrary tokens used to
represent things the person sees, hears or feels. People who speak other languages
use different words to represent the same things that English speakers see, hear or
feel. Also, since each person has a unique set of things that they have seen, heard
and felt in their lives, their words have different meanings from each of them.

People are able to communicate effectively to the degree that these meanings are
similar. When they are too dissimilar, problems in communication begin to arise.

nlp presupposition 4 - body and mind affect each other

Mind and body are parts of the same cybernetic system and affect each other.
There is no separate 'mind' and no separate 'body'. Both words refer to aspects of
the same 'whole' or 'gestalt', They act as one and they influence each other in such
a way that there is no separation.

Anything that happens in one part of a cybernetic system, such as a human being,
will affect all other parts of that system. This means that the way a person thinks
affects how they feel and that the condition of their physical body affects how they
think. A person's perceptual input, internal thought process, emotional process,
physiological response and behavioural output all occur both simultaneously and
through time.

In practical terms, this means that a person can change how they think either by
directly changing how they think or by changing their physiology or other feelings.
Likewise, a person can change their physiology or their emotions by changing how
they think. One important corollary of this, which will be explored later, is the
importance of visualisation and mental rehearsal in improving the conduct of any
activity.

nlp presupposition 5 - widest range of behaviours or choices controls the system

Control in human systems refers to the ability to influence the quality of a person's
own and other people's experience in the moment and through time.

The person with the greatest flexibility of behaviour - that is, the number of ways of
interacting - will control the system. Choice is always preferable to no choice, and
more choice is always preferable to less choice. This also relates to the third general
principle of NLP, mentioned previously. This principle is that a person needs to vary
their behaviour until they get their desired outcome. If what you are doing is not
working, vary the behaviour and do something else. Anything else is better than
continuing with what doesn't work. Keep varying your behaviour until you find
something that works.

nlp presupposition 6 - behaviour and adaptation

Behaviour is geared towards adaptation. A person's behaviour is determined by the

context in which that behaviour originates.

Your reality is defined by your perceptions of the world. The behaviour a person
exhibits is appropriate to their reality. All of a person's behaviour, whether good or
bad, is an adaptation. Everything is useful in some context. All behaviour is or was
adaptive, given the context in which it was learned. In another context it may not
be appropriate. People need to realise this and change their behaviour when it is
appropriate to do so.

nlp presupposition 7 - present behaviour is the best choice

Behind every behaviour is a positive intent. A person makes the best choice
available to them at any moment in time, given who the person is and based on all
their life experiences and the choices they are aware of. If offered a better choice
they will take it.

In order to change someone's inappropriate behaviour it is necessary to give them

other choices. Once this is done they will behave accordingly. NLP has techniques
for providing these additional choices. Also, in NLP we never take away choices. We
only provide more choices and explicitly contextualise the existing choices.

nlp presupposition 8 - context of behaviour

You need to evaluate your behaviour in terms of what you are capable of becoming.
You need to strive to become all that you are capable of being.

nlp presupposition 9 - resources to change

People have all they need to make changes they want to make. The task is to locate
or access those resources and to make them available in the appropriate context.
NLP provides techniques to accomplish this task.

What this means in practice is that people do not need to spend time trying to gain
insight into their problems or in developing resources to deal with their problems.
They already have all the resources they need to deal with their problems. All that is
necessary is to access these resources and transfer them to the current time frame.

nlp presupposition 10 - the how of possibility

If any other human being is capable of performing some behaviour, then it is

possible for you to perform it, too. The process of determining 'how' you do it is
called 'modelling', and it is the process by which NLP came into being in the first
place.

nlp presupposition 11 - behaviour speaks louder than words

Listen to what people say but pay more attention to what they do. If there is any
contradiction between the two then rely on the behaviour. Look for behavioural
evidence of change and don't just reply on people's words

nlp presupposition 12 - distinguish behaviour and self

It is useful to make a distinction between behaviour and self. In other words, just
because someone 'screws up' on something it doesn't mean that they are a 'screw-
up'. Behaviour is what a person says, does or feels at any moment in time. This is
not a person's self, however. A person's self is greater than their behaviours.

nlp presupposition 13 - feedback, not failure

It is more valuable for a person to view their experience in terms of a learning frame
than in terms of a failure frame. If a person doesn't succeed in something, that
doesn't mean they have failed. It just means that they have discovered one way not
to do that particular thing. The person then needs to vary their behaviour until they
find a way to succeed.
nlp techniques and definitions

NLP consists of a set of powerful techniques to effect change. Some of these

techniques are as follows, with their definitions:

anchoring

The process of associating an internal response with some external trigger so that
the response may be quickly, and sometimes covertly, reaccessed by activating the
trigger.

anchors

These may be naturally occurring or set up deliberately. They may be established in

all representational systems and serve to control both positive and negative internal
states.

stacking anchors

The process of associating a series of events with one specific anchor so as to

strengthen the intensity of the subject's response to a specific anchor.

collapsing anchors

A process of neutralising negative states by triggering two incompatible responses

at the same time.

chaining anchors

A process by which a series of anchors is created to lead from an undesired state

through a series of intermediate states to a desired state.

associated state
Being fully present in a state so as to experience the kinesthetics of it. For past
states this involves being in the experience looking from the perspective of the
person's own eyes.

dissociated state

Recreating a past experience from the perspective of an onlooker or observer. This

means the person does not re-experience the original emotion but instead
experiences the emotions of an observer.

double kinesthetic dissociation

The process of watching yourself watching a film of a past experience. This is used
in cases of phobias and extreme psychic trauma.

calibration

The process of reading a subject's internal responses in an ongoing interaction by

pairing them with observable behavioural cues.

change history

A process of guiding a subject to re-experience a series of past situations by the use

of selective anchoring. Resource states are developed for each situation and are
installed in the subject's repertoire in order to change the significance of the past
events.

rapport

The process of establishing a relationship with a subject that is characterised by

harmony, understanding and mutual confidence. This is done by reducing to a
minimum the perceived difference at the unconscious level.

reframing
A process used to separate a problematic behaviour from the positive intention to
the internal part responsible for that behaviour. New choices of behaviour are
established that maintain the positive intent but don't have the problematic by-
products.

strategy

A set of explicit mental and behavioural steps used to achieve a specific outcome.
This is represented by a specific sequence of representational systems used to
carry out the specific steps.

submodalities

The subclassification of external experience. The decomposing into its components

of a picture, sound or feeling.

This free NLP article is provided for this website by Robert Smith, and this is
gratefully acknowledged. This material can be used freely for personal or
organizational development purposes but is not to be sold or published in any form.

Robert Smith biography - Robert Smith MBA is a widely sought-after international

consultant renowned for his enthusiastic motivational and forthright style. He is a
Master Trainer of Neuro Linguistic Programming, specialising in leadership
development and 'Solution Focused' consultancy. He has over 20 years experience
developing leaders in a wide range of settings. Robert's early years of consultancy
were mainly working for IBM in Europe, Middle East and Africa on their leadership
development programmes. Robert has a remarkable skill set including being a
psychotherapist (UKCP registered) and is able, by using the latest psychological
methods, to help people remove limiting beliefs relating to achievement and
success. Robert has worked with the Motorola MBA intake programme and trained
the United Nations peacekeeping force in Bosnia. He also worked closely with the
British Foreign Office and the British Armed Forces, and has worked with many of
the top organizations in the world including Cable and Wireless, the Civil Aviation
Authority, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, TNT and Alstom. In more recent years Robert
Smith has become a highly respected international trainer enabling the
development of trainers, coaches, consultants and organizational leaders, across
more than 40 different nationalities. He now runs a training centre in Turkey as well
as maintaining training and coaching activities in the UK.

Robert can be contacted via email: robert-smith at freeuk.com, and also via his
website treaclenlptraining.co.uk.

http://www.businessballs.com/personalitystylesmodels.htm

personality theories, types and tests

personality types, behavioural styles theories, personality and testing systems - for
self-awareness, self-development, motivation, management, and recruitment

Motivation, management, communications, relationships - focused on yourself or

others - are a lot more effective when you understand yourself, and the people you
seek to motivate or manage or develop or help.

Understanding personality is also the key to unlocking elusive human qualities, for
example leadership, charisma, and empathy, whether your purpose is self-
development, helping others, or any other field relating to people and how we
behave.

The personality theories that underpin personality tests and personality quizzes are
surprisingly easy to understand at a basic level. This section seeks to explain many
of these personality theories and ideas. This knowledge helps to develop self-
awareness and also to help others to achieve greater self-awareness and
development too.
Developing understanding of personality typology, personality traits, thinking styles
and learning styles theories is also a very useful way to improve your knowledge of
motivation and behaviour of self and others, in the workplace and beyond.

Understanding personality types is helpful for appreciating that while people are
different, everyone has a value, and special strengths and qualities, and that
everyone should be treated with care and respect. The relevance of love and
spirituality - especially at work - is easier to see and explain when we understand
that differences in people are usually personality-based. People very rarely set out
to cause upset - they just behave differently because they are different.

Personality theory and tests are useful also for management, recruitment, selection,
training and teaching, on which point see also the learning styles theories on other
pages such as Kolb's learning styles, Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, and the VAK
learning styles model.

Completing personality tests with no knowledge of the supporting theories can be a

frustrating and misleading experience - especially if the results from personality
testing are not properly explained, or worse still not given at all to the person being
tested. Hopefully the explanations and theories below will help dispel much of the
mistique surrounding modern personality testing.

There are many different personality and motivational models and theories, and
each one offers a different perspective.

If you find these materials helpful please try to contribute something to the self-
publishing Space, for example details of another personality model or psychology
theory. Here are details about the Space on Businessballs and the philosophy
behind it.

The more models you understand, the better your appreciation of motivation and
behaviour.

personality models on this page

The Four Temperaments/Four Humours

Carl Jung's Psychological Types

Myers Briggs® personality types theory (MBTI® model)

Keirsey's personality types theory (Temperament Sorter model)

Hans Eysenck's personality types theory

Katherine Benziger's Brain Type theory

William Moulton Marston's DISC personality theory (Inscape, Thomas Int., etc)

Belbin Team Roles and personality types theory

The 'Big Five' Factors personality model

FIRO-B® Personality Assessment model

The Birkman Method®

Other personality theories and psychometrics tests models

personality theories and models - introduction

Behavioural and personality models are widely used in organisations, especially in
psychometrics and psychometric testing (personality assessments and tests).
Behavioural and personality models have also been used by philosophers, leaders
and managers for hundreds and in some cases thousands of years as an aid to
understanding, explaining, and managing communications and relationships.

Used appropriately, psychometrics and personality tests can be hugely beneficial in

improving knowledge of self and other people - motivations, strengths, weaknesses,
preferred thinking and working styles, and also strengths and preferred styles for
communications, learning, management, being managed, and team-working.

Understanding personality - of your self and others - is central to motivation.

Different people have different strengths and needs. You do too.

The more you understand about personality, the better able you are to judge what
motivates people - and yourself.

The more you understand about your own personality and that of other people, the
better able you are to realise how others perceive you, and how they react to your
own personality and style.

Knowing how to adapt the way you work with others, how you communicate,
provide information and learning, how you identify and agree tasks, are the main
factors enabling successfully managing and motivating others - and yourself.

Importantly you do not necessarily need to use a psychometrics instrument in order

to understand the theory and the basic model which underpins it. Obviously using
good psychometrics instruments can be extremely useful and beneficial, (and
enjoyable too if properly positioned and administered), but the long-standing
benefit from working with these models is actually in understanding the logic and
theory which underpin the behavioural models or personality testing systems
concerned. Each theory helps you to understand more about yourself and others.
In terms of 'motivating others' you cannot sustainably 'impose' motivation on
another person. You can inspire them perhaps, which lasts as long as you can
sustain the inspiration, but sustainable motivation must come from within the
person. A good manager and leader will enable and provide the situation,
environment and opportunities necessary for people to be motivated - in pursuit of
goals and development and achievements that are truly meaningful to the
individual. Which implies that you need to discover, and at times help the other
person to discover, what truly motivates them - especially their strengths, passions,
and personal aims - for some the pursuit of personal destiny - to achieve their own
unique potential. Being able to explain personality, and to guide people towards
resources that will help them understand more about themselves, is all part of the
process. Help others to help you understand what they need - for work and for
whole life development, and you will have an important key to motivating, helping
and working with people.

Each of the different theories and models of personality and human motivation is a
different perspective on the hugely complex area of personality, motivation and
behaviour. It follows that for any complex subject, the more perspectives you have,
then the better your overall understanding will be. Each summary featured below is
just that - a summary: a starting point from which you can pursue the detail and
workings of any of these models that you find particularly interesting and relevant.
Explore the many other models and theories not featured on this site too - the
examples below are a just small sample of the wide range of models and systems
that have been developed.

Some personality testing resources, including assessment instruments, are

available free on the internet or at relatively low cost from appropriate providers,
and they are wonderful tools for self-awareness, personal development, working
with people and for helping to develop better working relationships. Some
instruments however are rather more expensive, given that the developers and
psychometrics organisations need to recover their development costs. For this
reason, scientifically validated personality testing instruments are rarely free. The
free tests which are scientifically validated tend to be 'lite' introductory instruments
which give a broad indication rather than a detailed analysis.

There are dozens of different personality testing systems to explore, beneath which
sit rather fewer basic theories and models. Some theories underpin well-known
personality assessment instruments (such as Myers Briggs®, and DISC); others are
stand-alone models or theories which seek to explain personality, motivation,
behaviour, learning styles and thinking styles (such as Benziger, Transactional
Analysis, Maslow, McGregor, Adams, VAK, Kolb, and others), which are explained
elsewhere on this website.

In this section are examples personality and style models, which are all relatively
easy to understand and apply. Don't allow providers to baffle you with science - all
of these theories are quite accessible at a basic level, which is immensely helpful to
understanding a lot of what you need concerning motivation and personality in work
and life beyond.

Do seek appropriate training and accreditation if you wish to pursue and use
psychometrics testing in a formal way, especially if testing or assessing people in
organisations or in the provision of services. Administering formal personality tests -
whether in recruitment, assessment, training and development, counselling or for
other purposes - is a sensitive and skilled area. People are vulnerable to inaccurate
suggestion, misinterpretation, or poor and insensitive explanation, so approach
personality testing with care, and be sure you are equipped and capable to deal
with testing situations properly.

For similar reasons you need to be properly trained to get involved in counselling or
therapy for clinical or serious emotional situations. People with clinical conditions,
depression and serious emotional disturbance usually need qualified professional
help, and if you aren't qualified yourself then the best you can do is to offer to help
the other person get the right support.

Beware of using unlicensed 'pirated' or illegally copied psychometrics instruments.

Always check to ensure that any tools that are 'apparently' free and in the public
domain are actually so. If in doubt about the legitimacy of any psychometrics
instrument avoid using it. Psychometric tests that are unlikely to be free include
systems with specific names, such as DISC®, Situational Leadership®, MBTI®,
Cattell 16PF, Belbin Team Roles. If in doubt check. These systems and others like
them are not likely to be in the public domain and not legitimately free, and so you
should not use them without a licence or the officially purchased materials from the
relevant providers.
personality types models and theories

As a general introduction to all of these theories and models, it's important to

realise that no-one fully knows the extent to which personality is determined by
genetics and hereditary factors, compared to the effects of up-bringing, culture,
environment and experience. Nature versus Nurture: no-one knows. Most studies
seem to indicate that it's a bit of each, roughly half and half, although obviously it
varies person-to-person.

Given that perhaps half our personality is determined by influences acting upon us
after we are conceived and born, it's interesting and significant also that no-one
actually knows the extent to which personality changes over time.

Certainly childhood is highly influential in forming personality. Certainly major

trauma at any stage of life can change a person's personality quite fundamentally.
Certainly many people seem to mature emotionally with age and experience. But
beyond these sort of generalisations, it's difficult to be precise about how and when
- and if - personality actually changes.

So where do we draw the line and say a personality is fixed and firm? The answer in
absolute terms is that we can't.

We can however identify general personality styles, aptitudes, sensitivities, traits,

etc., in people and in ourselves, especially when we understand something of how
to define and measure types and styles. And this level of awareness is far better
than having none at all.

Which is is purpose of this information about personality and style 'types'. What
follows is intended to be give a broad, accessible (hopefully interesting) level of
awareness of personality and types, and of ways to interpret and define and
recognise different personalities and behaviours, so as to better understand
yourself and others around you.
the four temperaments - aka the four humours/humors

The Four Temperaments, also known as the Four Humours, is arguably the oldest of
all personality profiling systems, and it is fascinating that there are so many echoes
of these ancient ideas found in modern psychology.

The Four Temperaments ideas can be traced back to the traditions of the Egyptian
and Mesopotamian civilisations over 5,000 years ago, in which the health of the
body was connected with the elements, fire, water, earth and air, which in turn were
related to body organs, fluids, and treatments. Some of this thinking survives today
in traditional Eastern ideas and medicine.

The ancient Greeks however first formalised and popularised the Four
Temperaments methodologies around 2,500 years ago, and these ideas came to
dominate Western thinking about human behaviour and medical treatment for over
two-thousand years. Most of these concepts for understanding personality,
behaviour, illness and treatment of illness amazingly persisted in the Western world
until the mid-1800s.

The Four Temperaments or Four Humours can be traced back reliably to Ancient
Greek medicine and philosophy, notably in the work of Hippocrates (c.460-
377/359BC - the 'Father of Medicine') and in Plato's (428-348BC) ideas about
character and personality.

In Greek medicine around 2,500 years ago it was believed that in order to maintain
health, people needed an even balance of the four body fluids: blood, phlegm,
yellow bile, and black bile. These four body fluids were linked (in daft ways by
modern standards) to certain organs and illnesses and also represented the Four
Temperaments or Four Humours (of personality) as they later became known. As
regards significant body fluids no doubt natural body waste products were
discounted, since perfectly healthy people evacuate a good volume of them every
day. Blood is an obvious choice for a fluid associated with problems - there'd have
generally been quite a lot of it about when people were unwell thousands of years
ago, especially if you'd been hit with a club or run over by a great big chariot.
Phlegm is an obvious one too - colds and flu and chest infections tend to produce
gallons of the stuff and I doubt the ancient Greeks had any better ideas of how to
get rid of it than we do today. Yellow bile is less easy to understand although it's
generally thought have been the yellowish liquid secreted by the liver to aid
digestion. In ancient times a bucketful of yellow bile would have been the natural
upshot, so to speak, after a night on the local wine or taking a drink from the well
that your next-door neighbour threw his dead cat into last week. Black bile is
actually a bit of a mystery. Some say it was congealed blood, or more likely
stomach bile with some blood in it. Students of the technicolour yawn might have
observed that bile does indeed come in a variety of shades, depending on the
ailment or what exactly you had to drink the night before. Probably the ancient
Greeks noticed the same variation and thought it was two different biles. Whatever,
these four were the vital fluids, and they each related strongly to what was
understood at the time about people's health and personality.

Imbalance between the 'humours' manifested in different behaviour and illnesses,

and treatments were based on restoring balance between the humours and body
fluids (which were at the time seen as the same thing. Hence such practices as
blood-letting by cutting or with with leeches. Incidentally the traditional red and
white striped poles - representing blood and bandages - can still occasionally be
seen outside barber shops and are a fascinating reminder that these medical beliefs
and practices didn't finally die out until the late 1800s.

Spiritually there are other very old four-part patterns and themes relating to the
Four Temperaments within astrology, the planets, and people's understanding of
the world, for example: the ancient 'elements' - fire, water, earth and air; the twelve
signs of the zodiac arranged in four sets corresponding to the elements and
believed by many to define personality and destiny; the ancient 'Four Qualities' of
(combinations of) hot or cold, and dry or moist/wet; and the four seasons, Spring,
Summer Autumn, Winter. The organs of the body - liver, lungs, gall bladder and
spleen - were also strongly connected with the Four Temperaments or Humours and
medicinal theory.

Relating these ancient patterns to the modern interpretation of the Four

Temperaments does not however produce scientifically robust correlations. They
were thought relevant at one time, but in truth they are not, just as blood letting
has now been discounted as a reliable medical treatment.

But while the causal link between body fluids and health and personality has not
stood the test of time, the analysis of personality via the Four Temperaments seems
to have done so, albeit tenuously in certain models.
The explanation below is chiefly concerned with the Four Temperaments as a
personality model, not as a basis for understanding and treating illness.

early representations of the four temperaments as a personality model

Richard Montgomery (author of the excellent book People Patterns - A Modern

Guide to the Four Temperaments) suggests that the origins of the Four
Temperaments can be identified earlier than the ancient Greeks, namely in the
Bible, c.590BC, in the words of the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel, who refers
(chapter 1, verse 10) to four faces of mankind, represented by four creatures which
appeared from the mist:

"As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a
lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four
also had the face of an eagle." (from the Book of Ezekiel, chapter 1, verse 10)

Montgomery additionally attributes personality characteristics to each of the four

faces, which he correlates to modern interpretations of the Four Temperaments and
also to Hippocrates' ideas, compared below.

four temperaments - earliest origins Ezekiel c.590BC Hippocrates c.370BC

lion bold blood cheerful

ox sturdyblack bile somber

man humane yellow bile enthusiastic

eagle far-seeing phlegm calm

N.B. The Ezekiel characteristics, (bold, sturdy, humane, far-seeing), do not appear in
the Bible - they have been attributed retrospectively by Montgomery. The
describing words shown here for the Hippocrates Four Temperaments are also those
used by Montgomery, other similar descriptions are used in different interpretations
and commentaries.
Later, and very significantly, Galen, (c.130-201AD) the Greek physician later
interpreted Hippocrates' ideas into the Four Humours, which you might more readily
recognise and associate with historic writings and references about the Four
Temperaments and Four Humours. Each of Galen's describing words survives in the
English language although the meanings will have altered somewhat with the
passing of nearly two thousand years.Hippocrates c.370BC Galen c.190AD

cheerful sanguine

somber melancholic

enthusiastic choleric

calm phlegmatic

The Four Temperaments or Four Humours continued to feature in the thinking and
representations of human personality in the work of many great thinkers through
the ages since these earliest beginnings, and although different theorists have used
their own interpretations and descriptive words for each of the temperaments
through the centuries, it is fascinating to note the relative consistency of these
various interpretations which are shown in the history overview table below.

Brewer's 1870 dictionary refers quite clearly to the Four Humours using the
translated Galen descriptions above, which is further evidence of the popularity and
resilience of the Four Temperaments/Humours model and also of the Galen
interpretation.

The Four Temperaments also provided much inspiration and historical reference for
Carl Jung's work, which in turn provided the underpinning structures and theory for
the development of Myers Briggs'® and David Keirsey's modern-day personality
assessment systems, which correlate with the Four Temperaments thus: Isabel
Myers 1950s Galen c.190AD David Keirsey 1998

SP sensing-perceiving sangine artisan

SJ sensing-judging melancholic guardian

NF intuitive-feeling choleric idealist

NT intuitive-thinking phlegmatic rationalist

N.B. Bear in mind that certain copyright protections apply to the MBTI® and Keirsey
terms so I recommend that you be wary of using these in the provision of
chargeable services or materials since under certain circumstances they are likely
to be subject to licensing conditions.

David Keirsey's interpretation of the Four Temperaments is expressed by

Montgomery in a 2x2 matrix, which provides an interesting modern perspective and
helpful way to appreciate the model, and also perhaps to begin to apply it to
yourself. Can you see yourself in one of these descriptions?artisan

says what is,

does what works rationalist

says what's possible,

does what works

guardian

says what is,

does what's right idealist

says what's possible,

does what's right

Again bear in mind that nobody is exclusively one temperament or type. Each if us
is likely to have a single preference or dominant type or style, which is augmented
and supported by a mixture of the other types. Different people possess differing
mixtures and dominances - some people are strongly orientated towards a single
type; other people have a more even mixture of types. It seems to be accepted
theory that no person can possess an evenly balanced mixture of all four types.

Most people can adapt their styles according to different situations. Certain people
are able to considerably adapt their personal styles to suit different situations. The
advantages of being adaptable are consistent with the powerful '1st Law Of
Cybernetics', which states that: "The unit (which can be a person) within the system
(which can be a situation or an organisation) which has the most behavioural
responses available to it controls the system".

The ability to adapt or bring into play different personal styles in response to
different situations is arguably the most powerful capability that anyone can
possess. Understanding personality models such as the Four Temperaments is
therefore of direct help in achieving such personal awareness and adaptability.
Understanding personality helps you recognise behaviour and type in others - and
yourself. Recognising behaviour is an obvious pre-requisite for adapting behaviour -
in yourself, and in helping others to adapt too.

overview history of the four temperaments - or four humours

From various sources and references, including Keirsey and Montgomery, here is a
history of the Four Temperaments and other models and concepts related to the
Four Temperaments or Four Humours. The words in this framework (from
Hippocrates onwards) can be seen as possible describing words for each of the
temperaments concerned, although do not attach precise significance to any of the
words - they are guide only and not definitive or scientifically reliable. The
correlations prior to Hippocrates are far less reliable and included here more for
interest than for scientific relevance.
N.B. the colours in these charts do not signify anything - they merely assist
(hopefully) with continuity between the different tables. The initials K and M denote
interpretations according to Keirsey and Montgomery. Ancient dates are
approximate. Some cautionary notes relating to the inclusion of some of these
theorists and interpretations is shown below the grid. For believers in astrology and
star-signs please resist the temptation to categorise yourself according to where
your star-sign sits in the grid - these associations are not scientific and not reliable,
and are included merely for historical context and information.Keirsey/MBTI®
reference artisan/SP sensing-perceiving guardian/SJ sensing-judging
idealist/NF intuitive-feeling rationalist/NT intuitive-thinking

Ezekiel 590BC lion ox man eagle

Empedocles 450BC Goea (air) Hera (earth) Zeus (fire) Poseidon (water)

The Seasons SpringAutumn Summer Winter

Signs of Zodiac Libra, Aquarius, Gemini Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo Aries, Leo,
Sagittarius Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

Hippocrates 370BC blood black bile yellow bile phlegm

Hippocrates 370BC 'Four Qualities' hot and moist cold and dry hot and dry
cold and moist

Plato 340BC (M) artistic sensible intuitive reasoning

Aristotle 325BC 'contribution to social order' (K) 'iconic'- artistic and art-making
'pistic' - common-sense and care-taking 'noetic' - intuitive sensibility and
morality 'dianoetic' - reasoning and logical investigator

Aristotle 325BC Four Sources of Happiness (K) 'hedone' - sensual pleasure

'propraieteri' - acquiring assets 'ethikos' - moral virtue 'dialogike' - logical
investigation

Galen 190AD Four Temperaments or Four Humours sanguine melancholic

choleric phlegmatic

Paracelsus 1550 'Four Totem Spirits' (K) Salamanders - impulsive and

changeable Gnomes - industrious and guarded Nymph - inspiring and
passionate Sylphs - curious and calm

Eric Adickes 1905 Four World Views (K) innovative traditional doctrinaire
sceptical

Eduard Spranger 1914 Four Value Attitudes (K) artistic economic

religious theoretic
Ernst Kretschmer 1920 (M) manic depressive oversensitive insensitive

Eric Fromm 1947 (K) exploitative hoarding receptive marketing

Hans Eysenck 1950s (trait examples from his inventory) lively, talkative, carefree,
outgoing sober, reserved, quiet, rigid restless, excitable, optimistic,
impulsive careful, controlled, thoughtful, reliable

Myers 1958 (M) perceiving judging feeling thinking

Myers 1958 (K) probing scheduling friendly tough-minded

Montgomery 2002 on Jung/Myers SP - spontaneous and playful SJ - sensible

and judicious NF - intuitive and fervent NT - ingenious and theoretical

Montgomery 2002 on Keirsey's Four Temperaments says what is,

does what works says what is,

does what's right says what's possible,

does what's right says what's possible,

does what works

Empedocles (c.450BC), the Sicilian-born Greek philosopher and poet was probably
first to publish the concept of 'the elements' (Fire, Earth, Water, Air) being
'scientifically' linked to human behaviour: in his long poem 'On Nature' he described
the elements in relation to emotional forces that we would refer to as love and
strife. However 1870 Brewer says that Empedocles preferred the names of the
Greek Gods, Zeus, Hera, Poseidon and Goea. (1870 Brewer, and Chambers
Biographical, which references Jean Ballock's book, 'Empedocle', 1965.)

Aristotle explained four temperaments in the context of 'individual contribution to

social order' in The Republic, c.325BC, and also used the Four Temperaments to
theorise about people's character and quest for happiness. Incidentally 1870 Brewer
states that Aristotle was first to specifically suggest the four elements, fire, earth,
water, air, and that this was intended as an explanation purely of the various forms
in which matter can appear, which was interpreted by 'modern' chemists (of the late
1800s) to represent 'the imponderable' (calorie), the gaseous (air), the liquid
(water), and solid (earth).
Paracelsus was a German alchemist and physician and considered by some to be
the 'father of toxicology'. His real name was Phillippus Aureolus Theophrastus
Bombastus von Hohenheim, which perhaps explains why he adopted a pseudonym.
According to Chambers Biographical Dictionary he lived from 1493-1541, which
suggests that his work was earlier than 'c.1550'. Keirsey and Montgomery cite the
connection between Paracelsus's Four Totem Spirits and the Four Temperaments,
however there are others who do not see the same connection to or interpretation
of the Four Totem Spirits. If you are keen to know more perhaps seek out the book
The Life Of Paracelsus Phillippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim,
by A Stoddart, published in 1911, referenced by Chambers Biographical.

Hans Jurgen Eysenck was a German-born British psychologist whose very popular
scalable personality inventory model contains significant overlaps with the Four
Temperaments. It's not a perfect fit, but there are many common aspects. See the
Eysenck section.

Galen was a Greek physician (c.130-201AD - more correctly called Claudius

Galenus), who became chief physician to the Roman gladiators in Pergamum from
AD 157, and subsequently to the Roman Emperors Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Aurelius
Commodus and Lucius Septimus Severus. Galen later interpreted Hippocrates' ideas
into the Four Humours, which you might more readily recognise and associate with
historic writings and references. Galen's interpretation survived as an accepted and
arguably the principal Western medical scientific interpretation of human biology
until the advancement of cellular pathology theory during the mid-late 1800s,
notably by German pathologist Rudolf Virchow (1821-1902, considered the founder
of modern pathology), in his work 'Cellularpathologie' (1858), building on the work
of fellow cellular scientists Theodor Schwann, Johannes Muller, Matthias Schleiden
and earlier, Robert Brown.

Beware of erroneous correlations between the various sets of four temperaments,

humours, elements, body organs, star-signs, etc - it's easy to confuse so many sets
of four. I believe the above to be reliable as far as it goes. Please let me know if you
spot a fault anywhere. Also remember that the correlation between these sets is not
precise and in some cases it's very tenuous.

The above table of correlated four temperaments and other sets of four is not
designed as a scientific basis for understanding personality - it's a historical over
view of the development of the Four Temperaments - included here chiefly to
illustrate the broad consistency of ideas over the past two-and-a-half thousand
years, and to provoke a bit of thought about describing words for the four main
character types. Keep the Four Temperaments in perspective: the history of the
model provides a fascinating view of the development of thinking in this area, and
certainly there are strands of the very old ideas that appear in the most modern
systems, so it's very helpful and interesting to know the background, but it's not a
perfect science.

You'll see significant echoes of the Four Temperaments in David Keirsey's

personality theory, which of all modern theories seems most aligned with the Four
Temperaments, although much of the detail has been built by Keirsey onto a Four
Temperaments platform, rather than using a great amount of detail from old Four
Temperaments ideas. The Four Temperaments model also features in Eysenck's
theory, on which others have subsequently drawn. To a far lesser extent the Four
Temperaments can also be partly correlated to the Moulton Marston's DISC theory
and this is shown in the explanatory matrix in the DISC section. Jung, Myers Briggs®
and Benziger's theories also partly correlate with the Four Temperaments; notably
there seems general agreement that the phlegmatic temperament corresponds to
Jung's 'Intuitive-Thinking', and that the choleric temperament corresponds to Jung's
'Intuitive-Feeling'. The other two temperaments, sanguine and melancholic seem
now to be represented by the Jungian 'Sensing' in combination with either Jungian
'Feeling' or a preference from the Myers Briggs® Judging-Perceiving dimension.

The Four Temperaments are very interesting, but being over two-thousand years
old they are also less than crystal clear, so correlation much beyond this is not easy.
Connections with modern theories and types and traits, such as they are, are
explained where appropriate in the relevant sections below dealing with other
theories.

Dr Stephen Montgomery's 2002 book 'People Patterns' is an excellent guide to the

Four Temperaments, in which he provides his own interpretations, and explains
relationships between the Four Temperaments and various other behavioural and
personality assessment models, notably the David Keirsey model and theories.
Incidentally Montgomery is Keirsey's long-standing editor and also his son-in-law.
Keirsey's acknowledges Montgomery's depth of understanding of the Four
Temperaments in Keirsey's book, Please Understand Me II, which also provides a
very helpful perspective of the Four Temperaments.
carl jung's psychological types

Given that Carl Jung's psychological theory so fundamentally underpins most of the
popular and highly regarded personality systems today it makes sense to explain a
little about it here.

Carl Gustav Jung was born 26 July 1875 in Kesswil Switzerland and was the only son
of a Swiss Reformed Church Evangelical Minister. According to Maggie Hyde who
wrote the excellent Introduction to Jung (Icon Books 1992), he was a strange
melancholic child who played his own imaginary games, alone, for the first nine
years of his life. Eight of Jung's uncles were in the clergy, as was his maternal
grandfather, who held weekly conversations with his deceased wife, while his
second wife and Carl's mother sat and listened to it all. A recipe for Jung's own
extraordinary personality if ever there was one. The boy Jung was raised on diet of
Swiss Protestantism and pagan spirituality and seemingly his only outlets were his
father's books and sitting on a big rock. Poor kid... His weird family clearly had a lot
to with Jung's troubled young life and his psychotic break-down in mid-life, and his
ongoing obsession with trying to make sense of it all.

It is amazing that from such disturbed beginnings such a brilliant mind could
emerge.

Jung's work and influence extend way beyond understanding personality - he is

considered to be one of the greatest thinkers ever to have theorised about life and
how people relate to it. For the purposes of this explanation however, we must
concentrate on just the relevant parts of his work - Jung's Psychological Types - or
we'll be here for ever.

Carl Jung was among many great personality theorists who drew inspiration and
guidance from the ancient Greek Four Temperaments model and its various
interpretations over the centuries. Carl Jung's key book in this regard, which
extended and explained his theories about personality type, was Psychological
Types, published in 1921. His theory of Psychological Types was part of a wider set
of ideas relating to psychic energy, in which he developed important concepts for
clinical psychological therapy and psycho-analysis (psychiatric diagnosis and
therapy).

It's helpful to note that Jung approached personality and 'psychological types' (also
referred to as Jung's psychological archetypes) from a perspective of clinical
psychoanalysis. He was a main collaborator of Sigmund Freud - also a seminal
thinker in the field of psycho-analysis, psychology and human behaviour. Jung and
Freud were scientists, scholars, deeply serious and passionate academics. They
were concerned to discover and develop and extend knowledge about the human
mind and how it works. They were also great friends until they disagreed and fell
out, which is a further example of the complexity of the subject: even among
collaborators there is plenty of room for disagreement.

In psychoanalysis, it is important for the analyst to understand the structure or

nature or direction of the 'psychic energy' within the other person. More simply we
might say this is 'where the person is coming from', or 'how they are thinking'.
Logically if the analyst can interpret what's going on, then he/she is better able to
suggest how matters might be improved. As with any analytical discipline, if we
have some sort of interpretive framework or model, then we can far more easily
identify features and characteristics. Jung's work was often focused on developing
analytical models - beyond simply being a psycho-analyst.

Modern psychometrics has benefited directly from the analytical models that Jung
developed for psycho-analysis, and while this section is essentially concerned with
explaining the model for the purpose of understanding personality types, if you can
extract some deeper therapeutic knowledge and self-awareness from the theories
and ideas which underpin the models, then I would encourage you to so so. There is
enormous value in deepening understanding of ourselves as people, and Jung's
ideas help many people to achieve this.

