by Sandy | Jun 1, 2018 | Best Practices, MBTI Facts
No one can teach like someone who’s been there. Lisa Petrilli is a self-disclosed Introvert as well as an accomplished business woman who has run a $750 million business and negotiated pharmaceutical contracts with top global companies. In an article in the Harvard Business Review Petrelli talks about the contribution that learning strategies for networking made to her early success.
The only people that I have met that really love networking are people who run networking organizations and events. The truth is that many Extraverts find networking a challenge, but not in the same energy-draining way that Introverts might.
Petrilli’s top tips:
- Embrace having a preference for Introversion. She suggests that many Introverts in business see Introversion as something to overcome. Once a person embraces their natural inclination to spend time alone reflecting, they can refine their ideas and be prepared to make a powerful impact by what they have to contribute to the conversation.
- Petrilli has reframed networking from a large scale social onslaught to a series of one on one conversations. The benefits include creating better business relationships and being less drained by the experience.
- She suggests using Social Media or other ways of connecting to reach out ahead of an event to people who you know will be attending, telling them that you are looking forward to meeting them. This pre-introduction paves the way to making connecting more comfortable.
- If this way of pre- connecting isn’t possible, Petrilli suggests that it made a difference to her when she realized that if she took the initiative in introducing herself that others responded positively. She saw the benefit to her in reaching out first as doing this on her terms, as opposed to the whim of others.
- Her final piece of advice is to resist the temptation to go directly to the next event or meeting. Taking a half an hour or so to recharge will allow you to be fully engaged in the next thing on your schedule. It will also help to keep from building a negative story about networking being an energy drain.
Her final word…
Introverts who avoid networking are making a critical career mistake. Being an adroit networker is non-negotiable — and not as hard as it might seem.
by Sandy | May 18, 2018 | Best Practices, MBTI Facts
The question:
Do you have any advice for procrastinating ENFPs?
Tips:
As always be wary of “one size fits all” solutions. The best answers are ones that fit your needs and motivational strategies. Here are my top five tips I use to manage my own ENFP procrastination. Please use any that resonate with you and most definitely figure out what really works best for you.
- I create what I call “forcing mechanisms” with a solid deadline. An example of this includes registering for art shows. If left to my own devises without a specific goal for artistic endeavours, I would do more thinking about painting than actual painting. Signing up for a show several months before a “set in stone” date helps galvanize me into action. I can visualize the space where I will hang my paintings, and what I want to work on so that the whole show hangs together. It is fun and energizing to have a plan.
- In certain circumstances I find someone to help me with the task or project at hand. As an extrovert having someone to talk with me through each step can be a welcome lifeline and keep me in motion. This works especially well for things such as purging files and establishing order in my office or studio.
- I also use other external mechanisms to help me with accountability. When I have a regular session with a coach, a trainer, a buddy or mastermind group it is a way to get clear on my priorities and barriers to getting into action. The very act of articulating my goals and the actions I intent to take to achieve them helps to keep me on track.
- For years I was addicted to lists and would visit them regularly to make sure I was crossing off enough items so that I would reach a deadline in time. My current list is 2 pages long – recently reduced from an overwhelming 4 pages.
- Acknowledging the need for time to let things percolate and the sense of urgency to build helps eliminate the need to beat myself up for procrastinating. BTW This self- flagellation is a total waste of time. When I try to start early I often cannot focus or generate ideas. Over the years I have come to trust that the sudden urge to clean my desk or read a book may be just what I need to do in this moment and that tomorrow which is another day closer to the deadline will help get the seemingly requisite sense of urgency to work it’s magic and help me get on the kind of roll that only happens close to the last minute.
Okay – over to you. What are your top tips?
by Sandy | Apr 14, 2018 | Best Practices, MBTI Facts
In this post best-selling author Seth Godin talks about the futility of trying to convince someone to think the way you do. He could have been describing the experience of expecting others with different MBTI types to see things as you see them.
What I thought was interesting was his suggestion that people do business with people who are like-minded. Of course he was talking about people who had behaviours and interests that were similar.
Maybe there is something to what he suggests. I’m not really sure what I think about this idea but I recently had an experience that might prove him right. I facilitated a day of visioning with two business owners- one had ESTJ preferences and one was ENTP. One two occasions the person who is ENTP explained an idea that I was trying to get across by making it more tangible. Maybe it isn’t a coincidence that many people who seek me out as a coach have NF, NT or SP temperament preferences. My approach is often a mis-match for SJ’s no matter how conscious I try to be about my language and pace.
While I mull this over, I am curious to hear your thoughts on the benefits of finding “like- minded” customers/clients rather than trying to adapt or getting them to see things your way?
by Sandy | Apr 7, 2018 | Best Practices, MBTI Facts
Money is tight and time is tighter.
What that means for training is cutting back on both quantity and unfortunately that often impacts the quality as well. Consultants are often willing to dance to the tune of the sponsor. “If you lower the bar and need the limbo we can do that because we want to pay the bills and because we may think that something is better than nothing”. The consultant or type practitioner sees that the client is in need of assistance. Those of us who use type tools know the benefits of understanding type, so we agree to “do what we can” within the framework that is given.
