Category Archives: Personality Style

Doing a Little Spring Cleaning in Your Office?

Posted on by
Reply

What your workspace tells about your co-workers and your communication styles.

Throwing away old papers? Dusting off that top shelf? During your office spring cleaning, take a closer look around your workspace. Does your desk have an endless supply of papers strewn across it; or is it so clear of clutter that you can see every inch of the desk with charts and graphs on your wall? Are papers arranged in neat organized piles?  Or mixed with personal photos and some clutter? Your work space can provide insight into your personality style.

Personal style is developed over time and revealed by the level of assertiveness and expressiveness you display. Assertiveness is the amount of effort you make to influence or control another’s thoughts or actions, and expressiveness is the amount of effort you make to control emotions when interacting with others. By measuring your levels of assertiveness and expressiveness, you can discover your preference for one of the four personality styles.

HRDQ Style Model

Identifying an individual’s preferred personality style as Direct, Spirited, Considerate, or Systematic enables us to develop better interpersonal connections while recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of each style. By understanding the strengths of each style, we can flex our own style to work with those strengths – communicating and interacting better.

The next time you enter into your or a co-worker’s space, take some time to look around  - take mental notes about the space.

Personal StyleIf you have a hard time finding their desk under all the papers, notes, books, or magazines, they are displaying a spirited personality style and you should turn on your listening ears because they like to talk.

Do you see family photos prominently displayed? Is there a comfy couch or chairs? This type of space reflects considerate personality styles. Create rapport by making small talk.  You’ll build a solid relationship before jumping into projects.

Personality StyleIf you see piles of papers nicely organized with personal photos discreetly placed in the corner, you are meeting with a direct personality style. Be direct and to the point with clear instructions.

When you pass by your co-worker’s workspace at night and all you see is the desk, they are displaying a systematic personality style. Provide and focus on the facts in an organized way.

Simple clues such as how a co-worker’s workspace looks help identify communication styles and enter into more effective relationships.

What's My Communication Style?The HRDQ Style Series provides quick and accurate ways to identify personality styles and the impact they make in the workplace. Using self-assessments, participants can better understand how personality drives behavior, improve their people skills, and successfully create interpersonal relationships.

What’s My Communication Style? is the perfect place to start!

What’s My Time Style?

Posted on by
Reply

Personality Style affects all aspects of our work life – especially time management.  Just as with social situations involving different groups of people, we approach time management differently depending on what we’re doing.

Time ManagementWhen thinking about time management, it’s important to consider not just the nature of the task, but the other people involved.  Team members, managers, and other stakeholders may have very different methods of time management than we do.  And while we cannot control the behaviors of others, and most often can’t choose who we work with, we can make our time-management style align more closely for a more harmonious group effort.

This is especially important when fitting our own tasks into a schedule developed by someone else.  We need to choose an appropriate time-management style for the task at hand, but also make sure that our style is appropriate for the people we are working with.

So, how do we classify time-management style?

We all observe behaviors in ourselves and in others, and can sense when we are compatible (or not).  There’s a simple and effective way to decipher these behaviors and understand why they result in compatible or incompatible relationships.  It’s the HRDQ Style Model.

HRDQ Style Series

Classifying observable behaviors into four distinct personality styles (Direct, Spirited, Systematic, and Considerate), the HRDQ Style Model helps us create a plan for capitalizing on our own natural strengths, and relating to others more effectively.  The HRDQ Style Series is comprised of eight style assessments that deal with specific aspects of work life and provide personal development training.  What’s My Time Style? deals directly with time management.

What's My Time Style?Built on a foundation of behavioral tendencies, arrived at by self-assessment, What’s My Time Style reports an individual’s “style” and provides enough interpretive information and time managemet training to chart a course toward better performance, better relationships, and smoother sailing all around.

Learning about personality style can improve all aspects of our home and work lives, and help us build the skills and relationships we need to maintain high performance, feel fulfilled in our interactions, and help others succeed with us.

