Judge Not...

a lighthearted look at personality profiles

Have you taken a personality profile test? If not, I highly recommend doing so.

It was life-changing for me.

Back in my column-writing days for The Des Moines Register, I interviewed a businesswoman who conducted Myers-Briggs workshops and took the test. I'm an ENFP.

In the DISC profile, I'm a high 'I' with 'D' a close second.

Another test, the name of which I have blocked from my mind, earned me the lowest 'banker' score the speaker had ever seen.

When discovering I was an 'ENFP' or an 'I/D' living in a world of other styles, it was as though I had put on a pair of corrective lenses and could now see.

No more did I disparage (in my mind) the worker who sat at his desk precisely at 8 a.m. and left at 4 p.m. and who ate lunch daily with the same colleagues, eating the same meal, and who took his morning and afternoon breaks at 10 a.m and 2 p.m.

I suddenly understood why I drove him crazy and vice versa.

When forming a business leader group in Chicago through Vistage International, I had speaker Mikki Williams conduct a 3-hour session on DISC during our first official meeting. These folks didn't know each other, so this was a cool ice-breaker. Business leaders typically fall into two of the four primary quadrants of the DISC, usually high 'D's or high 'C's without so much as a trace of 'S.'

I realize these monikers are meaningless if you haven't taken the tests, but hang in here with me.

The high 'D's are direct, impatient, get-to-the-point kind of folks. D is for dominant. The high 'C's are planners, conscientious, and need a lot of information before deciding. The high 'D's are - pardon the oversimplification - often entrepreneurs. The high 'C's are the hired guns brought in to run things the 'D's started.

I had them write their dominant letter on name tents to be placed on the table in front of them during each monthly meeting going forward.

It became a source of teasing during executive session meetings when one was impatient (D) with another for going into great detail about a decision he/she was making (C).

The point is, we all need to understand others aren't wrong because they process differently. To have a successful business, country, and personal relationships, balance is critical.

Pity the poor 'I' child born to parents who are 'C's and 'S's. They'll never understand their kids' study habits or need to hitchhike across the country.

It also means you likely can't put an 'I' into a job best suited for an 'S' or a 'C.' We'll all be miserable. We 'I's are creative and fun but don't count on us for repetitive tasks. That's where an 'S' thrives.

I have not changed my natural inclinations over the years of taking personal development/leadership seminars.

Please do not give me the check to figure out who owes what for lunch. I'll panic.

Dorothy Cunningham, now deceased, was a dear friend who used Astrology to counsel people similarly. Libras, Scorpios, Leos, etc., all just need to be understood. Call me chicken, but I didn't have the nerve to bring her into the CEO group.

The takeaway, and which needs constant reminding, is to be aware of when to compensate and not judge. As they say in come circles, "God don't make junk."

To operate otherwise means to be pissed off a lot.