30 1 / 2010
Zodiac vs. Psychometrics
Like how girls are into horoscopes and zodiac stuff, I’m all into that psychometric personality type stuff… since it’s more ‘sciencey’ (in sounding at least). You should be able to tell more about a person with a Myers-Briggs test than their person’s birth date.
Or maybe because I’m a Leo with my rising sign also a Leo that was born in the year of the Dragon, is why I’m indicated as a ENTP type on the Myers-Briggs test and why I ooze out awesomeness. Mind-numbing, isn’t it?
Obviously, you can’t bust out a full on Myers-Briggs test on everybody you meet (that would be just weird), like how you can ask for somebody’s sign at the bar (*I hope nobody who reads this uses that as a opener). But you can observe the person you’re dealing with, whether they are more socially reserved or assertive (introvert vs. extrovert) and whether they’re more self oriented or other-oriented (think of others first). You can literally put them, you and others on a 2x2 matrix chart and make better predictions on how likely they would behave to certain situations.
It’s not perfect, and there’s the fallacy of type-casting people. Like me and one of my colleagues that I work with. I’m more on the socially assertive side and I put others before myself and he’s more on the socially reserved and more self oriented; making us polar opposites and has caused friction between us. On the negative side, He probably sometime thinks of me to be that snake oil salesman type, and I sometimes think of him of being that quiet, manipulating control freak type that I have to be careful with. But when we see each other, we like each other, but drive each crazy in the work environment at times.
Another matrix I like to use to help me get my way or predict on how somebody else will try to get their way is gauging 6 channels of influence:
- Authority
- Rationality
- Vision
- Relationship
- Interests
- Politics
Working in Vietnam, I notice the assumption is that you should manage with more Authority where you use your formal position and have to micro manage; whereas I rather build a consensus than pull the I’m the boss card. I rather delegate and then follow through. Rationality or doing things based on solid data or using ‘common sense’, is not as valued here as it is in the States. I also think people tend to put more of a focus on having a clear vision stateside than they do here; but being able to communicate your vision is very helpful here. Building Relationships, protecting people’s Interests and knowing how to play Politics here is very important, and where a lot of expats fail when they come out to work. It’s also where I have to be very mindful with, myself.
