Tom Greder - 55 Reforming Observer (Accommodating) - 23.06.2012

Tom Greder

23.06.2012

Personal Profile

Foundation ChapterManagement Chapter

Insights Schweiz

Insights Discovery 3.5 Tom Greder Page 2

© Copyright 1992-2012 Andrew Lothian, Insights, Dundee, Scotland. All rights reserved. www.insights.comwww.insightsworld.ch

Personal Details

Tom Greder

[email protected]

Tomoskar

Date Completed 23.06.2012

Date Printed 25.06.2012

Insights Learning and Development Ltd.Jack Martin Way, Claverhouse Business Park, Dundee, DD4 9FF, Scotland

Telephone: +44(0)1382 908050Fax: +44(0)1382 908051

E-mail: [email protected]



Contents

Introduction 4

Overview 5Personal Style 5

Interacting with Others 6

Decision Making 6

Key Strengths & Weaknesses 8Strengths 8

Possible Weaknesses 9

Value to the Team 10

Communication 11Effective Communications 11

Barriers to Effective Communication 12

Possible Blind Spots 13

Opposite Type 14Communication with Tom Greder's Opposite Type 15

Suggestions for Development 16

Management 17Creating the Ideal Environment 17

Managing Tom Greder 18

Motivating Tom Greder 19

Management Style 20

The Insights Wheel 21

Insights Colour Dynamics 22

Jungian Preferences 23



Introduction

This Insights Discovery profile is based on Tom Greder’s responses to the Insights

Preference Evaluator which was completed on 23.06.2012.

The origins of personality theory can be traced back to the fifth century BC, when

Hippocrates identified four distinct energies exhibited by different people. The Insights

System is built around the model of personality first identified by the Swiss psychologist

Carl Gustav Jung. This model was published in his 1921 work “Psychological Types” and

developed in subsequent writings. Jung’s work on personality and preferences has since

been adopted as the seminal work in understanding personality and has been the subject

of study for thousands of researchers to the present day.

Using Jung's typology, this Insights Discovery profile offers a framework for

self-understanding and development. Research suggests that a good understanding of

self, both strengths and weaknesses, enables individuals to develop effective strategies for

interaction and can help them to better respond to the demands of their environment.

Generated from several hundred thousand permutations of statements, this profile is

unique. It reports statements which your Evaluator responses indicate may apply to you.

Modify or delete any statement which does not apply, but only after checking with

colleagues or friends to identify whether the statement may be a “blind spot” for you.

Use this profile pro-actively. That is, identify the key areas in which you can develop and

take action. Share the important aspects with friends and colleagues. Ask for feedback

from them on areas which seem particularly relevant for you and develop an action plan

for growth personally and interpersonally.



Overview

These statements provide a broad understanding of Tom Greder’s work style. Use this

section to gain a better understanding of his approaches to his activities, relationships

and decisions.

Personal StyleTom Greder is a curious and keen student of all that is going on around him. He can be a

veritable storehouse of information on the things he knows well and understands. 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. Serious, conscientious and loyal,

Tom Greder is a dedicated worker. He will seek an environment in which he can be

quietly productive. His strong sense of personal values may make him reserved around

strangers whose values he feels may conflict with his own.

He prefers to be left to work quietly on his own, which is when he achieves his best work.

He is aesthetically appreciative and values quality. He often sees when colours match or

blend and may have a highly developed taste for art, music and food. Once committed to

an idea or project, Tom Greder has enormous resolve to carry it through and would like

others to share his determination. He likes to make rules based on his own standards and

to apply those rules to everyday life. He is highly independent and can live and work quite

contentedly in modest surroundings.

He is self-contained, intellectual and fair. He values the development of his intellectual

awareness and the opportunity to learn, improve and grow. Tom Greder has an

ever-present internal critic who judges everything he thinks and does. Tom Greder gains

great pleasure from improving upon existing techniques with the objective of maximising

efficiency and cost effectiveness. Tom Greder is careful and orderly in his attention to

facts and details. He is thorough and conscientious in fulfilling all his responsibilities.

Although disinterested in purely scholastic pursuits, knowledge is important for its

immediate usefulness to him. Enjoying theoretical, complex and global concepts, Tom

Greder is a strategic thinker who can clearly see the benefits and flaws of most situations.

His interest lies in seeing possibilities beyond what is already present and known, by using

his insight, ingenuity and intellect. He is strongly motivated to get things right, especially

factually, and to be most effective he should be allowed to operate in a private

environment. He is quiet, reserved and distant, with a thoughtful appearance.

