|
|
|
Five's are observers: they have an overwhelming need to understand the environment and therefore are curious about everything. They tend to satisfy that curiosity by standing at the periphery rather than by getting centrally involved, or by investing heavily in their own units while sacrificing their relations with the larger organization. They frequently are knowledgeable in numerous areas and seem to enjoy learning purely for the sake of learning. This desire for knowledge may be generated by a need to protect themselves from an environment that they see as unpredictable or capricious. Five's use their knowledge as the raw material for building expertise, models, world views or organizations that serve as a home base for them. Not surprisingly, they are the most intellectually gifted of the types. In addition, they are highly independent-minded and are sensitive to outside forces that might deprive them of their independence.
Possible Origins. Five's felt intruded upon as children--their privacy stolen. Children who feel that they have to escape are going to find ways to distance themselves. One way is to stay in your room and close the door. Another way is to put up a wall of emotional distance by removing yourself from your feelings. Eventually you can learn to stand directly under the gaze of someone who is trying to pry into your life and not feel any reaction to their intrusiveness.
Flawed Five's find emotional involvement a problem. Part of this may be because they are thinkers rather than doers and thus less likely to be in contact with others, and part may be because they find it difficult to deal with the strong feelings that emotional involvement generates. They live with a sense of having limited resources and energy and of being easily exhausted by personal interactions.
As managers they may stand on the sidelines, functioning chiefly as knowledgeable observers, or they may create their own knowledge-based organizational Islands," which they then protect against possible incursion from the outside, especially on the part of powerful authorities. They are likely to supervise from behind closed doors -acting as decision makers who leave follow-through to others. Although they have good or workable relationships with subordinates, Five's often have underdeveloped or poor relationships with superiors and peers.
Well-adapted Five's have overcome their fear of the environment and by trusting it, they are able to put together observations, theories, and patterns in the environment in ways that others cannot They can do this only because they are able to hold in abeyance their need for structure while they formulate and develop new and often valuable ideas.
At their best, Five's as managers learn to relax their vigilant, self-protective posture toward the larger organization They put their considerable knowledge to work in conducting often highly original, even iconoclastic projects The instinct to hunker down serves them well because it leads them to give their all to their undertaking and to ignore or fend off criticism or attacks from the outside They are often the brains behind the scenes that stay cool while others distress.
Occupations. Among Five's we find theorists, inventors and engineers As managers they may gravitate toward staff functions They may also excel as line managers in starting a new and innovative organization, in spite of the doubts of others.
Finding Oneself.
Five's will probably agree with most of the following statements:
o01, I tend to keep my feelings to myself.
o02, I like to know what will happen ahead of time.
o03, I don't know how to engage in small talk very well.
o04, Intellectually I like to synthesize and put together different ideas.
o05, I need much private time and space.
o06, I often sit back and observe other people rather than get involved.
o07, I seem to be more silent than most others People often ask me that I'm thinking.
o08, I have trouble reaching out or asking for what I need.
o09, If an issue comes up, I like to first work it out by myself, then go discuss it with others.
o10, I like to put things in perspective, to step back and take everything in. If I leave anything out, I accuse myself of being so simplistic or naive.
___________________________________________________________
Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self -- always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.
Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals. Conflict and confrontation upset them because they seem to put up angry barriers between people. Idealists dream of creating harmonious, even caring personal relations, and they have a unique talent for helping people get along with each other and work together for the good of all. Such interpersonal harmony might be a romantic ideal, but then Idealists are incurable romantics who prefer to focus on what might be, rather than what is. The real, practical world is only a starting place for Idealists; they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood. This idea of a mystical or spiritual dimension to life, the "not visible" or the "not yet" that can only be known through intuition or by a leap of faith, is far more important to Idealists than the world of material things.
Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest, or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the very soul of kindness. Particularly in their personal relationships, Idealists are without question filled with love and good will. They believe in giving of themselves to help others; they cherish a few warm, sensitive friendships; they strive for a special rapport with their children; and in marriage they wish to find a "soulmate," someone with whom they can bond emotionally and spiritually, sharing their deepest feelings and their complex inner worlds.
Idealists are relatively rare, making up no more than 15 to 20 percent of the population. But their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers.
Idealists at Work
Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. They are naturally drawn to working with people and are gifted with helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potential both on, and off, the job.
Conscience looms large for you; in almost any situation, you feel compelled to measure yourself, other people, and the conditions of the environment against your personal morality. You have a tendency to perceive questions of meaning in even trivial matters and to worry about far-flung consequences of your actions. In your ideal job, you are free to pursue depth rather than breadth and quality rather than quantity. You feel rewarded when your projects and daily tasks allow you to immerse yourself in your process as deeply as you "need to" in order to satisfy your inner standards of quality. You are uncomfortable with the notion of authority per se and may avoid leading, as well as being led, either consciously or unconsciously. As you experience them, adhering to fixed roles and rules amounts to an abdication of your responsibility to exercise your conscience.
 pixelated - parfait · Sat Jan 17, 2009 @ 09:18pm · 0 Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
