Choosing the Right People to Work With
In Business, it is important to have the right people on your team. Also, to work with people who have other skills and talents (and services or goods), that complement your own. Surrounding yourself with complementary assistance means Choosing the Right People to Work With.
We can only ever begin from where we find ourselves today. If you haven’t yet developed your skills of personal traits well enough to handle all aspects of the business, don’t worry. You can always employ others who have the training, skills and traits that you lack within yourself. If you have a new business idea, you can always hire those who are capable of handling the aspects of the business that you aren’t.
Know Yourself
What aspects of yourself at this point in time will help you, and which aspects of yourself will hinder you? Sometimes your greatest asset is also your worst enemy if allowed to be free to be itself without some kind of control over it. I learned much of what I write here from personal experience. My mistakes were my greatest teacher. At times, those aspects of myself that needed changing were only dealt with after I had experienced events that forced me to look at myself. I can only say these things here because hindsight gives you 20/20 vision.
While I hadn’t trained and wasn’t operating at my best, I wasn’t able to see my lack of development and my inability to make good choices. So it’s very important to make your own personal development a regular part of your life so that your business can grow to the point that you’ve grown within yourself.
Each one of you will be faced with different challenges than what I was. What is a challenge for one is easy for another. Yet what is difficult for them, the first one handles well. Depending on how far we’ve grown in maturity will determine which category of the following personality test we fit into.
Personality Types
Power Types
Of all the different personality tests that are available out there, none seemed to explain things so well to me as the one that I have placed below. Print out this page and mark off your answers to work out your own personality type, and then you can fill out the missing words on the different pages as we go through the traits of each of these three types.
Questionnaire (take note of the most appropriate response)
. Mostly / Sometimes / Never
Do you have:
a) alot of friends 1 0 -1
b) a few close friends -1 0 1
Do you prefer to:
c) take risks 0 1 -1
d) play it safe 0 -1 1
When making decisions do you:
e) do so on your own without prompting 1 -1 0
f) wait until forced 1 -1 0
Which answer is most appropriate?
When at a party where you don’t know very many people, do you:
g) feel insecure 0 0 2
h) prefer to reach out and make contact with other people 2 0 0
i) try to become the centre of attention ie. the main focus 0 2 0
Which answer is the most appropriate?
When something goes wrong do you:
j) hit the roof 0 2 0
k) talk to someone 2 0 0
l) withdraw 0 0 2
Which answer is the least appropriate?
When something goes wrong do you:
j) hit the roof 0 -2 0
k) talk to someone -2 0 0
l) withdraw 0 0 -2
. Mostly / Sometimes / Never
4. Which answer is the most appropriate?
How would your friends describe you?
m) open and friendly 2 0 0
n) vivacious 0 2 0
o) quiet and reserved 0 0 2
Which answer is the least appropriate?
How would you friends describe you?
m) open and friendly -2 0 0
n) vivacious 0 -2 0
o) quiet and reserved 0 0 -2
Which four (4) terms or statements best describe you?
p) direct 0 1 -1
q) willing to compromise 1 -1 0
r) will deal with problems immediately -1 0 -1
s) orderly / pedantic 0 0 1
t) resolute 0 1 0
u) shy and retreating -1 -1 1
v) when dining, prefer refined cuisine 1 0 0
w) hearing is sensitive to loud noise 0 -1 1
x) will gain weight easily 1 0 1
y) tend to be impatient -1 1 0
Now add up your scores. The highest is generally your dominant trait, the lowest is your least dominant.
Adding up the Score
When you add up the scores you will have a total score at the bottom of each column. The first column indicates your score in the are of Relationship. The second column indicates your score in the area of Action. The third column indicates your score in the area of Strategy.
Your highest score indicates your strongest personality component. Your lowest score indicates your weakest personality component. In order to become balanced overall you may need to temper your strongest personality component and strengthen your weakest personality component.
The Personality Components
When evaluating your personality type, it is important that you consider all three components together. First of all, the whole model shows your overall, individual personality, in which all three components work together.
The Strongest Component
This shows your most outstanding characteristics. Herein lies the key to your success, but also – if this component goes out of control – the origin oof your problems. Familiarise yourself with your potential.
The Second Component
This shows further potential of your personality and it complements the strongest component. Try to combine correctly the meaning of both components – according to their proportions in your power type model.
The Third Component
This shows you which limits of your potential you need to come to terms with and in which direction you are better not to seek your goals, because your personal disappointments are mostly already pre-programmed with all the intentions that you form here.
Relationship-Type Personality
Is Motivated through Positive Relationships
You are motivated to take action if in doing so you can improve your relationship to your environment. For example, in sport, you don’t fight for the sake of it, but rather to please your trainer and to be with your team. Relationships are the most important thing for you, and you will do everything to improve these relationships. You can be motivated with pain if someone shows you how disappointed they can be if you don’t achieve your goals.