He can be a great “designer” of systems, which he prefers to leave to others to build. His

need to detach himself from his emotions allows him to retain objectivity when assisting

others in times of stress. He is good at organising and bringing ideas into the plan. He is



usually neat, tidy and orderly, both at work and at home. He has a creative mind which can

be used to bring forward thinking and originality to processes and projects.

Interacting with OthersTom Greder is a private, reserved person who does not share his thoughts with his

colleagues unless absolutely essential. Tom Greder is competent at extracting information

by asking relevant, non-threatening questions. He uses his thinking to analyse the world,

not to control it, but his reliance on thinking makes him appear impersonal and critical. He

will often do without something rather than reach out to others to get it. He may seek to

reduce his personal needs rather than be dependent on other people. He prefers positions

of low visibility, with limited participation in the group or team.

Despite being somewhat quiet, perhaps even self-effacing, Tom Greder will converse at

length on subjects that he knows well enough to enable him to display his wealth of

information. His interests do not help in social encounters, where he is often perceived as

distancing himself from social contact. He may feel under strain if he is unclear about

what is expected of him or if duties at work are subject to change at short notice. He may

mistrust authority and hierarchy and will choose to remain neutral rather than be drawn

into supporting lost “underdog” causes. In a conflict, he typically appears calm, unruffled,

efficient and pragmatic.

If his work constantly requires him to be warm and outgoing with others, he finds this

draining after a while and may need to take some private time out before regrouping. He is

likely to prefer the dialogue which is going on in his head with his internal critic to

participation in “meaningless” social chit-chat with others. He may have an aversion to

having his time and energy constantly put at the disposal of others. Tom Greder applies

objective analysis to most things, including people. Tom Greder needs minimal

supervision and will work hard in a system that gives him independence. He may become

evasive or reactive if overwhelmed by the constraints and demands of others.

Decision MakingTom Greder can usually get to the heart of any situation and implement an effective

solution. Every project presents itself as a mental challenge and he reflects on every stage

of decision making. Tom Greder thinks in extremely complex ways and seeks to organise

concepts and ideas rather than people. What may seem like instinctive action exhibited by

Tom Greder is the result of long observation and thought which enables him to be alert to

all the likely consequences of the decision. He tends to make sound future decisions only

after deeper reflection.

He tends to be influenced by the idea, rather than the people behind the idea. He is not

usually prepared to commit to high risk decisions. He may at times make others feel



defensive due to his incisive, critical and often persistent questioning. With a love of

problem solving, he can be very perceptive and has a highly developed capacity for inner

reflection. His quiet demeanour often allows him to get agreement to his alternative

solutions.

Tom Greder's quizzical and probing nature may create solutions which open up fresh

processes. He views life as an intellectual challenge and needs to think things through

before deciding. Making decisions comes logically to him, although his need for

detachment results in colleagues viewing him as rather distant. He may lack patience with

others who are less focused on the job in hand. He may occasionally be slow at coming to

a decision, or try to have a decision reversed, as he has a need to analyse all the available

alternatives.

Personal Notes



Key Strengths & Weaknesses

StrengthsThis section identifies the key strengths which Tom Greder brings to the organisation.

Tom Greder has abilities, skills and attributes in other areas, but the statements below are

likely to be some of the fundamental gifts he has to offer.

Tom Greder’s key strengths:

Encourages structure and order.

Pragmatic, rational thinker.

An orderly approach to the task.

Thorough and painstaking.

Will work late to get the job done.

Analysis.

Objectivity.

He is well informed, especially on more technical information.

Realistic and systematic.

Good powers of concentration.

Personal Notes



Key Strengths & Weaknesses

Possible WeaknessesJung said “wisdom accepts that all things have two sides”. It has also been said that a

weakness is simply an overused strength. Tom Greder's responses to the Evaluator have

suggested these areas as possible weaknesses.

Tom Greder’s possible weaknesses:

Avoids showing his true feelings.

May be seen as too critical and sceptical.

May be slow or unwilling to express his true feelings.

Needs encouragement to share deeper feelings.

Occasionally becomes too focused, risking “tunnel vision”.

Usually puts facts before feelings.

Others may find him cold and distant.

May get frustrated with other peoples' ways.

May go off in his own direction if challenged.

Has difficulty with unstructured tasks.

Personal Notes



Value to the Team

Each person brings a unique set of gifts, attributes and expectations to the environment in

which they operate. Add to this list any other experiences, skills or other attributes which

Tom Greder brings, and make the most important items on the list available to other team

members.

