THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING WHO YOU ARE

Managing teams is a complicated and often difficult process, especially if your own behaviours and communication style seems to be different to those in the team. By obtaining a greater awareness of how you are motivated, take in information, make decisions and react in certain situations, you will be able to understand and appreciate others who are similar to you and those who are different.

Humans are complex, and our brains are all different (all 7+billion of us).  But there are various tools that can help with understanding some of our “ways”, which can really help in a work environment.

We use a number of management tools to help clients gain a deep and revealing knowledge of their working preferences, values and behaviours, thereby increasing their level of confidence and self esteem in the workplace.

Are you surprised sometimes by your reaction in certain situations?

Would you prefer to handle stressful situations in a better way?

Are you confused about how differently people react?

Can it be a struggle to deal with difficult people?

Does somebody only have to look at you in a certain way and you feel annoyed?

If you’re in a meeting and two team members started arguing, what’s your automatic response?  Anxiety?  Stomach in knots?  Do you withdraw or the words disappear and you can’t think what to say?  Do you get stressed and worry about interacting with certain people or groups?  Then you would benefit from understanding and recognising your “automatic” physical and emotional responses when under pressure through developing your self-awareness and emotional intelligence.  Being able to recognise emotions, triggers and needs of yourself and your team will help you interact and build better working relationships, as well as help reduce stress levels.

We help clients to obtain a greater awareness of how they are motivated, take in information, make decisions and structure their lives. This process also helps clients to appreciate others who are similar to them, and especially those who differ from them.   

Personally, understanding more about the way you tick, how you will react in certain situations, and the triggers which can cause you to behave in different ways, will help you in your home or work environment. This knowledge increases confidence and self esteem; important for everything you do.

In management, it is important to identify and value the differences individuals bring to the success of the team and the organisation; building on this where it works well. Where there is conflict or lack of progress, a greater awareness of oneself and others (and learning effective communication skills) encourages understanding, trust and respect.

Effective communication, and especially feedback, benefits from being delivered in the language that suits each individual team member’s patterns of speaking and thinking. Additionally, each manager’s style can contribute to a positive and progressive team or, if unaware of their impact on others, can breed stress and conflict.

CLUES TO OUR PERSONALITY

There are a number of tools which can help us identify more about our personalities, how we are motivated and how we make decisions. The tools that Assiem Ltd use, are ones that describe the personality in a positive and constructive way – there is no right or wrong – but can also give guidance as to how to interact and communicate better with others.

Depending on the depth of information the client wishes to gain, we can also use the widely accepted Hogan Assessments, Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument™ (TKI™), VAK language (Visual, Auditory, Kinaesethetic) and Belbin®. We can also use some neuroscience and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) techniques to guide clients on building rapport and understanding what affects behaviour.

Karen is a Certified Practitioner of Applied Neuroscience which enables “brain-friendly” approaches to key leadership needs such as decision-making and planning, creativity and insight, motivation and engagement, learning and development, and stress management.

For more information about each of these tools, please see below.

See articles on Self-Awareness and Conflict Management.

PACKAGES AVAILABLE

One area we excel in is getting delegates to commit to using and applying the ideas and techniques covered in the coaching. They will leave the coaching with the confidence to apply what they have learned and be inspired and motivated to put it into action in the real world. Self-awareness and emotional intelligence packages include:

Introduction to Self-Awareness

This is a FREE short self study workbook, allowing you to work through the various exercises in your own time to find out more about your motivations, decision making and potential stress triggers.  It has been developed as an introduction to self-awareness for leaders who want to understand themselves better and their impact on their team’s motivation and engagement.  Contact us for a copy.

Standard MBTI® Package

Provides an introduction to the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment tool and results in the client confirming their “best fit” MBTI preference code.  To understand more about this package or ways Assiem Ltd can help you, please contact us.  The package includes:

  • Overview of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment tool and what this means for you
  • Set up, provision and analysis of the MBTI questionnaire
  • 1 hour feedback session (either in person, or via the phone)
  • Confirmation of “best fit” MBTI preference code
  • High level overview of your motivational and decision making style and how others may see you.
  • In total, this would be a 3 hour programme, split around the questionnaire completion.

“We asked Karen to provide an MBTI workshop at our recent company offsite.  It was enlightening and entertaining.  We are diverse group and the insights from the workshop enabled us to better understand each other and to figure out how to work together more effectively – exactly what we were hoping to achieve.”

John, Chief Operating Officer, Equity Investments

Platinum Self Awareness Package

Provides an introduction into emotional intelligence, behaviour, motivation and decision making preferences, across a number of widely accepted tools, together with a full analysis of how these work alongside each other and how these relate to your current situation and future goals.   To understand more about this package or the ways Assiem Ltd can help you, please contact us.

  • Full MBTI® preference code process (inc questionnaire, feedback session and “best fit” confirmation)
  • Hogan Assessment and feedback session
  • Full TKI™ (Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument™) preference process (inc questionnaire, your preference and usability in different situations)
  • Full VAK language preference process (inc questionnaire)
  • If required, Belbin® preference modes (inc questionnaire and use in the workplace)
  • Understanding emotional  intelligence, behaviour and the world around us, through beliefs, values and use of preferences
  • Practical applications in relation to your goals
  • In total, this would be a 3 day programme, split around the completion of questionnaires.  Alternatively, it can be spread across a 3 month period, with bi-monthly 2 hour sessions.

PERSONALITY PREFERENCE TOOLS (MORE INFORMATION)

Myers Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI):

The MBTI tool was developed to make Carl Jung’s psychological theory about differences in people’s behaviour understandable and applicable to everyday life. All personality differences are described in a constructive and positive way.
There are 8 preference codes (2 for each of the following), with results indicating the differences between people in 1. Where they prefer to focus their energy, 2. The way they prefer to take in information, 3. The way they prefer to make decisions and 4. The way they prefer to deal with the outer world. It is important to remember that everyone uses all eight some of the time, but there is always a preference (eg. if you have a preference for chocolate ice cream, that doesn’t stop you having vanilla!)

Following the completion of a self-report questionnaire and feedback session to discuss your “best fit”, you will come away with a four letter MBTI type code.

[NB: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, MBTI, and the MBTI logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Trust in the United States and other countries.]

Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument™ (TKI):

The TKI helps clients identify their preferred approach to conflict, and looks at how to use different styles to cope with various types of conflict situations. The five conflict modes are competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and accommodating. Everyone uses all five conflict modes from time to time, but we tend to use one or two styles more often. The model prompts people to think about their reaction to interpersonal communication, and suggests strategies to positively affect the outcome of conflict, both in terms of relationships and results.

[NB: The TKI logo is a trademark of CPP, Inc.]

VAK Language

One of the ways we process information is through language. We usually have a preference for one type of system (i.e. visual, auditory, kinaesthetic or auditory digital) and our vocabulary, posture and voice reflects this.
For instance, those with a visual preference speak quickly as they see pictures in their heads (“a picture paints a thousand words”), those with an auditory preference like to listen to people talking to them and telling them stories, those with a kinaesthetic preference get more of a feeling of things and use a hands-on approach, whilst those with an auditory digital preference talk to themselves with logic, sense and rationality.
Understanding your own preference and then learning the flexibility to use others appropriately will dramatically enhance your communication skills (which is exactly what charismatic speakers do).

Belbin® Team Role Theory

When in a team, it is important to understand how you and others can best contribute and work together. Belbin provides an understanding of the behaviours you express, what roles you play and to what degree.

Hogan Assessments

The Assessments promote a process that removes unconscious bias from decisions made about people in the workplace.