In a TypeLabs webinar Hile Rutledge of Otto Kroeger and Associates provided a bit of a wake-up call around this issue. That was not his intent but what he suggested was that a type practitioner needs to be very clear about knowing the purpose of any type training. In doing MBTI training he suggests that type practitioners need to contract to have the first training designed specifically around helping participants understand MBTI type theory well enough to make an informed decision about their “best-fit” type. That’s it – a single focus.
Then, applying type awareness to improving communication, decision making or conflict resolution for an intact team would be contracted for a second session.In the end trying to crunch introduction and application into a shorter and shorter single session timeframe doesn’t serve the client well.
The bottom line is that the type practitioner or consultant needs to be very clear about the implications of lowering the bar to limbo standards and they need to make sure that the sponsor understands exactly what outcome they can hope to achieve for each level of investment.
It is better to elevate the discussion to focus on results rather than budget alone. Anyone wanting to use type in their organization is well advised to budget for the time required to build a strong foundation and to introduce a mechanism for reinforcement in applying the knowledge.
The waltz has a 1 – 2 – 3 count and type practitioners need to take the time to present the case for quality instead of agreeing to shortcuts in a knee-jerk fashion. I understand that what I am suggesting flies in the face of current economic reality however it is important to stop and reflect on what’s required to provide a good outcome.
Without the investment of time in training and integrating into the common language of the team, the MBTI is filed at the bottom of the cabinet under MY WHAT? “Oh that was something we did last year if only I could remember what it said”
by Sandy | Feb 16, 2018 | Best Practices, Enneagram
Oh yes Virigina, we all project aspects of ourselves onto others – both the good and the shadow. This is an unconscious act propelled by our defence mechanisms. This focusing outward to look for the source of what is happening leads us to give positive attribution to others for the things that we like about ourselves and conversely hold some others who share the qualities that we deem as negative in a bad light. Each Enneagram type will project according to the worldview of their type: for example, sixes reading the danger in the other. Hopefully we grow to realize that we often misread reality in this way. Although we may recognize that projection exists, this awareness does not give us a “Get out of jail free” card from projecting. We evolve, but few of us transcend our human foibles.
I recently had the pleasure of introducing the Enneagram to a Grade Nine student. I was “cautiously optimistic” in my own very Sixish way that this would be something that would be of value to her. Remember back in high school and the minefield of relationships that that environment holds… projection on steroids. My hope was that understanding the Enneagram would shift things from a view that “somethings wrong with me or somethings wrong with them” to having an understanding of nine different worldviews. In that light different behaviour and beliefs makes sense.
One of the things that we used were the Enneagram Institute’s Enneagram cards which were valuable in having a conversation about various aspects of personality, how we all process differently and levels of health in individuals. It was exciting to see someone curious, quick and open to learning and the difference it made in having the Enneagram explain what might be happening in the interactions between various types. Perhaps the halls won’t of the local high school won’t appear as much as a jungle when armed with a roadmap of the inhabitants.
Just in case you think that you are far far removed from how you reacted in high school… When was the last time that you were in a meeting or waiting at a service counter and thought that someone was out to yank your chain on purpose? Hmmmm…..
by Sandy | Jan 9, 2018 | Best Practices
Managing inventory key to retail
In retail, managing inventory is a critical part of bottom line success. My husband is a retailer, son of a retailer, brother to a retailer and uncle to retailers so you see this concept is the same as breathing in our family.
What defines inventory?
My work falls a little outside this retail realm. As well as doing leadership development coaching I paint and a few years ago I was a partner in a gallery in Toronto’s Historic Distillery District. So I have to admit that I find it a challenge to think of my paintings as inventory.
Get real then get creative
I had a rude awakening one day when I was actually having trouble getting to my laundry room because paintings were stacked three deep on both sides of the basement hallway. My patient retailer husband suggested a yard sale. Before I almost had a hemorrhage at that cheeky idea, I did have a creative thought and entered the local annual art tour the last weekend in November and put most of my paintings in a silent auction. My final tally showed that I sold 44 of the 74 paintings that I hung in the show.
Win / win
Some of these pieces went for not much more than the cost of materials which could have been a heart breaker until I looked at who bought. Some of my friends’ kids who are going out on their own now have paintings rather than posters. Others who were feeling the current economic pinch were thrilled to actually find something they could afford. Best of all I have freed up tons of creative energy and some cash to buy supplies.
A personal lesson for the future
As an ENFP who makes decisions based on values and whether an action lines up for me in my inner world this was initially a tough call. My inner dialogue was telling me that I had worked hard to build my reputation and that it had taken me years to get my prices to a certain level. How could I go back to prices that I charges 15 years ago? I was also telling myself that the art world had different (special?) rules that certainly didn’t involve the word “inventory”. We are talking beauty, mystery ….art not merchandise.
Freedom
Giving myself permission to get over myself and have some fun ended with a great result. Not only is inventory management good for the bottom –line, clearing old work was good for releasing creativity. It feels like freedom.