As a team member, Tom Greder:

Can adhere to high standards.

Creates commitment within team.

Encourages a strong work ethic.

Helps avoid mistakes.

Ensures that the team uses correct methods.

Directs the team's efforts towards important issues.

Encourages the team to honour its commitments.

Ensures the focus is realistic.

Encourages down to earth realism.

Ensures a common-sense, practical approach.

Personal Notes



Communication

Effective CommunicationsCommunication can only be effective if it is received and understood by the recipient. For

each person certain communication strategies are more effective than others. This section

identifies some of the key strategies which will lead to effective communication with Tom

Greder. Identify the most important statements and make them available to colleagues.

Strategies for communicating with Tom Greder:

Remember his quiet demeanour and ask for his views.

Organise your thoughts before communicating.

Let him organise his thoughts.

Accept that “reflecting time” is essential to enhance his performance.

Listen to his opinions.

Consider reconvening the meeting after he has had a chance to think about the

issues.

Use humour in moderation.

Be well structured and organised.

Expect him to come back later for clarification.

Be punctual.

Be clear and straightforward.

Avoid precipitating rare but spontaneous outbursts of emotion.

Personal Notes



Communication

Barriers to Effective CommunicationCertain strategies will be less effective when communicating with Tom Greder. Some of

the things to be avoided are listed below. This information can be used to develop

powerful, effective and mutually acceptable communication strategies.

When communicating with Tom Greder, DO NOT:

Show impatience with, or annoyance of, his calm exterior.

Allow him to be too theoretical.

Invade his personal space.

Assume that hesitation implies a lack of knowledge.

Be vague about facts and statistics.

Spend too much time talking; he is more impressed by your actions.

Jump to the next subject until he is ready.

Discuss peripheral matters unrelated to the task in hand.

Touch his body or his belongings.

Waffle.

Argue emotionally around his specialist areas.

Speak too quickly.

Personal Notes



Possible Blind Spots

Our perceptions of self may be different to the perceptions others have of us. We project

who we are onto the outside world through our “persona” and are not always aware of

the effect our less conscious behaviours have on others. These less conscious behaviours

are termed “Blind Spots”. Highlight the important statements in this section of which you

are unaware and test them for validity by asking for feedback from friends or colleagues.

Tom Greder’s possible Blind Spots:

Tom Greder would sometimes benefit from finding out what matters emotionally to

others. He draws conclusions based on factual analysis, which he likes to organise. He

may be less inclined to organise people or situations unless this is an essential part of his

role. Adopting a low profile is not always in his best interests. Speaking first rather than

waiting to respond can help to balance the rather shy appearance he may project at times.

He is something of a perfectionist, and can be hypersensitive to criticism of his work. He

needs to work toward becoming more articulate and action-oriented.

Tom Greder gives the impression he believes in economy of effort. He must be careful

that this is not seen as, nor leads to, laziness. Tom Greder may become so engrossed with

his own projects that other important tasks lie forgotten. Tom Greder prefers not to

confront issues. This may prevent matters from moving to a satisfactory conclusion. He

may be seen by some as unresponsive, cool and uncaring, as one who constantly seeks

correctness, predictability, analysis, logic, routine and systems. As he can be seen as

somewhat cold and uncaring, he needs to become more aware of his own feelings as well

as more considerate of the thoughts and feelings of others.

Making many assessments privately, Tom Greder keeps the most important issues to

himself, leaving others ignorant of what is going on. Because of his ability to focus on one

thing at a time for long periods, he may appear rather stubborn and plodding. He has a

“let's do it and not talk about it” approach to work, which others may find difficult to

handle.

Personal Notes



Opposite Type

The description in this section is based on Tom Greder's opposite type on the Insights

Wheel. Often, we have most difficulty understanding and interacting with those whose

preferences are different to our own. Recognising these characteristics can help in

developing strategies for personal growth and enhanced interpersonal effectiveness.

Recognising your Opposite Type:

Tom Greder’s opposite Insights type is the Inspirer, Jung’s “Extraverted Feeling” type.

Inspirers are outgoing and enthusiastic, seeking favourable social environments where

they can develop and maintain contacts. Verbally effusive, they are good at promoting

their own ideas. They can create enthusiasm in others for their cause. They have a wide

network of acquaintances and relationships.

Tom Greder will notice that the Inspirer tends to misjudge the abilities of self and others.