Jung accordingly developed his concepts of 'psychological types' in order to improve

this understanding.

The fact that Carl Jung's 'psychological types' structure continue to provide the
basis of many of the leading psychometrics systems and instruments in use today,
including Myers Briggs® and Keirsey, is testimony to the enduring relevance and
value of Jung's work.
jung's ideas about the conscious and the unconscious

First it's important to understand that Jung asserted that a person's psychological
make-up is always working on two levels: the conscious and the unconscious.
According to Jung, and widely held today, a person's 'psyche' (a person's 'whole
being') is represented by their conscious and unconscious parts. Moreover, a
person's conscious and unconscious states are in a way 'self-balancing', that is to
say - and this is significant - if a person's conscious side (or 'attitude') becomes
dominant or extreme, then the unconscious will surface or manifest in some way to
rectify the balance. This might be in dreams or internal images, or via more physical
externally visible illness or emotional disturbance. Jung also asserted that at times
in people the unconscious can surface and 'project' (be directed at) the outside
world, particularly other people. This acknowledgement of the power of the
unconscious features strongly in the thinking of Freud and notably in the
underpinning theory of Transactional Analysis (it's a big section - take time to look
at it separately).

jung's psychological 'general attitude types' - introverted and extraverted

Jung divided psychic energy into two basic 'general attitude types': Introverted and
Extraverted.

These are effectively two 'type' behaviours that combine with others explained later
to create Jung's psychological types. Moreover Jung's Introvert and Extravert
'general attitude types' feature strongly as two opposite characteristics within very
many modern personality systems, including Myers Briggs® and Keirsey.

The 1923 translation of Jung's 1921 book Psychological Types uses the words
Introverted and Extraverted to describe these types, which in German would have
been Introvertiert and Extravertiert. Some interpretations of Jung's ideas use the
alternative words Introvert and Introversion, and Extravert and Extraversion to
describe Jung's types. The word Extravert was devised by Jung, which is how it
appears in German. He formed it from the Latin words 'extra' meaning outside, and
'vertere' meaning to turn. The words extrovert, extroverted and extroversion are
English adaptations which appeared soon after Jung popularised the word in
German. Both 'extra' and 'extro' versions are acceptable English. Jung formed the
word Introvert from the Latin 'intro' meaning inward and 'vertere' to turn.

The word 'attitude' in this sense means a deeper more settled mode of behaviour
than the common day-to-day use of the word.

In his 1921 book Psychological Types, Jung described the introverted and
extraverted general attitude types as being:

".... distinguished by the direction of general interest or libido movement.....

differentiated by their particular attitude to the object.."

and

"....The introvert's attitude to the object is an abstracting one.... he is always facing

the problem of how libido can be withdrawn from the object...... The extravert, on
the contrary, maintains a positive relation to the object. To such an extent does he
affirm its importance that his subjective attitude is continually being orientated by,
and related to the object...."

(The 1923 translation by H Godwyn Baynes is understandably a little awkward for

modern times. 'Abstracting' in this context means 'drawing way', from its Latin root
meaning. 'Libido' in this context probably means 'desire', although the word seems
first to have appeared in earlier translations of Freud, who used it in a more sexual
sense.)

Both attitudes - extraversion and introversion - are present in every person, in

different degrees. No-one is pure extravert or pure introvert, and more recent
studies (notably Eysenck) indicate that a big majority of people are actually a
reasonably well-balanced mixture of the two types, albeit with a preference for one
or the other. Not black and white - instead shades of grey.
extraverted introverted

psychic energy is directed out of the person to the world outside them the person's
psychic energy is internally directed

objective - outward subjective - inward

"... maintains a positive relation to the object. To such an extent does he affirm its
importance that his subjective attitude is continually being orientated by, and
related to the object...." (Jung) ".... attitude to the object is an abstracting one....
he is always facing the problem of how libido can be withdrawn from the object...."
(Jung)

"an extravert attitude is motivated from the outside and is directed by external,
objective factors and relationships" (Hyde) "an introvert is motivated from within
and directed by inner, subjective matters" (Hyde)

"behaviour directed externally, to influence outside factors and events" (Benziger)

"behaviour directed inwardly to understand and manage self and experience"
(Benziger)

Jung's 'general attitudes' of Introverted and Extraverted are clearly quite different.

It is no wonder then that strongly orientated extraverts and introverts see things in
quite different ways, which can cause conflict and misunderstanding. Two people
may look at the same situation and yet see different things. They see things - as we
all tend to - in terms of themselves and their own own mind-sets.

It is almost incredible to think that these words - extravert and introvert - that we
take so much for granted today to describe people and their personality and
behaviour, were not used at all until Jung developed his ideas.
Without wishing to add further complication Jung said that extraversion and
introversion are not mutually exclusive and will be self-balancing or compensating
through the conscious and unconscious. A strongly outward consciously extravert
person will according to Jungian theory possess a compensatory strong inward
unconscious introvert side. And vice versa. Jung linked this compensatory effect for
example to repression of natural tendencies and the resulting unhappiness or
hysteria or illness.

We are each born with a natural balance. If our natural balance is upset due to
repression or conditioning then our minds will in some way seek to restore the
balance, which Jung saw as the power of the unconscious surfacing as 'the return of
the repressed'.

jung's psychological types - the 'four functional types'

In addition to the two attitudes of extraversion and introversion, Jung also

developed a framework of 'four functional types'.

Jung described these four 'Functional Types' as being those from which the "...most
differentiated function plays the principal role in an individual's adaptation or
orientation to life..." (from Psychological Types, 1921) By 'most differentiated' Jung
meant 'superior' or dominant.

Jung's Four Functions contain significant echoes of the Four Temperaments and of
the many related four-part patterns or sets ('quaternities') that relate to the Four
Temperaments, dating back to ancient Greece and arguably earlier, although Jung's
ideas are more a lot sophisticated and complex than the Four Temperaments
model.

Like many theorists before him who had attempted to define personality Jung opted
for a four-part structure, which he used alongside his Introverted-Extraverted
attitudes:
Jung's Four Functions of the psyche are:

thinking and

feeling

which he said are the functions that enable us to decide and judge, (Jung called
these 'Rational') and

sensation and

intuition

which Jung said are the functions that enable us to gather information and perceive
(Jung called these 'Irrational').

Significantly Jung also asserted that each of us needs to be able to both perceive
and to judge (gather information and decide) in order to survive and to carry on
normal functioning behaviour.

And he also said that in doing this each of us prefers or favours one of the functions
from each of the pairings.

Jung's Four Functions are described below. These very brief definitions and
keywords are based respectively on descriptions by Hyde, Fordham and Benziger,
all experts and writers on Jungian theory. The final column explains the pairings
according to Jung's 'Rational' and 'Irrational' criteria, which nowadays correspond to
the Myers Briggs® functions of 'Judging' and 'Perceiving' as featured in Myers
Briggs'® theories. The colours are to help the presentation and are not part of
Jung's theory:

jung's four functional types - definitionsThinking what something is meaning

and understanding analytic, objective, principles, standards, criteria, both are
opposite reasoning and judging functions - people consciously 'prefer' one or the
other - Jung called these functions 'rational'

Feeling whether it's good or not weight and value subjective, personal,
valuing intimacy, humane

Sensation something exists sensual perception realistic, down-to-earth,

practical, sensible both are opposite perceiving functions - people consciously
'prefer' one or the other - Jung called these functions 'irrational'

Intuition where it's from and where it's going possibilities and atmosphere
hunches, future, speculative, fantasy, imaginative

Katherine Benziger, a leading modern thinker in the field of personality, is not alone
in suggesting Jung's Sensation function equates to Galen's Phelgmatic
temperament, and that Jung's Intuition function equates to Galen's Choleric
temperament. Relationships between Jung's two other functions (Thinking and
Feeling) and the other two of the Four Temperaments (Melancholic and Sanguine)
are more complex and are not a direct match, although common elements do exist
between these Jungian functions and Galen temperaments. You might find
Benziger's model helpful for understanding more about each of the four functional
types and the characteristics each represents. Benziger's four quadrants of the
brain equate directly to Jung's four functional types.

Jung said that Thinking and Feeling are 'Rational' because both of these functions
evaluate experience. In Jung's theory the Thinking and Feeling functions are
'Rational' because they reason and decide and judge.

Jung said that Intuition and Sensation are 'Irrational' since they are concerned with
perception and do not evaluate. According to Jung the Intuition and Sensation
functions are 'Irrational' because they simply gather information and perceive the
nature of something - they do not reason or decide or judge.
The Rational and Irrational descriptions that Jung attached to the four functions
might not appear particularly significant at first, especially given that Jung's use of
the words is rather different to the modern meanings. However consider the
modern words that describe Jung's meaning of Rational and Irrational, respectively
Judging ('rational' Thinking and Feeling) and Perceiving ('irrational' Sensation and
Intuition) and you can begin to see how Myers Briggs® arrived at their Judging and
Perceiving dimension, which they developed from Jung's ideas, largely as a way of
determining the dominance or priority of auxiliary functions within the Jungian
model. (This will hopefully make more sense when you know something of the
Myers Briggs® model.)

Here's another perspective - some short descriptions of each of Jung's Four

Functional Types:

jung's four functional types - descriptionsThinking Jung's 'Thinking' function is a

'rational' process of understanding reality, implications, causes and effects in a
logical and analytical way. It is systematic, evaluates truth, and is objective to the
extent that evaluation is based on personal intelligence and comprehension.
'Thinking' is the opposite to 'Feeling'. judging

(Jung's 'rational' functions)

Feeling Jung's 'Feeling' function makes judgements on a personal subjective

basis. It is a 'rational' process of forming personal subjective opinion about whether
something is good or bad, right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable, etc., and
involves sentimentality and humanity. 'Feeling' is the opposite to 'Thinking'.

Sensation Jung's 'Sensation' function translates signals from the senses into
factual data. There is no judgement of right or wrong, good or bad, implications,
causes, directions, context, possibilities, themes, or related concepts. Sensation
sees what is, as what it is. 'Sensation' is the opposite to 'Intuition'. perceiving

(Jung's 'irrational' functions)

Intuition Jung's 'Intuition' function translates things, facts and details into larger
conceptual pictures, possibilities, opportunities, imaginings, mysticism and new
ideas. Intuition largely ignores essential facts and details, logic and truth. 'Intuition'
is the opposite to 'Sensation'.
At this point you might like to pause and go make a cup of tea and some toast.
Have a rest. Don't try to absorb and understand all this in one sitting if it's new to
you.

Jung accordingly arranged his four functional types as two pairs of opposites,
thinking or feeling (the rational 'judging' pairing), and sensation or intuition (the
irrational 'perceiving' pairing), which are often shown as four points (like North
South East West) on a compass. thinking

intuition or sensation

feeling

Jung said that each person has a main natural conscious orientation towards one of
the four functions (their 'superior' or most 'differentiated' function), in which case
the opposite function (the 'inferior' or unconscious function) would be represented
and compensated within the person's unconscious.

Of the other two functions, either one could be next dominant, depending on the
person, and generally would 'serve' as an auxiliary function in support of the
person's 'superior' function. (Again just to complicate matters Jung said that in some
cases both of these functions could serve as auxiliary functions, but generally the
interpretation is that one auxiliary function would be more prevalent than the other.
The point here is that the auxiliary functions are not as polarised - into conscious-
unconscious - as the superior and inferior functions, which are more strongly
polarised into conscious-unconscious.)
So, a personality would generally be represented by a conscious dominant function
from each opposite pair: one of these dominant functions being dominant overall
('superior') and the other dominant function being the supporting ('auxiliary')
function.

In the example above, the superior function is Thinking. The opposite Feeling
function would largely or entirely be a compensatory unconscious element within
the whole person. Depending on the person either the Sensation or Intuition
function would be the prevalent auxiliary function, causing its opposite partner to
reside to an appropriate extent in the unconscious, so again balancing the whole
person.

Jung's important principle of personality being represented by one type from two
opposing types (or a series of single types from pairs of opposites) is featured
strongly in the models developed by Keirsey and Myers Briggs®, amongst others.

In his Psychological Types book and theory Jung presented his (major eight)
'psychological types' as simple combinations of Introverted or Extraverted together
with one 'superior' function, eg, 'Introverted-Thinking' (IT). It is however perfectly
appropriate and proper (as Jung explained) to extrapolate or extend the number of
Jung types to include auxiliaries, eg, 'Introverted-Thinking-Sensation' (ITS -
commonly shown as IT[S]) in which case 'S' is the auxiliary. So, while Jung's work
originally presented eight main psychological types (each represented by a two-
letter abbreviation), subsequent interpretations commonly add the auxiliary
function (resulting in a three-letter abbreviation). In fact to assist this extension
Myers Briggs® later introduced the Judging-Perceiving dimension, which acted
mainly as a means of identifying which two of the four functions are dominant and
auxiliary within the Jung framework for any particular personality (of which more
later below).

Here are the four conscious orientations (aside from extraversion and introversion
which are added to the model later). In these examples the prevalent auxiliary
function is not indicated. It could be either of the right or left functions, depending
on the person.

thinking is superior function thinking < conscious 'superior'

intuition < either is auxiliary > sensation

 feeling < unconscious

feeling is superior function feeling < conscious 'superior'

intuition < either is auxiliary > sensation

thinking < unconscious

intuition is superior function intuition < conscious 'superior'

thinking < either is auxiliary > feeling

sensation < unconscious

sensation is superior function sensation < conscious 'superior'

thinking < either is auxiliary > feeling

intuition < unconscious

jung's eight psychological types

This all leads us to Jung's eight major 'Psychological Types', which as already
explained Jung constructed by adding one or other of the introversion or
extraversion 'general attitude types' to each of the possible four superior functions
described above.

Logically this produces eight main psychological types. The eight psychological
types do not include 'auxiliary' functions and as such do not represent full
personalities in themselves. The 'type characteristics' below are generally
applicable keywords - they are not absolutes or exclusive. Interpretations can vary a
lot - it impossible to summarise a personality type that encompasses millions of
variations within it in just a few words, although hopefully the matrix helps to
convey some sense of the collective and comparative types within the model. Fuller
descriptions are available on specialised resources, for instance at Dr Robert
Winer's excellent website www.gesher.org. Some commentators and resources
suggest 'job examples' for the different types, and some also suggest examples of
famous people falling into each type, although stereotypical 'typing' guesswork of
this sort can be misleading if taken at all seriously. Remember again that these
eight main types are not the 'whole person' - people comprise a least one other
functional preference, plus unconscious balancing functions, all to varying degrees,
all of which which produce personality types that are much more complex than the
basic eight main types shown here. type name type characteristics

Extraverted Thinking analytical, strategic, plans, implements, organises others

Introverted Thinking contemplative, discovering, theoretical, seeks self-

knowledge

Extraverted Feeling sociable, sentimental, seeks personal and social success

Introverted Feeling inaccessible, enigmatic, self-contained, seeks inner intensity

Extraverted Sensation practical, hands-on, pleasure-seeking, hard-headed

Introverted Sensation intense, obsessive, detached, connoisseur, expert

Extraverted Intuition adventurous, innovative, seeks novelty, proposes change

Introverted Intuition idealistic, visionary, esoteric, mystical, aloof

jung's psychological types - principal and auxiliary functions

Jung's eight main psychological types are in themselves an over-simplification. This

is borne out by Jung himself in his 1921 book Psychological Types following his
presentation of each of the eight main types:

"...In the foregoing descriptions I have no desire to give my readers the impression
that such pure types occur at all frequently in actual practice. They are, as it were,
only Galtonesque family-portraits, which sum up in a cumulative image the common
and therefore typical characters....... Accurate investigation of the individual case
consistently reveals the fact that, in conjunction with the most differentiated
function, another function of secondary importance, and therefore of inferior
differentiation in consciousness, is constantly present, and is a relatively
determining factor..." (Psychological Types, Chapter 10, General Description of the
Types, point 11: The Principal and Auxiliary Functions)

(Incidentally, the word 'Galtonesque' is a reference to Sir Francis Galton (1822-

1911), an eminent English scientist, cousin of Charles Darwin, who asserted that
personality and other traits and abilities are hereditary (inherited or genetic)
factors. Interestingly Galton also devised the finger-printing identification system
which he first published in his book Finger Prints in 1892. Jung's use of the word
Galtonesque intends to convey a general 'broad brush' meaning - the main family
groups of personality - as if 'inherited' - not detailed personality types which
implictly within Jung's concepts are subject to much influence and change after a
person's conception, and therefore outside Galton's ideas of inherited 'genetic'
traits.)

Jung's theory does not aim to 'pigeon-hole' all people into one of eight personality
types. The eight Psychological Types are simply the eight main groupings
represented by Extraversion or Introversion and one 'Four Functional Types' (the
superior or principal function). In reality each of these eight type-combinations
(represented by E or I plus one Function) is augmented by one or other 'auxiliary'
function according to the Jungian theory whereby conscious personality is
represented by a dominant function from each of the 'Rational' and 'Irrational'
(judging and perceiving) functional pairs of opposites.

So, for example, an 'Extraverted Thinking' main psychological type would be

augmented by a preferred auxiliary function from the 'Irrational' (or perceiving)
Sensing-Intuition pairing, on the basis that Thinking is the preferred 'Rational' (or
judging) Function.

And also for example an 'Introverted Intuition' main psychological type would be
augmented by a preferred auxiliary function from the 'Rational' Thinking-Feeling
pairing, on the basis that Intuition is the preferred 'Irrational' (or perceiving)
Function.

jung's sixteen personality types

These types are automatically and unavoidably implied by Jung's theory, although
Jung himself never made a big song and dance about them. They do however help
to build up a fuller picture of Jung's theory, and they also relate directly to Myers
Briggs'® interpretation and equivalents of these types (for which Myers Briggs®
used their additional Judging-Perceiving dimension to determine dominance
between the two preferred functional types after the Jungian Introverted or
Extraverted 'attitudes').

Logically, adding an auxiliary function to each of Jung's main eight Psychological

Types now produces sixteen types, which (subsequent to Jung's Psychological Types
book), might be shown as follows, and in each case the first 'Function' (the middle
word) is the most dominant. Remember that Introversion and Extraversion are not
'Functions', they are Jungian 'Attitudes':

Extraverted Thinking Sensation - ET(S)

Extraverted Thinking Intuition - ET(N)

Extraverted Feeling Sensation - EF(S)

Extraverted Feeling Intuition - EF(N)

Extraverted Sensation Thinking - ES(T)

Extraverted Sensation Feeling - ES(F)

Extraverted Intuition Thinking - EN(T)

Extraverted Intuition Feeling - EN(F)

Introverted Thinking Sensation - IT(S)

Introverted Thinking Intuition - IT(N)

Introverted Feeling Sensation - IF(S)

Introverted Feeling Intuition - IF(N)

Introverted Sensation Thinking - IS(T)

Introverted Sensation Feeling - IS(F)

Introverted Intuition Thinking - IN(T)

Introverted Intuition Feeling - IN(F)

Using what you know about each of these attitudes and functional types you might
now be able to begin to identify and understand your own Jungian type.

(How each of these Jungian types including auxiliaries relate to the Myers Briggs®
interpretation and system is explained in the Myers Briggs® section. As you will see
when you come to it, the Myers Briggs® system uses the additional dimension or
pairing of Judging-Perceiving, not only as a type indicator in its own right based on
Jungian ideas, but also as a means of determining functional dominance among the
two preferred functions, whose methodology depends also on whether the
dominance is directed via Introversion or Extraversion.)

While Jung's theories are used widely in psychometrics and personality testing, his
original purpose and focus was clinical, in pursuit of better understanding and
treatment of mental illness, and improving the quality of human existence. As such
Jung placed greater emphasis on the unconscious than is represented within
modern psychometrics and 'commercialised' personality theories.
On which point there is great value for us all in Carl Jung's thinking about the
deeper workings of the mind, especially the unconscious, beyond simply seeing
Jung's ideas as a model for categorising personality.

Significantly Jung for instance observed that improving our awareness and
acceptance of the four functions within ourselves - whether as conscious or
unconscious elements - is important for developing a healthy existence, and 'life-
balance', as we might say today.

Conversely, repression of any of the functions, by oneself or by another person or

pressure, is unhelpful and unhealthy, and leads to problems surfacing sooner or
later, one way or another.

We see evidence of this when parents condition or force certain behaviour on their
children, or when adults inhibit their feelings, or deny themselves sensation of
reality. We also see evidence of people's unconscious mind reverting from
unconscious to conscious behaviour when they are under the influence of alcohol or
significant stress. And we also see the unconscious mind as a chief element within
the theories of Transactional Analysis, which when studied alongside Jung's ideas,
together provide a powerful perspective of personality and behaviour. It's all mighty
powerful and thoroughly fascinating stuff.

The aim of studying and learning about these ideas brings us back to Jung's own
purposes and the fact that Jungian theory recommends that all people should strive
to develop any neglected or suppressed functions, and to embrace all four functions
as being part of the whole person.

myers briggs® type indicator (MBTI®)

The Myers Briggs® Type Indicator (MBTI®) is a widely used and highly regarded
system for understanding and interpreting personality, and derives most of its
underpinning theory from Carl Jung's Psychological Types ideas and to a lesser
extent the Four Temperaments (or Four Humours).

Myers Briggs® (in fact Isabel Briggs Myers working with her mother Katharine
Briggs) essentially developed Carl Jung's theories into a usable methodology and
system for understanding and assessing personality (more easily and accessibly
than by becoming an expert on Jung and his theories).

The owners of the system, the Myers Briggs® Foundation, explain that the purpose
of their MBTI® 'personal inventory' system is to "make the theory of psychological
types described by Carl G Jung understandable and useful in people's lives...", and
that, "..The essence of the theory is that much seemingly random variation in the
behavior is actually quite orderly and consistent, being due to basic difference in
the way individual prefer to use their perception and judgment...."

(This last sentence is interesting because it highlights Myers Briggs'® emphasis on

and interpretation of their Judging-Perceiving dimension - basically Jung's
Rational/Irrational definitions - as a means of clarifying function dominance within
each whole MBTI® personality type.)

The MBTI® model and test instrument was developed by Katharine Briggs and her
daughter Isabel Briggs Myers in 1942 after their studies particularly of Carl Jung,
whose basic concepts relating to this aspect of personality and behaviour are
described above.

Myers Briggs'® MBTI® concept is featured in Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs
Myers' key book 'MBTI® Manual: A Guide to the Development and Use of the Myers-
Briggs Type Indicator®' which was first published in 1962, some years after the
tests had been in use. Isabel Briggs Myers later extended and built on these ideas in
her 1980 book 'Gifts Differing'.
The Myers Briggs Foundation explains also that "...The theory of psychological type
was introduced in the 1920s by Carl G. Jung. The MBTI® tool was developed in the
1940s by Isabel Briggs Myers and the original research was done in the 1940s and
50s. This research is ongoing, providing users with updated and new information
about psychological type and its applications..."

According to the Myers Briggs Foundation more than two million people are
assessed using the MBTI® personal inventory instrument around the world every
year. It's a big business...

The MBTI® model (along with other personality theories and psychometrics models)
is particularly useful for:

understanding and developing yourself

understanding and developing others

understanding what motivates others

understanding others' strengths and weaknesses

working in teams - by ensuring that all relevant necessary capabilities are

represented in the team

allocating and agreeing tasks and project responsibilities

agreeing roles and development with others and for oneself

Myers Briggs® theory and the MBTI® model is a method for understanding
personality and preferred modes of behaving. It is not a measurement of
intelligence or competence, emotional state or mental stability, 'grown-upness' or
maturity, and must be used with great care in assessing aptitude for jobs or
careers: people can do most jobs in a variety of ways, and the MBTI® gives little or
no indication of commitment, determination, passion, experience, ambition etc., nor
'falsification of type', all of which can have a far greater influence on personal
success than a single personality test.

In most respects psychometrics tests and personality models are aids to personal
development and to helping people understand more about themselves. They are
not to be used a single basis for recruitment or career decisions.
myers briggs® theory and the MBTI® model

The Myers Briggs® MBTI® system uses a four-scale structure for identifying and
categorising an individual's behavioural preferences, based almost entirely on Carl
Jung's theories and his (translated) descriptive words.

Each of the four MBTI® scales represents two opposing 'preferences' (in other
words, preferred styles or capabilities). All abbreviations are obvious first letters,
other than N for Intuition, which causes the word to be shown sometimes as
iNtuition - just in case you were wondering. The Myers Briggs® Judging-Perceiving
dimension basically equates to Jung's Rational/Irrational categories of the two pairs
of Jungian Functional types. The colour coding is consistent with the colours used in
the Jung section - it was not part of Jung's or Myers Briggs'® theory, but hopefully
the colours help explain the pattern and connections.(E) Extraversion or

Introversion (I) the focus or direction or orientation of our behaviour - outward

or inward 'Attitude' or orientation

(S) Sensing or

iNtuition (N) how we gather information Function (Jungian 'Irrational' or

MB 'Perceiving')

(T) Thinking or

Feeling (F) how we decide Function (Jungian 'Rational' or MB 'Judging')

(J) Judging or Perceiving (P) how we react to the world - do prefer

to make decisions or keep open to options (and also which middle 'Functions' do we
favour) Myers Briggs'® added dimension equating to Jung's 'Irrational' and
'Rational'

Myers Briggs® (Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Briggs) added a fourth dimension
to the three Jung dimensions (Introvert-Extravert, Thinking-Feeling, Sensation-
Intuition), namely Judging-Perceiving, which is related to a personality's approach to
decision-making, and particularly how the personality deals with the outer world
(Extraverted) as distinct from the inner world (Introverted). The Myers Briggs®
Judging-Perceiving dimension can also be used to determine functional dominance
among the two preferred functional types (aside from Introvert-Extravert, which are
not functions but 'Attitudes', or orientations). This can be a tricky little aspect of the
Myers Briggs® theory and is explained at the end of this Myers Briggs® section.
Happily it's not crucial to deriving value and benefit from Myers Briggs'® ideas, so
don't agonise over it if you don't understand it straight away.

Aside from determining functional dominance, irrespective of the way decisions are
made (by Thinking or Feeling) the Judging type makes decisions sooner than the
Perceiving type. As such the Myers Briggs'® Judging-Perceiving dimension is not
found (as a functional dimension) in the Jung model, although Judging and
Perceiving most certainly relate to the Jungian descriptions respectively of Rational
and Irrational, which Jung uses to categorise the two pairs of Functional Types (the
Rational 'judging' Thinking and Feeling, and the Irrational 'perceiving' Sensing and
Intuition - refer to the Jung explanation).

Moving on, David Keirsey, in his book Please Understand Me II, provides some
additional helpful explanation of how Isabel Myers attached her own meanings to
these Jungian words, he said, "putting her own spin on them". Keirsey interestingly
also points out that Myers differed markedly from Jung's use of the words Sensation
and Perception, which Jung considered held the same meaning, but to which you
can see here and elsewhere that the Myers Briggs® system attached different
meanings. For this reason if you want to avoid doubt and any confusion in the minds
of Jungian purists then it's safest to use the words 'Rational' and 'Irrational' when
correlating these Jung terms to the Myers Briggs'® 'Judging' and 'Perceiving'. The
right-side column is simply a translation, using more recognisable modern words,
for showing the four MBTI® dimensions. MBTI® type names, based on Jung's
language alternative Myers Briggs® meaning or 'spin'

(E) Extraversion or Introversion (I) (E) Expressive or Reserved (I)

(S) Sensing or Intuitive (N) (S) Observant or Introspective (N)

(T) Thinking or Feeling (F) (T) Tough-minded or Friendly (F)

(J) Judging or Perceiving (P) (S) Scheduling or Probing (P)

It is interesting to note that many of these words above appear commonly in
different personality testing systems, for example DISC systems, which again
demonstrates the closely connected nature of many psychometrics models and
products.

Most people, to varying degrees at different times depending on circumstances, use

both preferences within each of the four scales, but each of us tends to have (and
therefore will indicate via testing) a certain preference for one style or another in
each of the four scales.

There are no 'right' or 'wrong' or 'good' or 'bad' preferences, and there are no good
or bad or right or wrong 'types' although obviously certain 'preference' behaviours
and personality 'types' can be more or less appropriate or effective in given
situations. Within personal limits, adaptability, as ever, is a valuable attribute. Self-
awareness enables adaptability. If you seek confirmation of the value of adaptability
look at the Cybernetics page (later best, not right now).

Here are descriptions of each of the MBTI® preferences in slightly more detail.
preference for the outer world and one's own action and effect on it

(E) Extraversion or Introversion (I) preference for inner self and ideas to
understand and protect or nurture it

gathers information by: focusing on facts within information

(S) Sensing or iNtuition (N) gathers information by: interpreting patterns,

possibilities and meaning from information received

decides by using logic, consistency, objective analysis, process-driven conclusions

(T) Thinking or Feeling (F) decides according to what matters to self and
others, and personal values

in dealing with the world organises, plans, controls, and decides clear firm actions
and responses - relatively quick to decide (J) Judging or Perceiving (P)
in dealing with the world responds and acts with flexibility, spontaneity,
adaptability and understanding - relatively slow to decide
According to the Myers Briggs® (MBTI®) system each of us is represented by four
preferences, one from each of the four scales. Can you begin to identify yourself,
and others around you?

(E)

Extraversion or Introversion (I) do we focus on outside world (E) or inner self

(I) - do we find people energising (E) or somewhat draining (I)?

(S)

Sensing or iNtuition (N) the way we inform ourselves - how we prefer to

form a view and receive information - observed facts and specifics (S) or what we
imagine things can mean (N)?

(T)

Thinking or Feeling (F) our way of deciding - how we prefer to make decisions -
objective and tough-minded (T) or friendly and sensitive to others and ourselves
(F)?

(J) Judging or Perceiving (P) our method for handling the outside world
and particularly for making decisions - do quite soon evaluate and decide (J) or
continue gathering data and keep options open (P)?

By measuring or categorising a person's overall personality or behavioural style

according to four preferences - one from each of the four scales (E-I, S-N, T-F, J-P),
the MBTI® system logically contains sixteen main 'types', each represented by four-
letter code, for example: ESFJ or INFP or ESTJ, etc.
The sequence of the four-letter preferences within the Myers Briggs® code,
whatever the combination, does not change:

The 1st letter denotes the Jungian 'Attitude' or orientation; the direction or focus of
the personality - Introvert or Extravert

The middle two letters denote the Jungian 'Functional Type' preferences, namely:

The 2nd letter is the preferred Jungian 'Irrational' function (Myers Briggs®
'perceiving') - Sensing or Intuition

The 3rd letter is the preferred Jungian 'Rational' function (Myers Briggs® 'judging') -
Thinking or Feeling

The 4th letter is Myers Briggs'® added dimension to indicate the preferred way of
dealing with the outer world; to evaluate and decide or to continue gathering
information - Judging or Perceiving - equating to Jung's 'Irrational' and 'Rational'
functional type categories, and thereby enabling functional dominance to be
determined.

All sixteen different Myers Briggs® MBTI® personality type combinations, each
being a four-letter code, are commonly presented in an MBTI® 'Type Table'.

In the 'Type Table' example below the groupings correlate (according particularly to
Keirsey) to the Four Temperaments, which for interest is reflected by the colour
coding in the table below to to aid comparisons when you look again at the Four
Temperaments types. However this is merely an interesting point of note, and is not
significant in the workings of the Myers Briggs® theory or its application. The Four
Temperaments correlations are more significant in the Keirsey model.

The MBTI® 'Type Table' is typically shown elsewhere in other resources without
these headings, and can be shown using other groupings, depending on the views
of the theorist or interpreter.

the MBTI® 'type table' related to Four Temperaments Keirsey groupings SP -

sensing perceiving SJ - sensing judgingNF - intuitive feeling NT - intuitive
thinking

ESTP ESTJ ENFJ ENTJ

ISTP ISTJ INFJ INTJ

ESFP ESFJ ENFP ENTP

ISFP ISFJ INFP INTP

sanguine or artisan melancholic or guardian choleric or idealist phlegmatic or

rationalist

I repeat that you will see these MBTI® types shown in different groupings than the
Keirsey/Four Temperaments structure shown above. This is by no means the
definitive arrangement of the MBTI® personality types. There are others. I place no
particular significance on the structure of these groupings and perhaps neither
should you since many great minds disagree about it.

For example Myers Briggs® themselves prefer to show the types in no particular
stated grouping, but which are actually grouped in four columns ST, SF, NF and NT,
which are the four logical groupings when combining pairs of Jung's four functional
types. This is close to Keirsey's presentation of them, but not the same.

And highly the regarded MBTI® Jungian neurologist, psychiatrist,

psychopharmacologist, and psychotherapist Robert I. Winer, M.D., prefers the
following four-way grouping on the basis that he considers these types to be the
four most distinguishable through observation of people's behaviour: TJ, ('Thinker-
Judgers') FJ ('Feeler-Judgers'), SP ('Sensor-Perceiver') and NP ('Intuitive-Perceiver').
You pays yer money and takes yer choice as they say. Incidentally Winer's 'Winer
Foundation' website (www.gesher.org) is one of the most impressive and wonderous
on the web dedicated to MBTI®/Jungian theory, full of useful profiles and guidance
for self-awareness and development. He seems a lovely fellow.

Other interesting groupings of the sixteen MBTI® types are shown in matrix
presentations in each of the Benziger and DISC sections. These different groupings
attempt to correlate the personality types (and traits implied) between the different
systems and as such can be very helpful in trying to understand it all.

The Myers Briggs® organisation is at pains to point out, rightly, that all (MBTI®)
types are equal. As with the individual 'preferences', there are no 'right' or 'wrong'
or 'good' or 'bad' types, although again obviously, certain 'type' behaviours can be
more or less appropriate in different given situations.

Indeed most people will display type-behaviours resembling many of the sixteen
types in any one day, depending on the circumstances. It is however the case that
most of us will have a certain preferred type with which we are most comfortable,
and which is held to be, according to the MBTI® model, our 'personality'.

In terms of understanding what personality characteristics each of these sixteen

various 'MBTI®' types represent, at a very basic level you can simply combine the
type descriptions, for example:

An ISTJ is someone who is on balance focused inwardly (Introvert - I) who tends to or

prefers to gather information by concentrating on facts (Sensing - S), makes
decisions by logic and process (Thinking - T), and whose approach and response to
the world is based on order, control, and firm decisions (Judging - J).
And for a contrasting example, an ENFP is someone who is on balance focused on
external things and people (Extravert - E) who tends to or prefers to gather
information by interpreting patterns, possibilities and meaning (Intuitive - N), makes
decisions according to personal values and what matters to self or others (Feeling -
F), and whose approach and response to the world is flexible, adaptable and
understanding (Perceiving - P).

At a more detailed level it's useful to consider 'functional dominance', specifically

relating to the original four Jungian functions (the middle two letters of the four-
letter Myers Briggs® MBTI® code). The methodology for identifying dominant and
auxiliary functions, and thereafter 3rd and 4th functions (which do not appear in
each four-letter type code), is explained below in the MBTI® function dominance
sub-section. While a little tricky for some people to grasp quickly, anyone can
understand this if they put their mind to it, and it's well worth the effort because
identifying functional dominance does provide an excellent and rapid way to define
each and any of the sixteen main personality types from their four-letter codes
without the need for reams of supporting notes.

At a more complex and fully detailed level there are various resources which give
detailed descriptions of the MBTI® personality types, including myersbriggs.org,
and in my opinion far more fully and clearly at the excellent www.gesher.org. The
Jungian psychologist Michael Daniels' website at www.mdani.demon.co.uk is also an
excellent resource for learning about Myers Briggs® types and Jungian theory.

MBTI® function dominance

Acknowledgments to Simon Pusey for the in MBTI® Function Dominance diagram

(Powerpoint slide) and a PDF diagram; also to Andrew Roughton for the alternative
explanation of MBTI® dominance; and to Ian Mitchell for correcting an error in the
the ISTJ example below (previously wrongly shown as ISTJ).