Let the HRDQ Style Series help you!

Don’t Kiss Me, I’m Systematic

Posted on by
Reply

On St, Patrick’s Day, everyone is Irish.  It’s not really about ethnicity or religion – it’s about finding things that are special and unique in us and in others, and celebrating them.  It’s about being aware and appreciative of differences.

Personality StyleBut more than that, it’s an acknowledgement that behavior is a choice.  We can shape our interactions and interpersonal relationships by choosing certain behaviors.

On St. Patrick’s Day, everyone incorporates the good, fun parts of the signifier “Irish” into their own behavior.  In the same regard, we can all flex our personality style to incorporate positive aspects of other styles into our behavior in situations that call for them.

Teams and organizations are made up of personalities.  Successful teams and organizations are conscious of the different strengths and weaknesses of these personalities, and understand that behavior is a choice.

Personality Styles

By helping your team understand their own behavioral tendencies, you’ll encourage them to recognize and develop their special, unique strengths while appreciating the strengths of others.

The HRDQ Style Model is based on the understanding that everyone has inherent tendencies – a personality style – and that no style is fundamentally better or worse than any other.  Measuring the expressiveness (desire to share thoughts and feelings with others) and assertiveness (desire to influence others) of individuals, HRDQ Style Assessments reveal a personality style based on individuals’ response to statements regarding interpersonal behavior.

Offering eight different assessments targeted towards varying soft skill sets, the HRDQ Style Series is your tool for building healthy and productive workplace relationships.  On their own, or as part of broader training on related topics, HRDQ Style Assessments are an effective foundation for a variety of soft-skills training topics, including communication, leadership, team building, and supervisory skills.

Get Started with the HRDQ Style Series Today!

Celebrate your style with a blinky button!

Celebrate your style with a blinky button!

Communicating From Earth to Mars: Averting Communication Disasters

Posted on by
Reply

In 1999 the Mars Climate Orbiter burned up as it entered the Martian atmosphere after $125 million spent in development and nine months of travel.

The cause? A lapse in communication.

It all came crashing down because the navigation team and the designers of the spacecraft weren’t communicating essential information in a common language; one used English measurements and the other used metric to relay vital data.

“It is very difficult for me to imagine how such a fundamental, basic discrepancy could have remained in the system for so long,” John Pike, Space Policy Director at the Federation of American Scientists, said about the incident in a Los Angeles Times article. While it may be hard to imagine, it happens all the time to organizations around the world and employees at every level. The good news is such an enormous, costly communication disaster can be easily averted.

It starts by making sure information is continuously and precisely conveyed to all involved in a project, both within and between teams. In a recent Harvard Business Review blog post, Georgia Everse reminds leaders that “there is no such thing as over-communication.” She urges them to avoid jargon, build a common language, and “be explicit about using terminology that resonates with everyone in the organization.”

In Personality Style at Work, Kate Ward suggests that in order to convey your message clearly and accurately one should avoid sweeping generalizations and check for understanding to make sure the message was understood in the way it was intended. Following such simple steps can keep the lines of communication open and prevent chaos in the future.

HRDQ’s What’s Your Communication Style can help identify communication problems and improve communication skills, BEFORE they result in the crash landing of a promising project.

Avert a communication disaster and see how HRDQ can help today!

Read more about Kate Ward’s advice!

Wear Your Personality on Your Sleeve (or Which Ninja Turtle Should You be for Halloween?)

Posted on by
Reply

Our Personality Style comes through every day, whether we are conscious of it or not.  Awareness allows us to take control of – and improve – our interpersonal relationships.  Developing an understanding of our Personality Style can be the first step in improvement.  This Halloween, you can start by choosing to celebrate your style.  Obviously, you were planning on being a Ninja Turtle.  I didn’t even have to ask.  But which one should you be?

Do you have a Direct style?

