Nicole (our marketing manager) and I read the recent article by Achim Nowak called – “Ignore psychological profiles and “Act Like” the Leader” and she challenged me to respond to the claims in a blog. So here it is – I respectfully disagree with his views!
We successfully use psychological profiles in our leadership development programmes and experience very different results to those claimed by Achim. However the article prompted me to reflect on the people who have had negative experiences with these profiles. We have worked with many of these kind of people and truly shifted their experiences. Like many other things in life it all comes down to “how you use” the tools you are given.
Achim claims “…..we have collectively bought into the notion of a neatly bound, neatly labeled self. In my experience cognitive awareness fosters minimal to no behavioural change. No, it tends to cement a fixed notion of self, and any personal exploration now occurs within the narrow confines of who we think we are.”
I disagree with this claim as it has been my experience that these profiles open people’s eyes to a deeper and richer exploration of what is personally possible. It all depends on how you USE the profiles – just like a tradesman, you cannot blame your tools. The profiles can be used to put a person in a box, to constrain their thinking and to neatly bind them into a label. Or they can be used to open their eyes to a deeper exploration of the best version of them and the individuation or personal growth that is possible.
I never allow people to use their profile as an “excuse” for continued behaviour – I encourage them to look and search for behavioural change to channel the most constructive approach they can bring. For example when someone discovers they have a preference for introversion this is not a license to hold back on sharing their thoughts and feelings in conversations with others. We encourage them to find behaviours to stretch themselves to “share”; not live in their box and label like Achim suggests. So, this is certainly counter to the story shared by Achim – I respectfully agree to disagree with him. And like a good tradesman I acknowledge the importance of the tools and more importantly the way I and the participants choose to “use” the tools. So these profiles can be friends and certainly not the foes described by Achim.
Decide to view these profiles constructively and use them courageously.