For a quick explanation see the in MBTI® Function Dominance diagram in

Powerpoint slide format or as a PDF. For a more detailed explanation of function
dominance read on.
It's not vital to understand function dominance in order to benefit from the Myers
Briggs® theory, but it does help explain how to identify the dominant function (of
the middle two letters - the Jungian Functional Types) within any MBTI® four-letter
type code, and logically from this the auxiliary function (and then also the 3rd and
4th functions). The methodology therefore enables rapid description and
understanding of any four-letter MBTI® type code without supporting notes. It's a
neat technique. An additional alternative explanation of MBTI® dominance using
different examples and perspective follows this one. Feel free to skip ahead to it if
the first explanation is not to your liking. In any event having two different
perspectives of a complex theory is often helpful towards gaining best possible
understanding.

Remember that the first letter is the Introvert-Extravert 'Attitude' or orientation - it's
not a 'function', and the fourth letter is the Myers Briggs® additional Judging-
Perceiving dimension, it's not a Jungian 'Function', and was largely introduced by
Myers Briggs® in order to determine dominance between the preferred Jungian
Functions (second and third letters).

Understanding Myers Briggs'® functional dominance methodology also helps

explain how the Myers Briggs'® four-dimension model (four letters) relates to Jung's
three-dimension model (main Jungian 'Psychological Type' plus auxiliary function -
three letters), at least in the way that the Myers Briggs® interpretation implies and
considers it to do so. (Just to repeat once more, Jung didn't use the Judging-
Perceiving dimension as such, he stuck with three dimensions: Introvert-Extravert;
Sensing-Intuition, and Thinking-Feeling.)

This explanation necessarily repeats the essential structure already explained in

order to stand alone as a useful item in its own right.

Here goes. Hold on to your hats.

The Myers Briggs® MBTI® personality type is always presented as a four-letter

code, in which the letters take the same positions in the code regardless of
dominance. This is to say: function dominance is not indicated by the sequence of
the letters.
Again, here is the sequence of the MBTI® letters and descriptions of what they
denote. View this table as columns, not rows:1st letter 2nd letter 3rd letter
4th letter

Extravert or Introvert Sensing or IntuitionThinking or Feeling Judging or

Perceiving

E or I S or N T or F J or P

inwardly or outwardly focused/oriented how we get information how we

decide how do we handle the outside world? - how soon do we decide? - do we
judge or continue to perceive?

Jungian 'Attitude' or orientation Jungian 'Irrational' or Myers Briggs® 'Perceiving'

Function Jungian 'Rational' or Myers Briggs® 'Judging' Function dimension
added by Myers Briggs® - also identifies which Function is used in dealing with the
outer world

These four preferences produce a four-letter code, for example ENFP or ISTJ.

It is very useful if we can determine within the personality which is the dominant
Function of the essential Jungian 'Four Functional Types'. In other words is it the 2nd
or 3rd letter that is most dominant within the whole type?

If we know the dominant superior function then obviously we can determine the
auxiliary, because it will be the other middle letter in the code. (Incidentally when
we've sorted out the superior and auxiliary functions, we can also then determine
the 3rd and 4th functions, which is explained after we sort out the superior and
auxiliary).

So, for the examples above:

Within the ENFP personality type is Intuition (N) or Feeling (F) dominant?

And within the ISTJ personality type is Sensing (S) or Thinking (T) dominant?

In fact the dominant function within the ENFP personality type is N (Intuition), which
for the sake of this exercise we will show as ENFP. This means that F (Feeling) is the
auxiliary function.

And the dominant function within the ISTJ personality type is S (Sensing), which for
the sake of this exercise we show as ISTJ. This means that T (Thinking) is the
auxiliary function.

But why?

Here's my best explanation of the Myers Briggs® methodology for determining

dominant function, which they based on their interpretation of Jung's theory, and it
is quite logical when you think about it. The methodology operates by using
different points of reference - it's like a formula or a process:

First,

Extraverts direct their dominant function outwardly, towards the outer world, and
their auxiliary function inwardly.

Introverts direct their dominant function inwardly, towards their inner world, and
their auxiliary function outwardly.

So whether the personality is Extravert or Introvert (1st letter E or I) is a factor in

determining functional dominance (between the 2nd and 3rd letters).

Second,
Remember Jung categorised the two pairs of opposite functions as Irrational and
Rational, which correlate to Myers Briggs® Judging and Perceiving:

Myers Briggs® 'Perceiving' refers to Jung's 'Irrational' functions (2nd letter) -

Sensing or Intuition.

Myers Briggs® 'Judging' refers to Jung's 'Rational' functions (3rd letter) - Thinking or
Feeling.

Third,

A Judging preference (4th letter J) indicates that the personality prefers to use the
Judging function (3rd letter Thinking or Feeling) to deal with the outer world.

A Perceiving preference (4th letter P) indicates that the personality prefers to use
the Perceiving function (2nd letter Sensing or Intuition) to deal with the outer world.

Fourth, therefore,

If the personality is Extravert (1st letter E) and is also Judging (4th letter J) then the
Judging Function (3rd letter Thinking or Feeling) will be the dominant function (since
this is the function used chiefly to deal with the outside world, and Extroverts use
their dominant function chiefly to deal with the outside world). For example in the
ENFJ type, Feeling is the dominant function, which is mainly directed outwardly. The
auxiliary function Intuition which tends to be directed inwardly.

If the personality is Extravert (1st letter E) and is also Perceiving (4th letter P) then
the Perceiving Function (2nd letter Thinking or Feeling) will be the dominant
function (again this is the function used to deal with the outside world, and
Extroverts use their dominant function to deal with the outside world). For example
in the ESTP type, Sensing is the dominant function, which is mainly directed
outwardly. The auxiliary function is Thinking, which is mainly directed inwardly.

Fifth, (on the other hand),

Remember that an Introvert's dominant function is mainly directed inwardly,

towards their inner world, therefore an Introvert's Judging-Perceiving preference
(4th letter J or P) which represents how they approach the outer world will indicate
their less dominant function, which means that for Introvert types, the letter other
than the one indicated by the 4th letter J or P will be their dominant function.

So it follows, if the personality is Introvert (1st letter I) and is also Judging (4th letter
J) then the Judging Function (3rd letter Thinking or Feeling) will be the auxiliary
function, since this is the function used to deal with the outside world. Remember,
Introverts use their dominant function chiefly to deal with their inner world, not the
outside world. An Introvert uses their auxiliary function chiefly to deal with the
outside world. For example, in the INTP type, Intuition is used mainly to deal with
the outside world, but since the priority focus of the Introvert is their inner world, so
Thinking is their dominant function.

Similarly if the personality is Introvert (1st letter I) and is also Perceiving (4th letter
P) then the Perceiving Function (2nd letter Thinking or Feeling) will be the auxiliary
function since this is the function used to deal with the outside world. the dominant
function will be the other function, which the Introvert focuses on their inner world.
For example, in the ISFJ type, the outside world approach indicated by the Judging
preference (4th letter J) is Feeling, which because it is focused on the outside world
in an Introvert is the auxiliary function. Therefore the other function, Sensing, is the
dominant one focused on the Introvert's priority inner world.

There. That's the difficult bit. You may now take a break.

Here is additional explanation of MBTI® dominant functions. Having a second

perspective can assist overall appreciation of any complex matter.

additional explanation of MBTI® function dominance

This additional explanation is kindly provided by Andrew Roughton, which is

gratefully acknowledged. (I'm also grateful to Ian Mitchell for correcting an error in
the ISTJ example above which was wrongly shown as ISTJ.)
1) Your dominant function is found in either the 2nd or 3rd letter in your code. You
also have an auxiliary (second) function.

a) If the 2nd letter is your dominant function then the 3rd is your auxiliary function
and vice versa.

b) If the 3rd letter is your dominant function then the 2nd is your auxiliary function.

Remember the 2nd letter in your code relates to your Perceiving function. Do you
perceive information through your senses (S) or through intuition (N)?

The 3rd letter in your code relates to your Judging function. Do you make
judgements (decisions) through Thinking (T) or through Feeling (F)?

2) The 4th letter describes how you relate to the outside world. Do you prefer to
deal with the world through your Judging function or through your Perceiving
function?

a) If your 4th letter is J then we first look to the Judging functions - Thinking or
Feeling.

i) If your code is ISFJ then we first look to the judging functions.

b) If your 4th letter is P then we first look to the Perceiving functions - Sensing or
Intuition.

i) If your code is ENFP then we first look to the Perceiving functions.

3) The 1st letter in your code (E or I) tells you whether you will first find your
dominant or your auxiliary function.

a) If your 1st letter is E (Extravert) then you will first identify your dominant function
letter and the remaining letter will be your auxiliary function.

i) If your code is ENFP then you will find your dominant function. Because the 4th
letter is P we look to the perceiving function letter in your code which in this case is
N for Intuition. So your dominant function is Intuition. Your auxiliary function is
represented by the remaining letter F for Feeling.

b) If your 1st letter is I (Introvert) then you will first identify your auxiliary code and
the remaining letter will be your auxiliary function.

i) If your code is ISFJ you will first identify your auxiliary function. Because the 4th
letter is J we look to the judging function letter in your code which in this case is F
for Feeling. So your auxiliary function is Feeling. Your dominant function is
represented by the remaining letter S for Sensing.

4) The reason for the different treatment for Extravert and Introvert is to do with the
preference for the outer (E) or inner (I) world, and the 4th letter only identifies how
they relate to the outer world. For the Introvert this will always be their auxiliary
function because their dominant function must relate to their inner world.

a) Logically if the introvert relates to their outer world through, for example, their
judging functions (thinking or feeling) then their remaining letter tells you which
function they use in their inner world. This, for them, is their dominant function.

i) The ISFJ relates to the outer world through their Judging function (represented by
the J) which in this case is Feeling (represented by the F). By elimination they must
relate to their inner world through the Sensing function (represented by the S). Thus
Sensing is the ISFJ's dominant function and Feeling is their auxiliary function.
b) Extraverts on the other hand use their dominant function to relate to the outer
world and so the 4th letter identifies how you relate to the outer world.

i) The ENFP relates to the outer world through their Perceiving function (represented
by the P) which is Intuition (represented by the N). Thus Intuition is the ENFP's
dominant function and Feeling is their auxiliary function.

Andrew Roughton, July 2006.

National Principal

Vision College New Zealand

identifying 3rd and 4th function dominance

Logically according to Jung's theory, and Myers Briggs® interpretation, functional

dominance can be extended beyond the superior (dominant) and auxiliary
(secondary) functions to potential tertiary (3rd) and quarternary (4th) functions.
This enables the identification of the order (relative strength or preference) of all
four functions - Thinking, Feeling, Sensing and Intuition - within any given type. The
process for doing this is simple, once you crack the dominant and auxiliary
methodology. Here's how to determine 3rd and 4th functional dominance:

Remember Jung's principle of opposites and the four compass points. The most
dominant or 'superior' function is balanced by its opposite in the unconscious, and
will be correspondingly the least dominant just as the superior function is the most
dominant, to whatever extent.
The 4th function therefore, available consciously in whatever degree, is always the
opposite of the superior. For example, where a personality's superior or most
dominant function is Thinking, logically its quaternary (or 4th or weakest function)
function will be Feeling. Where a personality's superior function is Feeling, its 4th
function will be Thinking. Where Intuition is dominant, so Sensing will be least
strong. Where Sensing is the superior function, so Intuition will be the weakest. And
that's the full set.

Applying the same 'balancing opposites' principle, logically, the 3rd function is the
opposite of the 2nd or auxiliary. Same pattern as for the 1st-4th correlations. Easy.

The extent to which any personality is able to make use of supporting functions
depends on other factors. Some people are able to draw on the 3rd and 4th
functions more ably than others (dominant and auxiliary as well for that matter).

From the perspective of understanding and describing each of the sixteen MBTI®
personality types simply from their four-letter codes, identifying functional
dominance - from superior or dominant, to auxiliary, to 3rd and to 4th functions - is
a very useful technique. When you understand the methodology you can say a
great deal about any personality type just by looking at its MBTI® four-letter code -
because you can determine the preference (which implies prevalence and priority)
of each of the four functions, two of which will not even be represented in the
MBTI® four-letter code!

Below is the complete set of functional dominance mixtures, showing 1st, 2nd, 3rd
and 4th preferred functions according to MBTI® type. By using this methodology we
can also very usefully group the Myers Briggs® types according to their Jungian
four dominant functions, which is a super matrix for understanding these theories,
and for applying the thinking to team-building and job roles within teams, etc.

MBTI® types and functional dominance

The left column shows the MBTI® sixteen types, colour-coded as to Extravert or
Introvert. These MBTI® types are grouped in four sets according to '1st functional
dominance' ('superior' function) which are colour-coded in the middle and right
columns accordingly. For each MBTI® type, the middle and right columns show the
dominant (superior) function, followed by the 2nd (auxiliary) function, and then the
3rd and 4th functions, which are largely unconscious and can be accessed when
required depending on the person. Note that each of the four main functional
dominance groupings (Thinking, Feeling, Sensing, Intuition, represented by the four
colours) contains only two different sequential 'dominance sets', and that each of
these can be formed by both an Extraverted and an Introverted type. MBTI® type
functional dominance - 1st to 4th

ESTJ TSNF Thinking, Sensing, Intuition, Feeling

ISTP TSNF Thinking, Sensing, Intuition, Feeling

ENTJ TNSF Thinking, Intuition, Sensing, Feeling

INTP TNSF Thinking, Intuition, Sensing, Feeling

ESTP STFN Sensing, Thinking, Feeling, Intuition

ISTJ STFN Sensing, Thinking, Feeling, Intuition

ESFP SFTN Sensing, Feeling, Thinking, Intuition

ISFJ SFTN Sensing, Feeling, Thinking, Intuition

ESFJ FSNT Feeling, Sensing, Intuition, Thinking

ISFP FSNT Feeling, Sensing, Intuition, Thinking

ENFJ FNST Feeling, Intuition, Sensing, Thinking

INFP FNST Feeling, Intuition, Sensing, Thinking

ENTP NTFS Intuition, Thinking, Feeling, Sensing

INTJ NTFS Intuition, Thinking, Feeling, Sensing

ENFP NFTS Intuition, Feeling, Thinking, Sensing

INFJ NFTS Intuition, Feeling, Thinking, Sensing

The extent to which people are able to call upon and make use of their auxiliary,
and particularly 3rd and 4th functions depends on the individual person, and is also
the subject of continuing debate and ongoing research by psychologists. Most
people are capable of developing their less strong functions to some degree or
other. Knowing what they are and that they exist in us is the starting point.
Similarly everyone is capable of understanding their own functional dominance and
how this style might be perceived by others. Using this matrix you might be able to
have a good guess as to your own Myers Briggs® MBTI® type and your functional
dominance. Look at the right column: ask yourself - and maybe also ask someone
who knows you well - what order of preferences best represents your own
personality? Having decided this, are you mainly extraverted or introverted? You
might now have a reasonable idea of your own MBTI® personality type.

If anyone can suggest more clearly how to present all this I am very much open to
suggestions. Please let me know any daft typos or errors in this. It's not an easy
thing to explain.

Aside from using Myers Briggs® MBTI® model to understand one's own or other
other people's personality types, the most important opportunity is that everyone
can and should use systems such these to endeavour to access and develop their
weaker functions.

This was central to Jung's motivation, and this opportunity and encouragement
echoes through Myers Briggs'® ideas too. Awareness of the fact that we all possess
these unconscious under-developed functions is the first step towards realising that
they can be developed and used, alongside our natural preferences, brought into
play consciously, where we see the need and possibility to do so.

The Myers Briggs® MBTI® system typically involves the use of MBTI® testing
instruments to determine people's own types or 'profiles', the process and analysis
of which is best administered by a suitably qualified person to give proper
explanation and feedback to people being 'tested'.

There are significant commonalities between the Myers Briggs® personality model
and that of David Keirsey. Both systems draw strongly on the work of Carl Jung and
(Keirsey's more than Myers Briggs®) also to the Four Temperaments. Further
comparisons are indicated in the Four Temperaments and Keirsey sections on this
page, and these cross-references between models (notably Benziger) help with the
understanding of each model independently, and also help to build up a variety of
perspectives of oneself, and human personality and behaviour.

There are some differences between Myers Briggs® and Keirsey's interpretations.
Not least, as Keirsey points out, Myers Briggs® is effectively an interpretation and
extension of Jung's model - both of which focus on the minds and thinking types of
people, whereas Keirsey's system, building on Myers Briggs®, Jung, and others,
seeks to identify and point to what the different personality types can do well in
different circumstances. In addition there are some detailed differences between
certain type descriptions of Myers Briggs® and Keirsey, which concern complex
interpretations that seem to me to be a matter of personal opinion, based on the
experiences of the theorists themselves and not matters that can be proven one
way or another. As we've already seen, this is not a perfect science, and when we
drill down deeper than broad definitions the detail is open to different
interpretation, which I encourage you to do yourself. Despite the best efforts of
some of the providers in the psychometrics industry to convince us that all this is
highly complex and impenetrable, you can hopefully see that much of the thinking
is extremely accessible and within the grasp of ordinary folk.

As you learn about these concepts, see each model (Myers Briggs®, Jung, Keirsey,
Four Temperaments, Eysenck, Benziger, etc) as self-sufficient and stand-alone. Note
the common aspects between the models by all means because there are many:
seeing the common aspects will greatly improve your overall understanding of the
subject and of people; but do not try to overlay and match definitions and
descriptions from model to model if the fit is not obvious and clear. Respect each
model in isolation for what it is - a different perspective of the same highly
complicated thing - the human mind.

More information about the Myers Briggs® organisation and MBTI® system and
types descriptions is at myersbriggs.org.

Note that Myers Briggs®, MBTI® and other terminology is likely to be protected
trademarked intellectual property for use in direct training and testing applications,
so beware of using any of these terms for commercial purposes without a licence, or
at least checking whether a licence is required or not.
david keirsey's personality model and the 'keirsey temperament sorter'

As mentioned above, David Keirsey's work refers significantly to the age-old 'Four
Temperaments' model, and to the work of Carl Jung, and Katharine Briggs and
Isabel Briggs Myers, who also drew strongly on Jung's work. Keirsey's key book (with
Bates) was 'Please Understand Me', first published in 1978 and since revised and re-
issued several times, more recently as 'Please Understand Me II', which is a
wonderful book and includes a self-test to discover your detailed temperament type
(of the sixteen types).

David Keirsey's ideas extend and develop the Four Temperaments and the ideas of
Carl Jung, and also relate very directly to the Myers Briggs® MBTI® system.

In fact according to Keirsey the two systems - Keirsey and MBTI® - are quite similar.
(Here's a good explanation of the similarities and differences between the Keirsey
and Myers Briggs® systems.)

Keirsey's model has for many years underpinned a highly regarded personality
assessment methodology, which Keirsey claims to be the most widely used in the
world. Keirsey's model has also enabled the development of a considerable
supporting business corporation, which markets his testing instruments and their
associated training and accreditation.

Like Myers Briggs®, Keirsey's personality model analyses human personality

according to sixteen types, which are compared below to the Myers Briggs® MBTI®
equivalents. There are fundamental similarities between the Keirsey types and the
Myers Briggs® types, but there are also some significant differences, so do not see
the two systems as being the same thing.
keirsey/MBTI® types correlations

Keirsey's personality model is particularly helpful because of the meaningful

personality 'type' descriptions, especially when used alongside Myers Briggs®
abbreviated letter codes. The colour-coded groupings reflect Keirsey's view that
certain categories of MBTI® or Keirsey types equate strongly to the Four
Temperaments. Keirsey is a fan of the Four Temperaments. Not everyone is,
particularly when it comes to categorising MBTI® types. This layout is shown
because Keirsey favours it. The use of colours are purely to aid comparison with the
Four Temperaments model shown earlier in this section. Other than an echo of
Jung's 'Perceiving' and 'Judging' within the SP and SJ blocks, these colours do not
relate to the colours used in the Jung and Myers Briggs® sections.artisan SP
sensing-perceiving rational NT intuitive-thinking

promoter ESTP fieldmarshallENTJ

crafter ISTP mastermind INTJ

performer ESFP inventor ENTP

composer ISFP architect INTP

guardian SJ sensing-judging idealist NF intuitive-feeling

supervisor ESTJ teacher ENFJ

inspector ISTJ counsellor INFJ

provider ESFJ champion ENFP

protector ISFJ healer INFP

N.B. Again bear in mind that certain copyright protections apply to the MBTI® and
Keirsey terms so I recommend that you be wary of using these in the provision of
chargeable services or materials since under certain circumstances they are likely
to be subject to licensing conditions.

A free 'lite' Keirsey personality test and descriptions of each of the Keirsey sixteen
types is available via the Keirsey website at Keirsey.com. The 'lite' test indicates
your dominant or preferred temperament of the four main types, but not your
detailed type within the temperament, which is something you need to pay to
discover. In my view the most enjoyable and useful way to do this is to buy a copy
of Keirsey's book 'Please Understand Me II', which contains the 70-question Keirsey
Temperament Sorter II personality test, which will in a few minutes reveal your
detailed Keirsey personality type, and also provides a vast amount of descriptive
information relating to your type and all the other fifteen types within the Keirsey
model.

eysenck's personality inventory and the four temperaments

British psychologist Hans Jurgen Eysenck (1916-97) was born in Berlin. A Jewish
sympathiser, he left Germany in 1934 for England, where he studied and later
taught psychology at London University. He became a prolific writer in the field of
clinical psychology and also had a great interest in psychometrics. He disagreed
with the principles of psychoanalysis and preferred the (at times controversial) view
that genetics (inherited factors - our genes) are significant in determining the
psychological differences between people, and more besides.

Eysenck used extensive research and questionnaires to build a personality

inventory which he related to Galen's Four Temperaments. The fit is not perfect with
the more recent interpretations of the Four Temperaments (Keirsey, Myers Briggs®)
but there are certainly many common aspects between the Eysenck and Galen
models.

Eysenck's concepts are particularly interesting, and provide a valuable additional

perspective compared to the Four Temperaments, Jung, Myers Briggs®, and
Keirsey, because they explore and analyse a personality dimension related to
emotional stability.
Eysenck's approach to personality assessment was the first popular scalable
mathematical methodology. Previous theories generally placed a person within one
of the defining types, or between two types, or attributed a mixture of types to a
person's personality.

Eysenck's 1950s theory (he later added a third dimension) measures personality
using two scales:

introversion-extraversion

stability-instability (unemotional-emotional*)

Eysenck's theory also refers to instability as unstable, emotionally unstable, or

neurotic.

*While Eysenck's scientific headings of 'stable' and 'unstable' or 'neurotic' can be

seen as judgemental (good or bad) it's important not to see them in this way.
Academics (including Eysenck) tend to write for other academics and forget or
disregard that certain language carries negative meanings and stigmas in normal
life, such as the words unstable and neurotic. Eysenck did not use the words to
convey a sense of good or bad - he used them because he felt scientifically
comfortable with the terms. If discussing these concepts with people who might be
sensitive to words like 'unstable' or 'neurotic' it can be helpful to interpret Eysenck's
'instability' or 'neuroticism' to mean 'emotional', and for 'stable' to equate to
'unemotional'. 'Unemotional-emotional' was not Eysenck's alternative scale, it's my
suggested alternative for seeing that this scale is not a question of good or bad.

By surveying many thousands of people, using many and various adjectives (traits)
representing behaviours and types, Eysenck built a scalable model which also
formed the basis of what became the Eysenck personality test.

Eysenck's theory regards the choleric and melancholic temperaments as being

emotionally unstable (let's say 'emotional'), and the sanguine and phlegmatic
temperaments as being emotionally stable (unemotional). The theory sees the
phlegmatic and melancholic temperaments as being introverted, and the choleric
and sangine temperaments as being extraverted. At this point there is clear
divergence from the Eysenck model and certain recent interpretations of the Four
Temperaments, since, for example, Keirsey and Myers Briggs® clearly assert that
introversion and extraversion appear in each of the four temperaments. Eysenck's
ideas are a part-fit with MBTI® and Keirsey, but certainly not a direct overlay.

The Eysenck theory produces four main types types of personality, which he said
resembled Galen's Four Temperaments:

unstable-introverted (emotional-introverted) = melancholic

unstable-extraverted (emotional-extraverted) = choleric

stable-introverted (unemotional-introverted) = phlegmatic

stable-extraverted (unemotional-extraverted) = sanguine

Within which are several key words of graduated significance relative to the
heading elements (Eysenck presented this as a four-quadrant circle containing his
describing words, rather than the matrix shown here). The colours merely reflect
those used in the Four Temperaments section for ease of comparison and do not
appear in Eysenck's theory: stable-extraverted (unemotional-extravert)

sociable outgoing talkative responsive easy-going lively carefree leadership

(sanguine) stable-introverted

(unemotional-introvert)

calm even-tempered reliable controlled peaceful thoughtful careful passive

(phlegmatic)

unstable-introvert

(emotional-introvert)

moody anxious rigid sober pessimistic reserved unsociable quiet

(melancholic)

unstable-extravert

(emotional-extravert)

touchy restless aggressive excitable changeable impulsive optimistic active

(choleric)
Can you see yourself, and others perhaps, in this model? Could you define yourself
according to a mixture of these characteristics? Perhaps you can see in yourself a
leading 'type' with one or two supporting types? (This is not how Eysenck intended
the model to be used, but seeing it in this way can be helpful for understanding
your own and others' personality types.)

Again note that the fit is not perfect between Eysenck's model and recent
interpretations of the Four Temperaments such as Keirsey and Myers Briggs®, but
there are certainly many common aspects between Eysenck and Galen.

The significant difference between Eysenck's ideas and the Four Temperaments
interpretations of Galen and the older theorists is that Eysenck's (1950s) theory
measures personality according to two scalable dimensions, introversion-
extraversion and stability-instability; whereas traditional Four Temperaments ideas
simply seek to define personality according to one of the four temperaments. In this
respect Eysenck's model is far more sophisticated, and indeed add an extra
dimension (stable-unstable) that is not found at all in popular systems such as
Keirsey and Myers Briggs®. In this respect Eysenck's model offers a highly
significant and helpful additional perspective to the Four Temperaments, Jung's
Psychological Types, and the Keirsey and Myers Briggs® systems on which they
were based.

Eysenck's ideas have been developed and supported using studies and surveys of
many thousands of people. Eysenck was one of the most prolific researchers and
writers on the subject of personality and its measurement, and yet he continued to
strive for improved understanding and interpretation into the 1990s, having worked
for 60 years in the field. Proof, if any were needed, that this is indeed a complex
area, and one which we are still a long long way from fully comprehending.

It is interesting to note also that Eysenck's 1950s key words feature strongly in at
least one modern version of the DISC personality testing system, which testifies to
the enduring importance of Eysenck's work, and which provides yet another
indication of the similarity and common themes between many of these 'different'
personality models.
Eysenck later theorised about a third dimension: psychoticism, from his studies of
mentally disturbed people, and which can be related to risk-taking and eccentricity.
In his later life Eysenck also developed better scientific understanding of Jung's
introversion and extraversion 'attitudes', which, along with his other ideas helped
Katherine Benziger develop her own ideas of personality and behaviour.

Hans Eysenck's key books include: Uses and Abuses of Psychology (1953); Know
Your Own IQ (1962); Race, Intelligence and Education (1971), and the
autobiographical Rebel without a Cause (1990).

katherine benziger's personality and brain-type theory

Benziger's model is relatively recent compared to the Four Temperaments, Jung,

Eysenck, etc. Her theories and tools have been widely used by many of the world's
major corporations, and are still the subject of ongoing research and refinement.

Benziger's key book, The Art Of Using Your Whole Brain, was first published in 1989,
revised as 'Thriving In Mind' in 2000. Benziger's main psychometrics instrument is
the BTSA (Benziger Thinking Styles Assessment).

Katherine Benziger is unusual compared to many other personality thinkers (and

particularly the way that other seminal theories have been developed into highly
commercialised 'testing' systems) because she places greatest emphasis on
'wellness' and the need to help people avoid 'falsifying' their true type. Benziger
says that very many people 'falsify type', so as to fit into a role or career path that
might not be right for them, which has a negative impact on health, happiness and
personal effectiveness.
Benziger drew great inspiration from Carl Jung and from the work of Myers Briggs®
and Hans Eysenck. Her work has also been influenced and supported by the late
20th century scientific developments into brain imaging, using modern scanning
technologies - basically using safe equivalents of X-Ray techniques - to actually
determine which parts of the brain are being used for various functions and types of
thinking ('thinking' here in the general sense of what the brain is doing, not in the
'logical' Jungian sense).

Put simply, Benziger's theory expresses personality in terms of four quadrants of

the brain (basal means rear or back):

Basal Left - process and routine

Basal Right - intuition and empathy

Front Left - logic and results

Front Right - vision and creativity

Benziger relates these modes of thinking to Jung's Four Functions, and Benziger's
theory provides many people an immensely helpful way to make sense of what Jung
said and advocated. For ease of comparison between Benziger's and Jung's models
the same colours are used for corresponding 'functions' or 'styles', although these
colours were not part of either theorist's concepts.

Importantly Benziger acknowledges and uses the Jungian Extravert and Introvert
dimension, but does not represent it within the four-quadrant model of the four
functional types (Benziger's 'behaving' or 'thinking' or 'preferred' styles - the word
'thinking' is used here in a more general sense than the specific Jungian meaning).

These brain-type functions also correlate to the Myers Briggs® and Keirsey models,
naturally since all of these theories make use of the fundamental Jungian 'four
functional types' reference points - Thinking, Feeling, Sensing, Intuition.

Benziger's model uses this representation of the brain (viewed from above,
top is front) and the summary definitions below. The brain has four specialised
areas. Each is responsible for different brain functions (which imply strengths,
behaviour and thinking style). Within Benziger's model the specialised areas are
called 'modes'.
According to Benziger each of us possesses natural strengths in only one of these
specialised areas, which causes us to favour and use a certain style ahead of
others. Outside of that one style, we may have strengths and weaknesses which are
based on what competencies we have been exposed to, or developed, and indeed
which competencies we have not been exposed to.

Katherine Benziger refers to the natural specialised area as the 'preferred thinking
and behavioural mode'. Typically this will equate to the Jungian 'superior function'
and the Myers Briggs® 'dominant function' as described in this section.

Benziger's books ('The Art of Using Your Whole Brain', and in revised form 'Thriving
in Mind') contain an excellent and simple personality assessment to illustrate this
point. The benziger personality assessment relies on complete honesty when
answering - if you are 'falsifying your type' then you will distort the analysis (which
of course is true for any personality assessment or psychometrics test, although
most theorists and providers seem to emphasise this aspect far less than Benziger).
Incidentally the Benziger assessment also contains a section which determines the
extent to which the person is falsifying type, and this for Benziger is a
fundamentally important aspect of her theory and assessment methodology.

Without wishing to go off on a long tangent, Benziger's ideas about 'falsification of

type' relate strongly to the need for people to seek proper 'congruence' and
'alignment' between their own true natural personal preferences, style, strengths,
and the organisations and services within which they work. Organisations and
employers need increasingly to wake up to these issues, both in terms of re-aligning
their own values and aims so that they become more helpful for the world at large,
and also in helping their people to identify and pursue and fulfil their own unique
potential and destiny. Benziger's ideas are at the heart of this very modern sort of
organisational philosophy.

Now back to the model. Here's how Benziger's model relates to Jung's Four
Functions. Once more the colours are merely to help with comparisons to the Jung
and Myers Briggs® models:Benziger brain quadrantBenziger's describing
characteristics examples Jungian 'function' or 'attitude'
frontal left analytical, objective, principles, standards, criteria, critiques
Thinking

basal left realistic, down-to-earth, practical, sensible, the pastSensing

basal right subjective, personal, values intimacy, sees extenuating circumstances,

humane, sees harmony Feeling

frontal right hunches, speculative, fantasy, imaginative, the future Intuition

behaviour directed inwardly to understand and manage self and experience

Introversion

behaviour directly externally, to influence outside factors and events

Extraversion

Remember while Benziger certainly acknowledges and makes use of Jung's

Extravert-Introvert dimension, it is not represented within Benziger's four-quadrants
brain model.

These are Benziger's brain functions or 'modes' in more detail. Note again the
correlation to the Jungian functions.mode specialised area brain functions
response to stimulus Jungian function

1 basal left Order and habit

Ordered procedures

Sequential routinesRemembers definitions. What is, is as described. Sensing

2 basal right Spiritual experience

Rhythm and feeling

Harmony Picks up emotional tone and the presence or absence of harmony

(including harmony between people). What is, is how we feel about it. Feeling

3 frontal right Internal imaging

Metaphor and imagination

Expressiveness Sees the essence of things, in pictures and metaphors. What is,
is something meaning or enabling something else. Intuition

4 frontal left Structural analysis

Prioritising and logic

Mathematics Converts into logical results or effects. What is, leads to, or produces
results. Thinking

Benziger says that people possess one and only one natural leading function or
'mode' in which their brain is naturally efficient.

People can and often do however develop competencies in other modes. When they
do in practice they will be using more areas of their brain, and when they do this
the competencies outside their natural lead are always somewhat draining, which
links to Benziger's ideas about the dangers of falsification of type. If it's 'draining'
using competencies that are not our natural strength, it must be more stressful still
when we have to work exclusively in a competence other than our natural
preference.

benziger and correlations to other personality models

Benziger's model is particularly helpful for many people in providing an excellent

framework for comparing and understanding other personality models, including
Jung's original four functional types, Kolb, and one or two other less well-known
ideas from around the world. Once more the colours aim to help show the
relationships with Jung's model, and are not part of the original theories. The
correlations to the Myers Briggs® MBTI® types (and by implication Keirsey's also)
are based on the functional dominance within each of these types (explained in the
functional dominance sub-section of the Myers Briggs® section).Benziger brain
mode or quadrant Benziger (broad) types Jung's 'Four Functional Types'
Jungian 'superior' and 'auxiliary' Myers Briggs® MBTI® types Keirsey
types Kolb's learning styles
basal left process and routine sensing ST and SF ESTP ISTJ ESFP ISFJ
promoter inspector performer protector Reflective Observation

basal right intuition and empathy feeling FS and FN ESFJ ISFP ENFJ INFP
provider composer teacher healer Concrete Experience

frontal right vision and creativity intuition NT and NF ENTP INTJ ENFP
INFJ inventor mastermind champion counsellor Active Experimentation

frontal left logic and results thinking TS and TN ESTJ ISTP ENTJ INTP
supervisor crafter fieldmarshall architect Abstract Conceptualisation

More detail about Katherine Benziger's fascinating theory is on the Benziger page.

DISC

You will see the DISC model often represented as DiSC®, which reflects the
ownership of this particular logoform by the US Inscape Publishing company.
Inscape has extensively researched and developed its own DISC systems, which
according to the company's publicity have been used by over 40 million people
since the early 1970s, which are used with the intention of enabling people to
"...gain the insight they need to be more successful, productive, and fulfilled at
work..." Inscape also say, "... DiSC® instruments are based on a simple idea - that
the foundation of personal and professional success lies in knowing yourself,
understanding others, and realizing the impact of your actions and attitudes on
other people..."

The DISC model is attributed to Dr William Moulton Marston, whose book Emotions
Of Normal People (1928) first explained the model using the DISC terminology, and
which also provided the descriptive words on which the commonly used DISC
personality assessment systems were built. Marston didn't create an assessment
tool. This was done initially by researchers at the University of Minnesota, in 1972
according to Inscape. Inscape, and others, have continued to develop, test and
validate DISC assessment systems, which are marketed with gusto to the corporate
and organisational development communities.

The dimensions of Behaviour and Situation feature strongly in Marston's ideas.

There are several slightly varying interpretations of this model. Here's a general
outline.