Raphael embodies the Direct style.  Never hesitating to take action, he’s always ready when the team encounters conflict and isn’t reluctant to dive in feet first.

Do you have a Spirited style?

Michaelangelo’s big personality always keeps the team engaged and communicating – on a personal level, and when it’s time to get down to business.

Do you have a Systematic style?

Donatello is a total Systematic.  As the team’s technical expert, he’s always thinking of new ways to improve strategy and resources to get things done more efficiently.

Do you have a Considerate style?

Leonardo pulls the team together with his Considerate style – reminding them of their purpose and the teachings of their leader, and keeping everyone working together, harmoniously, toward common goals.

One reason the Turtles are such a successful team is their variety of styles.  Each style has a different way of contributing to the group dynamic and taking on leadership.

Not sure exactly which Turtle you have the most in common with?  The What’s My Team Member Style?  Assessment can help you better understand the contribution you make to your team, and how to capitalize on your personal strengths to benefit your organization.

Try it now at the HRDQ Store!

One Simple Step to Increase Productivity in the Workplace

Posted on by
1

Why should you care about your employees’ personalities? If they are fulfilling their job as outlined, and are generally following the organizational culture, you are doing pretty well, right? Although many leaders might agree with that statement, it sets the bar much lower than it needs to. There is likely untapped productivity within the personality of your employees – even the hopelessly under-performing or endlessly average ones.

According to Scott Keller, performance improvement expert and co-author of Beyond Performance (2011, Wiley), “…we’ve found that leaders can create and sustain stronger business results if they understand — and manage — how employees approach their work every day. When employees’ thoughts, feelings, and beliefs are aligned with their daily work, they do that work better.”

All communication is filtered through our personality style, which also holds the key to our motivations and typical behaviors. Human nature can be very complex, causing even the most stalwart leaders to cringe and avoid facing issues head on; the good news is that we are also quite predictable, and for the most part, we each follow patterns in our behavior.

Successful leaders are those who become keenly aware of their own personality type, and use that knowledge as a springboard for getting in touch with their peers and employees. This deeper understanding of self and others works as an asset in team and organizational management.

How is Greg motivated? What are Sandra’s career goals? How does Chris best handle stress? Once you can pinpoint personality style and dominant behavioral patterns, you can improve the productivity and effectiveness of every person who interacts with you in the workplace.

Click here to learn more about personality styles.

Dimensions of You

Posted on by
Reply

For literally thousands of years, people have been asking the question, “What’s the deal with me?”

In Classical times, “what we are” was the same thing as “who we are.”  The physical body was fundamentally connected to the “I” (the personality) and the deed/action.  Classical physician Hippocrates noted signs from the body that related to the disposition and personality.  He called these physical/behavioral pairings the Four Humors, and related each to an element of nature (fire, water, wind, earth):

Classical notions of ideal forms (developed by Hippocrates’ contemporary, Plato) found resurgence during the modernist period.  People had, in the face of automation, a renewed interest in self-assessment: “If a machine can do what I do, then what am I?”  By this time, though, the Cartesian model shaped our thinking.  We saw a division between the physical world and the world of the mind – thoughts separate from actions, feelings separate from sensations.  We now see a duality in forms (personality types): a division of self from self-expression.  We understand that our behavior is not just dependent on our physical self, but the choices we make with respect to others.  The dimensions we now consider are

Expressiveness - The degree of effort made when revealing emotions to others

Assertiveness - The degree of effort made to influence others

These dimensions form the HRDQ Style Model:

The measures of expressiveness and assertiveness are more about building relationships than categorizing or classifying.  We’re learning what our preferences are so we’ll understand how our behaviors effect those around us.  Even though a machine can do what your body does, it can’t form the relationships that define business today.

Personality Style at Work, a new book form author Kate Ward, is based on the HRDQ Style Model.  More than just a tool for self-assessment (but don’t worry, it has a great one!), this book guides us through difficult everyday situations – using personality style as a tool for achieving positive outcomes and improved relationships.

