by Sandy | Jul 8, 2018 | Best Practices, MBTI Facts
“Best Practice” Advice for Consultants and Coaches Using the MBTI
A consultant like Pam Fox Rollin who has such depth of knowledge and experience in using the MBTI works with clients in a completely different way than someone in the early days of using the instrument. Pam sets the context for her use of several assessment tools:
I’ve been an enthusiastic learner of type for (oh my!) 26 years; and I have used type in my professional practice for 10 years.
I follow Pam on Twitter @pamfr and through The Presencing Institute community so I have an idea of her expertise, her passion and commitment. I will be attending a session she is giving on working on identifying “blind spots” with clients this Friday and I was curious about how Pam approached using assessments in her consultancy.
Her answers are just what you would expect from a professional – crisp, clean and insightful.
How do you ascertain that it is the right time to use a particular assessment with a client?
When they want to figure something out that an assessment can help them with.
Obvious, I know
.
What do you do in your consulting practice now after years of experience with regards to assessment tools that you didn’t do in the early days?
Great question!
– I link the learnings more explicitly to their goals. When someone is just learning a new model, those links may not be obvious
– I slow down for what they’re captivated or puzzled by. If we don’t “get through it all” so be it.
– I tune workshop activities to the (probable) types in the room. If there’s a strong preference for Introversion, for example, the first activities are usually small-group and silent.
– I engage them more actively in considering the gifts/benefits of other types – and how to incorporate those points of view into their own leadership
– I’m more able to use multiple models… I’ve learned how to space them and make the connections from one to another to strengthen understanding and reduce overwhelm.
– I use more striking visuals and memorable stories.
What is “top of mind” for you these days regarding your work with clients?
How to use type (especially the cognitive processes) to help senior teams upgrade their decision-making. The tendency at that level is to assume they already use good decision-making and that any improvement is a matter of quality of inputs and analysis, rather than how they frame the decisions and consider what’s in scope.
by Sandy | Jun 29, 2018 | Best Practices, MBTI Facts
Follow-up is critical to your reputation and to building and maintaining relationships with your clients, customers and colleagues. “But I’m so busy” you groan “I don’t have time to do all that follow up.” Well I’m afraid this is one of those “You can’t afford not to” situations. Let’s see what follow up means and then look at some MBTI preference specific tips to make it easier.
Things to consider about follow-up
- Follow-up is required for every phase of engagement so it is important to identify the cycle of each client/customer interaction; for example, the initial discovery appointment, contracting, delivery, end of delivery review. Your process will be different but there will be some variation on a beginning, a middle and an end. It is helpful to know where you are in the cycle and what is required at each stage.
- To determine what is required at each stage, stand in your client/customers shoes. Try to understand what they might be needing right now so that you can follow-up. What questions do people typically have at this stage and have you answered them? If either you or the client have to gather more information or consult with others before a decision can be made have you created a time frame? Here is an important place to follow up no matter who has the ball. Make the call either way to keep the ball in play.
- Think “be of service.” Just because you haven’t heard back from someone doesn’t mean they have forgotten you. They too may be busy. Following up with an offer to help to answer any questions or address any concerns may bring you back to top of mind.
- Understand what you are agreeing to. People often say YES before they consider the ramifications of that commitment. It is perfectly fine to say that you would like to think about it or a day or two. Then it is important to get back with a ‘yes’ a ‘no’ or a counter offer. On this same note be aware of any implied agreements or expectations and be mindful if you agree to them or not. You may wish to surface them for a conversation.
- If you do agree to something, have a mechanism to make note of it and put a specific date on it so that you can monitor that you completed the item.
- If someone else agrees to do something, make a note of that too and follow up after a grace period so that they don’t feel that they are being hounded. The idea is to be helpful.
- If you find that you don’t have the resources or time to honour an agreement, say so in time for the person to make other arrangements. If you can offer them another solution even better even if it is your competition. The client or customer will appreciate your honesty and your reputation will remain intact.
Making follow-up easy (with a nod to your MBTI preferences)
- Automate or systematize this process if what you are offering allows for that. Personally I would need to hire someone to design this process for me as my ENFP preferences are better suited to other tasks.
- Identify your preferred way of communicating – email was made for Introverts. If that is how you like to get things done, let your clients know. Make it easy for both of you by declaring something like… “email requests are returned withing X amount of time”. Then be demanding of yourself that you do just that.
- Extraverts may wish to have a follow-up phone call. That way, you can get a quick grasp of the whole issue and hear if there are any unspoken concerns. It may work for you to have a specific time of day for making and taking calls, and let people know that you are available for phone calls between 8am and 10am for example. Then it goes without saying – be there.
- Consider whether some aspects of follow-up can be delegated to an assistant who can troubleshoot and screen what things need to be handled by you. Someone with a preference for Intuition can train an assistant to answer FAQ freeing them from repetitive detailed responses.
- For Perceivers – Understand what the person is asking if they make a request and answer “that” question only. No need to expand to other areas and open up something for no reason.