DISC basic personality types model

There are different interpretations of this model, based on the same underpinning
structure. This presentation of the DISC model borrows from various interpretations.
The colours mainly emphasise the columns - they are not part of the original DISC
theory - but they also reflect the logical correlations to two of the Four
Temperaments and Keirsey main types (D = Phlegmatic/Rational; I =
Choleric/Idealist) and the Jungian Extravert-Introvert 'attitudes'. Other than this
there is no attempt here to overlay the DISC model or personality traits directly
onto any other personality model. There are overlaps and correlations between
DISC and other personality systems but not a direct overlay. Logical comparisons
and correlations between DISC types and the types contained in the theories of
Jung, Benziger, etc, are shown lower in the grid below.D I S C

Dominance Influence Steadiness Compliance

generally proactive and extravert generally reactive and introvert

decisive, dominant, self-assured, forceful, task-orientated, instigates, leads and
directs motivates others via influence and persuasion, good communication
skills, presents well, friendly, affable, inspires others, intuitive, gregarious, friendly
reliable, dependable, process-orientated, listener, friendly, trustworthy, solid,
ethical, finishes what others start and leave, methodical, decides according to
process painstaking, investigative, curious, decides using facts and figures,
correct, checker, detailed,

things people people things

motivated by responsibility and achievement motivated by recognition and

personal approval motivated by time, space and continuity to do things properly
motivated by attention to detail, perfection and truth

strong focus on task and forceful style can upset people emphasis on image can
neglect substance dependence on process can become resistance need for
perfection can delay or obstruct

fears failure and loss of power fears rejection and loss of reputation fears
insecurity and change fears inaccuracy and unpredictability

Benziger 'double frontal' (frontal right and frontal left), extraverted Benziger
'double right' (basal right and frontal right), extraverted Benziger 'double basal'
(basal left and basal right), introverted Benziger 'double left' (basal left and frontal
left) introverted

Jung's ET(N) and EN(T) Jung's EF(N) and EN(F) Jung's IF(S) and IS(F) Jung's
IT(S) and IS(T)

Intuitive-Thinking Intuitive-Feeling Sensing-Feeling Sensing-Thinking

Myers Briggs® ENTJ, less so ENTP, INTJ, INTP Myers Briggs® ENFJ, less so ENFP,
INFJ, INFP Myers Briggs® ISFP, less so ISFJ, ESFP, ESFJ Myers Briggs® ISTP, less
so ISTJ, ESTP, ESTJ

closest Keirsey type equivalent is fieldmarshall closest Keirsey type equivalent

is teacher closest Keirsey type equivalent is composer closest Keirsey type
equivalent is crafter

temperament or humour implied by Keirsey is entirely phlegmatic (Keirsey's

rationalist) temperament or humour implied by Keirsey is entirely choleric
(Keirsey's idealist) temperament or humour implied by Keirsey is half sanguine half
melancholic (Keirsey's artisan and guardian) temperament or humour implied by
Keirsey is half sanguine half melancholic (Keirsey's artisan and guardian)
N.B. The closest equivalent types shown above from the models of Jung, Myers
Briggs® and Keirsey are just a guide, and have been arrived at by factoring in the
typical DISC dimensions of extraversion-introversion and proactive-passive, which
imply the obvious Extraverted or Introverted Jungian equivalents, and Judging
(proactive) or Perceiving (reactive) Jungian equivalents. As we've seen, none of this
is a perfect science, and the correlations are formed by logical extension rather
than clear admissions of statements from the originating theorists. Benziger's
correlations however are those stated by Katherine Benziger herself.

Unlike testing systems such as Myers Briggs® and Keirsey which typically match
people to defined 'types', The DISC model instead presents a series of four main
'type' descriptions (titled above as Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and
Compliance). The DISC testing instruments tend to identify people's dominant or
preferred type and one or two supporting types from the four available, and this
mixture is then represented by a graph or personality description based on the
mixture of the types.

In this respect no person is exclusively just one of the four DISC types. Most people
have a dominant or preferred main type, plus one or two supporting types in
different degrees depending on the person and the situation. DISC systems
commonly not only assess the person but also the person's mix of dominant types
from different perspectives.

It is important to note again that the DISC system of personality assessment, like all
personality models, provides a guide and a perspective of personality; it is not a
100% reliable or definitive measurement.

Under certain circumstances DISC and related terminology are protected or

trademarked intellectual property, so if you have ideas to use any DISC theory or
tools in connection with the commercial delivery of personality assessment or
testing services it's wise to check whether you can do so freely or whether such use
is governed by licensing conditions.

DiSC® is a trademark of the US Inscape Publishing company.

belbin® team roles

Dr Meredith Belbin, UK academic and consultant developed the Belbin team roles
model in the late 1970s. Belbin's work at Henley Management College
demonstrated that balanced teams comprising people with different capabilities
performed better than teams that are less well balanced. Belbin's key book
'Management Teams - Why They Succeed or Fail', was first published in 1981.
According to Belbin publicity (Belbin founded Belbin Associates, who produce and
provide psychometrics (personality and behavioural testing) instruments and other
related services based on Belbin's theories) the Belbin Team Roles model is used by
over 40% of the UK's top 100 companies, and thousands more internationally.

N.B. The Belbin Team Role model and certain related teminology is © Belbin
Associates - if in doubt about usage check with Belbin. The use of Belbin tests and
training materials is subject to licence from Belbin.

Meredith Belbin initially identified a set of eight roles, which, it is argued, are all
present in a team provide good balance and increase likelihood of success. The
eight roles were later increased to nine, with the addition of the 'Specialist' role.
Presumably due to political correctness and changing attitudes in organisations, the
names of certain roles have been altered in recent years. Below are the modern role
names and brief descriptions, with notes of what they were previously called where
appropriate.

There are no 'good' or 'bad' roles. People are as they are, and all roles play
important parts in successful teams.

Belbin suggested that certain roles tend to be more extraverted (outgoing,

proactive, outward-looking) while other roles tend to be more introverted (inward-
looking, reactive). These days less emphasis is placed on whether a role was
considered extravert or introvert, but for the record, the roles originally presented
as extravert are indicated with an asterisk* within the roles listing and descriptions
below:

belbin team roles and descriptions

It is not easy to correlate precisely the Belbin team roles to specific personality
types in other personality models, although there are certain common elements, for
example Extraverted and Introverted roles, which are colour coded appropriately
below. There are also some useful correlations with the Big Five Factors model. This
colour-coding does not form part of the original Belbin theory, it simply aims to
assist comparisons with other models explained in this section.role name
strengths and styles

Coordinator (CO)* able to get others working to a shared aim; confident, mature -
(originally called 'Chairman' by Belbin)

Shaper (SH)*motivated, energetic, achievement-driven, assertive, competitive

Plant (PL)* innovative, inventive, creative, original, imaginative, unorthodox,

problem-solving

Monitor-Evaluator (ME) serious, prudent, critical thinker, analytical

Implementer (IMP) systematic, common sense, loyal, structured, reliable,
dependable, practicable, efficient (originally called 'Company Workers')

Resource Investigator (RI)* quick, good communicator, networker, outgoing,

affable, seeks and finds options, negotiator

Team Worker (TW) supportive, sociable, flexible, adaptable, perceptive, listener,

calming influence, mediator

Completer-Finisher (CF) attention to detail, accurate, high standards, quality

orientated, delivers to schedule and specification

Specialist (SP) technical expert, highly focused capability and knowledge,

driven by professional standards and dedication to personal subject area

* Belbin suggested these roles are more extravert than introvert.

N.B. It does not follow that extraverted roles are always self-motivating. Neither
does it follow that introverted roles need 'motivating' or instructing. The proactivity,
direction, attitude and motivation of any roles, in a Belbin context (as for any other
personality profiling system), depend on a wide variety of factors, including
alignment of organisational and personal aims and values, personal circumstances,
emotional maturity, life-stage, leadership influences, reward systems, and more.
Greater understanding of these issues can be achieved by considering many
different behavioural perspectives, theories and models.

The simplest central point relating to motivation is that different people respond to
different stimuli. Therefore the more we understand about ourselves and people,
then the more we understand about what motivates us.
People are more motivated and happy when they are performing and working in a
way that is natural to them. Expecting a person with a particular personality type
(be it represented by a Belbin team role, a Jung psychological type, a Myers
Briggs® MBTI®, or whatever) to perform well and enthusiastically in a role that is
foreign or alien to their natural preferences and strengths is not helpful for anyone.

The UK DTI quality management guidance notes provides further some useful
interpretation of the parts that these roles play in teams:

'belbin team roles' within teams

The Co-ordinator clarifies group objectives, sets the agenda, establishes priorities,
selects problems, sums up and is decisive, but does not dominate discussions.

The Shaper gives shape to the team effort, looking for pattern in discussions and
practical considerations regarding the feasibility of the project. Can steamroller the
team, but gets results.

The Plant is the source of original ideas, suggestions and proposals that are usually
original and radical.

The Monitor-Evaluator contributes a measured and dispassionate analysis and,

through objectivity, stops the team committing itself to a misguided task.

The Implementer turns decisions and strategies into defined and manageable tasks,
sorting out objectives and pursuing them logically.

The Resource Investigator goes outside the team to bring in ideas, information and
developments to it.
They are the team's sales-person, diplomat, liaison officer and explorer.

The Team Worker operates against division and disruption in the team, like cement,
particularly in times of stress and pressure.

The Finisher maintains a permanent sense of urgency with relentless follow-

through.

All of these roles have value and are missed when not in a team; there are no stars
or extras.

An individual's team role can be determined by the completion of a Belbin

questionnaire. It is not essential that teams comprise eight people each fulfilling
one of the roles above, but that people who are aware and capable of carrying out
these roles should be present.

In small teams, people can, and do, assume more than one role.

In addition, analysing existing teams and their performance or behaviour, using

these team role concepts, can lead to improvements, for example:

Under-achievement demands a good coordinator or finisher

Conflict requires a team worker or strong coordinator

Mediocre performance needs a resource investigator, innovator or shaper

Error prone teams need an evaluator

Different roles are important in different circumstances, for example:

New teams need a strong shaper to get started.

Competitive situations demand an innovator with good ideas.

In areas of high risk, a good evaluator may be needed.

Teams should, therefore, be analysed both in terms of what team roles members
can play, and also in relation to what team skills are most needed.

Despite having well defined roles within a team, the interaction between the
different personalities of individuals can be a frequent source of friction. However,
this can largely be avoided by understanding and valuing people's differences.

(The above notes about Belbin team roles within teams are UK DTI quality
management guidance notes and are Crown Copyright.)

the 'big five' factors personality model

'The Big Five' is the commonly used term for the model of personality which
describes the five fundamental factors of our personality.

This summary and explanation has been provided by psychologist and

psychometrics expert Paul Sinclair (see Paul's biography below), which is greatly
appreciated.

The Big Five 'super traits' have been researched and validated by many different
psychologists (WT Norman 1963, McCrae & Costa 1987, Brand & Egan 1989, LR
Goldman 1990 and P Sinclair 1992) and are at the core of many other personality
questionnaires.

While Raymond Cattell 'uncovered' 16 traits from his factor analysis (a statistical
way of reducing a variety of things down to a smaller number of related clusters) in
the development of the 16PF; no one else was able to replicate his work.

On the other hand, the Big Five Factors have been replicated in studies across the
world and give us a confident summary of our mental building blocks, according to
trait theory.
This had led to a number of slightly different 'translations' of the Big Five model,
although each version essentially deals with the same theory and content. The
words describing the characteristics change, but the basic characteristics do not.
The 'translations' between the different interpretations are explained later.

Trait theory, on which many of our occupational questionnaires are based (for
example, Cattell's 16PF and Saville & Holdsworth's 'OPQ' Occupational Personality
Questionnaire), states that by the time we are in our early 20s and start work, our
personality traits become more stable and reliable. This does not necessarily mean
we become more stable or reliable, but that our individual personality traits become
more fixed and are thus capable of being reliably measured.

For example, loud, confident, creative people tend to remain loud, confident and
creative people throughout their careers. Quiet, unassuming, dependable people
tend to remain so also.

When the first Big Five questionnaire was launched the UK in 1990, people were
surprised and a little sceptical about the speed of the personality profiler; it took
under 10 minutes to complete.

This was because it was only measuring five factors and not sixteen or thirty-two
personality factors.

Suffice it to say, validation studies were published and presented to the British
Psychology Society by the end of the 1990s the Big Five was established as a
significant and fundamental personality testing model.

N.B. The pink colour in the tables is used for the Big Five terminology recommended
by Paul Sinclair. Aside from this, colour is used (hopefully) to improve presentation
only, and does not relate to other personality models on this webpage.
the big five model - five 'bipolar' scales

The bold names in the left column are the recommended names (by Paul Sinclair)
for these factors. Other names are used for each of the factors, which might equate
to names in the left or right columns. See the OCEAN names below. Extraversion
vs Introversion

Confidence vs Sensitive

Detail-conscious vs Unstructured

Tough-minded vs Agreeable

Conforming vs Creative

These scales are commonly alternatively represented by the OCEAN acronym and
descriptions:

Openness to experience (equates to Creative, opposite Conforming above)

Conscientiousness (equates to Detail-conscious above)

Extraversion/Introversion (same as above)

Agreeableness (equates to Agreeable, opposite Tough-minded above)

Neuroticism (equates to Sensitive, opposite Confidence above)

While some psychologists refer to the OCEAN terminology it's not particularly
recommended for use where people are likely to be sensitive to the words, notably
'neuroticism'. Other words in the OCEAN scale can also be perceived as judgmental
or stigmatised. And while 'Conscientiousness' is technically accurate, using this
word tends to influence decision-makers (notably users of psychometric testing
systems) towards the characteristic and those displaying it, not least because the
other end of the scale would logically be called 'Unconscientious'; better instead to
refer to the scale of 'Detail-conscious - Unstructured', which carries no sense of
good or bad.

It is generally more helpful to use the Big Five terms as detailed in the grid, which
tend to present the scales as 'one or the other' rather than 'good or bad'.

For the sake of reference however, here is the correlation between the OCEAN Big
Five factor names and the more user-friendly names. See above for the precise
description correlations.Recommended Big Five Factor terms Common 'OCEAN'
equivalents

Extraversion - Introversion Extraversion/Introversion

Confidence - Sensitive Neuroticism/Stability

Detail-conscious - Unstructured Conscientiousness

Tough-minded - Agreeable Agreeableness

Conforming - Creative Openness to experience

You will find other variations of how people refer to the Big Five Factors.

For example The Big Five according to McCrae & Costa (1987) is typically shown as:

Neuroticism (vs Emotional Stability)

Extraversion (vs Introversion)

Openness to experience (vs Closedness to experiences)

Agreeableness (vs Disagreeableness)

Conscientiousness (vs Lack of conscientiousness)

The following tables show the typical behaviours within this model.

Psychologists and psychometrics practitioners use the term 'Factor' to describe

each of these five 'large traits' or scales.

In turn, each of the Big Five Factors contains several behaviours, which are
clustered under the five main Factor headings.

Of course each main Factor can be further broken down into 'sub traits' or 'facets',
for example, Extraversion could have sub-traits such as Sociable, Competitive,
Energetic and Seeking Recognition.

Each factor is named according to the 'high scoring' end of each scale.

Low scores logically indicate behaviours at the opposite side of the scale.

High scores are not good or bad.

Low scores are not good or bad.

The majority of us actually tend to score close to the middle (the 'norm').
The higher a person scores for the behavioural elements shown within each of the
five factors, the more (logically) they will exhibit these behaviours, and be less able
to sustain the tendencies of the low scorer. And vice versa.

Again, there is no good or bad. It's simply a measure of what we are.

the big five factors including behavioural elements

Other commonly used factor names (notably OCEAN) for the Big Five Factors are
shown in Green.

extraversion

low score (introversion)

high score (extraversion)

Reserved and shy in company

Able to concentrate on long tasks

Prefers a calm environment

Dislikes the limelight and attention

Inhibited and somewhat reluctant in teams

Not a natural communicator

Deliberate, and reflects on things

Lacks spontaneity Open and talkative

Competitive, enthusiastic and persuasive

Enjoys a fast pace and variety at work

Gregarious

Socially active and energetic

Can be impulsive or indiscreet

Needs praise - enjoys attention

Can lack concentration in routine or long tasks

confidence

low score (sensitive, aka neuroticism)

high score (confidence, aka stability)

Unsure of self, hesitant, checks with superiors

Prone to anxiety under pressure

Dislikes making big/important decisions

Not ambitious, somewhat pessimistic

Concerned by change or the unexpected

May be temperamental, low emotional control

Nervous presenting self or own ideas Relaxed, calm under pressure

High self esteem

Decisive, asserts him/herself

Optimistic, enjoys taking lead

Resilient to pressure

Copes with the unexpected

Enjoys autonomy, ambitious

detail-conscious

low score (unstructured)

high score (detail-conscious aka conscientiousness)

Flexible and informal approach to work

Multi-tasker

Not detail conscious - expedient

Prefers 'big picture' - strategic

Less committed to formal tasks

Works well in a chaotic environment

Dislikes paper work - unstructured Structured approach to work

Quality-conscious and detailed

Plans and forecasts - organised

Reliable and efficient

Persevering and dutiful

Committed to the job - striving

Keen to achieve goals

tough-minded

low score (agreeableness)

high score (tough-minded)

Empathetic and consensus oriented

Enjoys team participation

Tolerant of others
Seen as kind and generous

Patient and democratic with others

Can find disciplining others difficult

Can be seen as too soft or submissive

Naturally democratic management style Self reliant and independent - pushy

Not a natural team player - dominant

Goal oriented - tough and determined

Capable of dealing with 'office politics'

Drives through obstacles

Somewhat impatient with weaker colleagues

Able to make unpopular decisions

Autocratic management style

conforming

low score (creative, aka openness/openness to experience)

high score (conforming)

Finds routines and systems constricting

Enjoys challenging the status quo

Champions change - accepts risks

Idealistic, with a variety of interests

Creative thinker and problem solver

Unconventional and intellectual

Thinks on feet, improvises Follow rules and procedures

Risk-averse and cautious of change

Adapts rather than creates new approaches

Conservative and serious

Obedient to corporate methodology

Practical and down to earth

Adheres to guidelines and systems

the combinations of factors define the personality - not single scales

When using this model, as with many other personality concepts, it is the
combination of scores from all of the scales that shows us how people operate and
identifies their underlying preferences.

Looking at a single scale in isolation tells us hardly anything, and can be very
misleading.

For example:

Although a creative (non-conformist) has the intellectual ability to be creative, if

their non-conformity is combined with introversion and low confidence, they may
not express their creative thoughts and ideas.

A creative (non-conformist) who is also extravert, confident and unstructured (low

detail-conscious), will not only express their ideas but may also propose quite
impractical suggestions.
usage of the big five factor model

The Big Five is a very useful model for assessing non-managerial staff, but it lacks
some of the rigour required for assessing people in or destined for managerial and
executive roles. The Big Five model gives us an accurate and fast way of assessing
the main drivers of someone's personality. But the model by itself is not able to drill
down into complex management capabilities or competencies. For this we must
refer more to work-related behaviours rather than 'pure' personality.

Management performance depends more on the subtle use of discretionary

elements of the job, which the Big Five will not measure. The Big Five is a 'broad
brush' personality methodology. A different approach is required for management
assessment, to gauge the 'components' of people's behaviour and the detailed
combinations of working style. The 'PRISM' model (PRISM is summarised separately
here) and similar systems are more appropriate for measuring management style
and potential than the Big Five.

Each of the Big Five factors consists of 'sub-traits', for example, 'Agreeable' (at the
opposite end of the 'Tough-minded' scale) consists of sub-traits (behavioural
elements) such as 'Tactful', 'Diplomatic', 'Team-centred', 'Submissive', 'Warm',
'Friendly','Tolerant' and 'Democratic'. In typical use of the Big Five model and tests,
a person's score on the 'Agreeable' scale will be an average of how they match the
sub-traits. Showing the detail and variance of the sub-traits scores would entail a
vastly more complex and time-consuming analysis.

The strengths of the Big Five Factor model lie in its speed and ease of use and this
makes it a very useful tool for gaining a rapid overview of a person's key drivers.

The Big Five Factor model has been very well validated, and while it has shown
correlations with performance in jobs, studies indicate that the correlation with
particular jobs does not exceed 0.30, which accounts for no more than 15% of the
variables. There is a big difference between measuring job suitability, style, etc.,
and measuring personality per se.
The Big Five model is a modern, widely replicated and validated methodology for
understanding, explaining and measuring personality.

Various Big Five tests have been developed. The first to be launched in the UK, and
one of the most popular, is the RPQ (Rapid Personality Questionnaire), which is
available from various suppliers.

Here is a free Big Five mini-test (5 mins max) on the excellent website of Professor
George Boeree (pronounced boo-RAY). This test gives a very quick Big Five profile
and is more for understanding the model thank for serious personality assessment,
although as a quick simple guide it works well.

Bear in mind that the Big Five factor headings Professor Boeree's mini-test vary
slightly compared to factor names mentioned above, and correlate as follows
(precise correlations in bold). Aside from 'Stability' Boeree uses the OCEAN
headings: Recommend Big Five Factor terms Boeree mini-test equivalents

Extraversion - Introversion Extraversion

Confidence - Sensitive Stability

Detail-conscious - Unstructured Conscientiousness

Tough-minded - Agreeable Agreeableness

Conforming - Creative Openness

the big five - some notable combinations

The 'personality-based sub-types' in column one are broad generic profiles and do
not relate to any particular model's definitions. Be careful not to read too much into
these single-word descriptions - they provide a rough guide, not a detailed scientific
correlation.personality-based 'sub-types' will contain Big Five high scoring
factors will contain Big Five low scoring factors

dependent conforming confidence, tough-minded

social leader confidence, extraversion

intellectual extraversion conforming

submissive extraversion, tough-minded

need for praise confidence, extraversion

defensive confidence, tough-minded

exhibitionist extraversion, tough-minded

autonomous confidence extraversion, conforming

harm avoidance conforming tough-minded

supportive extraversion tough-minded

conscientious detail-conscious, conforming

impulsive tough-minded, extraversion conforming

authoritariantough-minded, conforming

sensitive to criticism tough-minded confidence

persuasive extraversion, confidence conforming

completer-finisher detail-conscious, conforming confidence

'the big five' correlations with other personality models

Here are correlations between the Big Five factors and respectively the models of
16PF, OPQ and the Belbin 'team role' types.
Below first are the Big Five correlations with Cattell's 16PF model. Understanding
these correlations is aided by knowing the 16PF scale definitions. As ever, single
word descriptions are open to different interpretations, hence inclusion of the 16PF
letter codes. An explanation of the 16PF model will appear on this page in due
course.

The word 'negatively' below means that the correlation is with the opposite end of
the Big Five scale concerned, for example, below, the 16PF description 'Shrewd'
correlates to the opposite of the Big Five 'Extraversion', ie., 'Introversion'

big five and 16pf Big Five Factors Cattell's 16PF descriptive equivalents

Extraversion Assertive (E)

Happy-go-lucky (F)

Venturesome (H)

Shrewd (N), negatively

Experimenting (Q1)

Controlled (Q3), negatively

Confidence Emotional (C)

Assertive (E)

Happy-go-lucky (F)

Conscientious (G), negatively

Apprehensive (O), negatively

Experimenting (Q1), negatively

Tense (Q4)

Detail-conscious Happy-go-lucky (F), negatively

Conscientious (G)

Controlled (Q3)

Tough-minded Assertive (E)

Happy-go-lucky (F)

Conscientious (G), negatively

Suspicious (L)

Experimenting (Q1)

Controlled (Q3), negatively

Conforming Assertive (E), negatively

Happy-go-lucky (F), negatively

Conscientious (G)

Venturesome (H), negatively

Shrewd (N)

Controlled (Q3)

the big five and opq (occupational personality questionnaire)

Below are the Big Five correlations with the OPQ model (Occupational Personality
Questionnaire). Understanding these correlations is aided by knowing the OPQ scale
definitions. As ever, single word descriptions are open to different interpretations,
hence inclusion of the OPQ letter codes. Again, an explanation of the OPQ model will
appear on this page in due course.

And again, the word 'negatively' signifies that the correlation is to the opposite end
of the Big Five factor concerned, eg., OPQ description 'Modest' correlates to the
opposite of the Big Five 'Extraversion', ie., 'Introversion'. Big Five Factors OPQ
(Occupational Personality Questionnaire) descriptive equivalents

Extraversion Persuasive (R1)

Controlling (R2)

Independent (R3)

Outgoing (R4)
Confident (R6)

Modest (R7), negatively

Traditional (T5), negatively

Change Orientated (T6)

Innovative (T8)

Emotional Control (F4)

Optimistic (F5)

Critical (F6)

Competitive (F8)

Achieving (F9)

Decisive (F10)

Confidence Persuasive (R1)

Controlling (R2)

Independent (R3)

Outgoing (R4)

Socially Confident (R6)

Modest (R7), negatively

Traditional (T5), negatively

Change Orientated (T6)

Innovative (T8)

Relaxed (F1)

Worrying (F2), negatively

Tough Minded (F3)

Optimistic (F5)

Detail-conscious Traditional (T5)

Detail Conscious (T10)

Conscientious (T11)

Tough-minded Independent (R3)

Democratic (R8), negatively

Caring (R9), negatively

Detail Conscious (T10), negatively

Critical (F6)

Conforming Persuasive (R1), negatively

Independent (R3), negatively

Outgoing (R4), negatively

Modest (R7)

Traditional (T5)

Innovative (T8), negatively

Competitive (F8), negatively

Achieving (F9), negatively

Decisive (F10), negatively

the big five and belbin 'team role' types

Below are the Big Five correlations with the Belbin team role types. Given the
overlap of Big Five factors across the Belbin team role types, the correlations are
shown between the Belbin types and the corresponding dominant Big Five factors.
See the Belbin section above.Belbin 'team role' type Big Five correlating scale
score/emphasis

Coordinator/Chairman (CO)* Extraversion, Confidence

Shaper (SH)*Extraversion, Tough-minded, Creative

Plant (PL)* Extraversion, Confidence, Tough-minded, Creative

Monitor-Evaluator (ME) No strong correlations with the Big Five, probably because
this Belbin team type is not high or low on any scale, ie., they are sober, detached,
able to look at things objectively. They are most likely people with 'middle scores'
across most of the Big Five scales, suggesting a balanced profile with little
emphasis on any specific scale, quite a rare Big Five profile.

Implementer/Co Worker (IMP) Detail-conscious, Agreeable, Conforming

Resource Investigator (RI)* Extraversion, Confidence, Creative

Team Worker (TW) Introversion, Sensitive, Detail-conscious, Conforming

Completer-Finisher (CF) Sensitive, Detail-conscious, Agreeable, Conforming

Specialist (SP) Not correlated with the Big Five. This recently added Belbin type
is based less on personality and describes a technical specialism, thus linked to
specialist knowledge/ability rather than temperament.

paul sinclair biography

Paul Sinclair is the founder and managing partner of Sinclair Associates and has
spent fifteen years at the leading edge of psychological profiling and performance
development. He works with companies to assess individual and team potential
and develops plans to improve personal competencies.
Paul co-launched the UK's first 'Big Five' personality profiler in 1990 and published a
paper on 'Personality and Performance' in the British Psychological Society's journal
- Selection and Development Review, and also presented a validation of the Big Five
against the OPQ and the 16PF, at the BPS conference in 1992.

Paul has been interviewed on BBC Radio 4 and consulted on the BBC2 TV series,
'Mind of the Millionaire'.

Paul now focuses on business coaching and team building. A member of the
European Mentoring & Coaching Council, Paul is based near Bath and works across
the UK & Europe.

Paul's website is: www.cloudtalent.com and his email is sinclairp@tiscali.co.uk.

See separately Paul's excellent summary of the PRISM psychological profiling

system.

Paul's contribution of this explanation of the Big Five Factor model is gratefully
acknowledged.

firo-b®

FIRO-B® stands for Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behaviour.

Developed by William Schutz in 1958, Schutz first used the FIRO-B® tool to assess
how teams performed in the US Navy.

The FIRO-B® is an assessment tool used to help individuals and teams better
understand their preferences in satisfying three basic social needs:

Inclusion (the degree to which one belongs to a group, team or community)

Control (the extent to which one prefers to have structure, hierarchy and influence)

Affection (one's preference for warmth, disclosure and intimacy).

For each of these factors, FIRO-B® assesses individuals as to:

how much they express the needs and

how much they want to have the needs expressed to them from others.

In this respect, FIRO-B® is measuring the three aspects of Inclusion, Control and
Affection, from two 'needs perspectives' of expressing (outwardly directed
behaviour towards others) and wanting (behaviour from others directed towards
oneself).

The overall 'scores' from the assessment also reveal the degree to which people
attain satisfaction from their interactions with others versus time spent alone.

The FIRO-B® assessment data is particularly rich in enabling understanding

individual and team behaviour.

As with many other personality assessments, there are no 'right or wrong', nor
'good or bad' profiles.

By reviewing the assessment information, an individual can gain insight into what
kind of teams they prefer to work in, what kind of environment they'd like to work
in, and what roles they prefer in the workplace.
The FIRO-B® model and assessment tool can also provide information regarding
leadership styles and areas of potential conflict.

If teams take the assessment together, they can compare the extent to which each
person's preferences complement or conflict with colleagues. For example, a team
member wanting a high degree of inclusion would appreciate and respond well to a
manager who invites him/her to various meetings. A team member with a high
degree of expressed affection is likely to work well with a colleague who seeks
affection and attention.

The FIRO-B® system is a simple and elegant model that particularly assists
understanding of team dynamics, greater self-awareness, mutual awareness among
team-members (which relates helpfully to the Johari Window model), and team
leadership development.

My acknowledgements to Barbara Heyn for these introductory notes about the

FIRO-B® assessment. Barbara runs Atticus Consulting LLC in Blue Ash, Ohio, and
specialises in developing teams, leadership and organisations. See also Barbara
Heyn's article in the love and spirituality section - about bringing compassion and
humanity to work, which is obviously closely connected with understanding and
respecting personality.

FIRO-B® is a trademark of the CPP, Inc (Consulting Psychologists Press).

the birkman method®

I am grateful to Birkman International Inc. for their help in providing this summary
(within which the US-English spelling of 'behavior' is used because it is appropriate
for the terminology and origins of the theory).
The Birkman Method® consists of ten scales describing motivations (Interests) and
occupational preferences. It also has eleven scales describing 'effective behaviors'
(Usual behaviors) and eleven scales describing interpersonal and environmental
'expectations' (Needs). A corresponding set of eleven derived scales describe the
associated 'less than effective' (Stress) behaviors when expectations are not
fulfilled. Together, these eleven scales are titled Components.

In application, The Birkman Method® provides a method of improving personal and

interpersonal effectiveness, articulating issues and resolving them, and revealing
hidden assumptions that directly affect interpersonal effectiveness.

The Birkman Method® notably:

assesses perceptions and situational motivators

is non-clinical, online, valid, reliable, and without 'adverse impact'

identifies 'effective,' 'less than effective' behaviors and provides practical

suggestions to improve personal and interpersonal effectiveness

provides respondents with a unique problem-solving approach that can be applied

to many situations, even situations beyond the extensive report options

identifies the career choices most likely to appeal to the respondent

and is translated into 13 languages.

The core of The Birkman Method® predicts significant behavioral and motivational
patterns by asking respondents about personal and social perceptions. Dr Birkman
confirmed that individuals don't react to the 'real' world, but rather to their
perception of it. This is the scientific response to the adage, 'perceptions are
reality'.

Most researchers at the time were focused on 'why' respondents behaved the way
they did. Dr Birkman was interested 'what' behaviors resulted from their
perceptions. Specifically, Birkman identified work and business behaviors resulting
from 'self' and 'other' perceptual responses. Ultimately, the Birkman Method®
became a multifaceted, self-report tool that provides practical insights into
everyday issues confronting adults as they live and work. It offers a unique way of
discovering how individuals accomplish goals or miss opportunities.

origins of the theory

Roger W Birkman PhD, began his exploration of individual differences of behavior

and perception while pilot and pilot instructor. His experience with the impact that
misperceptions – both visual and interpersonal - had on pilot performance and
student learning led him to the study of psychology. By 1950, Birkman had
developed a new method of assessment called the Test of Social Comprehension. It
was empirically developed from workplace interviews and observations. The
instrument was designed to measure the human characteristics that he saw
influence perceptions, behaviors, and motivations in normally functioning adults.
Eventually, Birkman met Roy B Mefferd Jr, who was a statistician/psychometrician.
Mefferd was a colleague of H J Eysenck and Mefford also worked closely Raymond
Cattel, creator of the 16PF. Mefferd was the first to analyze, modify and revise The
Birkman Method using factor analysis. Over the years, many more PhD
psychometricians have added to the research base.

Originally, Birkman developed the scale descriptions by comparing self report item
results with descriptions of likes, dislikes, and behaviors provided by third parties.
Birkman then matched self-report results, item by item, with these third party
behavioral descriptions. Eventually, these scales and the relationships between
these scales became the working model of perceptual and interest interactions.

During the 1960s, the assessment further integrated interests and occupational
measurement. This integrated assessment came to be known as The Birkman
Method®. Minor modifications and improvements occurred in the following
decades. In 2008, The Birkman Method was updated to current standards by
combining classical test theory and item test theory to review and update the
instrument. Refer to the 2008 Technical Manual for The Birkman Method® for more
information.

scales used in the method

interest scales

Interest scales describe an expressed motivational construct. Individuals with high

scale values tend to prefer to be engaged in activities consistent with the commonly
expected responsibilities of the interest scale meaning. The scales interact to form
measures of general interest beyond measures of specific interest. The scale values
measure intensity of desire to be involved with these activities, not skill or
proficiency with these responsibilities.

The reporting style of the Interest scales ranks Interests in order of highest to
lowest values. Long bars indicate a strong preference or attraction while short bars
indicate minimal interest and possibly disinterest or avoidance. The following figure
depicts a typical Interest profile for a respondent.

component scales

According to Birkman's research, the Components are the constructs that

significantly affect normal adults in the work environment. The following is a list of
the Components titles and descriptions:

acceptance

The Acceptance scales describe a sociability-based construct that addresses the

manner of relating to people in groups. It includes the degree to which an individual
wants to be talkative; enjoy people in groups; enjoy of social laughter; comfort in
talking to strangers; enjoying parties and group activities; and approachability.

activity
The Activity scales describe a construct that addresses preferred pace of action and
aspects of style, planning and decision making. This construct includes the degree
to which an individual prefers action; quick thinking; and physical expression of
energy.

advantage

The Advantage scales describe a construct that includes the degree to which an
individual prefers to drive for personal rewards or to share in team rewards. This
construct addresses the approach to idealism, and team vs. individual approaches
to winning competitions and incentives. It also encompasses cautiousness about
giving trust; involvement with money (as an incentive); and seeking personal
advantage.

authority

The Authority scales address approaches to directing and influencing or persuading

others in verbal exchanges. This construct describes the degree to which an
individual wants to persuade; speak up; express opinions openly and forcefully;
and/or argue.

challenge

Challenge involves the way in which a person approaches and understands the
issues of socially correct behavior and especially social image. The scale addresses
issues on managing social image and social expectation.

change

The Change Orientation refers to openness to new personal experiences. Individuals

who score low tend to prefer repetitive effort, minimal personal disruptions, and
predictable responsibilities. Individuals who score high tend to seek new
experiences and explore novel approaches, even within stable environments.

empathy

The Empathy scales describe a construct the degree to which an individual is

comfortable with emotional expression and involvement of feelings.
esteem

The Esteem scales describe a sensitivity-based construct that includes shyness;

saying no; praising and being praised; sensitivity about correcting others or being
corrected by others; getting one's feelings hurt or being embarrassed.

freedom

The Freedom scales describe a construct concerning the degree to which an

individual is more conventional or unconventional in their approach to solving
issues.

structure

These scales describe an orderliness-based construct that includes the degree to

which an individual insists on to giving or receiving clear direction; following
instructions carefully; finishing tasks; dealing with detailed tasks; working for
accuracy; and using systematic approaches.

thought

The Thought scales describe a construct concerning the degree to which an

individual approaches forming conclusions and making decisions; concerns for
making the right decision the first time; and concerns over the consequences of
those decisions.

construction of the component scales

This section provides one example of the scoring of The Birkman Method®. For the
purpose of explaining this approach, let's create a fictitious Component named
Handedness. Low scores indicate a left-handed approach to solving dexterity
problems and high scores indicate right-handed preferences. The following scale
uses numbers to indicate the degree to which the left hand is preferred.