With Personality Style at Work, you’ll not only learn what the deal is with you, but how to read the behavior of others, how to build rapport with different people, communicate effectively, and create positive interactions and relationships at work and at home.  Click here to learn more, and get started today!

It’s Time to Flex!

Posted on by
1

You don’t have to work out for hours every day to get in shape, but you do need to do it consistently, if you want to progress. The same goes for successful communication. By understanding your personality style, and the styles of those around you – and allowing that understanding to frame your interactions – you can effectively communicate with virtually no strain or confusion.  By recognizing the tendencies and preferences of others, you’ll be able to flex your own style to accommodate their needs as well as your own.  Change your tactics in order to appeal to your counterparts’ personality style. Message flexing will ensure that you’re on the same wavelength, before your discussion, planning, or negotiation even begins.

Find the Right Approach

There are four styles outlined in the HRDQ Style Model: Direct, Spirited, Considerate, and Systematic.  Each style has a set of preferred behaviors, and knowing what to look for when approaching each style can go a long way in ensuring effective communication.

  • Direct: Get to the point immediately; be prepared for a dispute, and reiterate the logic or reasons behind your ideas.
  • Spirited: Be ready to discuss alternate options
  • Considerate: Build rapport with small talk, and break negative news or communicate dissention by ensuring your counterpart that it isn’t a personal attack.
  • Systematic: Don’t get emotional! Be ready to answer many questions and provide factual details about your ideas.

You Mean I Have to Deal with These People Every Day?

We all have a range of personalities to interact with each day.  Kate Ward’s latest book, Personality Style at Work, is based on the HRDQ Style Model.  With it, she helps us understand the values of this range, and how we fit into it as individuals.  Ward shows us how to navigate through our daily interactions to become more effective communicators.

What Do They Want, Anyway?

We all have expectations when we approach other people – a set of norms that we feel suit the situation best.  These expectations, however, don’t always match.  We can avoid the difficulties of unbalanced needs by anticipating and adjusting to the needs and expectations of others. Here’s what each personality style is looking for:

  • Direct: These people are often brief and to the point. They make direct eye contact, and may come across as brash. Match their intensity to get their intention.
  • Spirited: These people want your attention and recognition, so if you frame your conversation with that in mind, they’ll be more open to your ideas.
  • Considerate: The Considerate personality type wants to be your friend, so pace the conversation, and use your mannerisms, language, and tone the way you would with a friend.
  • Systematic: Give them information! Don’t spend much time on small talk, because it is only going to make a Systematic personality type grow impatient. They may tend to focus on criticism, and you can counteract this by being ready with answers before your interaction.

Although there is no style better than any other, your own style has certain strengths.  By leveraging these strengths, and your new-found ability to approach other styles, you can turn every opportunity into an advantage.

So get flexing, and start moving through each interaction smoothly and with better results! Click Here for more about the power of Personality Styles.

Free Webinar! Personality Style at Work: The Secret to Working with (Almost) Anyone

Posted on by
Reply

FREE WEBINAR
Hosted by HRDQ
Presented by Kate Ward
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
11:00am – 12:00pm eastern time

The topic of personality in the workplace has always been a popular subject. And for a good reason. That’s because personality is the root source of our behavior, our actions, our performance. It determines how we communicate, influence as leaders, and get along with others. On a larger scale, personality shapes team dynamics—and even sets the tone of an organization’s culture. It can also become a competitive advantage, if people understand how it works and how to use it.

Join author Kate Ward for an hour-long, interactive webinar that will explore how personality style impacts the workplace. She’ll introduce you to a simple and proven model that can help you—and your training audience—to decode behaviors and actions, learn to maximize strengths, avoid trouble spots, and discover how to adapt and flex personality style to improve working relationships.

