Management Fad of the Week: Insights Discovery Profile

These statements provide a broad understanding of Sean’s work style. Use this section to gain a better understanding of his approaches to his activities, relationships and decisions.

Personal Style

Sean conveys great precision and economy of effort in both thought and language. Outwardly quiet, reserved and detached, inwardly he is constantly absorbed in analyzing problems or situations. He is highly independent and can live and work quite contentedly in modest surroundings. He has a creative mind which can be used to bring forward thinking and originality to processes and projects.

He prizes his gift of intelligence and has a strong bias towards attainment of personal competence. Although quiet and reserved, he can articulate well on a subject to which he is devoted. His perception of the world is a conceptual and abstract one, but one with endless possibilities.

As he likes conversation to be purposeful, and may argue practicalities to the point of hair-splitting, he tends to be convinced only by reason. He prefers to be left to work quietly on his own, which is when he achieves his best work. He is adept at homing in on the essence of complicated, confusing situations. He is intensely curious and is always seeking to find coherence in endless amounts of data. He is unlikely to be comfortable expressing his inner feelings to strangers.

Sean likes to develop models for improving the way to solve difficult problems. Practical, systematic, thorough and hard working, Sean likes everything to be stated clearly and simply. In his own field he has a leaning towards the technical, but may tend to underestimate his own abilities. He can be a veritable storehouse of information on the things he knows well and understands. His ideas are generally abstract, containing intellectual insight, but he finds the practicalities of carrying out and developing these ideas to a conclusion less interesting. Although he will never ask for it, he does need positive feedback and a rationale for what he is doing.

His need to detach himself from his emotions allows him to retain objectivity when assisting others in times of stress. Enjoying theoretical, complex and global concepts, Sean is a strategic thinker who can clearly see the benefits and flaws of most situations. He displays little emotional response to situations which others may perceive as crises, and is usually seen to deal with them in a calm and cool way. Although objective, he may be more interested in finding creative solutions to problems than in seeing those solutions become reality.

Interacting with Others

Bringing an enthusiasm and loyalty to his work, Sean encourages cooperation and flexibility within the team. He is reluctant to display his emotions to others. When he turns his highly honed critical appraisal skills on the people around him, honesty may be translated into unintended hurtfulness. He will make a lifelong friend if the conditions of the friendship allow him complete independence and the freedom to withdraw as and when necessary.

He has a tight group of close companions to whom he enjoys relating thoughts and ideas. His continual attention to inner thoughts in part explains his apparent disinterest with external events. He uses his thinking to analyze the world, not to control it, but his reliance on thinking makes him appear impersonal and critical. He tends to withdraw when stressed.

He may sometimes encounter difficulties in communications because he would prefer everyone to be as logical and analytical as he is himself. If he is given time to organize his thoughts by a sympathetic and understanding chairperson, he can state his views with clarity and to everyone’s benefit. He may be seen by others as distant, unfeeling, skeptical, not interested in people and even arrogant - a perception that he finds difficult to understand. Sean is a private, reserved person who does not share his thoughts with his colleagues unless absolutely essential. As he gets to know you, he becomes more enthusiastic and open.

Decision Making

Sean is self-reliant and is not frightened to take “the path of maximum resistance” in his efforts to produce the best results. His decision making is based on prior reflective, contemplative thought. Sean can usually get to the heart of any situation and implement an effective solution. All his well classified thoughts, ideas and plans, no matter how final they appear, are subject to last-minute modifications whenever new information arises.

He may at times make others feel defensive due to his incisive, critical and often persistent questioning. He will be swayed by guarantees and case histories. He views life as an intellectual challenge and needs to think things through before deciding. Using past experiences to help him solve current problems and get things done is one of his strong points. He is reticent about expressing his feelings and may be rather slow to make decisions as he wants to gather all essential information before acting.

He may lack patience with others who are less focused on the job in hand. His natural introversion does not prevent him from making critical and incisive comments with conviction and presence. He has the ability to use both reflection and consultation in reaching conclusions. Sean’s quizzical and probing nature may create solutions which open up fresh processes. Sean’s many accomplishments are achieved mainly through determination and perseverance in reaching or exceeding his high standards.

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