Handedness: From a Left-Hander's Perspective

Conversely, we could explain Handedness from the right-handers perspective using
the same scale. If the Handedness score (or bandwidth) is between 1 and 9, the
right hand is never used and, by default, the left hand is always used (unless hurt).

Handedness: From a Right-Hander's Perspective

Scores of 1-9 and 90-99 are the pure forms of opposing preferences; they are
differences of kind. For some individuals, the pure forms are more than
'preferences'. They are often viewed as the 'right' way. In terms of application,
these 'differences of kind' can lead to one or more individuals becoming judgmental
or unable to see things from the 'other' perspective. As you might suspect, the
three middle bands (scores of 10-39, 40-60 and 61-89) are differences of degree,
that is, they are blends of the two pure preferences.

Birkman crafted the expected Component scales so that individuals with 'low scale'
values needed situations and relationships that precipitated one style of behavioral
effectiveness and those who expected 'high scale' conditions that created the
opposite productive style of response. Scales contained only descriptive
information, no value judgment was attached to either end of any scale; therefore,
both ends of the scale had equal value and positive cultural connotations. The scale
values described how an individual needed to be treated or what type situation an
individual prefers, not intensity or frequency of need alone.

The next section describes the aspects of each Component scale in more detail.

expectation (need) scales

Birkman found that when an individual was in a situation or relationship that

proceeded in a manner that was consistent with their underlying expectations
(needs) that individual felt good about self, was adaptable and exhibited positive,
productive behaviors. When the relationship or situation was consistent with the
individual's expectations, the individual frequently behaved in a productive manner.
Birkman also found that when these expectations were not met, individuals tended
to exhibit less-than-effective behaviors. This is consistent recent research in the
related topic of Self-Regulation and the attending behavioral implications.

Ultimately, Birkman found that the conditions that created less-than-effective

behaviors varied greatly. The only precise way for Birkman to define these
'frustrating' conditions was that they were not the expectation 'fulfillment'
conditions. In other words, there were many ways to frustrate expectations but very
few ways to fulfill them.

productive (usual) behavior scales

The typical, or usual, productive behaviors are expressed in a variety of situations

and are readily observable by others. These scales describe an individual's effective
style of dealing with relationships and tasks. These behaviors are typically
described as positive or effective (although it may not mean the goals are
accomplished). Low scale values are described as approaching relationships or
tasks in one manner and those with a high scale value are described as approaching
them in an opposite but equally effective manner.

It is easy to envision two equally skilled individuals, one excellent at motivating

using intangible rewards and someone else who motivates excellently using only
tangible rewards. Theoretically, this is similar to the FIRO-B Elements® assessment,
which assumes that an individual's behavior is independent of their desired
environmental conditions.

less-than-effective (stress) behavior scales

Scale values indicate an individual's ineffective style of dealing with relationships or

tasks. These behaviors are typically described as 'how he acts when he is under
stress,' or 'how she behaves when she is frustrated'. Within The Birkman Method®,
this non-productive behavior might be practically productive in the short term, but
costly in terms of relationships and long term effectiveness. In essence, there might
be bodies along the way to achieving the objective. Individuals often report that
they are not pleased with themselves after they use these 'less-than-productive'
behaviors.
Again, scale values indicate the style of behavior, not level of ineffectiveness.

Note: Further insights into the causes of various less-than-productive behaviors

have recently been studied by researchers within the self-regulation domain.

the birkman method® and MBTI® comparison

In 2008, CPP and Birkman International teamed together to develop the correlation
tables between The Birkman Method® and the MBTI® Step II Facet Scales. For a
complete comparison between both the MBTI® and MBTI® Step II, please refer to
the 2008 Technical Manual for The Birkman Method®.

similarities and differences found in the study

Both The Birkman Method® and the MBTI® are non-clinical assessments. The
technical manuals for both assessments have established and documented face,
content, construct (convergent/divergent), and criterion-related validities. However,
these two instruments have fundamentally different foundations and psychometric
properties.

The MBTI® is an indicator of type. As such it does not measure the amount of a
personality trait. Rather, the MBTI® sorts, or categorizes, individuals based on
preference or type ('Bill prefers introversion.'), but not the strength or degree of
preference ('Jane strongly prefers extraversion') nor degree of aptitude ('Harry is
good at thinking'). The MBTI® is socially and environmentally independent, provides
generic descriptions of productive and less-than-productive behaviors for each the
sixteen possible types, and has no corresponding equivalent of the Birkman
Expectations.

The Birkman Method® provides the degree of preference across eleven scales, and
independently measures ten motivational factors. As well, The Birkman Method®
reports on specific contextual factors which affect behavior (Expectations). Birkman
reports contain thousands of productive and less-than-productive behavioral
combinations and provide specific prescriptions for improving performance.

comparison between the birkman method® and the 'big five' factor model of
personality
The Birkman Method® aligns with the FFM (Five Factor Model or 'Big Five' or OCEAN
model), but also has sub-factors for Emotive, Social and Control Orientations. This
provides additional insight into the personality and productiveness dynamics. FFM
Constructs ('Big Five' or OCEAN model) Birkman Orientations Associated
Birkman Components

Neuroticism Emotive Orientation Empathy, Thought, Activity

Extraversion Social Orientation Esteem, Acceptance

Conscientiousness Process OrientationStructure

Agreeableness Control Orientation Advantage, Authority

Openness Change OrientationChange

appropriate uses for the birkman method®

The continuous trait-measurements, multi-dimensional properties, and predictive

reporting provided by The Birkman Method® make it useful in decision-making and
issues-based activities, such as hiring, selection, conflict resolution, personal
development, leadership development, and team building.

birkman international - acknowledgements

I am grateful to Birkman International for their help in providing this summary.

For more about The Birkman Method® assessment or to purchase a copy of the
2008 Technical Manual for The Birkman Method® call (800) 215-2760 (USA) or
email info@birkman.com. The 2008 Technical Manual contains the complete
statistical analysis between The Birkman Method® and the MBTI® Step I and
MBTI® Step II. The Technical Manual also covers the full developmental history,
theoretical background, reliability and validity, empirical evidence, and norms for
The Birkman Method® assessment. You may also visit the Birkman website at
www.birkman.com for general information about Birkman International, Inc., The
Birkman Method® assessment, and other products and services. For more about
the MBTI® or MBTI® Step II or to obtain a copy of the technical manuals, visit
www.cpp.com.

References/sources used in compiling the Birkman summary:

Birkman, R.W., Elizondo, Fabian, Lee, Larry G., Wadlington, Patrick L., Zamzow, Matt
W. (2008). The Birkman Method® Manual. Houston, TX: Birkman International, Inc.

Birkman, R.W. (1961). Development of a personality test using social and self
perception inventories. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Texas,
Austin.

Birkman, R.W. (1997). True Colors. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Briggs Myers, Isabel, McCaulley, Mary H., Quenk, Naomi L., Hammer, Allen L. (1998).
A Guide to the Development and Use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®.
Mountain View, CA: CPP, Inc.

Pittenger, David J. (1993). Measuring the MBTI And Coming Up Short. Journal of
Career Planning and Employment, November, pp. 48–52.

Quenk, Naomi L., Hammer, Allen L., Majors, Mark S. (2001). MBTI Step II Manual:
Exploring the Next Level of Type with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Form Q.
Mountain View, CA: CPP, Inc.

Quenk, Naomi L. (1993). Beside ourselves: Our hidden personality in everyday life.
Palo Alto, CA: CPP, Inc.

Stricker, L.J. & J. Ross. (1964). An Assessment of Some Structural Properties of the
Jungian personality Typology. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, Vol. 68,
pp. 67-72.

other personality theories and psychometrics tests models

Review and explanation of additional personality types theories and psychometrics
tests models will be added to this section in due course. If you have suggestions, or
if you are a principal provider of personality testing services, psychometrics tests or
personality and behavioural assessment instruments, and wish to contribute some
helpful explanatory theory please get in touch.

cattell's 16PF

Here's a very brief summary.

Raymond B Cattell (1905-1998) developed his 16PF in the 1940s. Most sources
indicate an original publication date of 1949, so it's been around for a while, and
has gone through at least five edition revisions, which probably explains the strange
letter coding sequence. The PF stands for 'Personality Factors', and there are
sixteen of them, hence 16PF.

The 16PF is one of the longest-standing and most widely used personality testing
systems of all. Belbin used the Cattell 16PF model in constructing his 'Belbin Team
Roles' theory, model and testing instruments.

Cattell's theory asserts that every person possesses a degree of each of the
following sixteen traits. Note that these traits include scale descriptions (not shown
here) and terminology can vary; hence the code letters are helpful references.
Cattell's 16PF personality testing instruments are available from various providers.

Warmth (A)

Reasoning (B)

Emotional Stability (C)

Dominance (E)

Liveliness (F)

Rule-consciousness (G)
Social Boldness (H)

Sensitivity (I)

Vigilance (L)

Abstractedness (M)

Privateness (N)

Apprehension/Apprehensiveness (O)

Openness to change (Q1)

Self-reliance (Q2)

Perfectionism (Q3)

Tension (Q4)

The Cattell systems also include an interpretation of the 'Big Five' factors, which the
Cattell organisation refers to as 'Five Global' factors (and which mostly use different
descriptive factors names).

More explanation in due course...

OPQ

Which stands for: Occupational Personality Questionnaire.

Coming in due course...

PRISM
PRISM is a relatively very modern personality model and psychological profiling
system, developed by occupational psychologist David Sharpley in the late 1990s.

PRISM was designed to identify Individual Needs, and Patterns of Response to work
demands.

PRISM was developed to address Performance at Work, and is structured somewhat

differently to many traditional trait-oriented profiling systems.

PRISM draws particularly on the psychological Needs theory of Henry Murray (in turn
relating to David McLelland), and George Kelly's Personal Construct theory (which is
referenced and explained on this website in John Fisher's work), to produce a 24-
scale model organised into Edgar Schien's three broad Career Anchors of:

analytical competence - in relation to problems and problem-solving

interpersonal competence - in relation to working with and through people

emotional competence - in relation to tasks and taking responsibility for and

achieving them

See separately Paul Sinclair's excellent summary of the PRISM psychological

profiling system, which is a resource kindly provided by Sinclair Accociates on the
free Businessballs Space.

enneagram of personality types

The nine-point model developed by Gurdjieff et al during the 1900s.

Explanation coming in due course...

graphology

Graphology is the study and analysis of hand-writing. Graphology can be used to

understand personality of self and others, and has been used as an aid to
recruitment and selection for many years. Interestingly graphology can also be used
for self-awareness and self-development, to change and improve personality traits
and behaviours. See the graphology and handwriting analysis section.

using free personality tests to create interest in seminars and workshops etc

Free personality tests of various types are becoming increasingly prevalent and
available on the internet. Many require the test to be completed online, which,
given the increasing numbers of employees with internet-enabled laptops, makes
these tests ideal for team development sessions. Other free tests can be
downloaded and used manually, such as those featured on this site.

Free tests present opportunities for training and development, but care is required
when using them.

Free tests can be free for various reasons, for example:

'lite' versions offered by serious psychometrics providers as 'teasers' or introductory

tools

tests created by various providers for different purposes and available legitimately
to use and share
(intentionally or unwittingly) unauthorised copied or 'pirated' tests which find their
way onto websites or which appear to be in the 'public domain' via photocopies
(unauthorised tests are obviously to be avoided since using them can incur serious
liabilities)

Legitimately free-to-use tests have a place in the learning and development toolkit,
but they should only be used for certain situations.

Free tests are fine for fun and for basic rough indicators, but generally (there are
some exceptions) not for serious applications, nor for purposes involving sensitive
situations or serious decisions, such as recruitment, career direction, counselling, or
serious training and development needs analysis.

Personality tests hold a big fascination for most people - it's human nature to want
to learn and discover things that we don't know about ourselves, and to have our
strengths confirmed, and to have our weaknesses and vulnerabilities gently queried
or explored. Tests can do all of these things - even free ones.

Personality tests can therefore introduce great interest and also stimulate lots of
discussion when used in a light-hearted way in meetings, seminars and workshops,
etc., but you do need to ensure that you position and explain your purpose - and the
limitations of the test - carefully, so that delegates understand and feel comfortable.

People with strong (Jungian/Myers Briggs®) 'sensing' and 'thinking' personalities

(engineers, adminstrators, accountants for example) will be less comfortable with
vague and approximate tesst than people who have strong intuitive and empathic
mindsets. Think about your type of audience before you decide on a use and an
explanation. Ensure it's acceptable and suitable for the delegates.

If you ware using free personality tests 'mostly for fun', and 'just as a rough
indicator' then say so. Do not position a free 'lite' test of uncertain origin and
debatable scientific validity as being a reliable indicator; if you do then people will
take it too seriously and you'll defeat the object - which might simply be to
introduce a bit of amusement and a discussion point.
All tests - whether robust or otherwise - provide a reflection of personality of some
sort, the use of which usually provokes thought, prompts discussion and possibly
also invites a little self-discovery. Tests cause us to think about ourselves from a
different perspective, which in itself is a liberating exercise.

Provided that the use of a test is not serious, and is positioned and explained
accordingly, then it's possible to make good stimulating use of many and various
free 'personality tests' that are increasingly available on the web.

Be careful to avoid unintentionally using any tests that appear free but which are
actually subject to copyright and intellectual property terms of use and costs. When
using free tests available on the web check that the the terms of use are
appropriate for your purposes, and certainly be suspicious if anything looks too
good to be true, because it might be. If in doubt seek clarification from whomever's
source model or test name is referenced in the material.

There are very many free tests that can be 'positioned' for given functions (eg,
management style) subject to thinking logically about how the perspective of the
particular test relates to personality, style, and by implication (in this case) to
management.

For example, on this website all of the free tests (such as the test based on
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the Multiple Intelligences test, and the VAK learning
style test) can be used to indicate management style from a particular perspective.
It's a matter of interpretation.

In this way, provided that your purpose is not serious (I repeat, recruitment, for
example, is not to be trifled with) tests of all sorts can generally be used one way or
another for most job functions, roles or aspects of work. It's a question of thinking
about how a particular test relates to people's interests and/or what you are seeking
to discover or indicate, be it management style, learning style, personality,
aptitude, communications style, personal outlook, etc.

Thus, all tests - even the free 'lite' versions available on the web (MBTI® free
versions, Enneagrams, Keirsey Temperament Sorter, etc) - can provide a useful
management style perspective - or any other perspective - subject to understanding
how the test criteria or model relates to whatever aspect of personality or work is
being explored.

Additionally, if you want to include a personality test in a seminar or workshop, and

are unsure where to start, it generally helps if you first ask your audience what
they'd like to know about themselves, and if they already are aware of any
particular frames of reference or personality models. And then seek and source
tests accordingly, that are aimed at, or which enable, measuring those criteria, or
which use the model concerned.

As with measuring anything involving the participation of a group of people, it's

important to use a measurement model or set of criteria that your audience
understands, otherwise the test won't mean much, on which point, different
audiences more naturally relate to different models and personality theories.

By way of example, Carl Jung's 'Psychological Types' model is very applicable to

management style and will commonly be readily recognised and understood by a
healthcare audience or medical professionals. Having established such a 'fit' you
can then set about finding a suitable Jungian test (and as already previously
referenced on this page, a good free Jungian-type test is available from
www.gesher.com, along with some really wonderful reference material).

Free tests are useful and helpful when used appropriately, and when they are
adapted and interpreted in a way that is meaningful to the audience.

It's the same as using any other tool for any other situation: first understand the
perspective - the frame of reference of the audience or user - and then select and
adapt a tool to fit.

personality types and tests - in summary

There are very many other personality models, psychometrics tests and concepts
aside from those featured here.
If you are a provider or developer of personality and psychometrics testing
materials and you'd like yours featured on this page please contact us.

Personality theories are immensely helpful in achieving greater self-awareness, and

in helping yourself and others to develop personal potential, effectiveness and
fulfilment, at work and in life as a whole. Explore the personality theories featured
here and any others you find that interest you.

No perspective is ever completely accurate and reliable. The more perspectives we

have, then the more clearly we see and understand ourselves and others.

Knowing about people's preferred styles and strengths enables us to provide people
with assistance, opportunities, direction and responsibilities that fit well with their
needs and motivations.

Knowing about our own preferred styles and strengths enables us to decide how
and when to adapt, so as to match our behavioural style and communications to
best meet the needs of others, and also to see more clearly our own true potential,
and for some, our own destiny.

Please bear in mind that many psychometrics and personality assessment models
are protected intellectual property and care should be taken before using related
materials for training, testing, and the delivery of commercial services. The fact that
these models are explained on this page must not be interpreted as permission for
their commercial exploitation.

If in doubt about using any materials (whether found on this website or otherwise)
you should check with the owner of the intellectual property concerned.

transactional analysis

Eric Berne's Transactional Analysis - early TA history and theory

Transactional Analysis is one of the most accessible theories of modern psychology.
Transactional Analysis was founded by Eric Berne, and the famous 'parent adult
child' theory is still being developed today. Transactional Analysis has wide
applications in clinical, therapeutic, organizational and personal development,
encompassing communications, management, personality, relationships and
behaviour. Whether you're in business, a parent, a social worker or interested in
personal development, Eric Berne's Transactional Analysis theories, and those of his
followers, will enrich your dealings with people, and your understanding of yourself.
This section covers the background to Transactional Analysis, and Transactional
Analysis underpinning theory. See also the modern Transactional Analysis theory
article.

roots of transactional analysis

Throughout history, and from all standpoints: philosophy, medical science, religion;
people have believed that each man and woman has a multiple nature.

In the early 20th century, Sigmund Freud first established that the human psyche is
multi-faceted, and that each of us has warring factions in our subconscious. Since
then, new theories continue to be put forward, all concentrating on the essential
conviction that each one of us has parts of our personality which surface and affect
our behaviour according to different circumstances.

In 1951 Dr Wilder Penfield began a series of scientific experiments. Penfield proved,

using conscious human subjects, by touching a part of the brain (the temporal
cortex) with a weak electrical probe, that the brain could be caused to 'play back'
certain past experiences, and the feelings associated with them. The patients
'replayed' these events and their feelings despite not normally being able to recall
them using their conventional memories.

Penfield's experiments went on over several years, and resulted in wide acceptance
of the following conclusions:

The human brain acts like a tape recorder, and whilst we may 'forget' experiences,
the brain still has them recorded.

Along with events the brain also records the associated feelings, and both feelings
and events stay locked together.
It is possible for a person to exist in two states simultaneously (because patients
replaying hidden events and feelings could talk about them objectively at the same
time).

Hidden experiences when replayed are vivid, and affect how we feel at the time of
replaying.

There is a certain connection between mind and body, i.e. the link between the
biological and the psychological, eg a psychological fear of spiders and a biological
feeling of nausea.

early transactional analysis theory and model

In the 1950's Eric Berne began to develop his theories of Transactional Analysis. He
said that verbal communication, particularly face to face, is at the centre of human
social relationships and psychoanalysis.

His starting-point was that when two people encounter each other, one of them will
speak to the other. This he called the Transaction Stimulus. The reaction from the
other person he called the Transaction Response.

The person sending the Stimulus is called the Agent. The person who responds is
called the Respondent.

Transactional Analysis became the method of examining the transaction wherein: 'I
do something to you, and you do something back'.

Berne also said that each person is made up of three alter ego states:

Parent

Adult

Child

These terms have different definitions than in normal language.

Parent
This is our ingrained voice of authority, absorbed conditioning, learning and
attitudes from when we were young. We were conditioned by our real parents,
teachers, older people, next door neighbours, aunts and uncles, Father Christmas
and Jack Frost. Our Parent is made up of a huge number of hidden and overt
recorded playbacks. Typically embodied by phrases and attitudes starting with 'how
to', 'under no circumstances', 'always' and 'never forget', 'don't lie, cheat, steal',
etc, etc. Our parent is formed by external events and influences upon us as we grow
through early childhood. We can change it, but this is easier said than done.

Child

Our internal reaction and feelings to external events form the 'Child'. This is the
seeing, hearing, feeling, and emotional body of data within each of us. When anger
or despair dominates reason, the Child is in control. Like our Parent we can change
it, but it is no easier.

Adult

Our 'Adult' is our ability to think and determine action for ourselves, based on
received data. The adult in us begins to form at around ten months old, and is the
means by which we keep our Parent and Child under control. If we are to change
our Parent or Child we must do so through our adult.

In other words:

Parent is our 'Taught' concept of life

Adult is our 'Thought' concept of life

Child is our 'Felt' concept of life

When we communicate we are doing so from one of our own alter ego states, our
Parent, Adult or Child. Our feelings at the time determine which one we use, and at
any time something can trigger a shift from one state to another. When we respond,
we are also doing this from one of the three states, and it is in the analysis of these
stimuli and responses that the essence of Transactional Analysis lies. A wonderful
analogy - 'the person who had feelings' story - explains how experiences and
conditioning in early life affect behaviour in later life. See also the poem by Philip
Larkin about how parental conditioning affects children and their behaviour into
adulthood. And for an uplifting antidote see the lovely Thich Nhat Hanh quote.
These are all excellent illustrations of the effect and implications of parental
conditioning in the context of Transactional Analysis.

At the core of Berne's theory is the rule that effective transactions (ie successful
communications) must be complementary. They must go back from the receiving
ego state to the sending ego state. For example, if the stimulus is Parent to Child,
the response must be Child to Parent, or the transaction is 'crossed', and there will
be a problem between sender and receiver.

If a crossed transaction occurs, there is an ineffective communication. Worse still

either or both parties will be upset. In order for the relationship to continue
smoothly the agent or the respondent must rescue the situation with a
complementary transaction.

In serious break-downs, there is no chance of immediately resuming a discussion

about the original subject matter. Attention is focused on the relationship. The
discussion can only continue constructively when and if the relationship is mended.

Here are some simple clues as to the ego state sending the signal. You will be able
to see these clearly in others, and in yourself:

Parent

Physical - angry or impatient body-language and expressions, finger-pointing,

patronising gestures,

Verbal - always, never, for once and for all, judgmental words, critical words,
patronising language, posturing language.

N.B. beware of cultural differences in body-language or emphases that appear

'Parental'.

Child
Physical - emotionally sad expressions, despair, temper tantrums, whining voice,
rolling eyes, shrugging shoulders, teasing, delight, laughter, speaking behind hand,
raising hand to speak, squirming and giggling.

Verbal - baby talk, I wish, I dunno, I want, I'm gonna, I don't care, oh no, not again,
things never go right for me, worst day of my life, bigger, biggest, best, many
superlatives, words to impress.

Adult

Physical - attentive, interested, straight-forward, tilted head, non-threatening and

non-threatened.

Verbal - why, what, how, who, where and when, how much, in what way,
comparative expressions, reasoned statements, true, false, probably, possibly, I
think, I realise, I see, I believe, in my opinion.

And remember, when you are trying to identify ego states: words are only part of
the story.

To analyse a transaction you need to see and feel what is being said as well.

Only 7% of meaning is in the words spoken.

38% of meaning is paralinguistic (the way that the words are said).

55% is in facial expression. (source: Albert Mehrabian - more info)

There is no general rule as to the effectiveness of any ego state in any given
situation (some people get results by being dictatorial (Parent to Child), or by
having temper tantrums, (Child to Parent), but for a balanced approach to life, Adult
to Adult is generally recommended.
Transactional Analysis is effectively a language within a language; a language of
true meaning, feeling and motive. It can help you in every situation, firstly through
being able to understand more clearly what is going on, and secondly, by virtue of
this knowledge, we give ourselves choices of what ego states to adopt, which
signals to send, and where to send them. This enables us to make the most of all
our communications and therefore create, develop and maintain better
relationships.

modern transactional analysis theory

Transactional Analysis is a theory which operates as each of the following:

a theory of personality

a model of communication

a study of repetitive patterns of behaviour

Transactional Analysis developed significantly beyond these Berne's early theories,

by Berne himself until his death in 1970, and since then by his followers and many
current writers and experts. Transactional Analysis has been explored and
enhanced in many different ways by these people, including: Ian Stewart and Vann
Joines (their book 'TA Today' is widely regarded as a definitive modern
interpretation); John Dusay, Aaron and Jacqui Schiff, Robert and Mary Goulding, Pat
Crossman, Taibi Kahler, Abe Wagner, Ken Mellor and Eric Sigmund, Richard Erskine
and Marityn Zalcman, Muriel James, Pam Levin, Anita Mountain and Julie Hay
(specialists in organizational applications), Susannah Temple, Claude Steiner,
Franklin Ernst, S Woollams and M Brown, Fanita English, P Clarkson, M M Holloway,
Stephen Karpman and others.

Significantly, the original three Parent Adult Child components were sub-divided to
form a new seven element model, principally during the 1980's by Wagner, Joines
and Mountain. This established Controlling and Nurturing aspects of the Parent
mode, each with positive and negative aspects, and the Adapted and Free aspects
of the Child mode, again each with positive an negative aspects, which essentially
gives us the model to which most TA practitioners refer today:

parent

Parent is now commonly represented as a circle with four quadrants:

Nurturing - Nurturing (positive) and Spoiling (negative).

Controlling - Structuring (positive) and Critical (negative).

adult

Adult remains as a single entity, representing an 'accounting' function or mode,

which can draw on the resources of both Parent and Child.

child

Child is now commonly represented as circle with four quadrants:

Adapted - Co-operative (positive) and Compliant/Resistant (negative).

Free - Spontaneous (positive) and Immature (negative).

Where previously Transactional Analysis suggested that effective communications

were complementary (response echoing the path of the stimulus), and better still
complementary adult to adult, the modern interpretation suggests that effective
communications and relationships are based on complementary transactions to and
from positive quadrants, and also, still, adult to adult. Stimulii and responses can
come from any (or some) of these seven ego states, to any or some of the
respondent's seven ego states.

modern transactional analysis - recent TA theory and development here

transactional analysis books

Recommended transactional analysis books:

TA Today - Ian Stewart & Vann Joines

I'm OK You're OK - Thomas and Amy Harris

Staying OK - Thomas and Amy Harris

Games People Play - Eric Berne

What Do You Say After You Say Hello - Eric Berne

Scripts People Live - Claude Steiner

The Total Handbook Of Transactional Analysis - Woollams & Brown

Transactional Analysis For Trainers - Julie Hay

The Transactional Manager - Abe Wagner

transactional analysis

Eric Berne's Transactional Analysis - TA theory development and explanation

Transactional Analysis is a theory developed by Dr. Eric Berne in the 1950s.

(Transactional Analysis early history here.) Originally trained in psychoanalysis,
Berne wanted a theory which could be understood and available to everyone and
began to develop what came to be called Transactional Analysis (TA). Transactional
Analysis is a social psychology and a method to improve communication. The theory
outlines how we have developed and treat ourselves, how we relate and
communicate with others, and offers suggestions and interventions which will
enable us to change and grow. Transactional Analysis is underpinned by the
philosophy that:

people can change

we all have a right to be in the world and be accepted

Initially criticised by some as a simplistic model, Transactional Analysis is now

gathering worldwide attention. It originally suffered much from the popularised
writings in the 1960s. Also, summarised explanations, such as this, which can only
touch on some of the concepts in Transactional Analysis, led their readers to believe
that there was very little to it. Many did not appreciate the duration and complexity
of the training.

Today there is greater understanding of Transactional Analysis. More and more

people are taking the four to five year part-time training courses to qualify, and
increasingly universities are accrediting these courses for masters degrees. Those
taking training include psychiatrists, organizational and management consultants,
teachers, social workers, designers, engineers and the clergy.

Today Transactional Analysis is used in psychotherapy, organisations, educational

and religious settings. Books have been written for all ages, from children through
to adults, by people all over the world. Transactional Analysis is truly an
international theory relating to a diverse range of cultures.

Theoretical concepts within the Transactional Analysis world are constantly being
challenged and developed making it a rich dynamic process. Berne died in July 1970
at the age of 60. However, Transactional Analysis has not stood still and continues
to develop and change, paralleling the processes we encourage in ourselves and
others.

The key concepts in Transactional Analysis are outlined below in the form of
introductory information.
transactional analysis - contracting

Transactional Analysis is a contractual approach. A contract is "an explicit bilateral

commitment to a well-defined course of action" Berne E. (1966). Which means that
all parties need to agree:

why they want to do something

with whom

what they are going to do

by when

any fees, payment or exchanges there will be

For example, we want the outside of our house painted, we need to find a person
who will paint it and who will give us a quote for doing it. If we agree the quote, and
we like him or her enough, we will no doubt employ them. We will agree a date and
time, perhaps check they are insured, and choose the colour of the paint and off
they go.

Sometimes contracts will be multi-handed with all parties to the contract having
their own expectations. If these expectations are all congruent then fine, if not then
discussing everyone's expectations will lead to greater understanding and therefore
to a clear contract.

Contracts need to be outlined in positive words i.e. what is wanted, rather than
what is not wanted. Our minds tend to focus on the negative and so this encourages
failure. For example, how many times do we look round when someone says to us
"Don't look now but......." , the same is true when we set up contracts which start "I
don't want to do .............. anymore".
We have contracts about employment, how much will we be paid and when, what
holidays we are due, what deductions there will be etc. In order to ensure
placements are effective then different, but similar, details are required. Naturally,
these details will vary dependent on the setting in which we work.

All parties need to state what are they are prepared to do. Are they able and willing
to undertake what is being asked, is this appropriate? Does it fit within any
statements of purpose and function? Is it legal? Do they have the competence to
deliver this? Do they want to? What does each party want of the others?

In summary contracts need to be: measurable, manageable and motivational.

Measurable means that the goals need to be tangible. That each party involved in
the contract will be able to say in advance how they will know when the goal has
been achieved. The goal will be specific and behavioural and clearly defined. The
contract will also need to be manageable and feasible for all those concerned.

transactional analysis - ego states

Transactional Analysis first order structural model

Berne devised the concept of ego states to help explain how we are made up, and
how we relate to others. These are drawn as three stacked circles and they are one
of the building blocks of Transactional Analysis. They categorise the ways we think,
feel and behave and are called Parent, Adult, and Child. Each ego state is given a
capital letter to denote the difference between actual parents, adults and children.
Parent ego state

This is a set of feelings, thinking and behaviour that we have copied from our
parents and significant others.

As we grow up we take in ideas, beliefs, feelings and behaviours from our parents
and caretakers. If we live in an extended family then there are more people to learn
and take in from. When we do this, it is called introjecting and it is just as if we take
in the whole of the care giver. For example, we may notice that we are saying
things just as our father, mother, grandmother may have done, even though,
consciously, we don't want to. We do this as we have lived with this person so long
that we automatically reproduce certain things that were said to us, or treat others
as we might have been treated.

Adult ego state

The Adult ego state is about direct responses to the here and now. We deal with
things that are going on today in ways that are not unhealthily influenced by our
past.
The Adult ego state is about being spontaneous and aware with the capacity for
intimacy. When in our Adult we are able to see people as they are, rather than what
we project onto them. We ask for information rather than stay scared and rather
than make assumptions. Taking the best from the past and using it appropriately in
the present is an integration of the positive aspects of both our Parent and Child
ego states. So this can be called the Integrating Adult. Integrating means that we
are constantly updating ourselves through our every day experiences and using this
to inform us.

In this structural model, the Integrating Adult ego state circle is placed in the middle
to show how it needs to orchestrate between the Parent and the Child ego states.
For example, the internal Parent ego state may beat up on the internal Child, saying
"You are no good, look at what you did wrong again, you are useless". The Child
may then respond with "I am no good, look how useless I am, I never get anything
right". Many people hardly hear this kind of internal dialogue as it goes on so much
they might just believe life is this way. An effective Integrating Adult ego state can
intervene between the Parent and Child ego states. This might be done by stating
that this kind of parenting is not helpful and asking if it is prepared to learn another
way. Alternatively, the Integrating Adult ego state can just stop any negative
dialogue and decide to develop another positive Parent ego state perhaps taken in
from other people they have met over the years.

Child ego state

The Child ego state is a set of behaviours, thoughts and feelings which are replayed
from our own childhood.

Perhaps the boss calls us into his or her office, we may immediately get a churning
in our stomach and wonder what we have done wrong. If this were explored we
might remember the time the head teacher called us in to tell us off. Of course, not
everything in the Child ego state is negative. We might go into someone's house
and smell a lovely smell and remember our grandmother's house when we were
little, and all the same warm feelings we had at six year's of age may come flooding
back.

Both the Parent and Child ego states are constantly being updated. For example, we
may meet someone who gives us the permission we needed as a child, and did not
get, to be fun and joyous. We may well use that person in our imagination when we
are stressed to counteract our old ways of thinking that we must work longer and
longer hours to keep up with everything. We might ask ourselves "I wonder what X
would say now". Then on hearing the new permissions to relax and take some time
out, do just that and then return to the work renewed and ready for the challenge.
Subsequently, rather than beating up on ourselves for what we did or did not do,
what tends to happen is we automatically start to give ourselves new permissions
and take care of ourselves.

Alternatively, we might have had a traumatic experience yesterday which goes into
the Child ego state as an archaic memory that hampers our growth. Positive
experiences will also go into the Child ego state as archaic memories. The positive
experiences can then be drawn on to remind us that positive things do happen.

The process of analysing personality in terms of ego states is called structural

analysis. It is important to remember that ego states do not have an existence of
their own, they are concepts to enable understanding. Therefore it is important to
say "I want some fun" rather than "My Child wants some fun". We may be in our
Child ego state when we say this, but saying "I" reminds us to take responsibility for
our actions.

contamination of the Adult ego state

The word contamination for many conjures up the idea of disease. For instance, we
tend to use the word for when bacteria has gone into milk. Well, this is similar to the
case with the contaminated Integrating Adult ego state. This occurs when we talk as
if something is a fact or a reality when really this is a belief. Racism is an example
of this. The Integrating Adult ego state is contaminated in this case by the Parent
ego state. If we are white we might have lived with parents or significant others who
said such things as "Black people take our jobs". Growing up it is likely, that having
no real experience to go by, we believed this. We might also have been told that
Black people are aggressive. In our Child ego state may well lodge some scared
feelings about Black people and in this ego state we may start to believe "All Black
people are scary". This would mean that there would be a double contamination of
the Integrating Adult ego state. However, we would think that such statements were
facts rather than beliefs and when this happens we say that this is Integrating Adult
ego syntonic. That is, they fit with the Integrating Adult ego state and only those
people outside of our situation and sometimes outside of our peer group or culture
can see that, objectively, such beliefs are just that and therefore they can be
changed.

Parent contamination

Child contamination

double contamination (Parent and Child)

transactional analysis - the descriptive model (1999)

This model shows how we function or behave with others. A revised and further
developed 2009 model is below.

The model used here is divided up into nine parts. We have used Susannah
Temple's (1999) term 'mode' as it differentiates it from the structural ego state
model mentioned above. We colour the different modes in red and green for those
who find colour helpful as a tool. Effective communication comes from the green
modes, (just as with traffic lights we get the go ahead when the green light comes
on), and ineffective communication come from the red modes (as with the red
traffic light).

When we come (communicate) from the red modes we invite a negative response.

When we come (communicate) from the green modes we invite a positive response.

© Diagram and model Susannah Temple 1999, adapted by Mountain Associates.

The diagram is repeated below to help understanding of the explanatory text
alongside:

ineffective modes

Negative Controlling Parent - communicates a "You're not OK" message, and is

punitive.

Negative Nurturing Parent - communicates a "You're not OK" message. When in this
mode the person will often do things for others which they are capable of doing for
themselves. When in this mode the person is engulfing and overprotective.

Negative Adapted Child - expresses an "I'm not OK" message. When in this mode
the person over-adapts to others and tends to experience such emotions as
depression, unrealistic fear and anxiety.

Negative Free Child - in this mode the person runs wild with no restrictions or
boundaries. In this mode they express a "You're not OK" message.

effective modes
Positive Nurturing Parent - communicates the message "You're OK". When in this
mode the person is caring and affirming.

Positive Controlling Parent - communicates the message "You're OK". This is the
boundary setting mode, offering constructive criticism, whilst being caring but firm.

Positive Adapted Child - communicates an "I'm OK" message. From this mode we
learn the rules to help us live with others.

Positive Free Child - communicates an "I'm OK" message. This is the creative, fun
loving, curious and energetic mode.

