We designed a single-blind experiment (with scientific controls) for the MBTI, Enneagram, and DISC Assessment. Is your leadership training and pre-employment test any better than corporate astrology?
This is an interesting topic for me and I'm looking forward to part 2. Having worked in the corporate world I've taken all of the above..., some I agree with, some I flat out don't like.
I first became a manager in 1995. While the company I worked at didn't provide any formal management training I had studied leadership and management on my own. I thought I knew what I was doing. My management style was based on the golden rule. I managed people how I would like to be managed. Seemed like a great idea.
At the time I took on the management role I was taking a creative writing course for fun. Early on the company that hosted the course asked students to take a personality survey to help the company fine tune their material and approach to the students. I answered 72 questions and sent in my survey.
After a month in my new role I received my personality survey report. The survey used the Kiersey Temperament Sorter and the sixteen MTBI personality types. I read the three page report and, man, the report nailed me. It described how I thought, how I liked to work, my approach to doing things. I was stunned how 72 questions could so superbly describe me. Then I got to the last page where I learned that my personality type represented 3-5% of the general population.
I was running a department of 20 people. I had been managing them how I would like to be managed. My specific personality type represents 3-5% of the population. There might be one other person in the department of twenty who had the same personality type as me. Yet, I was managing the group like it was a whole bunch of me's. I knew I had to change fast.
Luckily, I came across the Platinum Rule: treat others as they would like to be treated. Versus using one management style for everyone I adapted my approach to each member of our department. My job got a lot harder, but I was a better manager for it.
Thanks for sharing that story, Anthony! You provided a great example of what happens when a personality test invites you to introspect. Even if personality tests are no better than horoscopes, isn't it valuable simply to be lifted out of your own head and into someone else's? To realize that everyone else is the main character in their own life stories?
To your point about the Platinum Rule "treating others as they would like to be treated:" agreed that it has a lot of benefits over the Golden Rule. What if a busybody practices the Golden Rule and gets all up in everyone else's business? What if a suicide bomber practices the Golden Rule and genuinely believes they're rescuing non-believers (and themselves) from damnation?
The Platinum Rule works very well in most circumstances, but what if someone wishes to be treated better than they deserve? What if someone wishes to be treated in a way that conflicts with organizational needs? What if someone wishes to stay in their comfort zone, but you've seen them develop quickly when you push them into their learning zone (which is necessarily uncomfortable, but not as extreme as the pain of the panic zone)?
In those cases, you might have to revert to the Golden Rule. You could also consider the Silver Rule: *Don't* treat others as you would *not* like to be treated by them. While the Golden and Platinum rules encourage action (doing right by others), the Silver Rule encourages *inaction* (avoiding harm to others).
This is an interesting topic for me and I'm looking forward to part 2. Having worked in the corporate world I've taken all of the above..., some I agree with, some I flat out don't like.
I first became a manager in 1995. While the company I worked at didn't provide any formal management training I had studied leadership and management on my own. I thought I knew what I was doing. My management style was based on the golden rule. I managed people how I would like to be managed. Seemed like a great idea.
At the time I took on the management role I was taking a creative writing course for fun. Early on the company that hosted the course asked students to take a personality survey to help the company fine tune their material and approach to the students. I answered 72 questions and sent in my survey.
After a month in my new role I received my personality survey report. The survey used the Kiersey Temperament Sorter and the sixteen MTBI personality types. I read the three page report and, man, the report nailed me. It described how I thought, how I liked to work, my approach to doing things. I was stunned how 72 questions could so superbly describe me. Then I got to the last page where I learned that my personality type represented 3-5% of the general population.
I was running a department of 20 people. I had been managing them how I would like to be managed. My specific personality type represents 3-5% of the population. There might be one other person in the department of twenty who had the same personality type as me. Yet, I was managing the group like it was a whole bunch of me's. I knew I had to change fast.
Luckily, I came across the Platinum Rule: treat others as they would like to be treated. Versus using one management style for everyone I adapted my approach to each member of our department. My job got a lot harder, but I was a better manager for it.
Thanks for sharing that story, Anthony! You provided a great example of what happens when a personality test invites you to introspect. Even if personality tests are no better than horoscopes, isn't it valuable simply to be lifted out of your own head and into someone else's? To realize that everyone else is the main character in their own life stories?
To your point about the Platinum Rule "treating others as they would like to be treated:" agreed that it has a lot of benefits over the Golden Rule. What if a busybody practices the Golden Rule and gets all up in everyone else's business? What if a suicide bomber practices the Golden Rule and genuinely believes they're rescuing non-believers (and themselves) from damnation?
The Platinum Rule works very well in most circumstances, but what if someone wishes to be treated better than they deserve? What if someone wishes to be treated in a way that conflicts with organizational needs? What if someone wishes to stay in their comfort zone, but you've seen them develop quickly when you push them into their learning zone (which is necessarily uncomfortable, but not as extreme as the pain of the panic zone)?
In those cases, you might have to revert to the Golden Rule. You could also consider the Silver Rule: *Don't* treat others as you would *not* like to be treated by them. While the Golden and Platinum rules encourage action (doing right by others), the Silver Rule encourages *inaction* (avoiding harm to others).
We're big fans of applying "first, do no harm" to leadership by first avoiding harm to those we lead, and only later doing right by them: https://www.adventuresinleadership.land/p/good-boss-bad-boss-dont-suck-principle