Main features of the relationship motivated character
Lives, remembers and likes to talk about:
Reaches decisions influenced by the …………………………………………………..of the past
Is in charge of ……………………………….……….and………………………………..………..
Success through ……………………………………………………………………….…………….
Quickly seeks and finds ……………………………………………….……………….……………
Goes to people and feels that he/she belongs with them ……………………………………………
……………………………..………and…..……….…………………are very important to him/her
He/she loves the comfortable ………………………………………………………………………
Sociable, a mediator, has………………………………………………………………….…………..
Has a great interest in ………………………………………and in your……………………………
Often finds it difficult to say ……………………………………………………….………………..
Due to his/her nature, to their …………………………………..………..…, people come to them
He/she is inclined towards ………………………….………………………, he/she builds on trust
Personality-Type Model
Hence the strength of your orientation towards relationships is a good yardstick for how loved you can be in your human environment – even without your own conscious actions. Human isolation is unbearable for you. Your ability to make use of your past experiences is one of your strongest characteristics. Every human being has an enormous supply of unconsciously stored life experiences. The more distinctive this component is, the more is this treasure of experiences available and the more it gives you a strong and distinctive sense of security.
You feel better and safer if you can build up your collection of acquaintances and intimate friends. You don’t like to give up memories and habits. You avoid radical changes and are more interested in constant development.
The reliability of your instinct strongly influences your environment with your brilliant instinctive judgement of people, your instinctive feeling when interacting with them. Even if you can’t logically explain such feelings, you will often receive clear confirmation of them through experience.
What you should do and what you should leave alone, if Relationship power is your strongest component?
You are successful because people like you. So, build on this advantage. Do what corresponds to your nature. Do people favours without immediately questioning the value of them. This way you are the winner – especially if you don’t frantically concern yourself with the outcome. Focus on your strength being in gradual progress rather than in dogged rings. When you face strong resistance, just hold back and wait for your opportunity.
Rely On Yourself
Confidently put your trust in your reliable feelings for people and situations. Learn to recognise and take notice of these subtle signals from your subconscious, because you will often receive better guidance from this unconscious evaluating of your stored up experiences than from advice or long searching.
But with your easy style of contacting people and your delight in the contact, just be aware that not all people have such a strong need for contact or are so readily disposed towards it. Make sure that in your efforts to come close to people that you don’t come too close. Respect the need for personal space which many people need around them, and which you may not invade, otherwise you will create a defence reaction.
Action-Type Personality
Is Motivated through Winning Power
You feel motivated when you can be better than others, when you are Number 1. In sport, for example, you are motivated to beat others, to stand on the victory podium, so that you can look down on them. With regard to pain, you can be motivated when someone points out the humiliation you would feel if another person won and looked down on you.
Main features of the action motivated character
Lives, thinks and speaks a lot in the …………………………………………………..……………..
Distinguishes between ………………………………..……and……………………………………
He/she loves the ………………………………………………………….……and seeks superiority
Strives after superiority and has………………………………………………………………….…..
Affects others very ……………………………………………………………………………………
Takes advantage of the moment and decides very ………………………………………………….
Is brief …………………………….…..……and…………………………………………………….
From every situation he/she gets …………………………………….…………………………….
Success with colleagues through …………………….…………and………………………………
Goes easy on …………………………………………………………………………………………
Tends to …………………………………………………………………………………..……easily
Personality-Type Model
You want a lot. Possessions and success are important to you. You are a real adventurous type. You want to rise high. For this reason you are prepared to invest a lot in the game. But you also have enough discipline to reach your goal or goals. You look for competition and risks in all areas of life – and you enjoy it, you love it. Rest and patience are foreign to you. You experience situations with uncertain outcomes not as stressful, but as welcome challenges. Thoughts of security bore you. You want to move on. Not only because of money, but because you are interested in everything new.
You love to pit yourself against others. For you, competition means a challenge, which you happily accept and which stimulates you to give of your best. It is not your style to give up easily and step back, but rather to show others how it is done. Your strong will power to get through things gives you a natural authority, which others sense and recognise – even when you don’t deliberately show it.
Ever Present
You have the ability to recognise and seize the opportunity of the moment. Your element is the here and now, that which can be done at the moment. Your reactions to the reality of the moment are spontaneous and immediate, little restricted by lengthy consideration. This concentration on the needs of the moment explains your delight in decision and readiness to take risks. You need activity, there must always be something on the go, and that immediately. The dynamism of your nature is contagious and relates to: Wherever you are, there’s always something happening.