- For those with a Thinking preference- Most buying decisions are made with an underlying values based bias which is backed up with cool rational analysis. In other words, if you like it you’ll buy it (or hire a person etc.). So please don’t underestimate the Feeling aspect of decision making. Some of your follow up may be in preventing buyers remorse or dealing with people’s values based objections or their feelings. Follow-up may be simply listening to their concerns – without the need to “fix’, provide arguments or question them.
- Those with a preference with Judging can be of tremendous value to Perceivers in keeping a project moving forward in a timely manner. If you have just rolled your eyes at the though of yet again playing this role for people who should have it together, consider the possible advantage that this gives you. Then there is the huge ‘value add’ you give your clients if you can follow -up with kindness. Think of it this way… “Those who have the capability have the opportunity (responsibility) to use it.”
- For those with a Sensing preference, be aware of the exactly how much detail the client wants in order to be satisfied. They may want to leave all of the technical details to you and just need a yes or no answer. This also goes to the amount of follow up – some clients may not need to be contacted as often as others depending on their experience and need for information.
- For those with a Feeling preference – my suggestion in an ideal world would be to work in a business you believe in working for clients whose values are in alignment with yours. In the real world, step into the clients shoes and deliver according to their requirements. If what they want does not cross an ethical boundary, tailor your follow up to their needs and preferences not yours.
- In a nutshell, think of follow-up as part of building your business not as a nuisance and see if that makes if more palatable. It is all about maintaining trust and developing strong relationships. Your reputation is worth gold.
by Sandy | Jun 27, 2018 | Best Practices, MBTI Facts
How much time and effort do you put into promoting yourself and what you do? Add to that the amount of time you spend on the business you have contracted to deliver. Between the promoting and delivering are a myriad of steps that require attention…returning phone calls, clarifying needs, perhaps submitting a proposal, strengthening and maintaining relationships. The list goes on.
Consider the following tale of “follow up” success and failure. Compare these three experiences in getting quotes for a specific service.
Supplier #1
The website is straightforward and business-like with no bells and whistles. A few days after the initial conversation called back to say that given the complexity of the requirements, his limited resources and the time frame, he thought it would be best if he passed on making a quote. He could probably have delivered but he didn’t have the bandwidth if there were additional complications.
Supplier #2
Their website is like eye candy – everything you might want for your business. It boasts a team of experts and the examples of the work they have done is terrific. Emails and phone messages were returned a week later to set up a call. Documents and a discovery phone call resulted in a promise to return a quote within a day. Three weeks later and I haven’t heard a peep.
Supplier #3
Their website is high quality and professional. After an initial call to get an idea of the scope of the project a conference call was held with three of their experts on board. The needs of the situation were fully explored and understood. A complete proposal with costs and timeline was presented within 3 business days.
Resuts
Supplier #3 was hired and in action one day later. I am not alone in this endeavour. Everyone involved in this project will be an ambassador for this company for years to come. Supplier #1 also scored big time in my books because they were honest in a timely manner. I would definitely use their services in the future because they maintained their trust.
Supplier #2 lost trust and respect. I hope that it was an anomaly but I have no reason to try them again or recommend them to others. I am so disappointed because they looked so good online.
MBTI tips
Follow through may be more natural for someone with a preference for Judging. I know that my ENFP preferences do not contribute to my being a movie star in this area. However, being on the receiving end of poor follow up reinforced the importance to one’s reputation. The impact stretches far beyond one event.
If follow up isn’t your strong suit design systems to help you take care of every aspect of your business where follow up counts. Autoresponders do this for the part of your business that is online. What do you do to ensure that you don’t drop the ball?
by Sandy | Jun 17, 2018 | Best Practices
At some point in the development of your business or career the amount of work coming across your desk or in your in-box will require new strategies and delegating can be well worth the effort to let go of something you have done “forever”.
This week I was a visitor to a MasterMind group to talk about finding and operating from your genius (or unique capability). We had a lively conversation about the need to do things yourself either in order to have control or to get them done RIGHT. During the discussion we talked about what to say YES to and what to say NO to in building your business or managing your daily workload. While the goal is to free up more time and energy to do the things that are aligned with your natural creativity, there is still a reluctance to let go of the things that we do well even if someone else could do then just about as well aka good enough.
If you have a preference for Judging, you naturally gravitate to making decisions. Order follows as a result of having things decided. Those who have a preference for Perceiving defer making decisions as they keep options open. These two preferences lead to very different working styles and may be something to negotiate when you are delegating work to others. The focus needs to focus on the success criteria for a job well done rather than managing every aspect of the process the person uses to get the desired results.
I am not talking about policies and procedures that you have established as part of your business brand. I am really talking about micro-managing. As one of the seasoned professionals in this MasterMind group pointed out “It is a lot easier to delegate if you don’t watch.”
Another woman told about deciding to end the procrastination and stagnation that was happening because she hadn’t learned to both say NO to work that didn’t match what she was genius (read great) at. She finally decided to do what was fun and natural for her in a way that aligned with her calling. She was an expert on stress but she noticed that as she read other authors’ books about stress they all had a page that acknowledged the multitudes of professionals who kept them together body and soul during the stress of writing the book. This woman decided to write a book about stress in a stress free way in order to do this she refused to burn the midnight oil and she ended each chapter when it was good enough.