Accounting mode - communicates "We're OK" messages. The Adult is able to assess
reality in the here and now. When the Accounting mode is in the executive position
it is possible to choose which of the other effective modes to go into, dependent on
the situation. This is then called Accounting Mode. When using the descriptive
behavioural model the term Accounting Mode helps to differentiate it from the
structural model where it is referred to as Adult. When stable in this Accounting
Mode we are taking account of the present context and situation and deciding the
most appropriate mode to come from. We are then able to respond appropriately
rather than flipping into archaic or historic ways of being, thinking and behaving
which are likely to be inappropriate and unhelpful.

transactional analysis - descriptive model (revised 2009)

Here follows a further developed (by Mountain Associates) version of the above
Transactional Analysis descriptive model.
The 1999 version above is retained within this guide to TA because it is interesting
from a development perspective (showing how the 2009 model evolved) and it also
remains valid for explanation and interpretation of the concept.

The model shows how we function or behave with others. The model used here is
divided into nine parts and again we have used Susannah Temple's (1999) term
'mode' as it differentiates it from the structural ego state model mentioned
previously.

We have adapted the Susannah Temple 1999 model, diagram, and some terms, and
have coloured the different modes in red and green for those who find colour
helpful as a tool.

Effective communication comes from the green modes, (just as with traffic lights we
get the go ahead when the green light comes on), and ineffective communication
come from the red modes (as with the red traffic light).

When we come (communicate) from the red modes we invite a negative response,
and a positive response from the green modes.

© Diagram - Mountain Associates 2009 - adapted from Susannah Temple's 1999

model.

For ease of understanding the model, the same diagram is repeated alongside the
explanations below:

ineffective modes
The red zones all emanate from outdated experiences.

Criticizing Mode - communicates a "You're not OK" message. When in this mode you
will believe that others cannot do things as well as you can, or perhaps only some
certain chosen people can. If you lead from this position you are unlikely to develop
a loyal supportive team or culture.

Over-Indulging / Inconsistent Mode - communicates "You're not OK". When in this

mode we often 'rescue' others, that is, do things for them which they are capable of
doing for themselves. As a leader we might also be inconsistent in our style -
changing our behaviour in unpredictable and apparently random ways.

Compliant / Resistant Mode - expresses an "I'm not OK" or "I'm not OK and You're
Not OK" message. When in this mode we over-adapt to others and tend to
experience such emotions as depression or unrealistic fear and anxiety. Even when
'resisting' we are not actually free to think for ourselves as we are reacting to
someone and believing that we need to 'resist'. When in this mode we are unlikely
to make good team members and will be highly stressed if we have to manage
others.

Immature Mode - in this mode we run wild with no boundaries. Here we express a
"You're not OK" message. At work we tend to not to take responsibility for our
actions and are unlikely to progress as we need a great deal of management in
order to focus our energy and keep boundaries.

effective modes

Accounting Mode - communicates "We're OK" messages. This mode operates

appropriately in the here-and-now and has integrated the positive aspects of the
historic parenting and the archaic childhood experiences. As this mode is here-and-
now we choose which of the other effective aspects or modes of behaviour to draw
from, dependent on the situation. When stable in this mode we respond
appropriately rather than flipping into an archaic or historic mode.

Incorporated Aspects of the Accounting Mode - All of the different incorporated

aspects communicate "I'm OK and You're OK".

Nurturing - When in this aspect we are caring and affirming.

Structuring - This is the boundary setting aspect, offering constructive criticism. In

this aspect we are caring whilst firm.

Cooperative - From this aspect we learn the rules to help us live with others.

Playful - This is the creative, fun loving, curious and energetic aspect. We can
confront people playfully as a way of dealing with a difficult situation. This can
diffuse a potential problem and get the message across.

© Diagram - Mountain Associates 2009 - adapted from Susannah Temple's 1999

model.

As already stated, when working with others we can choose where we come
(communicate) from.

Effective communications come from the green Accounting mode.

If someone else invites us to go into a red mode we don't have to go there, we can
'cross the transaction' and come from green instead.

transactional analysis - diagnosis

It is helpful to be able to assess or diagnose which ego state in the structural model,
or which mode in the descriptive model, somebody is in. In this way we can respond
appropriately as well as ensure which mode we are addressing.

However, when we work with other staff or are relating with young people, we are
responding on the behavioural level. It is not always possible, or appropriate, to be
undertaking more in-depth types of diagnosis. I have outlined them here though so
that an understanding of the complexity of the process can be achieved.

behavioural diagnosis

Words, tone, tempo of speech, expressions, postures, gestures, breathing, and

muscle tone provide clues for diagnosing ego states.

Parent mode words typically contain value judgments, Adult words are clear and
definable, and Free Child mode words are direct and spontaneous. For example, a
person in Adapted Child mode may cry silently, whereas when in Free Child mode
we are likely to make a lots of noise. "You" or "one" usually come from Parent. This
can switch even mid-sentence. If we are leaning forward it is likely we are in the
posture of the Parent mode, whereas if we are in Adult mode we tend to be erect.

These are indicators not guarantees. Assessment needs to be supported by other

methods of diagnosis.

social diagnosis

Observation of the kinds of transactions a person is having with others. For

example, if eliciting a response from someone's caretaking Parent it is likely that
the stimulus is coming from Child, though not necessarily the Adapted Child mode.
Our own responses to someone will often be a way of assessing which ego state or
mode they are coming from.

historical diagnosis

The person's past also provides important information. If, as a child we had feelings
similar to those we are experiencing now, it is likely we are in Child ego state. If our
mother or father behaved or talked in the same way that we are behaving or talking
now then we are probably in a Parent ego state.
phenomenological diagnosis

This occurs when we re-experience the past instead of just remembering it. This
means that diagnosis is undertaken by self-examination. This is sometimes accurate
and sometimes very inaccurate as the Child ego state may be afraid to allow our
Adult to know what is going on.

transactional analysis - strokes

In Transactional Analysis we call compliments and general ways of giving

recognition strokes. This name came from research which indicated that babies
require touching in order to survive and grow. It apparently makes no difference
whether the touching induces pain or pleasure - it is still important. On the whole
we prefer to receive negative strokes than no strokes at all, at least that way we
know we exist and others know we exist.

We all have particular strokes we will accept and those we will reject. For example,
if we have always been told we are clever, and our brother is creative, then we are
likely to accept strokes for being clever, but not for being creative. From this frame
of reference only one person in the family can be the creative one and so on.

Stroking can be physical, verbal or nonverbal. It is likely that the great variety of
stroke needs and styles present in the world results from differences in wealth,
cultural mores, and methods of parenting.

the stroke economy

Claude Steiner suggests that, as children, we are all indoctrinated by our parents
with five restrictive rules about stroking.

don't give strokes when we have them to give

don't ask for strokes when we need them

don't accept strokes if we want them

don't reject strokes when we don't want them

don't give ourselves strokes

Together these five rules are the basis of what Steiner calls the stroke economy. By
training children to obey these rules, says Steiner, parents ensure that ".. a
situation in which strokes could be available in a limitless supply is transformed into
a situation in which the supply is low and the price parents can extract for them is
high."

We therefore need to change the restrictive rules to unrestrictive ones:

give strokes when we have them to give

ask for strokes when we want them

accept strokes if we want them

reject manipulative strokes

give ourselves positive strokes

Strokes can be positive or negative:

A) "I like you"

B) "I don't like you"

Strokes can be unconditional or conditional. An unconditional stroke is a stroke for

being whereas a conditional stroke is a stroke for doing. For instance:
"I like you" - unconditional

"I like you when you smile" - conditional

As negative strokes these might be:

"I don't like you" - negative unconditional

"I don't like you when you're sarcastic" - negative conditional

People often have a stroke filter. They only let in strokes which they think they are
allowed to let in. For instance they allow themselves to receive strokes for being
clever and keep out strokes for being good looking. One way to think about this to
consider being out in the rain. The rain is the strokes that are available to us, both
positive and negative. There is a hole in the umbrella and some of the strokes go
through and we save them in a bucket to enjoy in lean times. Conversely we might
use them negatively to reinforce the negative strokes we give to ourselves. Of
course, some just bounce off the umbrella and we might not accept the good
strokes that are coming our way. Some might come in but fall straight onto the
floor.

transactional analysis - life positions

Life positions are basic beliefs about self and others, which are used to justify
decisions and behaviour.

When we are conceived we are hopefully at peace, waiting to emerge into the world
once we have grown sufficiently to be able to survive in the outside of the womb. If
nothing untoward happens we will emerge contented and relaxed. In this case we
are likely to perceive the world from the perspective of I am OK and You are OK.

However, perhaps our mother had some traumatic experiences, or the birth was
difficult or even life threatening. This experience is likely to have an effect on the
way we experience the world, even at the somatic level. In which case we might
emerge sensing that life is scary and might, for example, go into "I am not OK and
You are not OK either".

Let's take it that the pregnancy went fine, and the birth was easy enough. What
then? Well life experiences might reinforce our initial somatic level life position, or
contradict it. If we were treated punitively, talked down to, and not held, we may
begin to believe "I am not OK and You are OK". This might be the only sense we can
make of our experiences.

Let's take another situation. Perhaps we were picked on and bullied as a child. We
learnt that the way to get by was to bully others and that way we felt stronger and
in control. Our behaviour then comes into the I am OK and You are not OK quadrant.
Of course this may cover up our belief that we are really not OK, but nobody sees
that. They just see our behaviour, and in fact we may have forgotten all about our
negative feelings about ourselves as we have tried so hard to deny the pain of
believing we are not OK.

These life positions are perceptions of the world. The reality is I just am and you just
are, therefore how I view myself and others are just that "views" not fact. However,
we tend to act as if they are a fact. Just like when somebody says "I can't do this,
I'm useless". Rather than "I don't know how to do this. Will you show me?" The
latter is staying with the fact that they do not yet know how to do it, whilst the
former links being useless with not being able to do something.

There are a number of ways of diagramming the life positions. Franklin Ernstdrew
the life positions in quadrants, which he called the OK Corral (1971). We have put
these into red and green to show the effective and ineffective quadrants for
communication and healthy relationships. By shading in the quadrants according to
the amount of time we think we spend in each we can get an idea of the amount of
time we spend in each. Ernst used the term 'Corralogram' for this method of self-
assessment using the OK Corral matrix.
the ok corral (franklin ernst, 1971)

Berne talked about the life positions as existential positions, one of which we are
more likely to go to under stress. This is significantly different to the concept Ernst
uses, i.e. that we move around them all during the day. Whilst there is some truth in
this we could agree with Berne that there will be one major position we go into
under stress, with perhaps another position underneath this one. These positions
can change as we develop and grow. The difference between Berne and Ernst is
important.

Chris Davidson (1999) writes about the three dimensional model of Okayness. All of
the previous diagrams talk as if there were only one other person in the equation,
when in reality there are often more. For example, the behaviour of young people in
gangs may say that they believe they are okay and perhaps other gangs in their
neighbourhood are okay, but an individual or gang from another neighbourhood are
not okay. We often do this at work as well. We find other people who we like and
then we gossip and put other people down. We are therefore saying that we believe
we are okay but those others are awful (underneath this there may be a belief that
we are not okay either but we feel better by putting someone else down). In this
way the two dimensional model of okayness i.e. that there are only two people
involved, becomes three dimensional model where there can be three or more
involved.

There is also the way in which we view life itself. If we consider that there is
something wrong with us, and that others are not to be trusted and are not OK
either, then the world would be a scary place and we are likely to experience life as
tough and believe we will only be all right if we keep alert and on the look out for
danger and difficulties.

blame model

The Transactional Analysis 'Okay Corral' can be linked to 'blame', for which Jim
Davis TSTA developed this simple and helpful model. Commonly when emotions are
triggered people adopt one of three attitudes relating to blame, which each
correlate to a position on the Okay Corral:

I'm to blame (You are okay and I'm not okay - 'helpless')

You are to blame (I'm okay and you are not okay - 'angry')

We are both to blame (I'm not okay and you are not okay - 'hopeless')

None of these is a healthy position.

Instead the healthy position is, and the mindset should be: "It's no-one's fault,
blame isn't the issue - what matters is how we go forward and sort things out." (I'm
okay and you are okay - 'happy')

(With acknowledgements to Jim Davis TSTA)

transactional analysis - the script

The script is a life plan, made when we are growing up. It is like having the script of
a play in front of us - we read the lines and decide what will happen in each act and
how the play will end. The script is developed from our early decisions based upon
our life experience. We may not realise that we have set ourselves a plan but we
can often find this out if we ask ourselves what our favorite childhood story was,
who was our favorite character in the story and who do we identify with. Then
consider the beginning, middle and end of the story. How is this story reflected in
our life today?

Another way of getting to what script is may be to think about what we believe will
happen when we are in old age. Do we believe we will be alive at 80 or 90 years old,
be healthy, happy, and contented? What do we think will be on the headstone for
our grave? What would we like to be on it?

transactional analysis - driver behaviour or working styles

These are ways in which we defend against the injunctions. These are very helpful
to us and when we understand them we can work to their strengths through choice,
rather than because subconsciously we believe we have to do things this way to be
okay. The names of five working styles have been developed, these are:

be perfect

be strong

try hard

please others

hurry up

The importance of recognising these in ourselves and others is that we can then
work to the best of them rather than be driven by them.
The working style Be Perfect means that we will be really good at doing accurate
detailed reports, we will be neat in our appearance and our homes will be clean and
tidy. If we have this style and are under stress it is likely that we would beat up on
ourselves for not being good enough, for making a mistake, for something being out
of place. Of course, we created the rule about what perfection is, and then we don't
meet up to it we have a go at ourselves. This may also mean that we expect others
to be perfect too which can be hard on the colleagues we work with.

If we have a Be Strong working style we will be great in a crisis. We can take control
of situations and people will often feel safe around us. The difficulty is we may come
across as aloof as we don't express feelings very often. For us there is a tendency to
say "it is" rather than "I am". The former phrase distances us from our feelings,
enabling us to safe. We may stand apart from playful activities fearing we may look
stupid. Instead of saying this however, it is likely that we condemn the activity as
stupid and put down the person who suggested it.

If we have the Try Hard style we are great pioneers. We love new projects and new
things to do. We probably have a great wealth of information as we like to gather
different ideas together. We are best working under pressure. When stressed we
may start too many things. We are more likely to start things but not finish them so
celebrating achievements may not happen very often. We get sidetracked by
starting to experiment with different ideas or ways to do things. We are likely to use
phrases such as: "I'll try and do what we agreed" or "What I am trying to tell you is".

If we have the Please Others style we will be a great team member. We like to
please people without even asking them how we can do this as we prefer to guess.
We can see both sides of an argument and attempt to calm things down. We will be
keen to do things for others, often to the point of Rescuing them. Decision making is
not our strong point and we may frustrate people by not expressing our own
opinion. We prefer other people to determine priorities, not us. We worry about
changing our behaviour in case others won't like us.

Those of us with the Hurry Up working style will get a great deal done in a short
amount of time. If reports are wanted in on time we are the person to do them.
However, we tend to overload our time table and take on too much. This may mean
that important aspects are overlooked. We are likely to be impatient with others
and often finish their sentences for them. We make only superficial changes as we
are so quick to get on with things and not take an in-depth perspective. We might
select priorities so quickly that a significant area is overlooked.

The way we structure our time is also influenced by our script.

transactional analysis - time structuring

The way in which we structure time is likely to reflect the different hungers. We all
structure time in a variety of ways:

Withdrawal

Rituals

Pastiming

Activities

Games

Intimacy

Obtaining balance means ensuring that we have sufficient time for play and
intimacy and if this does not occur then it would be beneficial to explore what we
might be avoiding.

transactional analysis - games

I am sure that every one of us must have been in the situation where we have said,
"Why does this always keep happening to me" or "I always keep meeting people
who hurt me and then go off and leave me". Sometimes it may be that we like to
help people and then it goes wrong as the person we were trying to help says that
we didn't do it well enough and that we got it wrong. We might think "Well, I was
only trying to help" and feel got at.

When similar situations keep happening over and over again then the term
Transactional Analysis uses for this is a game. A game is a familiar pattern of
behaviour with a predictable outcome. Games are played outside Adult awareness
and they are our best attempt to get our needs met - although of course we don't.

Games are learned patterns of behaviour, and most people play a small number of
favourite games with a range of different people and in varying intensities.

First Degree games are played in social circles generally lead to mild upsets not
major traumas.

Second Degree games occur when the stakes may be higher. This usually occurs in
more intimate circles, and ends up with an even greater negative payoff.

Third Degree games involve tissue damage and may end up in the jail, hospital or
morgue.

Chris Davidson (2002) has argued that world politics can involve fourth degree
games - where the outcomes involve whole communities, countries or even the
world.

Games vary in the length of time that passes while they are being played. Some can
take seconds or minutes while others take weeks months or even years. People play
games for these reasons:

to structure time

to acquire strokes

to maintain the substitute feeling and the system of thinking, beliefs and actions
that go with it
to confirm parental injunctions and further the life script

to maintain the person's life position by "proving" that self/others are not OK

to provide a high level of stroke exchange while blocking intimacy and maintaining
distance

to make people predictable.

ways to deal with games

There are various ways to stop a game, including the use of different options than
the one automatically used. We can:

cross the transaction by responding from a different ego state than the one the
stimulus is designed to hook.

pick up the ulterior rather than the social message e.g. when a person says "I can't
do this, I'm useless". Rather than saying, "Let me do this for you," instead say,"It
sounds like you have a problem. What do you want me to do about it?" (said from
the Adult ego state)

the opening message to the game always entails a discount. There are further
discounts at each stage of the game. By detecting discounts we can identify game
invitations and defuse them with options. (A discount is when we minimise,
maximise or ignore some aspect of a problem which would assist us in resolving it.
Such as saying in a whiny voice "This is too difficult for me to do", so we
automatically help them).

replace the game strokes. Loss of strokes to the Child ego state means a threat to
survival. We get a great many strokes from games, even if they are negative.
However, if we don't obtain sufficient positive strokes, or give ourselves positive
strokes, we will go for quantity rather than quality of strokes and play games to get
them. This loss of strokes is also a loss of excitement that the game has generated.

Another way to think about this is to consider the game role we or the other person
is likely to take. One way to discover this is to ask the following questions:

1. What keeps happening over and over again

2. How does it start?

3. What happens next?

4. And then what happens?

5. How does it end?

6. How do feel after it ends? (John James, 1973)

We can then consider the reason we might have taken up a particular role, where
we might switch to, and then consider how to do things differently. We need to
consider what our own responsibility is in this - if the situation is too violent for us to
get involved what options to we have? We could call for help, get others to come
with us to intervene and so on. We need to choose the appropriate assistance and
take the action required.

transactional analysis further information and training

Transactional Analysis is a fascinating, useful and effective model for managing,

developing and helping people in business and in life generally. Transactional
Analysis is also a wonderful model for increasing self-awareness and advancing self-
development.

For more information about Transactional Analysis training, and its use for personal
and organizational development or therapeutic applications, I can confidently
recommend Mountain Associates of Desford, Leicestershire, England, telephone
+44 (0)1455 824475 or email: TA at mountainassociates dot co dot uk. See the
Mountain Associates website.

With grateful thanks to Chris Davidson and Anita Mountain of Mountain Associates.

Refer also to the Johari Window model for personal and inter-group communications
and development.

motivational theory

employee motivation theory - team building activities, workshops, inspirational

quotes, and the power of positive experience

Alignment of aims, purpose and values between staff, teams and organization is the
most fundamental aspect of motivation. The better the alignment and personal
association with organizational aims, the better the platform for motivation.

Where people find it difficult to align and associate with the organizational aims,
then most motivational ideas and activities will have a reduced level of success.

Motivation is a complex area. It's different for each person. See the personality
materials for useful explanation about different motivational needs.

Erik Erikson's life stage theory is useful for understanding people's different
motivational needs according to lafe stage. And the experiential learning section
explains the difference between 'demotivational training', and 'motivational
learning', and a guide to facilitating experiential learning activities.

Motivational receptiveness and potential in everyone changes from day to day, from
situation to situation. Get the alignment and values right, and motivational methods
work better. Motivational methods of any sort will not work if people and
organisation are not aligned. People are motivated towards something they can
relate to and something they can believe in. Times have changed. People want
more. You should view the following motivational methods and ideas as structures,
activities and building blocks, to be used when you have a solid foundation in place.
The foundation is a cohesive alignment of people's needs and values with the aims
and purpose of the organization. More about people-organization alignment and
motivation.

motivational methods and theory - assuming people and organization are aligned

Motivational and inspirational quotes, poems, posters, motivational speakers and

stories, team building games and activities, all develop employee motivation for
sales and business staff in all kinds of organizations. Motivational and inspirational
experiences improve employees' attitudes, confidence and performance.

Good leadership demands good people-motivation skills and the use of inspirational
techniques. Motivational methods are wide-ranging, from inspirational quotes and
poems, to team building games and activities, as ice-breakers, warm-ups and
exercises for conferences, workshops, meetings and events, which in themselves
can often be helpful for staff motivation too. See the motivation principles and
template for staff motivation questionnaires and surveys. Motivation is an essential
part of life coaching processes and techniques too. Motivated people perform better
- see McGregor's XY Theory for example. People playing games or competing in
teams learn about each other, they communicate better and see each other in a
new light. Mutual respect grows. See the Johari Window theory for example. People
often enjoy events which include new non-work activities, especially when bosses
and superiors take part in the same teams as their junior staff, which also helps
cohesiveness and 'can-do' culture. Inspirational quotes, stories and poems all help
motivation too. Powerful positive imagery stimulates visualisation in the conscious
and sub-conscious brain, which encourages self-motivation, developmental
behaviour, confidence and belief. Playing games enables people to experience
winning and achieving in a way that their normal work might not. People become
motivated to achieve and do better when they have experienced the feelings of
success and achievement, regardless of context. This is why fire-walking and
outward-bound activities have such powerful motivational effect. All of these ideas,
and more explained below, contribute to improving motivation, inspiration and
performance.
Here is the theory of how team building games, activities like juggling develop
motivation, positive images in quotes and stories, inspirational posters, quotations,
motivational speakers, team workshops and brainstorming, etc., all help to
strengthen relationships, build understanding, increase motivation and improve
performance:

how games and other inspirational references and activities help motivation and
motivational training

Work and business-based training commonly concentrates on process, rules, theory,

structure and logic, all of which tend to develop and use the left-side of the brain.
However, modern successful organizations rely just as heavily on their people
having well-developed 'soft' skills and attributes, such as self-motivation,
confidence, initiative, empathy and creativity, which all tend to use the right-side of
the brain. For more information about brain type and bias see the Benziger theory
section, for example. Using games and activities like juggling helps to unleash right-
side brain skills, because these activities necessarily draw on a person's intuitive,
spatial and 'feeling' capabilities - found in the the right-side of the brain.

See the section on Experiential Learning and the guide to facilitating experiential
learning activities - it contains many of the principles explained here.
Thanks to Jim Barker

Also, using activities and references that take people out of their normal work
environment creates new opportunities for them to experience winning,
achievement, team-working, learning and personal development, in ways that are
often not possible in their usual work context. Experiencing these positive feelings
is vital for the conscious and sub-conscious visualisation of success and
achievement, essential for broadening people's horizons, raising their sights, setting
new personal standards and goals, and increasing motivation. The use of role
playing games and role play exercises is an especially effective motivational and
visualisation technique, despite people's normal aversion to the practice (see the
role playing games and activities tips to see how to manage role-playing activities
successfully).
Inspirational references, stories, quotes and examples also help the life coaching
process.

ice-breakers and warm-ups for motivation

When a group or team of people assemble for a conference, or training course,

there is always a feeling of uncertainty and discomfort. Even if people know each
other, they feel uncomfortable in the new strange situation, because it is different.
Mankind has evolved partly because of this awareness to potential threats and fear
of the unknown. Games and team building activities relax people, so that they can
fully concentrate on the main purpose of the day, whatever it is, rather than
spending the morning still wondering what everyone else is thinking. See the stress
theory section for examples. Activities and games are great levellers - they break
down the barriers, and therefore help develop rapport and relationships.

building confidence for motivation

Learning something new and completely different liberates the mind. Facing a
challenge, meeting it and mastering it helps build confidence.

motivational team building

When you break down barriers, misunderstandings, prejudices, insecurities,

divisions, territories and hierarchies - you begin to build teams. Get a group of
people in a room having fun with juggling balls or spinning plates and barriers are
immediately removed. Teams unite and work together when they identify a
common purpose - whether the aim is the tallest tower made out of newspapers, or
a game of rounders on the park. Competition in teams or groups creates teams and
ignites team effort.

motivational coaching and training motivation

Learning to juggle or some other new activity demonstrates how we learn, and how
to coach others. Breaking new tasks down into stages, providing clear instructions,
demonstration, practice, time and space to make mistakes, doing it one stage at a
time..... all the essential training and coaching techniques can be shown, whether
juggling is the vehicle or some other team-building idea, and the learning is clearer
and more memorable because it is taken out of the work context, where previously
people 'can't see the wood for the trees'. Games and activities provide a perfect
vehicle for explaining the training and development process ('train the trainer' for
example) to managers, team leaders and trainers.

personal motivation styles and learning motivation

Everyone is different. Taking part in new games and activities outside of the work
situation illustrates people's different strengths and working style preferences.
Mutual respect develops when people see skills and attributes in others that they
didn't know existed. Also, people work and learn in different ways, see the Kolb
learning style model and Benziger thinking styles model for examples.

continual development and motivation

Learning and taking part in a completely new activity or game like juggling
demonstrates that learning is ongoing. The lessons never finish, unless people
decide to stop learning. Juggling the basic 'three ball cascade' pattern doesn't end
there - it's just a start - as with all learning and development. Master juggler Enrico
Rastelli practiced all the daylight hours juggling ten balls. Introducing people, staff
or employees to new experiences opens their minds to new avenues of personal
development, and emphasises the opportunity for continuous learning that is
available to us all.

improving empathy and communications for motivation

"Seek first to understand, and then to be understood." (Steven Covey). See the
Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People summary and review.

To communicate we must understand the other person. Empathy and intuitive skills
are right-side brain. Conventional classroom training or distance learning do nothing
to address this vital area. Juggling and playing spontaneous or creative games
definitely promote development and awareness in the right-side of the brain, which
we use when we communicate and understand others. Team activities and games
promote communications and better mutual understanding - essential for good
organizational performance (see the Johari Window model and theory).

motivation and creativity

Creativity and initiative are crucial capabilities for modern organizational
effectiveness. Juggling and other games activities dispel the notion that actions
must be according to convention, and that response can only be to stimulus.
Successful organizations have staff that initiate, create, innovate, and find new
ways to do things better, without being told. Using mind and body together in a
completely new way encourages pro-active thought and lateral thinking, which
opens people's minds, and develops creative and initiative capabilities. See the
brainstorming process, which integrates well with team building activities and
workshops. See also the workshops process and ideas.

motivation for problem-solving and decision-making

Problem-solving is integral to decision-making - see the problem-solving and

decision-making section. Learning to juggle or taking part in new challenging
stimulating activities uses the intuitive brain to solve the problem, the same part
that's vital for creatively solving work problems. People who can solve problems
creatively can make decisions - and organizations need their staff and employees to
have these abilities.

physical activity is motivational

Team building activities like juggling, construction exercises, or outdoor games, get
the body moving, which is good for general health and for an energetic approach to
work. A minute of juggling three balls is 200 throws, the equivalent of pumping over
20 kilos. Physical activity also provides significant stress relief, and stress
management is part of every organisation's duty of care towards its employees.
People concentrate and work better when they have had some light exercise and
physical stimulus. Physical activity energises people and reduces stress and
tension. See details on the stress section.

team building workshops are empowering and motivational

See the section on workshops. Workshops are good vehicles for team building
games and activities, and also great for achieving team consensus, collective
problem-solving, developing new direction and strategy, and to support the
delegation and team development process (see the Tannenbaum and Schmidt
Continuum for example).

team building games and activities are motivational

Learning new things - even simple skills like plate-spinning - help to build
confidence, promote team-working and unleash creativity. Taking part in workshops
and brainstorming sessions are empowering activities. Combine all three and it's
even more effective for team building, development and motivation. See
particularly the 'Hellespont Swim' case study and exercise.

If you think about it, all manner of left-side-brain conventional training and business
skills can be integrated within an innovative, participative right-side-brain activity-
based approach, to increase interest, participation, involvement, retention and
motivation.

saying thanks is hugely motivational

Saying thanks and giving praise are the most commonly overlooked and under-
estimated ways of motivating people. And it's so easy. Saying thanks is best said
naturally and from the heart, so if your intentions are right you will not go far
wrong. When you look someone in the eye and thank them sincerely it means a lot.
In front of other people even more so. The key words are the ones which say thanks
and well done for doing a great job, especially where the words recognise each
person's own special ability, quality, contribution, effort, whatever. People always
appreciate sincere thanks, and they appreciate being valued as an individual even
more. When you next have the chance to thank your team or an individual team-
member, take the time to find out a special thing that each person has done and
make a point of mentioning these things. Doing this, the praise tends to carry even
greater meaning and motivational effect.

motivational quotes - using inspirational quotations and sayings is motivational

Inspirational quotations, and amusing maxims and sayings are motivational when
used in team building sessions, conferences, speeches and training courses.
Inspirational quotes contribute to motivation because they provide examples and
role models, and prompt visualization. Inspirational quotes stimulate images and
feelings in the brain - both consciously and unconsciously. Powerful positive
imagery found in motivational quotations and poems is genuinely motivational for
people, individually and in teams, and can help to build confidence and belief.
Inspirational examples motivate people in the same way that the simple 'power of
positive thinking', and 'accentuate the positive' techniques do - people imagine and
visualise themselves behaving in the way described in the quotation, saying, story
or poem. Visualization is a powerful motivational tool - quotes, stories and poems
provide a very effective method for inspiring and motivating people through
visualization, imagination and association. See the stories section, and 'If', Rudyard
Kipling's famous inspirational poem.

Here are a few motivational quotes, relating to different situations and roles, for
example; achievement, management, leadership, etc. When using quote for
motivation it's important to choose material that's relevant and appropriate.
Motivational posters showing inspirational quotes or poems can be effective for staff
and employee motivation, and in establishing organizational values. There are more
quotations about inspiration and achievement on the quotes section. These quotes
all make effective motivational posters (see the free posters page), and are
excellent materials for motivational speakers:

motivational quotes

"We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them."
(Albert Einstein)

"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit."
(President Harry S Truman)

"In the midst of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible
summer." (Albert Camus, 1913 - 1960, French author & philosopher)

"If you're not part of the solution you must be part of the problem." (the commonly
paraphrased version of the original quote: "What we're saying today is that you're
either part of the solution, or you're part of the problem" by Eldridge Cleaver 1935-
98, founder member and information minister of the Black Panthers, American
political activist group, in a speech in 1968 - thanks RVP)

"A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline." (Harvey
Mackay - thanks Brad Hanson)
"I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one
has reached in life as by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed." (Booker T
Washington, 1856-1915, American Educator and African-American spokesman,
thanks for quote M Kincaid, and for biography correction M Yates and A Chatterjee)

"Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a
second. Give your dreams all you've got and you'll be amazed at the energy that
comes out of you." (William James, American Philosopher, 1842-1910 - thanks Jean
Stevens)

"Whatever you can do - or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and
magic in it." (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer, 1749-1832 - thanks
Yvonne Bent)

"A dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant may see farther than the giant
himself." (Didacus Stella, circa AD60 - and, as a matter of interest, abridged on the
edge of an English £2 coin)

"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." (Sir Isaac
Newton, 1676.)

"The most important thing in life is not to capitalise on your successes - any fool can
do that. The really important thing is to profit from your mistakes." (William Bolitho,
from 'Twelve against the Gods')

"Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be,

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance,

I have not winced nor cried aloud:

Under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody but unbowed . . . . .

It matters not how strait the gait, how charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul."

(WE Henley, 1849-1903, from 'Invictus')

"Management means helping people to get the best out of themselves, not
organising things." (Lauren Appley)

"It's not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man
stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit
belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred with the
sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again
and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends
himself in a worthy cause and who, at best knows the triumph of high achievement
and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall
never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
(Theodore Roosevelt, 23 April 1923.)

"The world is divided into people who do things, and people who get the credit. Try,
if you can, to belong to the first class. There's far less competition." (Dwight
Morrow, 1935.)

"What does not kill us makes us stronger." (attributed to Friedrich Nietzsche,

probably based on his words: "Out of life's school of war: What does not destroy me,
makes me stronger." from The Twilight of the Idols, 1899)

"A life spent in making mistakes is not only more honourable but more useful than a
life spent doing nothing." (George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950.)

"I praise loudly. I blame softly." (Catherine the Great, 1729-1796.)

More are on the inspirational quotes page, and a more varied selection including
funny sayings are on the sayings and maxims page.

motivational ideas for sales managers for sales teams

(These principles are applicable to all job roles subject to the notes at the end of
this item.)

Motivation of sales people commonly focuses on sales results, but nobody can
actually 'do' a result. What matters in achieving results is people's attitude and
activity and the areas of opportunity on which the attitude and activity is directed.

What sales people can do is to adopt a positive and creative attitude, and carry out
more productive and efficient activity, directed on higher-yield strategic
opportunities. By doing these things sales people and sales teams will improve their
results.

However the tendency remains for sales managers, sales supervisors and team
leaders (typically under pressure from above from executives who should know
better) to simply direct people to 'meet the target', or to 'increase sales', or worse
still, to pressurise customers into accelerating decision-making, which might work in
the short-term but is extremely unhelpful in the medium-term (when business
brought forward leaves gaps in the next months' forecasts), and damages the long-
term (when as a result of supplier-driven sales pressure, the customer relationship
is undermined or ruined).

Instead think about what really motivates and excites people, and focus on offering
these opportunities to sales people and sales teams, on an ongoing basis. Don't
wait until you find yourself 25% behind target with only half of the year remaining,
and with targets set to increase as well in the final quarter.
People will not generally and sustainably improve their performance, or attitude
when they are shouted at or given a kick up the backside. People will on the other
hand generally improve their performance if empowered to develop their own
strategic capability and responsibility within the organisation. Herzberg, Adams,
Handy, Maslow, McGregor, and every other management and motivation expert
confirmed all this long ago.

Sales teams generally comprise people who seek greater responsibility. They also
seek recognition, achievement, self-development and advancement.

So if we know these things does it not make good sense to offer these opportunities
to them, because we know that doing so will have a motivational effect on them,
and also encourage them to work on opportunities that are likely to produce
increasing returns on their efforts? Of course. So do it.

If you are managing a sales team try (gently and progressively) exploring with the
team how they'd like to develop their experience, responsibilities, roles, status,
value, contribution, within the business. Include yourself in this. Usually far more
ideas and activity come from focusing on how the people would like to develop their
roles and value (in terms of the scale and sophistication of the business that they
are responsible for), rather than confining sales people to a role that is imposed on
them and which is unlikely to offer sustainable interest and stimulation.

All businesses have many opportunities for new strategic growth available. Yours
will be no different.

Most employees are capable of working at a far higher strategic level, developing
ever greater returns on their own efforts.

Performance improvement is generally found through enabling people and teams to

discover and refine more productive and strategic opportunities, which will lead to
more productive and motivating activities.
For example: reactive sales people are generally able to be proactive account
mangers; account managers are generally able to be major accounts developers;
major accounts developers are generally able to be national accounts managers;
national accounts mangers are generally able to be strategic partner and channel
developers; strategic partner and channel managers are generally able to be new
business sector/service developers, and so on...

Again include yourself in this.

If necessary (depending on your organisational culture and policies seek approval

from your own management/executives for you to embark on this sort of
exploration of strategic growth. (If you are unable to gain approval there are many
other organisations out there who need people to manage sales teams in this
way....)

Obviously part of the approach (and your agreement with your people - the
'psychological contract') necessarily includes maintaining and meeting existing
basic business performance target levels. This is especially so since strategic
growth takes time, and your business still needs the normal day-to-day business
handled properly. But people can generally do this, ie., maintain and grow day-to-
day performance while additionally developing new higher-level strategic areas,
because genuinely motivated people are capable of dramatic achievements. The
motivation and capacity to do will come quite naturally from the new responsibility
and empowerment to operate at a higher level.