It is more your style to grasp things than to brood over them at length. Your attitude is “Trying works better than studying”. You are skilled at improvising and are able to help yourself in most situations.
What you should do and what you should leave alone, if the Action power is your strongest component?
You are successful because you make an impression. Therefore, put into play the suggestive, infectious effect of your personality. Your dynamism, delight in decisiveness and your optimism are contagious, even if other people don’t acknowledge it. It is in your nature to achieve. You can rely on your natural authority, which will be recognised on some level by others, even though generally unbeknownst to them.
Do not put so much emphasis on “Making a good impression”. You do not need to, otherwise, through your conspicuous and conscious need for admiration you lose much of the power that naturally radiates out from you.
It is characteristic of you to react quickly and without lengthy consideration. Learn to differentiate between fast and rash. Rein in your inherent inclination to react immediately, so the goal oriented dynamics and decisiveness do not become lack of reflection and futile hectic behaviour. Particularly when in a state of excitement or anger you should not react immediately, but take a brief pause to consider. In that way, you can avoid a lot of rash behaviour, which could hurt you and later cause you unnecessary problems.
Strategy-Type Personality
Is Motivated to Strategise and Plan Ahead
Your behaviour is mostly rational and practical. “NDF”: Numbers, Data and Facts are not foreign words to you. You don’t fight with others but measure yourself above all by your inner standards. In sport, for example, it is more important for you to develop yourself, even almost to compete against yourself, than to be the first. Your pain motivation is being shown that if you do not reach your goal, you will not really live up to your potential, and that you behave illogically and so miss your chance.
Main features of the Strategy motivated character
Lives, thinks and speaks a lot about the (Write your answer here……….)
Considers consequences, does nothing (Write your answer here……….)
Even though in contact with other people, prefers to be rather (Write your answer here……….)
He/she likes to be…………………………..……and to stay………………………………………
He/she thinks in numbers data and facts ie:………………………………………………………..
He/she is very sensitive to…………………………………………………………..………………
Succeeds with other people through………………………………………………………………
Often in the role of observer………………………………………………………………..………
He/she is very………..………………………….……and…………………………………………
He/she often makes himself/herself……………………..….……over……………………………
Must always achieve…………………….………that are measurably………………………..……
Personality-Type Model
Important values for you are safety, peace, harmony and contentment. You avoid as much as possible situations where you can not judge what’s going on. You are rather reticent towards strangers and new people. It takes a while before you warm-up to people. You generally don’t give the same impression at first meeting, but tend to gain confidence with further acquaintance.
You always want to decide the way things are to be done and leave nothing to chance. The largest part of the blue component is a measure stick for the safe distance that you need between yourself and other people.
Strong Sixth Sense
You are sensitive and thin-skinned and feel dislike, indifference or apathy from others very strongly. But other people tend not to notice your feelings. You are interesting but complicated, and often ‘hard-to-see-through’ is the assessment given of you.
Your distance from others, but also from yourself, makes others see you as critical and reserved, rather than instinctively prejudiced.
You have the tendency to anticipate and imagine the future, and are always a little way out of the present.
You quickly grasp the fundamentals, understand connections and recognise the natural laws behind apparently unconnected details. You are not satisfied with the superficial, but look for the background structures and connections. You are able not only to recognise and build on logical connections and orders, but also to have a natural gift for arranging such connections to others in an understandable and easily remembered way. Your facility to use language like a precision instrument is a useful adjunct to this talent.
What you should do and what you should leave alone if Strategy power is your strongest component.
You are successful because you convince people. Your systematic, orderly thinking, your ability to grasp the essentials, and your gift for sharing the logical construction of your thoughts to others give you a decided advantage in every discussion. Make the most of this advantage.
Missing Words from the main features of the Personality Descriptions
Relationship Motivated Character
- the past
2. experience and results
3. their intuition and their feelings, sensitivity towards others
4. empathy, people, caring, involving people
5. contact, others
6. easily, instantly
7. safety/security, trust/acceptance
8. fellowship and belonging of being part of a group
9. understanding, trustworthy, tolerance
10. people, welfare
11. no
12. friendly, approachable behaviour
13. the past
Action Motivated Character
- present
2. friend, foe/enemy
3. compete, victory, win
4. superiority, dominate
5. firmly, authority
6. quickly, spontaneously
7. direct, resolute, practical
8. maximum
9. drive, ambition, passion, enthusiasm
10. planning, repetitive
11. Hit the roof, lose patience
Strategy Motivated Character
- future
2. planned
3. reserved, withdrawn
4. distant, aloof
5. thinks about details
6. loud noise
7. convincing, persuading, facts
8. distance, detachment
9. orderly, punctual, late
10. stressed, worried, future
11. results, known
When teaching a workshop I would go through this exercise during the class, however, if you are doing this exercise by yourself at home try to figure out the missing words on your own at first before checking the answers. You will be surprised how close you are to the correct answers without needing to see them first.