She walked her talk around stress management and because she modeled what she was trying to convey to others she gained trust and found followers of her writing and teaching. I suspect that this was also in alignment with her preference for perceiving.
Are you considering letting some aspect of your work go? The benefits of learning to delegate are well worth any bumps all the way as you transition part of your workload to someone else.
by Sandy | Jun 9, 2018 | Best Practices
At some point in the development of your business or career the amount of work coming across your desk or in your in-box will require new strategies and delegating can be well worth the effort to let go of something you have done “forever”.
This week I was a visitor to a MasterMind group to talk about finding and operating from your genius (or unique capability). We had a lively conversation about the need to do things yourself either in order to have control or to get them done RIGHT. During the discussion we talked about what to say YES to and what to say NO to in building your business or managing your daily workload. While the goal is to free up more time and energy to do the things that are aligned with your natural creativity, there is still a reluctance to let go of the things that we do well even if someone else could do then just about as well aka good enough.
If you have a preference for Judging, you naturally gravitate to making decisions. Order follows as a result of having things decided. Those who have a preference for Perceiving defer making decisions as they keep options open. These two preferences lead to very different working styles and may be something to negotiate when you are delegating work to others. The focus needs to focus on the success criteria for a job well done rather than managing every aspect of the process the person uses to get the desired results.
I am not talking about policies and procedures that you have established as part of your business brand. I am really talking about micro-managing. As one of the seasoned professionals in this MasterMind group pointed out “It is a lot easier to delegate if you don’t watch.”
Another woman told about deciding to end the procrastination and stagnation that was happening because she hadn’t learned to both say NO to work that didn’t match what she was genius (read great) at. She finally decided to do what was fun and natural for her in a way that aligned with her calling. She was an expert on stress but she noticed that as she read other authors’ books about stress they all had a page that acknowledged the multitudes of professionals who kept them together body and soul during the stress of writing the book. This woman decided to write a book about stress in a stress free way in order to do this she refused to burn the midnight oil and she ended each chapter when it was good enough.
She walked her talk around stress management and because she modeled what she was trying to convey to others she gained trust and found followers of her writing and teaching. I suspect that this was also in alignment with her preference for perceiving.
Are you considering letting some aspect of your work go? The benefits of learning to delegate are well worth any bumps all the way as you transition part of your workload to someone else.
by Sandy | Jun 7, 2018 | Best Practices, MBTI Facts
On the heels of the APA’s, American Psychiatric Association’s, proposed changes that would negatively impact our perception of Introversion, I was asked if Introverts (INFP specifically) can be highly functioning in social situations?
The answer is a YES in capitals. It actually saddens me to think that the myths about Introversion may have contributed to someone asking this question.
Much of my time over last 15 years has been spent in the “coaching” community. While coaches come in all MBTI type flavours, several of the people I have worked with closely have had INFP preferences. The two words that come top of mind in thinking of their social acumen are grace and charm. In watching them work with groups I have seen how they can take the conversation to a deep meaningful level within a short period of time. Perhaps because the inner world of reflection is home turf for the INFP, people sense that they can surrender and trust the INFP facilitator enough to go there with them. In general people with a preference for Introversion can be as outgoing as an Extravert. I personally know many amateur and professional performers who have a preference for Introversion yet love being in front of an audience.
Every personality type comes in every range of psychological health and well-being. In addition type has nothing to do with skill or competency in any area. Whether you are Emotionally or Socially Intelligent has nothing to do with your MBTI type although some would argue that some types are predisposed to it being more natural.
So where does that leave an individual looking for answers to the doubts, fears and challenges that face them in being at ease in the Extraverted world of social discourse? The MBTI and other personality assessments can provide insights into our selves and others and add to our self-knowledge, but the journey to robustness and well-being is truly an individual adventure.
Perhaps a more appropriate question would be “Can someone survive and thrive in social situations after an unsafe or harmful childhood or psychological trauma? Absolutely! In the best case scenario, these life challenges can be fodder for the kind of understanding and strength that makes an individual exceptional. At the same time I will concede that even people with the best of upbringings can be crushed by their reaction to circumstances.
It isn’t any person’s particular “wiring” that dictates their success in a social context, it’s what they do with what they have.
One caveat that may be something helpful to remember is that “No one makes it alone”. So reaching out to others whether they are mentors, coaches or therapists or a trusted adviser, is something we all need to consider. However if you are not naturally resilient SUPPORT is essential. Indeed this is not a one time event. Reaching out, setting up systems and processes that support you on an on-going basis – all need to be integrated into “healthy” living the same way diet and exercise are ongoing day by day.
Commit to daily, weekly, monthly, annual processes that build on what you do well and are comfortable with. Discovering what works for you can either be a hard task and burden or an exciting adventure of discovery. You get to choose!
What do you do on a regular basis to keep you in top form with friends and colleagues? and with yourself?