N.B. The principles described above generally apply to most other job roles. People
are motivated by growth and extra responsibility, while at the same time the
organisation benefits from having its people focus on higher strategic aims and
activities. Be aware however that people in different roles will be motivated by
different things, and particularly will require different types of support and
guidelines when being encouraged to work at a higher strategic level. For example,
engineers require more detail and clarification of expectations and process than
sales people typically do; administrators are likely to require more reassurance and
support in approaching change than sales people typically do.
For sure you should encourage and enable people to develop their roles, but make
sure you give appropriate explanation, management and support for the types of
people concerned.

process of personal change

John Fisher's transition curve - the stages of personal transition - and introduction to
personal construct psychology

Originally presented at the Tenth International Personal Construct Congress, Berlin,

1999, and subsequently developed in his work on constructivist theory in relation to
service provision organisations at Leicester University, England, John Fisher's model
of personal change - The Transition Curve - is an excellent analysis of how
individuals deal with personal change. This model is an extremely useful reference
for individuals dealing with personal change and for managers and organizations
helping staff to deal with personal change. This item is written by John Fisher and
published with his permission. See also John Fisher's Process of Transition diagrams
on the free online training resources section, or go direct to J Fisher's original
Process of Transition diagram or his updated 2003 diagram, (both are pdf's, for
which you'll need Acrobat Reader).

Below also see the introduction to Personal Construct Psychology (written by John
Fisher and Dr David Savage, and reprinted here with permission, which is gratefully
acknowledged).

john fisher's personal transition curve

anxiety

The awareness that events lie outside one's range of understanding or control. I
believe the problem here is that individuals are unable to adequately picture the
future. They do not have enough information to allow them to anticipate behaving
in a different way within the new organization. They are unsure how to adequately
construe acting in the new work and social situations.

happiness
The awareness that one's viewpoint is recognised and shared by others. The impact
of this is two-fold. At the basic level there is a feeling of relief that something is
going to change, and not continue as before. Whether the past is perceived
positively or negatively, there is still a feeling of anticipation, and possibly
excitement, at the prospect of improvement. On another level, there is the
satisfaction of knowing that some of your thoughts about the old system were
correct (generally no matter how well we like the status quo, there is something
that is unsatisfactory about it) and that something is going to be done about it. In
this phase we generally expect the best and anticipate a bright future, placing our
own construct system onto the change and seeing ourselves succeeding. One of the
dangers in this phase is that of the inappropriate psychological contract. We may
perceive more to the change, or believe we will get more from the change than is
actually the case. The organization needs to manage this phase and ensure
unrealistic expectations are managed and redefined in the organizations terms,
without alienating the individual.

fear

The awareness of an imminent incidental change in one's core behavioural system.

People will need to act in a different manner and this will have an impact on both
their self-perception and on how others externally see them. However, in the main,
they see little change in their normal interactions and believe they will be operating
in much the same way, merely choosing a more appropriate, but new, action.

threat

The awareness of an imminent comprehensive change in one's core behavioural

structures. Here clients perceive a major lifestyle change, one that will radically
alter their future choices and other people's perception of them. They are unsure as
to how they will be able to act/react in what is, potentially, a totally new and alien
environment - one where the "old rules" no longer apply and there are no "new"
ones established as yet.

guilt

Awareness of dislodgement of self from one's core self perception. Once the
individual begins exploring their self-perception, how they acted/reacted in the past
and looking at alternative interpretations they begin to re-define their sense of self.
This, generally, involves identifying what are their core beliefs and how closely they
have been to meeting them. Recognition of the inappropriateness of their previous
actions and the implications for them as people can cause guilt as they realise the
impact of their behaviour.

depression

This phase is characterised by a general lack of motivation and confusion.

Individuals are uncertain as to what the future holds and how they can fit into the
future "world". Their representations are inappropriate and the resultant
undermining of their core sense of self leaves them adrift with no sense of identity
and no clear vision of how to operate.

disillusionment

The awareness that your values, beliefs and goals are incompatible with those of
the organization. The pitfalls associated with this phase are that the employee
becomes unmotivated, unfocused and increasingly dissatisfied and gradually
withdraws their labour, either mentally (by just "going through the motions", doing
the bare minimum, actively undermining the change by criticising/complaining) or
physically by resigning.

hostility

Continued effort to validate social predictions that have already proved to be a

failure. The problem here is that individual's continue to operate processes that
have repeatedly failed to achieve a successful outcome and are no longer part of
the new process or are surplus to the new way of working. The new processes are
ignored at best and actively undermined at worst.

denial

This stage is defined by a lack of acceptance of any change and denies that there
will be any impact on the individual. People keep acting as if the change has not
happened, using old practices and processes and ignoring evidence or information
contrary to their belief systems.

It can be seen from the transition curve that it is important for an individual to
understand the impact that the change will have on their own personal construct
systems; and for them to be able to work through the implications for their self
perception. Any change, no matter how small, has the potential to impact on an
individual and may generate conflict between existing values and beliefs and
anticipated altered ones.

One danger for the individual, team and organization occurs when an individual
persists in operating a set of practices that have been consistently shown to fail (or
result in an undesirable consequence) in the past and that do not help extend and
elaborate their world-view. Another danger area is that of denial where people
maintain operating as they always have denying that there is any change at all.
Both of these can have detrimental impact on an organization trying to change the
culture and focus of its people.

John M Fisher 2000 updated 2003 (disillusionment stage added).

References: The Person In Society: Challenges To A Constructivist Theory, Geissen,

Psychosozial-Verlag, and George Kelly's Personal Construct Psychology Theories.

See John Fisher's Process of Transition diagrams on the free online training
resources section, or go direct to J Fisher's original Process of Transition diagram or
his updated 2003 diagram, (both are pdf's, for which you'll need Acrobat Reader).
More diagrams relating to personal change, development and management are
available on the free resources section.

See also Gloria May's Adaptation of John Fisher's Transition Curve for Smoking Habit
Discussion (diagram PDF).

In detailing John Fisher's Transition Curve here it is appropriate to acknowledge the

quite separate and independent work of Ralph Lewis and Chris Parker, who
described a change concept also called 'Transition Curve' in their paper 'Beyond The
Peter Principle - Managing Successful Transitions', published in the Journal of
European Industrial Training, 1981. The Lewis-Parker 'Transition Curve' model
approaches personal change from a different perspective to the Fisher model, and
is represented in a seven stage graph, based on original work by Adams, Hayes and
Hopkins in their 1976 book Transition, Understanding and Managing Personal
Change. The Lewis-Parker 'Transition Curve' seven stages are summarised as
follows:

Immobilisation - Shock. Overwhelmed mismatch: expectations v reality.

Denial of Change - Temporary retreat. False competence.

Incompetence - Awareness and frustration.

Acceptance of Reality - 'Letting go'.

Testing - New ways to deal with new reality.

Search for Meaning - Internalisation and seeking to understand.

Integration - Incorporation of meanings within behaviours.

The Lewis-Parker 'Transition Curve' contains interesting parallels at certain stages

with the 'Conscious Competence' learning model, which is another helpful
perspective for understanding change and personal development.

john fisher's personal change model - questions and answers

Here are some helpful questions and answers which John Fisher provided regarding
his personal change 'Transition Curve' model which is described above and featured
on the diagrams linked from this page:

1) How do we recognize what phases we are in?

Part of the problem is that we do not recognise which element of the curve we may
be in. The goal of the 'manager'/change agent is to help make the transition as
effective and painless as possible. By providing education, information, support, etc.
we can help people transition through the curve and emerge on the other side. One
of the dangers is that once we are caught up in the emotion of the change we may
miss the signs of threat, anxiety, etc. and 'react'/cope by complaining or attempting
to make things as they were (and also increase our stress levels as a result).

2) Does everyone go through all the 9 phases, or will there be people who will say,
begin their personal transition from the depression stage instead of the anxiety
stage?

I would argue that we transit through all stages (although the old caveat of some of
these stages may be extremely quickly traversed and not consciously recognisable
applies). In the main the theory proposed a linear transition and each stage builds
on the last so we can see our perception escalating in 'severity'/importance as we
go into the trough of depression via a small impact on our sense of self (anxiety)
through a greater realisation of impact/meaning (fear, threat) and then an
understanding that (potentially) our core sense of self has been impacted and our
'self belief system' undermined to an extent (guilt, depression). Now if someone is
going through multiple transitions at the same time these could have a cumulative
impact and people could go through the initial stages almost simultaneously - it
then becomes a case of more 'evidence'/information supporting previous negative
self image and compounding the impression.

3) Is it possible that some people might skip some phases, as in, after the anxiety
phase, they go on to the fear phase, instead of the happiness phase?

The happiness phase is one of the more interesting phases and may be (almost)
passed through without knowing. In this phase it is the "Thank Goodness, something
is happening at last!" feeling coupled with the knowledge that we may be able to
have an impact, or take control, of our destiny and that if we are
lucky/involved/contribute things can only get better. If we can start interventions at
this stage we can minimise the impact of the rest of the curve and virtually flatten
the curve. By involving, informing, getting 'buy in' at this time we can help people
move through the process.

4) Do the phases take place in the particular order that you have published?
I have not undertaken any structured experimental research per se, however
anecdotal and 'participant observation' would imply that this is a fairly robust
model. It is also partially based on Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's bereavement concept
(five stages of grief model) which has widespread acceptance. However...

5) How does the transition take place? For instance, suppose I know that I am in the
anxiety phase. So when does it transit into the next one, that is, the happiness
phase?

As with question 1, it is more a case of helping people through the process as

effectively as possible. Also each person will experience transition through the
curve at slightly different speeds (and we may be at different places on different
curves - depending on just what is happening to us at the time). As above, much of
the speed of transition will depend on the individual's self perception, locus of
control, and other past experiences, and how these all combine to create their
anticipation of future events. Much of the transition is done subconsciously. It may
not be initially noticeable and only becomes clear if we look back and reflect on our
situation. If we do adopt an introspective approach and recognise where we are in
the process, our reaction will depend on our personal style of interacting with our
environment and how 'proactive' we feel we can be at seeking out support, or
leaving the organisation, as appropriate. Obviously should we feel disempowered
this may well cause us to descend further down the slide into a deeper depression;
reinforced by our perceived helplessness and all the implications associated with
that.

John Fisher 2006

personal construct psychology - an introduction

Personal Construct Psychology (PCP), (or Personal Construct Theory - PCT) is a

concept pioneered by George Kelly. Personal Construct Psychology theory proposes
that we must understand how the other person sees their world and what meaning
they attribute to things in order to effectively communicate and connect with them.
Personal Construct Psychology theory is extremely relevant to developing personal
emotional maturity and self-awareness in self and others, and for understanding
behaviour in others, and as such the concepts of Personal Construct Psychology
augment and support many of the behavioural models and methodologies
explained on this website.

Personal Construct Psychology theory provides a very useful and accessible

additional perspective to the world and how we relate to it.

This article was written by John Fisher and Dr David Savage. It first appeared in
Fisher and Savage (eds), 1999, Beyond Experimentation Into Meaning, EPCA
Publications, Farnborough. Permission to reprint this article here is gratefully
acknowledged.

Personal Construct Psychology (PCP) is a psychology that places the individual at its
central focal point. It is based on understanding the individual from within their own
world view - that is by understanding how they see the world not how we interpret
their picture of the world. We all interact with the world from a unique perspective -
our own, this interaction is built up of all our past and potential future experiences
and dictates how we approach situations.

Psychological theory, generally, purports that we observe other people's behaviours

and actions and place our own interpretations on them, attributing meaning based
on our own past (childhood) experiences. Personal Construct Psychology is a more
liberating theory, allowing the individual to develop and grow throughout their life
constantly observing, assimilating, developing actions/reactions, experimenting and
testing beliefs. Kelly (1955/1991) used the phrase 'man the scientist' (sic) to explain
how we interact with our world.

Due to the constantly changing nature of our nature we are not 'the victim of our
biography' and have the choice (although sometimes it may not appear as such) to
adopt a new way of interacting.

How we interact with others is the result of our past experiences and an assessment
of the current situation which is then mapped onto possible alternative courses of
action, we then chose that course of action which we think will best suit our needs.
Kelly (1955/91) proposed that we are all scientists - by this he meant that we are
constantly experimenting with our world, generating hypothesis about what will
happen, acting, and testing the resulting outcome against our prediction. It can be
seen from this that our behaviours are not static. We do not become 'the adult'
during childhood, nor are we forever condemned to sail the seven seas like the
Flying Dutchman making the same mistakes.

Personal Construct Psychology is a very free and empowering psychology. We are

not seen as victims of circumstance, we have the power to change and grow. We
are only limited in our vision of ourselves and our future by our own internal
'blinkers' - these limit the possible futures we can see for ourselves and hence
restrict our ability to develop. One of the fundamental tenets of PCP is that of
'Constructive Alternativism'. In simple terms this means that there are as many
different interpretations of any situation and possible future outcomes as we can
think of - how many different uses can you think of for a paper clip?

Our collection of experience's and actions form the basis of our mental map (or
logic bubble) of the world. In PCP terms the working tools of our mental map are
known as 'Constructs'. A construct is simply a way of differentiating between
objects. Each construct can be equated to a line connecting two points. These two
points, or poles, each have a (different) label identifying the opposite extremes of
the construct. Based on our perceptions of other people's behaviour we can then
place them somewhere on the scale between the two poles and hence build our
mental map of the world. We also place ourselves along these same dimensions and
use them as a guide to choosing not only our behaviours but also our friends etc. As
a result of our experimenting we are constantly assessing our constructs for their
level of 'fit' in our world. This results in either a validation of the construct or an
invalidation of (and hence potential change to) our constructs. Problems occur when
we consistently try to use invalidated constructs in our interactions.

For example we might define people by the way they act in company and decide
that some people are 'extravert' and others 'introvert', other constructs may be
physical, e.g. tall or small, fat or thin. Objects can fall into more than one category
so we can have small, thin extroverted people. Within Klienian psychology one
example of a construct would be 'Good Breast/Bad Breast'. One point here, the
opposite of 'introvert' may not be extravert for some people; it could be loud or
aggressive. Hence just because we associate one with another doesn't mean
everybody does. This is why we need some understanding of other people's
construct system to be able to effectively communicate with them.
To be able to interact with each other we need to have some understanding of how
the other person perceives their world. What do they mean when they call someone
'extroverted'?, are they the life and soul of the party? or are they loud and over
bearing? How we, and they, treat the extrovert depends on whether it is viewed it
as a positive or negative character trait.

Kelly defined his theory in a formal structured way by devising what he called his
'fundamental postulate' - basically a posh term for the statement which underpins
the whole of Personal Construct Psychology. A further eleven corollaries (or
clarifying statements) were also developed which extended the theory and added
more elaboration to how the theory impacts and is used. These eleven have over
time been expanded and added to as the range of the theory has been developed
(e.g. see Dallos 1991, Procter 1981, Balnaves and Caputi 1993). In fairness it must
be said that these additions have not been universally acclaimed and many people
only recognise the original eleven.

You may have got the impression that Personal Construct Psychology is very
individual focused - which it is - and that it has nothing to offer in terms of group
development. The principles of Personal Construct Psychology can be applied to
individuals, groups and culture with equal ease. Various books and papers have
been published exploring the nomothetic aspects of Personal Construct Psychology
(e.g. Balnaves and Caputi 1993, Kalekin-Fishman and Walker 1996).

the fundamental postulate and the eleven corollaries

The Fundamental Postulate states that "A person's processes are psychologically
'channellised' by the ways in which they anticipate events". My interpretation of this
is that our expectations dictate our choice of action.

The Construction corollary - "A person anticipates events by construing their

replication". Again I interpret this as meaning that we approach the future by
looking at similar past experiences and basing our actions on those previous events.
The Experience corollary - "A person's construct system varies as they successively
construe the replication of events". I take this to imply that our construct system is
in a state of constant change based on our experiences.

The Individuality corollary - "People differ from each other in their construction of
events". We all see things differently.

The Choice corollary - "People choose for themselves that alternative in a

dichotomised construct through which they anticipate the greater possibility for the
elaboration of their system". Therefore, in my opinion, we choose that alternative
which gives us the best chance of extending (and confirming) our construct system.

The Sociality corollary - "To the extent that one person construes the construction
process of another, they may play a role in a social process involving the other
person". If we understand where someone is coming from we can interact with them
in a productive meaningful manner.

The Commonality corollary - "To the extent that one person employs a construction
of experience which is similar to that employed by another, their processes are
psychologically similar to of the other person". i.e. Great minds think alike.

The Organisational corollary - "Each person characteristically evolves, for their

convenience in anticipating events, a construction system embracing ordinal
relationships between constructs". This I take to mean that we create a hierarchical
construct system.

The Dichotomy corollary - "A person's construction system is composed of a finite

number of dichotomous constructs". ('Dichotomous' in this sense means divided
and potentially opposing and contradictory.)

The Range corollary - "A construct is convenient for the anticipation of a finite range
of events only". Some constructs are applicable to certain things and not others
e.g., a car may be 'fast, sporty and sexy' but an apple may not be.
The Modulation corollary - "The variation in a person's construction system is limited
by the permeability of the constructs within whose range of convenience the
variants lie". By this I understand that our construct system is only as flexible as we
allow it to be. If our constructs are 'open to suggestion' then so will we.

The Fragmentation corollary - "A person may successively employ a variety of

construction systems which are inferentially incompatible with each other". In other
words we can hold contradictory constructs at the same time.

constructs in use

Constructs form the building blocks of our 'personality' and as such come in various
shapes and sizes. From the Organisation corollary it follows that some constructs
are more important than others. The most important constructs are those which are
'core' to our sense of being. These are very resistant to change and include things
like moral code, religious beliefs etc. and cause significant psychological impact if
they are threatened in any way. The other constructs are called 'peripheral'
constructs and a change to them does not have the same impact. It also follows
that some constructs will actually subsume other constructs as we move up the
hierarchy.

Categories of constructs come in three types. There are 'pre-emptive' constructs,

these are constructs which are applied in an all or nothing way. If this is a ball then
it is nothing else but a ball - very black and white type of thinking. The second type
is 'constellatory' constructs. These constructs are the stereotyping constructs - if
this is a ball then it must be round, made of leather and used in football matches.
Constructs in this category bring a lot of ancillary baggage with them (be it right or
wrong). The last type of construct category is 'propositional'. This one carries no
implications or additional labels and is the most open form of construct. It should be
noted that constructs do not have to have 'words' attached to them. We can, and
do, have constructs which were either formed before we could speak or which has a
non verbal symbol identifying it. Something like the 'gut feeling' or 'it feels right'
would be a non verbal construct. Kelly originally called these 'preverbal' constructs,
but in line with others (notably Tom Ravenette 1997) I prefer the term non verbal.
Constructs, themselves, can be either Loose or Tight. A loose construct is one which
may or may not lead to the same behaviour every time. Obviously this can make
life difficult for others as they will be unable to predict the construer's actions
consistently. A tight construct on the other hand always leads to the same
behaviour. These people are those with regular habits and firmly held views. Our
creativity is helped by moving from loose to tight constructs. We start off with loose
constructs, trying things out for size, seeing what works and what doesn't, as we
move towards the new we tighten up our construing, narrowing down our
experimentation and so we begin making clearer associations and developing more
clearly the 'new'. One way of loosening our constructs is via play and imagination.
By using play as an experiment we can (safely) try out new things.

The CPC cycle directs our method of choosing. The CPC cycle consists of
Circumspection, Pre-emption and Control. This is basically a form of 'Review, Plan,
Do'. Initially we review the alternatives open to us (circumspection), narrow down
the choice to one and devise a plan of action (pre-empt), finally you exercise control
and do something. The cycle continues as every action leads to both a review of the
success of that action as well as opening new choices.

One of the criticisms levelled at Personal Construct Psychology (unfairly in my view)

is that it does not deal with emotions. This myth has been effectively address by
others (e.g. Fransella 1995, McCoy 1977). Kelly uses different terms to deal with
emotions. He sees emotions as transitional stages. For example threat is defined as
'the awareness of an imminent comprehensive change in one's core structure', fear
is an incidental change in one's core constructs. One example of threat can be seen
in the way which people of different belief systems are treated by the dominant
religion - the persecution of the Cathars during the middle ages because they
threatened the societal structure. One feels guilt when one has done something
which is contrary to ones core constructs. Someone who sees themselves as 'an
honest upright citizen' would feel guilt if caught in some dishonest act (even
unwittingly). Happiness and joy are seen as support to peripheral and core
constructs. Think about how happy you feel when you do something right or are
complimented on something.

tools and techniques

Personal Construct Psychology has a wide variety of tools and techniques at its
disposal. Probably the most widely used is the Repertory Grid. This is a method of
eliciting constructs by asking participants to compare three elements (objects,
things, etc.,) and state how two are similar and different from the third. Answers are
recorded in a matrix, which can then be analysed to produce a construct map. This
has been used for research into a wide range of issues from business problems to
psychotherapeutic interventions (some examples of the latter can be found in
various chapters within this book). The Rep Grid (as it is known) has a wide
following and can be used without any other PCP theory (and has been!). There are
many variations of Rep Grids including those looking at resistance to change as well
as implications grids and problem solving (for a more comprehensive review of grids
I would suggest Beail 1985, Fransella and Bannister 1997, Stewart & Stewart 1981).

The Rep Grid can be compared to a 'hard measure', eliciting, as it does, quantifiable
data. There are, however a lot of softer, more 'touchy feely' construct elicitation
techniques available. One of the more popular is the 'Self Characterisation'. In this
the client has to write a character sketch of themselves in the third person and from
a sympathetic viewpoint. This can then be assessed for recurring themes and
constructs, these can be discussed with the individual concerned.

Once constructs have been elicited their hierarchy and interlinking can be found by
'laddering' and 'pyramiding'. The former takes one upwards towards the highest
core constructs whilst the latter provides a detailed map of a person's lower level
construct map in any particular area. By asking questions like "which is more
important a or b?" and then asking 'why?' questions one can ladder quite quickly
and easily.

Pyramiding, on the other hand, requires questions like "what kind of person does
y?", "How does that/they differ from x?", this process allows the client to narrow
down their definitions and arrive at the lower level constructs. This exercise does
require a reasonable sized piece of paper to record all the answers and provide a
sensible construct map.

One powerful tool for understanding why people are not willing to change is the ABC
technique (Tschudi 1977). Here A is the desired change with constructs B1 and B2
elicited. B1 being the disadvantages about the present state and B2 the advantages
about moving to the new state. However it is possible (if not probable) that the
current situation has some advantages which may outweigh the disadvantages.
Therefore C1 are constructs which show the negative side of moving whilst C2 are
the positive aspects of staying the same. But, by looking at the pay-offs for not
changing we can identify the barriers and put measures in place to overcome them
(if necessary).

Kelly also proposed a form of dramatherapy for use with clients. In his version,
which he called 'Fixed Role Therapy', in conjunction with the client he drew up a
new persona (including a new name and history) and encouraged the client to act
as if they were this new person. This allowed the client to 'try out' new ways of
looking at the world in a safe environment (if it didn't work they just became
themselves again). Hypnotherapy has also been used to loosen (and tighten)
constructs.

personal construct theory - conclusion

I hope that this brief introduction to Personal Construct Psychology has shown some
of the breadth and depth of PCP. Far from being a static, restrictive psychology that
only perceives people as having finished growing at the end of childhood or merely
reacting to external stimulation, it is an extremely liberating and eclectic
psychology. Ownership of one's future is placed in the hands of the individual
concerned.

personal construct psychology theory references

Balnaves M. & Caputi P., 1993, Corporate Constructs; To what Extent are Personal
Constructs Personal?, International Journal of Personal Construct Psychology, 6, 2
p119 - 138
Beail N. (ed), 1985, Repertory Grid technique and Personal Constructs, Croom Helm

Dallos R. (1991), Family Belief Systems, Therapy and Change, Open University
Press, Milton Keynes

Fransella F. (1995), George Kelly, Sage, London

Fransella F. and Bannister D. (1977), A Manual for Repertory Grid Technique,

Academic Press, London

Kalekin-Fishman D. & Walker B. (eds) 1996, The Construction of Group Realities:

Culture, Society, and Personal Construct Theory, Krieger, Malabar

Kelly G.A. (1955/1991), The Psychology of Personal Constructs, Routledge, London

McCoy M. M. (1977), A Reconstruction of Emotion, in Bannister D (ed), Issues and

Approaches in Personal Construct Theory, Academic Press, London

Procter H. (1981), Family Construct Psychology, in Walrond-Skinner S (ed), Family

Therapy and Approaches, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London

Ravenette T (1977), Selected papers: Personal construct Psychology and the

practice of an Educational psychologist, EPCA Publications, Farnborough

Stewart V. & Stewart A. (1981), Business Applications of Repertory Grid Technique,

McGraw Hill,

Tschudi F. (1977), Loaded and Honest Questions, in Bannister D (ed), New

Perspectives in Personal Construct Theory, Academic Press, London
john fisher biography

John's early career was with the Royal Air Force as a technician, from which he
moved into simulation engineering and project management consultancy. During
the 1990's John achieved a first class honours degree in Psychology from the Open
University and an MSc in Occupational Psychology at Leicester University. John's
work is underpinned by the psychological framework known as Personal Construct
Psychology (PCP), (or Personal Construct Theory - PCT), as pioneered by George
Kelly. This proposes that we must understand how the other person sees their world
and what meaning they attribute to things in order to effectively communicate and
connect with them. John has organised conferences on PCT, presented papers and
co-edited two collections of conference papers as well as having various articles and
papers published in conference proceedings and journals. John's current areas of
interest are change management and culture/acculturalisation. He later worked
with the Xchanging HR Services organization specialising in training design and
delivery. John is qualified in MBTI, OPQ and Emotional Intelligence personality tools,
NLP and counselling, and is a past winner of the Society of Consumer Affairs
Professionals award for innovative training deployment. If you'd like any further
information about John's work, particularly with reference to his Personal Transition
Concept, and the Personal Construct Theory, you can email John at:
john.m.fisher@blueyonder.co.uk

emotional intelligence (EQ)

emotional intelligence theory (EQ - Emotional Quotient)

Emotional Intelligence - EQ - is a relatively recent behavioural model, rising to

prominence with Daniel Goleman's 1995 Book called 'Emotional Intelligence'. The
early Emotional Intelligence theory was originally developed during the 1970s and
80s by the work and writings of psychologists Howard Gardner (Harvard), Peter
Salovey (Yale) and John 'Jack' Mayer (New Hampshire). Emotional Intelligence is
increasingly relevant to organizational development and developing people,
because the EQ principles provide a new way to understand and assess people's
behaviours, management styles, attitudes, interpersonal skills, and potential.
Emotional Intelligence is an important consideration in human resources planning,
job profiling, recruitment interviewing and selection, management development,
customer relations and customer service, and more.
Emotional Intelligence links strongly with concepts of love and spirituality: bringing
compassion and humanity to work, and also to 'Multiple Intelligence' theory which
illustrates and measures the range of capabilities people possess, and the fact that
everybody has a value.

The EQ concept argues that IQ, or conventional intelligence, is too narrow; that
there are wider areas of Emotional Intelligence that dictate and enable how
successful we are. Success requires more than IQ (Intelligence Quotient), which has
tended to be the traditional measure of intelligence, ignoring eseential behavioural
and character elements. We've all met people who are academically brilliant and
yet are socially and inter-personally inept. And we know that despite possessing a
high IQ rating, success does not automatically follow.

Different approaches and theoretical models have been developed for Emotional
Intelligence. This summary article focuses chiefly on the Goleman interpretation.
The work of Mayer, Salovey and David Caruso (Yale) is also very significant in the
field of Emotional Intelligence, and will in due course be summarised here too.

emotional intelligence - two aspects

This is the essential premise of EQ: to be successful requires the effective

awareness, control and management of one's own emotions, and those of other
people. EQ embraces two aspects of intelligence:

Understanding yourself, your goals, intentions, responses, behaviour and all.

Understanding others, and their feelings.

emotional intelligence - the five domains

Goleman identified the five 'domains' of EQ as:

Knowing your emotions.

Managing your own emotions.

Motivating yourself.

Recognising and understanding other people's emotions.

Managing relationships, ie., managing the emotions of others.

Emotional Intelligence embraces and draws from numerous other branches of

behavioural, emotional and communications theories, such as NLP (Neuro-Linguistic
Programming), Transactional Analysis, and empathy. By developing our Emotional
Intelligence in these areas and the five EQ domains we can become more
productive and successful at what we do, and help others to be more productive
and successful too. The process and outcomes of Emotional Intelligence
development also contain many elements known to reduce stress for individuals
and organizations, by decreasing conflict, improving relationships and
understanding, and increasing stability, continuity and harmony.

emotional intelligence competence framework, case studies, examples, tools, tests,

information and related theory references

The following excellent free Emotional Intelligence materials in pdf file format
(Acrobat Reader required to view) are provided with permission of Daniel Goleman
on behalf of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence, which is
gratefully acknowledged:

The Emotional Competence Framework - a generic EQ competence framework

produced by Daniel Goleman and CREI covering in summary:

personal competence - self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation

social competence - social awareness, social skills

'Emotional Intelligence: what is it and why it matters'. An excellent information

paper by Dr Cary Cherniss originally presented at the annual meeting of the Society
for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, in New Orleans, April 2000. This is a
detailed history and explanation of Emotional Intelligence.

The Business Case for Emotional Intelligence - a paper by Dr Cary Cherniss

featuring 19 referenced business and organizational case studies demonstrating
how Emotional Intelligence contributes to corporate profit performance. The paper
is an excellent tool which trainers, HR professionals and visionaries can use to help
justify focus, development, assessment, etc., of EQ in organizations.

Guidelines for Promoting Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace - a paper chiefly

constructed by Cary Cherniss and Daniel Goleman featuring 22 guidelines which
represent the best current knowledge relating to the promotion of EQ in the
workplace, summarised as:

paving the way

assess the organization's needs

assessing the individual

delivering assessments with care

maximising learning choice

encouraging participation

linking goals and personal values

adjusting individual expectations

assessing readiness and motivation for EQ development

doing the work of change

foster relationships between EQ trainers and learners

self-directed chnage and learning

setting goals

breaking goals down into achievable steps

providing opportunities for practice

give feedback

using experiential methods

build in support

use models and examples

encourage insight and self-awareness

encourage transfer and maintenance of change (sustainable change)

encourage application of new learning in jobs

develop organizational culture that supports learning

evaluating the change - did it work?

evaluate individual and organizational effect

More information about Emotional Intelligence, plus details of EQ tests, EQ training

and EQ development in general are available at the Consortium for Research on
Emotional Intelligence in Organizations.
tips on how to explain emotional intelligence - perspectives and examples

As mentioned above, Daniel Goleman's approach to Emotional Intelligence is not

the only one. The work of Mayer, Salovey and Caruso is also very significant in the
field of Emotional Intelligence and can be explored further on John Meyer's
Emotional Intelligence website.

When teaching or explaining Emotional Intelligence it can be helpful to the teacher

and learners to look at other concepts and methodologies, many of which contain
EQ elements and examples.

Emotional Intelligence tests/activities/exercises books - for young people ostensibly,

but just as relevant to grown-ups - provide interesting and useful exercises,
examples, theory, etc., for presentations and participative experience if you are
explaining EQ or teaching a group. For example '50 Activities For Teaching
Emotional Intelligence' by Dianne Schilling - my copy was published by Innerchoice
Publishing - ISBN 1-56499-37-0, if you can find it. Otherwise look at Amazon and
search for 'activities for teaching emotional intelligence').

There's a very strong link between EQ and TA (Transactional Analysis). To

understand and explain EQ you can refer to the 'adult' aspect of the TA model (for
example, we are less emotional intelligent/mature when slipping into negative child
or parent modes). In this way we can see that one's strength in EQ is certainly
linked to personal experience, especially formative years.

NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) is very relevant to EQ, as is Multiple

Intelligences Theory.

Ethical business and socially responsible leadership are strongly connected to EQ.
So is the concept of love and spirituality in organisations. Compassion and humanity
are fundamental life-forces; our Emotional Intelligence enables us to appreciate and
develop these vital connections between self, others, purpose, meaning, existence,
life and the world as a whole, and to help others do the same.

People with strong EQ have less emotional 'baggage', and conversely people with
low EQ tend to have personal unresolved issues which either act as triggers (see
Freud/Penfield TA roots explanation) or are constants in personality make-up.

Cherie Carter-Scott's 'If Life Is Game' and Don Miguel Ruiz's The Four Agreements'
also provide excellent additional EQ reference perspectives.

Empathy and active interpretive modes of listening are also very relevant to EQ.

Ingham and Luft's Johari Window and associated exercises on the free team building
games section also help explain another perspective. That is, as a rule, the higher a
person's EQ, the less insecurity is likely to be present, and the more openness will
be tolerated.

High EQ = low insecurity = more openness.

A person's preparedness to expose their feelings, vulnerabilities, thoughts, etc., is a

feature of EQ. Again the converse applies. Johari illustrates this very well (see the
Johari Window diagram pdf also).

Maslow' theory is also relevant to Emotional Intelligence. Self-actualizers naturally

have stronger EQ. People struggling to meet lower order needs - and arguably even
middle order needs such as esteem needs - tend to have lower EQ than self-
actualisers. The original 5 stage Hierarchy of Needs explains that all needs other
than self-actualisation are deficiency drivers, which suggest, in other words, some
EQ development potential or weakness.

There is a strong thread of EQ running through Stephen Covey's 7 Habits.

In fact, most theories involving communications and behaviour become more
powerful and meaningful when related to Emotional Intelligence, for example:

Leadership

Buying Facilitation®

Benziger Thinking Styles and Assessment Model

McGregor XY Theory

stress management

stress at work, stress management techniques, stress reduction and relief

Employers should provide a stress-free work environment, recognise where stress is

becoming a problem for staff, and take action to reduce stress. Stress in the
workplace reduces productivity, increases management pressures, and makes
people ill in many ways, evidence of which is still increasing. Workplace stress
affects the performance of the brain, including functions of work performance;
memory, concentration, and learning. In the UK over 13 million working days are
lost every year because of stress. Stress is believed to trigger 70% of visits to
doctors, and 85% of serious illnesses (UK HSE stress statistics). Stress at work also
provides a serious risk of litigation for all employers and organisations, carrying
significant liabilities for damages, bad publicity and loss of reputation. Dealing with
stress-related claims also consumes vast amounts of management time. So, there
are clearly strong economic and financial reasons for organisations to manage and
reduce stress at work, aside from the obvious humanitarian and ethical
considerations. If you are suffering from stress yourself the stress management
guidelines here are just as relevant. See the workplace stress research articles
below.

quick stress reduction techniques

If you are stressed, do one or all of these things, in whatever order that takes your
fancy. These ideas can also be adapted for team development exercises.
The key to de-stressing in the moment is getting away from or removing yourself
from the stressor. Developing new habits which regularly remove you and distract
you from stressors and stressful situations and pressures is essentially how to
manage stress on a more permanent basis.

In this modern world it is difficult if not impossible to change stressful situations.

What we can do however is change and reduce our exposure to those stressful
situations.

These stress reduction ideas and techniques are based on that simple principle.
These tips won't change the situation causing the stress, but they will, more
importantly, enable you to change your reaction and relationship to the stressful
situations.

And in keeping with the tone of this stress tips section, and since colour is regarded
by many as a factor in affecting mood, the calming shade of green is used for the
headings..

stress reduction idea 1 - humour

Humour is one of the greatest and quickest devices for reducing stress.

Humour works because laughter produces helpful chemicals in the brain.

Humour also gets your brain thinking and working in a different way - it distracts
you from having a stressed mindset. Distraction is a simple effective de-stressor - it
takes your thoughts away from the stress, and thereby diffuses the stressful
feelings.
Therefore most people will feel quite different and notice a change in mindset after
laughing and being distracted by something humorous.

Go read the funny family fortunes answers. Or try the funny letters to the council.
Even if you've seen them a hundred times before. As you start to smile and chuckle
the stress begins to dissipate.

