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Based on the
results of the ISAT, you are an....CONTEMPLATOR!
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Organized
and prepared, CONTEMPLATORS have an attention for
detail and thorough nature that make them invaluable to every team.
Blessed with the rare quality of patience, they minimize mistakes
and maximize accuracy. Take a look at the following grid to learn
more about your professional strengths as they compare to the other
three Interaction Styles:
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Every Interaction
Style is valuable in the workplace. However, the key to being
successful on-the-job and as part of a work team is to understand
your Interaction Style so that you can A) choose a role on the
team that leverages your style's strengths, and B) understand
the other styles on your team so you can communicate with them
effectively.
Often, when a person is unhappy in their current career, much
of the trouble can be linked to their Interaction Style. Some
of the following challenges are examples of Interaction Style-related
problems: |
1) Having
a manger who's style is the polar opposite of your own, leading
to miscommunication and frustration on a daily basis.2) Having
co-workers who don't appreciate your Interaction Style and
who do not respect your opinions.
3) Having a job that doesn't allow you to communicate in a
manner that makes you feel happy and fulfilled.
4) Having a job that doesn't promote or value your particular
Interaction Style.
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What many people forget
is that there are four different Interaction Styles. That
means, at any given time, as much as 75% of the population
could be thrown off by your style and unable to relate to
you very well. Thus, it's important that we take note of how
our Interaction Style can be misinterpreted by others in the
workplace (especially, those with a style that is opposite
of your own) so that we can work hard to minimize conflict
and breakdowns in communication on-the-job. Take a look at
the grid below to see how you might be misperceived by others:
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Ouch! The information above
isn't fun to read, but we must remember that our strengths our our
weaknesses too. Your Interaction Style serves you well. You wouldn't
have developed it over the years if you didn't find it effective.
Yet, we must also recognize that choosing to be one style means
having qualities that won't always be appreciated by others. How
do we minimize any negative effects from our Interaction Style?
We choose careers, managers, and companies to work for that embrace
and leverage our unique style. Here is a chart that can help you
see how to assess what kind of job will suit you best:
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If you
are... |
You Feel Most
Comfortable With... |
 |
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| |
Work
Environment |
|
Co-workers |
|
Management
Style |
|
Corporate
Culture |
|
Job
Responsibilities & Possible Careers |
| EMPATHIZER |
Comfortable,
casual, and organized. |
|
Fun,
friendly, kind, positive, team players. |
|
Warm, sympathetic,
tactful, positive,but decisive to offset your emotion
and avoidance. |
|
People first,
profits second. |
|
Customer service,
client and/or employee relations, office improvements.
Excel at key support roles and team-based project work. |
|
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| ENERGIZER |
Attractive, comfortable,
and up-scale. |
|
Fun,
outgoing, competitive, positive, quick-minded team players. |
|
Energetic, decisive,
positive, supportive, but tactful to offset your passion
and directness. |
|
People and profits
achieved simultaneously. |
|
Sales, client
and/or employee training, roll-out of new products or
company initiatives. Anything that involves coaching
,training, motivation and engaging others. |
|
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| CONTEMPLATOR |
Well-organized,
private, casual. |
|
Respectful,
pleasant, focused, fastidious, independent workers. |
|
Logical, articulate,
honest, tactful, but decisive to offset your conservatism
and avoidance. |
|
Profits with
ethics. |
|
Accounting, quality
assurance and service evaluations need your attention
to detail. Computers, financial operations, engineering,
processes and systems are great fits for your style. |
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| COMMANDER |
Efficient and
private, up-scale. |
|
Decisive,
focused, quick-minded, competitive, independent workers. |
|
Logical, decisive,
articulate, honest, but tactful to offset your seriousness
and directness. |
|
Profits are not
personal. |
|
Management, troubleshooting,
reorganization, goal-setting. Any kind of project management,
facilitation, or multi-tasking that is time-sensitive
or requires critical thinking.
|
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Can you see how your
style impacts your ability to be happy on-the-job? Think of
the one job in your past that you hated the most. Do you now
have some insight as to why it wasn't a match for you?
|
In summary, Interaction Styles impact our ability to achieve
goals in two ways. First, the Interaction Styles of others have
a direct impact on our perceptions of our career situation.
You must make sure you recognize how people perceive things
differently, based on their own Interaction Style. Secondly,
each Interaction Style has both strengths and weaknesses. Recognizing
how they impact your ability to succeed can help you remove
the roadblocks holding you back from the personal and professional
satisfaction you seek. Thus, the more you strive to understand
and appreciate all the Interaction Styles, the easier it will
be to find ways to work with them. Leverage your own strengths
as much as you can, while working to minimize the impact of
your weaknesses and your career will go to new heights.
|
|
|
|
|
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