What to do Now that you Know your Personality Type
Well, there’s no use knowing what your strongest component is in the personality-type exercise we just did if you can’t take that knowledge and do something with it. So we will look at what you should do when one of the three types is dominant in your personality.
Action-type
If Action-type is strongest, then you may not be best suited to a customer service role. Make sure you put someone that is a Relationship-type into this role. Or, if you can’t arrange to do that straight away, then only work the business long enough to leverage yourself out of actually doing the customer service role and more into the business-building role. Then go about hiring others to run the shop for you, but keep control of the purchase of stock. Don’t give this information to your staff as you won’t be able to prevent them setting up on their own if you do. Also, set up a camera in the shop – so you can watch your staff as well as your customers.
You may also want to send in your friends and relatives from time to time to make sure your staff are not discounting the price, because relationship-style personalities like to please people, but they should not be doing so at your expense. Being who you are, be careful that you are not too hard on your staff or contractors, because action-style personalities tend to get very terse with people very quickly, and if you want your business to succeed then go easy on those who work within your organisation.
Relationship-type
If Relationship-type is strongest, you will be perfectly suited to running the shop. But because you love creating good and harmonious relationships with people, make sure you have someone in the background that is, perhaps, a strategist-type. You will need this person to do the bookwork, remind you to pay your tax and order the stock from the suppliers. Because of who you are you will hate doing all the boring paperwork, so make sure you have someone around you that can help you in this area.
Also, be careful that you don’t try to please people so much so that they can take advantage of you. If someone wants to return an item, remember that it is pre-loved and there should be no returns on your stock. Who knows, the person trying to do this could have already worn it, so don’t do anything that means you will lose money. Be firm – it will be difficult because of who you are, but you need to develop this skill or you will go broke.
Strategy-type
If Strategy-type is strongest, then you will need to develop a more outgoing personality if you intend to run the shop yourself. You should also set a date and get started even if you don’t feel you have everything in place ready to go. Things don’t have to be perfect before you start. If you wait until everything is perfect you will never get started, so just set a date and do it. Like Nike says, ‘just do it”!! Also, read as much information as you can find about the art of selling, as you naturally won’t have the kind of outgoing personality that is needed to succeed in sales, but you will be able to develop one if you really want to.
An alternative to running the shop yourself is to hire someone else, and you do the behind the scenes work that keeps the business running. Like the Action-type, you could be behind the scenes doing the purchasing. But unlike the Action-type, you will be diligent enough to do the bookwork yourself. Action-types can’t stand sitting still for long enough to do that. You would be wise to have an Action-type in the background giving you the push you need to keep the business moving, because you may sometimes fail to take an opportunity to expand if you don’t overcome your fears of going for it before having to have everything perfect. The Action-type will encourage you to go forward.
A Blend of Two Traits
If you are lucky enough to have a fairly even blend of two of the traits of the personality types, and only one of them is fairly weak in comparison to the others, then you might be able to run this business without too much help from anyone else. If this is the case, just be aware of your weaknesses and watch (in the same way an observer would) yourself to see that your weaker traits aren’t going to be your undoing. The fact that you are aware of where your weaknesses lie helps you avoid them having a detrimental affect on you.
So, for example, if you know that you absolutely hate doing the bookwork, hire a competent bookkeeper and meet with them once a week or once a fortnight. Or, if you know that you have a good blend of relationship and strategist styles, but might be afraid of taking the next step when your business was ready to expand, then make sure you have a mentor that you check in with who can help motivate you when the time is right.
Teamwork
Nobody can expect to be competent in all areas, and this is why we work well when we are interdependent on others. We can offer our strengths to help others and they can do the same for us. You are not a failure if you can’t do everything on your own, and you shouldn’t expect yourself to be able to. Just do the very best with the skills and strengths you have, and be open to accept help from others if you need it. You can still do extremely well in business without having to be perfect, so go ahead and start, and don’t worry or be afraid! Everything will work out fine in the end.
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Free From the Gilded Cage is the education arm of the Loving Heart Foundation Australia where we teach the basics of self-employment, how to save money wherever you can, and basic budgeting skills. This is so that women can learn the skills needed to manage their own lives without feeling trapped in a relationship with a man who is beating them up. With these skills they can easily leave him.
Update: The first novel in our series of seven written to raise funds for those whom we assist is now published. It is the courageous story of a young teen growing up in a home filled with domestic violence, and how she manoeuvres her way through such a difficult situation. Click here if you’d like to know more about this novel.
Click here if you’d like to be taken to the site where you can purchase this novel.