If this material fails to make you laugh then find something which does.

Keep taking the laughter medicine until you feel suitably relaxed and re-charged.

stress reduction idea 2 - brisk walk and self-talk

Go for a short quick really brisk walk outside.

Yes, actually leave the building.

Change your environment.

Breathe in some fresh air and smell the atmosphere...

Trees, rain, flowers, traffic fumes - doesn't matter - stimulate your senses with new
things.

On your way out keep saying to yourself out loud (and to anyone else you see, in
that daft way people say "Elvis has left the building.."):
"(your name) is leaving the building.. "

And when you are outside and free say:

"(your name) has left the building.. "

You can extend the exercise by going to a park and jogging a little.

Or do a few star-jumps - something energetic to get your body moving and relaxing.

Or stroke a dog, or pick up some litter, or kick a kid's football.

You can of course use other mantras or chants, depending on what you want to do
and how far you want to get away from the stress causes, for example:

"(your name) is doing star-jumps/picking up litter/looking for a small non-

threatening dog.." or

"(your name) is leaving/has left the industrial park/district/city/company/country.."

etc, etc.

Of course this is daft, but the daftness reduces the stress by removing you from the
stress in mind and body.

Doing something daft and physical - and reinforcing it with some daft chanting -
opens up the world again.
stress reduction idea 3 - rehydrate

Go get a big cup or a bottle of water.

Here's why...

Most of us fail to drink enough water - that's water - not tea, coffee, coke, 'sports'
drinks, Red Bull or fruit juice...

All of your organs, including your brain, are strongly dependent on water to function
properly. It's how we are built.

If you starve your body of water you will function below your best - and you will get
stressed. Physically and mentally.

Offices and workplaces commonly have a very dry atmosphere due to air
conditioning, etc., which increases people's susceptibility to de-hydration.

This is why you must keep your body properly hydrated by regularly drinking water
(most people need 4-8 glasses of water a day).

You will drink more water if you keep some on your desk at all times - it's human
nature to drink it if it's there - so go get some now.

When you drink water you need to pee. This gives you a bit of a break and a bit of
exercise now and then, which also reduces stress.
When you pee you can see if your body is properly hydrated (your pee will be clear
or near clear - if it's yellow you are not taking enough water).

This will also prompt some amusing discussion and chuckling with your colleagues
("Nature calls - I'm off to the bog again...") which is also good for reducing stress.

You do not need to buy expensive mineral water. Tap water is fine.

If you do not like the taste of tap water it's probably because of the chlorine
(aquarium fish don't like it either), however the chlorine dissipates quite naturally
after a few hours - even through a plastic bottle - so keep some ordinary tap water
in the fridge for 2-3 hours and try it then.

If you want to be really exotic add a slice of lemon or lime. Kiwi and sharon fruit are
nice too...

So now you are fully watered and guffawing and exercised up to the max, read on
for ideas for how to prevent stress as well as reduce and manage it.

stress reduction technique 4 - catnap or powernap

(Not so easy but still perfectly possible)

Take a quick nap. It is nature's way of recharging and re-energising.

A quick 10-30 minutes' sleep is very helpful to reduce stress.

It's obviously essential if you are driving while tired, but a quick sleep is a powerful
de-stressor too.

A lunchtime snooze is very practical for home-workers - it just requires the

realisation that doing so is acceptable and beneficial (when we are conditioned
unfortunately to think that sleeping during the day is lazy, rather than healthy).

At some stage conventional Western industry will 'wake up' to the realisation that
many people derive enormous benefit from a midday nap. Sounds ridiculous? Tell
that to the many millions in the Mediterranean countries who thrive on a mid-day
siesta.

People in the Mediterranean and Central Americas take a siesta every working day,
and this is almost certainly related to longer life expectancy and lower levels of
heart disease.

See the more detailed evidence and reasoning in the sleep and rest section below.

If your work situation is not quite ready to tolerate the concept of a daytime nap
then practise a short session of self-hypnosis, combined with deep breathing, which
you can do at your desk, or even in the loo. It works wonders.

See the self-hypnosis and relaxation page.

In the summer of course you can go to the nearest park and try it alfresco (that's
from the Italian incidentally, al fresco, meaning in the fresh air - which is another
good thing for stress reduction).

stress reduction technique 5 - make a cuppa

Any tea will do, but a flavoured cup of tea is even better.

Experiment with different natural flavourings using herbs and spices and fruit.

Fresh mint is wonderful, and excellent for the digestive system. Nettles are fantastic
and contain natural relaxants. Orange zest is super (use one of those nifty little
zester gadgets). Ginger root is brilliant. Many herbs, spices, fruits and edible plants
make great flavoured tea, and many herbs and spices have real therapeutic
properties.

Use a 'base' of green tea leaves - about half a spoonful per serving - plus the
natural flavouring(s) of your choice, and freshly boiled water. Be bold - use lots of
leaves - experiment until you find a blend that you really enjoy. Sugar or honey
bring out the taste. Best without milk, but milk is fine if you prefer it.

Making the tea and preparing the ingredients take your mind off your problems, and
then smelling and drinking the tea also relaxes you. There is something wonderful
about natural plants and fruits which you can't buy in a packet. Use a tea-pot or
cafetiere, or if you are happy with a bit of foliage in your drink actually brew it in a
big mug or heatproof tumbler.

Fresh mint and ginger tea recipe:

Put all this into a teapot or cafetiere and add boiling water for 2-3 cups. Allow to
brew for a minute or two, stir and serve. (This is enough for 2-3 mug-sized
servings):

1-1½ heaped teaspoons of green tea leaves

2-4 sprigs of fresh mint (a very generous handful of leaves with or without the
stems - more than you might imagine)

3-6 zest scrapes of an orange

half a teaspoon of chopped ginger root

2-4 teaspoons of sugar or 1-2 teaspoons of honey - more or less to taste

Alter the amounts to your own taste. The recipe also works very well without the
orange and ginger, which is effectively the mint tea drink that is hugely popular in
Morocco and other parts of North Africa. Dried mint can be substituted for fresh
mint. Experiment. The Moroccan tradition is to use small glass tumblers, and
somehow seeing the fine colour of the tea adds to the experience.

stress reduction technique 6 - crying

Not much is known about the physiology of crying and tears, although many find
that crying - weeping proper tears - has a powerful helpful effect on stress levels.
Whatever the science behind crying, a good bout of sobbing and weeping does
seem to release tension and stress for many people.

Of course how and where you choose to submit to this most basic of emotional
impulses is up to you. The middle of the boardroom during an important
presentation to a top client is probably not a great idea, but there are more private
situations and you should feel free to try it from time to time if the urge takes you.

It is a shame that attitudes towards crying and tears prevent many people from
crying, and it's a sad reflection on our unforgiving society that some people who
might benefit from a good cry feel that they shouldn't do it ever - even in complete
privacy. Unfortunately most of us - especially boys - are told as children that crying
is bad or shameful or childish, which of course is utter nonsense. Arguably only the
bravest cry unashamedly - the rest of us would rather suffer than appear weak,
which is daft, but nevertheless real.

Whatever, shedding a few tears can be a very good thing now and then, and if
you've yet to discover its benefits then give it a try. You might be surprised.
people most at risk from stress

In one US study as many as 40% of workers described their jobs as very stressful.
While not a scientific gauge and not measuring serious stress health problems, this
gives some indication as to how prevalent work-related stress is. As regards official
health records, in the UK, the nursing and teaching occupations are most affected
by work-related stress, with 2% of workers at any one time suffering from work-
related stress, depression and anxiety. (The figure for teachers rises to 4% when
including physical conditions relating to stress.) Care workers, managers and
professionals are the next highest affected occupations, with over 1% suffering from
serious work-related stress at any one time. UK HSE work-related stress statistics
suggest that work-related stress affects men and women in equal numbers, and
that people in the 45-retirement age suffer more than younger people. More
socially-based USA research suggests that the following American social groups are
more prone to stress (this therefore not limited to work-related stress): young
adults, women, working mothers, less educated people, divorced or widowed
people, the unemployed, isolated people, people without health insurance, city
dwellers. Combined with the factors affecting stress susceptibility (detailed below),
it's not difficult to see that virtually no-one is immune from stress. An American poll
found that 89% of respondents had experienced serious stress at some point in
their lives. The threat from stress is perceived so strongly in Japan that the Japanese
even have a word for sudden death due to overwork, 'karoushi'.

work-related stress trends

Data is sparse and confused (stress statistics are also complicated by metal health
reporting in the UK), but the statistics do indicate certain growth. In the UK HSE
statistics indicate a doubling of reported clinical cases between 1990 and 1999.
Working days lost per annum appear to have been about 6.5 million in the mid-
1990's, but rose to over 13 million by 2001. Greater awareness of the stress ailment
in reporting no doubt accounts for some of this variance, but one thing's for sure:
the number of people suffering from work-related stress isn't reducing.

costs of stress
UK HSE statistics suggest stress-related costs to UK employers in the region of
£700m every year. The cost of stress to society is estimated at £7bn pa. (These
figures were respectively £350m and £3.7bn in 1995/6 when total days lost were
half present levels.)

stress causes

Stress is caused by various factors - not all of which are work-related of course,
(which incidentally doesn't reduce the employer's obligation to protect against the
causes of stress at work). Causes of stress - known as stressors - are in two
categories: external stressors and internal stressors.

external stressors - physical conditions such as heat or cold, stressful psychological

environments such as working conditions and abusive relationships, eg., bullying.

internal stressors - physical ailments such as infection or inflammation, or

psychological problems such as worrying about something.

From the above, it is easy to see that work can be a source of both external and
internal stressors.

Stressors are also described as either short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic):

Short-term 'acute' stress is the reaction to immediate threat, also known as the
fight or flight response. This is when the primitive part of the brain and certain
chemicals within the brain cause a reaction to potentially harmful stressors or
warnings (just as if preparing the body to run away or defend itself), such as noise,
over-crowding, danger, bullying or harassment, or even an imagined or recalled
threatening experience. When the threat subsides the body returns to normal,
which is called the 'relaxation response'. (NB The relaxation response among people
varies; ie., people recover from acute stress at different rates.)

Long-term 'chronic' stressors are those pressures which are ongoing and
continuous, when the urge to fight or flight has been suppressed. Examples of
chronic stressors include: ongoing pressurised work, ongoing relationship problems,
isolation, and persistent financial worries.
The working environment can generate both acute and chronic stressors, but is
more likely to be a source of chronic stressors.

stress effects on health and performance

Stress is proven beyond doubt to make people ill, and evidence is increasing as to
number of ailments and diseases caused by stress. Stress is now known to
contribute to heart disease; it causes hypertension and high blood pressure, and
impairs the immune system. Stress is also linked to strokes, IBS (irritable bowel
syndrome), ulcers, diabetes, muscle and joint pain, miscarriage during pregnancy,
allergies, alopecia and even premature tooth loss.

Various US studies have demonstrated that removing stress improves specific

aspects of health: stress management was shown to be capable of reducing the risk
of heart attack by up to 75% in people with heart disease; stress management
techniques, along with methods for coping with anger, contributed to a reduction of
high blood pressure, and; for chronic tension headache sufferers it was found that
stress management techniques increased the effectiveness of prescribed drugs, and
after six months actually equalled the effectiveness of anti-depressants. The clear
implication for these ailments is that stress makes them worse.

Stress significantly reduces brain functions such as memory, concentration, and

learning, all of which are central to effective performance at work. Certain tests
have shown up to 50% loss of performance in cognitive tests performed by stress
sufferers. Some health effects caused by stress are reversible and the body and
mind reverts to normal when the stress is relieved. Other health effects caused by
stress are so serious that they are irreversible, and at worse are terminal.

Stress is said by some to be a good thing, for themselves or others, that it promotes
excitement and positive feelings. If these are the effects then it's not stress as
defined here. It's the excitement and stimulus derived (by one who wants these
feelings and can handle them) from working hard in a controlled and manageable
way towards an achievable and realistic aim, which for sure can be very exciting,
but it ain't stress. Stress is bad for people and organisations, it's a threat and a
health risk, and it needs to be recognised and dealt with, not dismissed as
something good, or welcomed as a badge of machismo - you might as well stick
pins in your eyes.

causes of stress at work

These are typical causes of stress at work:

bullying or harassment, by anyone, not necessarily a person's manager

feeling powerless and uninvolved in determining one's own responsibilities

continuous unreasonable performance demands

lack of effective communication and conflict resolution

lack of job security

long working hours

excessive time away from home and family

office politics and conflict among staff

a feeling that one's reward reward is not commensurate with one's responsibility

working hours, responsibilities and pressures disrupting life-balance (diet, exercise,

sleep and rest, play, family-time, etc)

factors influencing the effects of stress and stress susceptibility

A person's susceptibility to stress can be affected by any or all of these factors,

which means that everyone has a different tolerance to stressors. And in respect of
certain of these factors, stress susceptibility is not fixed, so each person's stress
tolerance level changes over time:

childhood experience (abuse can increase stress susceptibility)

personality (certain personalities are more stress-prone than others)

genetics (particularly inherited 'relaxation response', connected with serotonin

levels, the brain's 'well-being chemical')

immunity abnormality (as might cause certain diseases such as arthritis and
eczema, which weaken stress resilience)

lifestyle (principally poor diet and lack of exercise)

duration and intensity of stressors (obviously...)

signs of stress - stress test

At a clinical level, stress in individuals can be be assessed scientifically by
measuring the levels of two hormones produced by the adrenal glands: cortisol and
DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), but managers do not have ready access to these
methods. Managers must therefore rely on other signs. Some of these are not
exclusively due to stress, nor are they certain proof of stress, but they are
indicators to prompt investigation as to whether stress is present. You can use this
list of ten key stress indicators as a simple initial stress test: tick the factors
applicable. How did I do?

sleep difficulties

loss of appetite

poor concentration or poor memory retention

performance dip

uncharacteristic errors or missed deadlines

anger or tantrums

violent or anti-social behaviour

emotional outbursts

alcohol or drug abuse

nervous habits

methods of personal stress management and stress relief

If you are suffering from work-related stress and it's beginning to affect, or already
affecting your health, stop to think: why are you taking this risk with your body and
mind? Life's short enough as it is; illness is all around us; why make matters worse?
Commit to change before one day change is forced upon you.

If you recognise signs of stress in a staff member, especially if you are that person's
manager, don't ignore it - do something about it. It is your duty to do so. If you do
not feel capable of dealing with the situation, do not ignore it; you must refer it to
someone who can deal with it. You must also look for signs of non-work-related
stressors or factors that increase susceptibility to stress, because these will make a
person more vulnerable to work-related stressors. These rules apply to yourself as
well....
Stress relief methods are many and various. There is no single remedy that applies
to every person suffering from stress, and most solutions involve a combination of
remedies. Successful stress management frequently relies on reducing stress
susceptibility and removing the stressors, and often factors will be both contributing
to susceptibility and a direct cause. Here are some simple pointers for reducing
stress susceptibility and stress itself, for yourself or to help others:

stress relief pointers

think really seriously about and talk with others, to identify the causes of the stress
and take steps to remove, reduce them or remove yourself (the stressed person)
from the situation that causes the stress.

Understand the type(s) of stressors affecting you (or the stressed person), and the
contributors to the stress susceptibility - knowing what you're dealing with is
essential to developing the stress management approach.

improve diet - group B vitamins and magnesium are important, but potentially so
are all the other vitamins and minerals: a balanced healthy diet is essential. Assess
the current diet and identify where improvements should be made and commit to
those improvements.

reduce toxin intake - obviously tobacco, alcohol especially - they might seem to
provide temporary relief but they are working against the balance of the body and
contributing to stress susceptibility, and therefore increasing stress itself.

take more exercise - generally, and at times when feeling very stressed - exercise
burns up adrenaline and produces helpful chemicals and positive feelings.

stressed people must try to be detached, step back, look from the outside at the
issues that cause the stress.

don't try to control things that are uncontrollable - instead adjust response, adapt.

share worries - talk to someone else - off-load, loneliness is a big ally of stress, so
sharing the burden is essential.

increase self-awareness of personal moods and feelings - anticipate and take steps
to avoid stress build-up before it becomes more serious.

explore and use relaxation methods - they do work if given a chance - yoga,
meditation, self-hypnosis, massage, a breath of fresh air, anything that works and
can be done in the particular situation. (Here's an interesting idea.)
Note also that managing stress does not cure medical problems. Relieving stress
can alleviate and speed recovery from certain illnesses, particularly those caused
by stress, (which depending on circumstances can disappear when the stress is
relieved); ie., relieving stress is not a substitute for conventional treatments of
illness, disease and injury.

Importantly, if the stress is causing serious health effects the sufferer must consult
a doctor. Do not imagine that things will improve by soldiering on, or hoping that
the sufferer will somehow become more resilient; things can and probably will get
worse.

For less serious forms of stress, simply identify the cause(s) of stress, then to
commit/agree to removing the cause(s). If appropriate this may involve removing
the person from the situation that is causing the stress. Counselling may be
necessary to identify the cause(s), particularly if the sufferer has any tendency to
deny or ignore the stress problem.

Acceptance, cognisance and commitment on the part of the stressed person are
essential. No-one can begin to manage their stress if they are still feeling acutely
stressed - they'll still be in 'fight or flight' mode. This is why a manager accused of
causing stress though bullying or harassment must never be expected to resolve
the problem. The situation must be handled by someone who will not perpetuate
the stressful influence.

Removing the stressor(s) or the person from the stressful situation is only part of
the solution; look also at the factors which affect stress susceptibility: where
possible try to improve the factors that could be contributing to stress vulnerability.
This particularly and frequently involves diet and exercise.

The two simplest ways to reduce stress susceptibility, and in many situations
alleviate stress itself (although not removing the direct causes of stress itself) are
available to everyone, cost nothing, and are guaranteed to produce virtually
immediate improvements. They are diet and exercise.

diet
It's widely accepted that nutritional deficiency impairs the health of the body, and
it's unrealistic not to expect the brain to be affected as well by poor diet. If the brain
is affected, so are our thoughts, feelings and behaviour.

We know that certain vitamins and minerals are required to ensure healthy brain
and neurological functionality. We know also that certain deficiencies relate directly
to specific brain and nervous system weaknesses: The Vitamin B Group is
particularly relevant to the brain, depression and stress susceptibility. Vitamin B1
deficiency is associated with depression, nervous system weakness and dementia.
B2 deficiency is associated with nervous system disorders and depression. B3 is
essential for protein synthesis, including the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is
necessary for maintaining a healthy nervous system. Vitamin B6 is essential for
neurotransmitter synthesis and maintaining healthy nervous system; B6 deficiency
is associated with depression and dementia. B12 deficiency is associated with
peripheral nerve degeneration, dementia, and depression.

Vitamin C is essential to protect against stress too: it maintains a healthy immune

system, which is important for reducing stress susceptibility (we are more likely to
suffer from stress when we are ill, and we are more prone to illness when our
immune system is weak). Vitamin C speeds healing, which contributes to reducing
stress susceptibility. Vitamin C is associate with improving post-traumatic stress
disorders and chronic infections.

A 2003 UK 18 month study into violent and anti-social behaviour at a youth

offenders institution provided remarkable evidence as to the link between diet and
stress: Around 230 inmate volunteers were divided into two groups. Half were given
a daily vitamin/fatty acid/mineral supplement; half were given a placebo. The group
given the supplement showed a 25% reduction in recorded offences, and a 40%
reduction in serious cases including violence towards others, behaviours that are
directly attributable to stress.

Vitamin D helps maintain healthy body condition, particularly bones and speed of
fracture healing, which are directly linked to stress susceptibility.

Adequate intake of minerals are also essential for a healthy body and brain, and so
for reducing stress susceptibility.
A proper balanced diet is clearly essential, both to avoid direct physical stress
causes via brain and nervous system, and to reduce stress susceptibility resulting
from poor health and condition. Toxins such as alcohol, tobacco smoke, excessive
salt, steroids, other drugs and other pollutants work against the balance between
minerals, vitamins mind and body. Obviously then, excessive toxins from these
sources will increase stress susceptibility and stress itself. (Useful information about
salt and steroids.)

Some other simple (and to some, surprising) points about food, drink and diet:

Processed foods are not as good for you as fresh natural foods. Look at all the
chemicals listed on the packaging to see what you are putting into your body.

Generally speaking, and contrary to popular opinion, butter is better for you than
margarine. This is because the fat in butter is natural and can be converted by the
body more easily than the hydrogenated fat that occurs commonly in margarines.

Fresh fruit and vegetables are good for you. Simple and true.

Fish is good for you, especially oily fish like mackerel. Battered fish from the chip
shop, cooked in hydrogenated cooking oil is not so good for you.

Canned baked beans often have extremely high salt and sugar content. The beans
are good for you, but the sauce isn't if it contains too much salt and sugar. Look at
the contents on the label.

Canned and bottled fizzy 'pop' drinks are generally very bad for you. They contain
various chemicals, including aspartame, which has been linked in several studies
with nervous system disorders. Many squashes and cordials also contain aspartame.

Too much coffee is bad for you. Interestingly expresso coffee contains less caffeine
than filter and instant coffee, because it passes through the coffee grounds more
quickly.

Tea is good for you. Especially green tea.

Pills and tablets are not good for you, avoid them if you can. For example, next time
you have a headache, don't take tablets, go for a run, or a walk in the fresh air to
relax naturally.

The rule is simple and inescapable: eat and drink healthily, and avoid excessive
intake of toxins, to reduce stress susceptibility and stress itself. If you are suffering
from stress and not obeying this simple rule you will continue to have be stressed,
and moreover you will maintain a higher susceptibility to stress.

Irrespective of your tastes, it's easy these days to have a balanced healthy diet if
you want to - the challenge isn't in knowing what's good and bad, it's simple a
matter of commitment and personal resolve. You have one body for the whole of
your life - look after it.

sleep and rest

Sleep and rest are essential for a healthy life-balance.

We have evolved from ancestors whose sleep patterns were governed by and
attuned to nature. We are born with genes and bodies which reflect our successful
evolutionary survival over tens of thousands of years. Our genes and bodies do not
reflect the modern world's less natural way of life.

Only in very recent generations have the modern heating, lighting, communications
and entertainment technologies enabled (and encouraged) people to keep daft
unnatural waking and working hours. Such behaviour is at odds with our genetic
preferences.

Resisting and breaking with our genetically programmed sleep and rest patterns
creates internal conflicts and stresses, just as if we were to eat unnatural foods, or
breathe unnatural air.

Having a good night's sleep is vital for a healthy mind and body.

Napping during the day is also healthy. It recharges and energises, relaxes, and
helps to wipe the brain of pressures and unpleasant feelings.
Evidence of the relevance and reliability of this logic is found for example in the
following research by Androniki Naska et al published in the Archives of Internal
Medicine on 12 February 2007, and summarised here:

The research project is titled Siesta in Healthy Adults and Coronary Mortality in the
General Population. The research team was headed by Androniki Naska PhD of the
Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Athens Medical School,
Athens, Greece.

The introduction of the report extract explains the approach:

"Midday napping (siesta) is common in populations with low coronary mortality, but
epidemiological studies have generated conflicting results. We have undertaken an
analysis based on a sizable cohort with a high frequency of napping and information
on potentially confounding variables including reported comorbidity, physical
activity, and diet..."

The research studied 23,681 adults for an average of 6.32 years, and found that
men and women taking a siesta of any frequency or duration had a coronary
mortality ratio of 0.66, i.e., were 34% less likely to die of heart disease. Those
occasionally napping during daytime had a 12% reduction in fatal heart disease,
and people systematically napping during daytime had a 37% lower incidence of
fatal heart disease. The study found the correlation strongest among working men.
The study concluded: that taking a siesta (midday nap) correlates with reduced
fatality from heart disease, that the correlation strengthens with the consistency of
the siesta habit, and that the association was particularly evident among working
men.

While the study did not measure stress per se, it is reasonable to make at least a
partial connection between reduced fatality due to heart disease and reduction in
stress, since the two illnesses (stress and heart disease) are undeniably linked.

Here is the Extract Study report by Androniki Naska et al published in the Archives
of Internal Medicine on 12 February 2007.

exercise
Physical exercise is immensely beneficial in managing stress. This is for several
reasons:

Exercise releases helpful chemicals in our brain and body that are good for us.

Exercise distracts us from the causes of stress.

Exercise warms and relaxes cold, tight muscles and tissues which contribute to
stress feelings.

Exercise develops and maintains a healthy body which directly reduces stress
susceptibility.

Exercise increases blood flow to the brain which is good for us. Exercises also
releases hormones, and stimulates the nervous system in ways that are good for us.
Exercise produces chemicals in the body such as beta-endorphin, which is proven to
have a positive effect on how we feel. For many people, serious exercise produces a
kind of 'high'. (It's arguable that it has this effect on everyone, but not since so
many people never get to do any serious exercise they'll never know.......).
Scientists still don't fully understand how exactly these effects happen, but we do
know that exercise produces powerful feelings of well-being and a physical glow,
both of which directly reduce stress feelings.

Exercise of all types (muscle-building and stamina-building) relaxes tense muscles

and tight connective tissues in the body, which directly contribute to stress feelings
and symptoms (particularly headaches). Try this next time you get a stress
headache - one that comes up the back of your neck into the back of your head:
stand up, leave whatever you are doing, walk outside, take a few deep breaths, roll
your shoulders backwards gently, slowly at first, then gradually speed up to about
one rotation per second and keep it going for one minute. You can actually feel your
shoulders warming and loosening, then feel your neck muscles warming up and
relaxing, and then feel the relaxing feel beginning to take the edge of the pain in
the back of your head. And that's after just sixty seconds of exercise! Imagine what
15 minutes brisk walking or jogging can do. Ask anyone who's just finished a game
of tennis or squash or soccer if they feel at all stressed. Of course they don't. It's
actually impossible to stay stressed if you do a serious bit of exercise.

Exercise is wonderfully distracting - especially something very competitive which

makes you push yourself further than you might do by yourself. When your body is
involved with exercise it's very absorbing - it's actually very difficult to think about
your problems when you are puffing and panting. Something terrific happens to the
brain when the body works out, especially aerobic exercise - cardiovascular exercise
that gets the heart pumping.

We all evolved over millions of years with bodies that were built to exercise, it's no
wonder that avoiding it creates all kinds of tensions.

Exercise, like a better diet, isn't difficult to adopt - the answer is simple, the
opportunity is there - it's the personal commitment that make the difference.

And a final point about 'anger management'....

anger management and stress

The term 'anger management' is widely use now as if the subject stands alone.
However, 'anger management' is simply an aspect of managing stress, since anger
in the workplace is a symptom of stress. Anger is often stress in denial, and as such
is best approached via one-to-one counselling. Training courses can convey anger
management and stress reduction theory and ideas, but one-to-one counselling is
necessary to turn theory into practice. Management of anger (and any other
unreasonable emotional behaviour for that matter) and the stress that causes it,
can only be improved if the person wants to change - acceptance, cognisance,
commitment - so awareness is the first requirement. Some angry people take pride
in their anger and don't want to change; others fail to appreciate the effect on self
and others. Without a commitment to change there's not a lot that a manager or
employer can do to help; anger management is only possible when the angry
person accepts and commits to the need to change.

A big factor in persuading someone of the need to commit to change is to look

objectively and sensitively with the other person at the consequences (for
themselves and others) of their anger. Often angry people are in denial ("my
temper is okay, people understand it's just me and my moods...."), so removing this
denial is essential. Helping angry people to realise that their behaviour is
destructive and negative is an important first step. Discuss the effects on their
health and their family. Get the person to see things from outside themselves.
As with stress, the next anger management step is for the angry person to
understand the cause of their angry tendency, which will be a combination of
stressors and stress susceptibility factors. Angry people need help in gaining this
understanding - the counsellor often won't know the reason either until rapport is
established. If the problem is a temporary tendency then short-term acute stress
may be the direct cause. Use one-to-one counselling to discover the causes and
then agree necessary action to deal with them. Where the anger is persistent,
frequent and ongoing, long-term chronic stress is more likely to be the cause.
Again, counselling is required to get to the root causes. Exposing these issues can
be very difficult, so great sensitivity is required. The counsellor may need several
sessions in order to build sufficient trust and rapport.

The situation must be referred to a suitably qualified person whenever necessary, ie

when the counsellor is unable to establish a rapport, analyse the causes, or agree a
way forward. In any event if you spot the need for anger management in a person
be aware that serious anger, and especially violence, is a clinical problem and so
must be referred to a suitably qualified advisor or support group - under no
circumstances attempt to deal with seriously or violently angry people via
workplace counselling; these cases require expert professional help.

Establishing commitment to change and identifying the causes is sufficient for many
people to make changes and improve - the will to change, combined with
awareness of causes, then leads to a solution.

ideas for stress relief - especially for workers at particular risk

Many workers in the healthcare professions are at particular risk from stress and
stress-related performance issues (absenteeism, attrition, high staff turnover, etc).
Other sectors also have staff that are at a higher risk than normal from the effects
of work-related stress.

It is the duty of all employers to look after these people. The solutions are more
complex than blaming people for not being able to cope, or blaming the recruitment
selection process.
In these situations it is often assumed that better selection of (more resilient) new
recruits is the solution. However, the challenge is two-fold - identifying best new
candidates, and more importantly: helping and supporting staff in their roles.

In terms of identifying best new candidates, look at Emotional Intelligence

methodology. The ability to absorb high levels of stress and pressure is governed
largely by emotional maturity and personal well-being, which to an extent are
reflected in the EQ model.

The Emotional Intelligence section contains some useful resources (for example an
Emotional Intelligence competency framework, which can be used to structure
interview questions or even to create an assessment tool to assist in the
recruitment process).

Other methodologies are also relevant to the qualities which greatly assist in high-
stress roles (and especially training/support for the people in the roles), including
NLP, Transactional Analysis, and Empathy.

Existing staff and new people in stress-prone roles are also likely to benefit from
help given with relaxation, stress relief, meditation, peace of mind, well-being, etc.,
all of which increase personal reserves necessary to deal with stressful situations,
which in turn reduces attrition, absenteeism and staff losses. Happily many
providers in these fields are not expensive and bring great calm to people in a wide
variety of stressful jobs.

And look at the 'Smoooth' work-station breathing idea.

television, films, computer games - mood influencing stress factors

In the same way that 'you are what you eat' recent research suggests that also 'you
are what you watch'.

Given how the brain works it is logical - and increasingly proven - that if you subject
yourself to miserable, negative experiences portrayed on film and television, and
computer games, that you will feel unhappy or even depressed as a result.
Negative, violent, miserable images, actions, language and sounds are in effect a
form of negative conditioning. They produce stress, anxiety, and actually adversely
affect a person's physical health.

Evidence is growing that positive or negative images and sounds have a

corresponding positive or negative affect on your physical health and well-being.
Watching or violent or miserable TV, films or playing violent computer games are
experiences now proven to have a directly negative effect on a person's physical
health, as well as mental state.

Conversely, watching or listening to an amusing experience or portrayal in a variety

of media (TV, film, even books) has a beneficial effect on your mood, and thereby
will tend to improve your physical health, mental state, and reduce your stress
levels.

Negative viewing and game-playing experiences are bad for you. Positive, funny
experiences are good for you.

Think about and control the influences upon you - reduce the negatives and
increase the positives - and you will improve your physical and mental health, and
you will most certainly reduce your stress levels.

Some useful references:

Research published in 2005 by Dr Michael Miller of the University of Maryland in

Baltimore confirmed the positive and negative effect on blood vessels and their
'endothelium' lining, from respectively positive and negative viewing and listening
experiences, and the resulting hormonal changes that result, producing stress, and
aversely affecting blood vessel performance. Healthy blood vessels and
endothelium are able to dilate (open) more freely and quickly, aiding blood flow and
reducing propensity to clots and related blood flow problems such as heart risks.
Basically, negative experiences reduce capability of blood vessels to dilate, and
positive viewing experiences and laughter reduce stress and improve blood vessel
dilation. Specifically the research found that stress caused blood flow to slow by
around 35%, but laughter increased it by around 22%. Miller also referenced
numerous prior studies demonstrating the positive effects of humour and laughter
on stress and health, together with evidence of the contrary negative effects on
health, stress and the body's natural functions caused by negative viewing
experiences. Miller found that stress and reduced blood vessel performance
resulting from negative experiences last for around 45 minutes, and suggested that
unrelenting stress could permanently (adversely) alter blood vessels.

Professor Andrew Steptoe, British Heart Foundation Professor of Psychology at

University College London, has previously shown associations between positive
emotional states such as happiness and low levels of the stress hormone cortisol,
(as well as finding that people with a more positive outlook appear to be less
affected by stressful events).

Dr Margaret Stuber's US research has demonstrated that laughter is an effective

pain reducer in children, and specifically that children's stress levels were reduced
after laughing, and in UK hospitals 'clown doctors' are used in children's wards to
improve patients' tolerance to stress and pain, including prior to anaesthetic and
operating theatre.

workplace stress and workplace health research articles

If you needed any further evidence of the damaging effects of stress and pressures
in the workplace - especially for managers, here's a useful research article released
28 April 2006 by the Chartered Institute of Management:
poor workplace health is no laughing matter for uk managers

Increased anger and loss of humour amongst people in the workplace are just two
of the knock-on effects that businesses now have to deal with due to poor
workplace health, according to new research (published April 2006).

The 'Quality of Working Life' report published by the Chartered Management

Institute and Workplace Health Connect uncovers a high number of physical and
psychological symptoms and highlights the impact these have on business
performance.

The survey questioned 1,541 managers in the UK revealing a poor picture of health,
with only half (50%) believing they are currently in 'good' health.

Key findings of the report were:

Anger and mood: 43% admitted to feeling or becoming angry with others too easily
and one third (31%) confessed to a loss of humour creating workplace pressures.

Muscle tension and headaches: More than half of those questioned (55%)
complained of muscular tension or physical aches and pains. 44% said they
experienced frequent headaches.

Tiredness and insomnia: Asked about psychological symptoms, 55% experienced

feelings of constant tiredness at work. 57% complained of insomnia.

The report also shows that ill-health is having an impact on morale and
performance. One-third (30%) admit they are irritable 'sometimes or often' towards
colleagues. Some managers also want to avoid contact with other people (26%) and
many (21%) have difficulty making decisions due to ill health.

Mary Chapman (no relation), chief executive of the Chartered Management

Institute, says: "With the impact of ill-health being keenly felt in the workplace,
managers need a better understanding of the consequences of letting relatively
minor symptoms escalate. They need to take more personal responsibility for
improving their health because inaction is clearly having an effect on colleagues
and the knock-on effect is that customer relationships will suffer, too."

Elizabeth Gyngell, programme director at Workplace Health Connect, says: "Health

activities should not be driven by a concern over legislation, but by the
understanding that improved well-being can generate significant benefits to morale
and performance. This means organisations should ensure their employees are well
versed in identifying and addressing symptoms before they escalate."

The above article 'Poor workplace health is no laughing matter for uk managers' is
©CMI 2006, and used with permission.

The Chartered Management Institute helps set and raise standards in management,
encouraging development to improve performance. Moreover, with in-depth
research and regular policy surveys of its 71,000 individual members and 450
corporate members, the Institute has a deep understanding of the key issues. The
Chartered Management Institute came into being on 1 April 2002, as a result of the
Institute of Management being granted a Royal Charter.

As regards health in the workplace, Workplace Health Connect (a partnership

between the CMI and the Health and Safety Executive) provides free, confidential,
impartial and practical advice and support on health, safety and return-to-work
issues.

Small businesses, which employ less than 250 workers and are based in England
and Wales, can access the service via an Adviceline (0845 609 6006). Where
needed, this will be followed up by workplace visits from qualified Workplace Health
Connect advisers. These visits are available in London, the North East, the North
West, South Wales and the West Midlands.

Workplace Health Connect advisers are able to advise on a range of issues that can
affect workplace health including: poor manual handling technique, incorrect use of
chemicals, poor hygiene in the workplace, working in dusty or noisy environments
and working at a badly set up workstation. See the Workplace Health Connect
website.

Further articles and research about workplace stress and health will be added in
due course.