Kate Ward’s new book, Personality Style at Work, is an introduction to personal style and how it can be used to improve interpersonal relationships.

What You Will Learn:

  • Why personality style matters in the workplace
  • The unique characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses of each style
  • How to recognize different personality styles
  • Potential conflicts between opposing personality styles
  • Strategies for flexing personality style to improve relationships

Who Should Attend:

  • Employees
  • Supervisors and managers
  • Front-line leaders
  • Human resources and training professionals
  • Organizational coaches

About the Presenter:

Kate Ward

With more than 20 years of experience, Kate Ward was a manager of curriculum development for CareerTrack, where she authored programs, supervised a team of instructional designers, and facilitated training. She also served as the Senior Instructional Designer at TreeLine Training, responsible for leading the development of the core skills curriculum library. Currently, Kate is running her own company, working to create innovative training solutions for today’s business needs.

Register now!  Space is limited!

Leading with Style

Posted on by
Reply

A Guest Post by Personality Style at Work author Kate Ward.

With the Fourth of July behind us, and an election just around the corner, I’ve been thinking about our American presidents. Four in particular, whom most people would agree were effective leaders: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Each led from a distinct strength, and I believe that was the key to their effectiveness.

Envision the future: This was Thomas Jefferson’s strength. Jefferson was a visionary who could picture a very different United States with the addition of the Louisiana Purchase. People with this strength lead by seeking promising opportunities, taking risks, and demanding action.

Engage others: This was FDR’s strength. He was able to unite the country in challenging times. Leaders with this strength have a talent to inspire and motivate others. They connect to others and are able to generate excitement and rally the troops to achieve a common goal.

Encourage others: This was Abraham Lincoln’s strength. Leaders with this strength are excellent listeners, great team builders, and are particularly good at developing their staff. Lincoln was known for adding the best and the brightest to his staff and pulling together a team uniquely suited for dealing with the crisis of the Civil War.

Execute results: This was George Washington’s strength. Washington was known for his organizational skills, and his determination and persistence to achieve what he set out to do. Leaders with this strength are detail-oriented and use informed, objective decision-making to bring about the highest standards of performance.

By examining our own tendencies and talents, we can learn how we interact best with others. Each leadership strength correlates to one of the four styles in the HRDQ Personality Style Model.

Envision the future = Direct personality style.

Engage others = Spirited personality style.

Encourage others = Considerate personality style.

Execute results = Systematic personality style.

While leadership is an invaluable skill (in any style), Personality Style can tell us much more about ourselves and others.  Personality Style at Work is a guide to help you use the Personality Style Model in your work and personal life to develop and maintain positive relationships with the people around you.  Take a look at the descriptions below.  Do they sound like you or someone you know?

Personality Style at Work is a perfect introduction to the concept of Personality Style. It will help you quickly and accurately identify your personality style, decode the behavior of others, and flex your style to build rapport with the people around you.

Direct style: People with a Direct style set their eyes on what they want to accomplish, and then go after it. They are not inclined to make small talk and may interrupt others. They have a high degree of confidence and make quick decisions.

Spirited style: People with a Spirited style are multi-taskers. They get easily bored and therefore enjoy handling a variety of tasks and projects. They love to talk and brainstorm and are generally less interested in following through and handling all the details.

Considerate style: People with a Considerate style are all about collaborating and maintaining harmony. They are good listeners and usually prefer to hear others’ opinions before sharing their own. They offer encouragement and support to others and really want to connect at a personal level.

Systematic style: People with a Systematic style are meticulous and committed to maintaining high quality standards. They use a data-driven, analytical approach to decision making and therefore may get bogged down in the decision-making process.

By identifying your Personality Style, you can use it to develop your natural strengths, work on your potential trouble spots, and improve your performance across the board.

The Personality Style at Work Assessment will help you identify your style, learn to figure out the styles of others, and use that information to form positive relationships and interactions.  Get started now!