“Whatever any man does he must first do in his mind, whose machinery is the brain. The mind can do only what the brain is equipped to do, and so man must first find out what kind of brain he has before he can understand his own behavior.” (Luce and Segel, Sleep)
We came into this world more hard wired than we thought 25 years ago. Yes, I mean we were born with preferences as to how we would want to think or internally process our
environment and how we would behave or “show up”. Understanding “who we are” allows us to create, innovate and have adventures in this life that…well…we choose to have, want to have. Though we come into this world unique, we all have in common the need and desire to be as happy as possible as often as possible. Accordingly and by understanding who we are we can intentionally set sail on a course that we have good reason to believe will invigorate and inspire us. This knowledge in the hands of an aware and determined individual is power. Today, let’s introduce you to 7 Thinking & Behavioral Attributes that can change how you engage your life.
Who Are You?
Let’s say that today you decided to buy a car. Largely, you are going to engage this process in 7 ways that play or interact with one another. Here they are. There are 4 Thinking Attributes.
The Analytical part of your brain is going to enjoy pulling together all of the research and data that that is necessary to this decision.
The Structural part of your brain will relish coming up with the plan or process through which and by when the decision will be made.
The Social part of your brain wants to have a conversation with someone who owns a car like the one you want to buy.
The Conceptual part of your brain derives considerable satisfaction from colors that are chosen and the “look” of the car. Perhaps, this part of your brain can even “see yourself in it.”
Behaviorally (3 Attributes) and because of your…
Expressiveness you may want to process your decision externally with a number of people or you may not share your thoughts with anyone.
Assertiveness, you may be very forceful in how you negotiate the deal or you may be pretty amiable.
Flexibility, you may ultimately decide to buy the car that is more wanted by your spouse than yourself or vice versa.
Each of these Thinking and Behavioral Attributes is independent of the others and can be measured separately. An Emergenetics Profile, the psychometric assessment tool used by WindRiver Strategies, illustrates the way an individual mixes and matches the seven attributes—that is, the unique way we combine our preferences. So, consider the Thinking Attributes and let’s imagine a married couple going to buy a car. He has a Social/Conceptual Preference and she prefers Analytical/Structural approaches to the decision. Can you see a possible conflict arising? He wants to buy because he thinks it is a beautiful car (conceptual) plus his friend Ralph has one (social) and he likes it. She, on the other hand, wants to know what Consumer Reports says (analytical) about reliability and repairs plus insist on visiting 3 dealers asking the same 3-5 questions about the vehicles they have in stock (structural).
The above car buying illustration is one of an infinite number of scenarios we could discuss. The Thinking and Behavioral attributes scale and combine uniquely for everyone. There are applications here for resolving conflict, building teams, creating a happier workforce and reinvigorating your career. We can be coached on how to do our job our way that “gets the job done” but does so in
a more fulfilling way for us with less stress.