UNDERSTANDING TEAM BEHAVIOURS WHICH TEST IS BEST?

UNDERSTANDING TEAM BEHAVIOURS WHICH TEST IS BEST? DAVID HANLON APRIL 2012 © 2012, David Hanlon DH-1204-BEHAVIOUR1.DOCX THE DRIVERS OF BEHAVIOUR W...
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UNDERSTANDING TEAM BEHAVIOURS WHICH TEST IS BEST?

DAVID HANLON APRIL 2012

© 2012, David Hanlon

DH-1204-BEHAVIOUR1.DOCX

THE DRIVERS OF BEHAVIOUR We are regularly asked – “What is the difference between the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and DISC tests?” Both instruments have their origin in theories developed during the first decades of the twentieth century. DISC is based on the theories of Dr. William Marston while the MBTI is based on the theories of Dr. Carl Jung.

What does it measure? IQ measures your ability to problem solve in areas such as short-term memory, verbal knowledge, spatial visualisation, and perceptual speed. True IQ tests are an ability test, not a selfreport.

! Fixed Variable " MSCEIT

! Self-report Ability "

20%

MBTI

15%

15% DISC

Before we go into a description of these instruments it is helpful to put them into perspective with respect to behavioural drivers.

How important is IQ? IQ is believed to account for around 20% of your total performance base. As such, it is the single biggest contributor to our total makeup.

The four main areas of testing are: intelligence, emotional, personality and a spate of other factors, which are illustrated in the diagram above. Below each of these are examined in more detail.

Can it be improved? General consensus is your IQ is your IQ for life.

2. Emotional measures 1. Intelligence measures Most have heard of IQ (Intelligence Quotient) yet few have a real understanding of what it means. Originally, IQ tests were used to detect persons of lower intelligence, and to detect children of lower intelligence in order to place them in special education programs. Today IQ testing is used for adults where the tests are developed to determine an adult's true mental potential, unbiased by culture, and to compare scores against the scores of other adults who have taken the same test.

Emotional intelligence is a very recent measure and has been made popular by Daniel Goleman’s best seller, Emotional Intelligence. The tests used vary from a range of popular “self-reports” to more credible ability tests. The MSCEIT (MayorSalovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test) is the benchmark test, and it is increasingly being used by organisations to assess and understand the ability of their people to use and manage emotions.

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What does it measure? EQ is the ability to problem solve using emotions as data in four areas: (1) recognising emotions, (2) using emotions, (3) understanding emotions, and (4) managing emotions.

How important is EQ? EQ is believed to account for around 15% of our total performance. It is therefore an important contributor to our total make up.

Can it be improved? General consensus is your EQ management skills can be improved which is one of the main reasons for the interest in developing a better understanding of this facet of our makeup.

3. Personality measures Personality is probably the most noticeable part of your psychological life. Personality factors measure whether you are happy or sad, energetic or apathetic, smart or dull. Over the years, many different definitions have been given for personality, however most refer to a mental system. It is important to note that there are a range of instruments used, most of which are selfreports, including: • • • •

MBTI 16PF Questionnaire Keirsey Temperament Sorter the Big Five factors and this test is used frequently by the recruitment profession.

What does it measure? Personality tests typically personality traits (eg. Big Five) or types (eg. MBTI). Typical traits include emotional, cognitive and behavioural tendencies that underpin your personality.

MBTI focuses on the patterns of traits that characterise whole persons. By doing so MBTI acknowledges both qualitative and quantitative individual differences rather than focusing only on quantitative differences

How important is personality? Personality factors are believed to account for around 15% of your total performance. Hence they are also an important contributor to your total make up.

Can it be changed? General consensus is your management of your personality management skills can be improved which is one of the main reasons for the interest in developing a better understanding of how preferences impact our behaviours.

4. AND, the other…. You don’t have to be Einstein to see that this section accounts for 50% of your behaviour and performance. Most important here are your underlying beliefs, values and the pressures of the immediate environment. With such a large variance, you may justifiably be tempted to ask: What is the value of tests? For us, this is where the DISC fits.

DISC vs MBTI DISC and MBTI are the two most popular instruments used for personal development and team building. They are both used extensively around the world in corporate and social environments. Interestingly, this is despite the academic institutions demonstrating that neither are accurate predictors of behaviour. Their popularity rests in the awareness both instruments bring to understanding differences in preferences and styles between individuals. These two attributes alone, help enormously in building workplace effectiveness. (see summary of each instrument, page 5).

Importantly, both are regarded as leaders in developing a better understanding of the nonclinical drivers of preferences and styles and how these differences impact on others.

Whilst similar in a number of ways, these instruments differ in purpose therefore they report on different aspects of your makeup. In simplistic terms DISC reports on how you see your behaviour in different environments (referred to as your natural and adapted environment). It is what we like to refer to as the observable: it is how you act. MBTI, on the other hand, reports on how you approach the environment intellectually and attitudinally and how you process information.

