Believe it or not, a little personal self-awareness goes a long way towards developing a strong, introspective team — a team that communicates, a team that solves problems together, a team that works through challenges and manages mistakes in a way that promotes improvement rather than blame. Self-awareness means understanding who you are and the impact you have on those around you. It’s a solid starting point for successful team interaction and growth. As each team member gains insight into their own personal motivators and preferences, it is far easier to appreciate the unique differences of the people they work with.
That’s all well and good, but I’m guessing you want some examples.
Appreciating Differences
Different things motivate different personalities. For example, take-charge, competitive personalities (tall column 1) need to be out in front driving activity despite any associated risk, while cautious, security-oriented team members (tall column 2) prefer to respond to needs and support that activity without incurring risk. Both are needed to make a team run smoothly, but they are likely to gravitate towards activities that feel comfortable and create individual confidence.
Social employees (tall column 3) care greatly about being liked and working with other people in order to get things done. They are energized by interactive activities. Analytical, reserved employees (tall column 4) are naturally skeptical and prefer to work alone to get things done. When working with others, they appreciate having the opportunity to collect their thoughts in advance before sharing ideas and solutions with the group.
Fast paced (tall column 5) employees are motivated by a dynamic environment that gives them the chance to bounce from task to task, while moderately paced, routine-oriented (tall column 6) associates value predictability and the stability of fixed processes. And, the autonomy and chance to self-manage that your tall column 7 employees crave could make your more accommodating, structured employees (tall column 8) feel disconnected and uninformed.
Given these differences, it is easy to see that team growth takes a concerted effort, not only to understand one other but to leverage that understanding to improve communication, resolve conflict productively and accomplish collective goals. A strong team can do great things because it is far more than the sum of its parts.
The Omnia Professional Development Report
We recommend the Omnia Professional Development Report as a great way to learn about yourself and your teammates. The professional development report is a helpful, nonthreatening self-awareness tool using the Omnia Assessment to uncover core traits and tendencies.
What do you learn?
The Omnia Professional Development Report is packed with insight and information that can be used for both individual and team growth.
Each report features the well-known Omnia 8-column personality graph. The graph is a visual representation of one’s assertiveness level, communication style, preferred pace and need for structure. Every person falls into one of 17 personality groups, though individuals in the same group can have varying levels of each trait. Following the graph, the report provides a detailed breakdown of each pair of columns called Development Insight along with suggestions for personal growth. The report talks through an individual’s key traits, communication preferences, strengths, and challenges with suggestions for working through challenge areas. It also highlights pace, attention to detail, motivators, demotivators and ends with an action plan on ways to maximize personal success and professional growth.
Many of our clients use the professional development report as part of their internal team-building initiatives. Teams can meet to share and discuss results as a way to learn more about each other and set goals for continued growth. Omnia can also provide a kick-off webinar to introduce the columns and provide a foundation for future team discussions. Feel free to reach out to me to learn more.
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