Okay, you guys hear me grouse about team stuff all the time. But, yesterday was kind of a different day than I expected.
It started with the event that I dreaded the most. Based on the answers to 24 questions, they were supposed to classify my behavior into one of four groups.
Anybody that says they can classify you in 24 questions is clearly full of cow manure.
Except that they kind of hit me in the nose. It wasn’t a personality test. It was an assessment of what behavior energizes me. And, what it said was that I am dominating. Way off the charts dominating. And, that means I hate repetition in my work. (If you’ve followed me for long, then you likely already know that about me. Think seam ripping.) I like to do the work and be done with it. I don’t like to socialize. I don’t like to talk a lot. I don’t build rapport. If you say “take that hill”, I will take that hill in the most commanding way possible, with no thought to the cost or whether it’s the right way to take the hill or even the right hill. I’m not a talker. I’m serious. And, all this other crap is just keeping me from doing my job.
Hmmm. Nailed me.
Now, I’m accepting that this was an accurate assessment of me. But, I also think that my desire not to complete this stupid assessment a couple weeks ago might have affected the off the chart part.
I met my new boss last night. Of course, her first question was which group I fell into. I think she was happy with the news. Me, I’m feeling a bit naked and humiliated that everyone knows now.
But, nothing can be done about that. She’s nice and it was great that our first time together was in a social setting. We went to my favorite bbq place last nite, The Salt Lick in Driftwood, TX. If you’re ever near, get there early, or you’re gonna wait in line. It was a Wednesday and there was a 30 minute wait at 6:30 when we were leaving. That indicates I’m not the only one that loves it.
I wanted to blog more about our volunteer adventure at the Capital Area Food Bank. But, I’m out of time. I’ll try to do that tomorrow. It was really, really interesting.
Be well. Have a great Thursday. Lane
5 comments:
I'll take your word for it, but if I'd had to guess your personality type from your blog, I never would have got dominating or unsociable. I would have said energetic, perfectionistic, creative, thoughtful, hard working, friendly and kind.
That BBQ sounds really good. Much better than the tuna and veggies I just had for lunch.
Can't wait to hear about the food bank. I love going to ours.
I agree with Iw - I would have said things such as high energy, focussed, perfectionist, hard working, creative, thoughtful. 'Dominating' sounds as though it's important to you to overwhelm and control others, and that's not the impresion you give on your blog. You seem comfortable to set yourself high standards and challenging workloads without trying to impose them on others.
As for feeling 'naked' - I have completed a Myers Briggs assessment in two different work groups and while I appreciate what you mean by 'naked', I also think that it helped for others to have greater insight into the way that my mind worked and what kinds of preferences I have for how I go about things. I'm have a relatively unusual Myers Briggs profile and to know that about me apparently helped colleagues understand that I'm not snobbish, rude or just plain weird. It's the way my mind works! LOL I hope having your profile 'out there' has some of the same benefits in your workplace.
Megan
Sydney, Australia
Dominating and anti-social? NO WONDER I like you! ;-) Seriously, though -- I think "assessment tools" like that are kind of violating. What's next -- employers mandating that you sleep with little nodes attached to your skull so they can monitor your dreams and sleep patterns for the greater good of the company?
Lane, don't feel too violated. I'm a lot like you and everybody around me already knows it. I'm guessing it is the same with you and that it hasn't changed their opinion of you. Everybody who liked you before still likes you and you can forget about the rest, right? There's absolutely nothing wrong with knowing what you want and going for it, or for getting a job done with no nonsense.
xo -E
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