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SO, WHICH IS BEST? The answer lies in what the purpose of the assessment is.

The MBTI brings understanding to your ways of thinking and dealing with information internally. That is, how you think about the world around you. DISC highlights your observable behavioural style, that is, HOW you do what you do, ie. your actions.

When working with teams who probably will not spend the time to fully understand and remember their individual MBTI results, we have found DISC to be more useful.

DISC vs MBTI – KEY FACTORS DISC

MBTI

Dominance: Direct and decisive

Extraverted vs Introverted

These people tend to be independent and results driven. Their personality is strongwilled, and they enjoy challenges, taking action, and seeing instant results.

Extraverts tend to react based on people's energy and attitudes, where as introverts make more internally-based decisions. Extraverts may prefer to get people excited to do things and complete tasks, while introverts might like to do things on their own or in small groups. Extraverts would rather talk out loud about ideas and concepts, while introverts would rather internally reflect upon them before taking any action.

Influence: Optimism and outgoing Influencers are optimistic and outgoing, the social butterflies. They prefer being on teams, talk openly, and often entertain and motivate others.

Steadiness: Stabilising and team players Typically team players show empathy and are helpful to others. They prefer being behind the scene, working in consistent and predictable ways. They are often good listeners and avoid change and conflict.

Conscientiousness: Detail and Quality These people are often focused on details and quality. They plan ahead cautiously and continually check for accuracy. They want to know the “how” and “why” of everything.

Sensates vs Intuitives The Sensing/Intuiting scale identifies an individual's preference for receiving information from tangible objects and facts (S) versus imagined possibilities and perceived interrelationships (N).

Thinking vs Feeling The Thinking/Feeling scale identifies a preference for evaluating information based on impersonal analysis and logic (T), as opposed to personal values and group goals (F).

Perceiving vs Judging The Perceiving/Judging scale distinguishes people who are typically more open, curious, interested, and ultimately adaptable (P) from those who are organized, purposeful, logical, and decisive (J).

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DISC vs MBTI – SUMMARY DISC

MBTI

Background

Background

Dr William Marston, a physiological psychologist writing in the 1920s and 1930s, explored the meaning of normal human emotions by relating how a person perceives himself or herself in relation to the environment and describing how the person is likely to behave in response.

Dr Carl Jung, a psychiatrist originally affiliated with Sigmund Freud, developed during the 1920s and 1930s a typology for explaining human behaviour — both normal and abnormal.

Essence

Essence

The dimensions of Marston’s model:

The essential ingredients of Jung's model are:







The environment is perceived as favourable or unfavourable. The individual perceives him or herself as more or less powerful than the environment.

In response to the environment, the individual either acts on or accommodates to that environment which is seen as either favourable or unfavourable.

Katherine Briggs and her daughter, Isabell Briggs Myers expanded Jung’s work to help women entering the industrial workforce for the first time in WWII.





Individuals are predisposed to pay more attention to either (a) the external world of objects or (b) the inner world of ideas and feelings. Thus, they exhibit either extraversion or introversion. Individuals naturally prefer to use one of two "functions" for gathering information — either sensing what the objective facts are or intuiting relationships and possibilities. One is grounded in reality, the other in imagination. How individuals process and evaluate information depends on their preference for the thinking versus feeling "function." The first approach is based on logic and objectivity, and the second is based on subjectivity and personal values.

Myers and Briggs added to Jung's three dimensions a judging- perceiving scale, which is designed to measure one's attitude toward the "outer world" — ie. how people manage their lives.

Application

Application

Marston focused on the individual in relation to his or her environment, as a result the model is suited to help people understand individual behaviour — their own and others in a particular situation. Such information may be used by the respondent to determine how he or she may want to adjust behaviour to work more effectively with others or better adapt to a situation.

Because Jung focused on trying to explain individual differences, including a range of normal and abnormal behaviour, it is appropriate to use this instrument to help people determine whether their behaviour should change to become more effective.

NOTE, Marston did not evaluate one kind of behaviour as preferable to another.

Source: Inscape Publishing, Inc. (1997)

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DAVID HANLON David Hanlon has a special interest in seeing people perform outside the ordinary. He is especially interested in seeing them achieve their personal and businesses goals, whether financial and organisational performance or physical wellbeing and fitness. He is recognised as one who gets to the heart of things, not accepting face value: a process described by clients as both challenging and rewarding. He has 30 years experience in agro-industrial business analysis and benchmarking, organisational performance and personal capacity building. He designed the Supply Chain ExecutiveLink™program, which won the Logistics Association of Australia’s Training and Education Award. He has been the driving force behind Conversations for Growth, which was short-listed for Training Innovation Award by the Australian Institute of Training and Development. David is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and a Chartered Management Consultant with the Institute of Management Consultants in Australia. His personal interests are developing young leaders, adventure trekking and long distance cycling.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Tel FreeCall Email Web Postal

07-3869 3044 1800 1900 11 [email protected] www.therightmind.com.au PO Box 377 SANDGATE, QLD, 4017

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