Inspirers often leap to favourable conclusions without all of the information. To Tom

Greder they may appear inconsistent. Inspirers find controlling and planning their time

difficult. The Inspirer is a smooth talking persuader and may appear indifferent to people,

such as Tom Greder, who appear to be not such “extraverted achievers” as themselves.

However, Inspirers sometimes take conflict or rejection personally and bitterly.

Many Inspirers are convinced that they are naturally superior and may come across to Tom

Greder as somewhat boastful. They will prefer communicating orally rather than through

the written word and may dislike and avoid tasks that require attention to detail or heavy

paperwork. Tom Greder may perceive Inspirers as shallow or superficial, due to their glib

way with words.

Personal Notes



Opposite Type

Communication with Tom Greder's Opposite TypeWritten specifically for Tom Greder, this section suggests some strategies he could use for

effective interaction with someone who is his opposite type on the Insights Wheel.

Tom Greder: How you can meet the needs of your Opposite Type:

Keep the conversation lively.

Talk about him and areas he finds stimulating.

Agree exactly what needs to be done.

Maintain a positive and open stance.

Talk tangibly and with enthusiasm.

Take the time to get to know him well.

Tom Greder: When dealing with your opposite type DO NOT:

Speak too slowly or hesitantly.

Fail to recognise his best personal achievements.

Talk slowly, mumble or whisper.

Appear slow, sluggish or too formal.

Be mundane, boring or dismissive.

Take credit for his ideas.

Personal Notes



Suggestions for Development

Insights Discovery does not offer direct measures of skill, intelligence, education or

training. However, listed below are some suggestions for Tom Greder’s development.

Identify the most important areas which have not yet been addressed. These can then be

incorporated into a personal development plan.

Tom Greder may benefit from:

Realising that social interaction is essential to personal growth.

Breaking the routine and doing something outrageous.

An awareness of when he is acting defensively or cynically.

Evaluating his job to ensure it remains appropriate and fulfilling.

Trusting his feelings more.

Working towards becoming more effusive and action-oriented.

A slightly less critical disposition.

Taking time out to dream about possibilities.

Engaging excitedly in general discussion.

More confidence, sincere appreciation, job clarity and sympathetic management.

Personal Notes



Management

Creating the Ideal EnvironmentPeople are generally most effective when provided with an environment which suits their

preferences and style. It can be uncomfortable to work in an environment which does not.

This section should be used to ensure a close match between Tom Greder’s ideal

environment and his current one and to identify any possible frustrations.

Tom Greder’s Ideal Environment is one in which:

There is space for graphs, charts and other sources of reference.

He has time to prepare for meetings or discussions.

He has good access to relevant sources of information.

He is intellectually challenged and stretched.

His desire for perfection is valued by others.

Opportunities for personal and professional development are plentiful.

He can concentrate quietly.

He has space to store information.

There is time to ponder future implications of the strategy.

He is able to isolate himself from others if necessary.

Personal Notes



Management

Managing Tom GrederThis section identifies some of the most important strategies in managing Tom Greder.

Some of these needs can be met by Tom Greder himself and some may be met by his

colleagues or management. Go through this list to identify the most important current

needs, and use it to build a personal management plan.

Tom Greder needs:

To be given the opportunity to review the team's decisions.

Only the minimum of social chit-chat around him.

Encouragement to trust his manager and “open up”.

His own space with little day to day supervision.

His intelligence to be complimented.

To be allowed to get on with it.

Encouragement to express his views to the team.

Support with putting his ideas into practice.

Occasional exposure to less structured projects to develop his openness to

unconventional solutions.

Occasional visits to clients or exposure to “the sharp end”.

Personal Notes



Management

Motivating Tom GrederIt has often been said that it is not possible to motivate anyone - only to provide the

environment in which they will motivate themselves. Here are some suggestions which

can help to provide motivation for Tom Greder. With his agreement, build the most

important ones into his Performance Management System and Key Result Areas for

maximum motivation.

Tom Greder is motivated by:

Being reassured that he will be allowed to keep technically up to date.

Being encouraged to expose logical inconsistencies.

Having access to all the information he needs.

Suitable targets that he knows are achievable.

Gathering and analysing technical information.

Being given time to assimilate a change of plan.

Being free to subscribe to the technical journals of his choice.

Being able to make important decisions in his own time.

Avoiding frequent meetings.

Respect for the correctness of his work.

Personal Notes



Management Style

There are many different approaches to management, most of which have different

situational applications. This section identifies Tom Greder’s natural management

approach and offers clues to his management style, highlighting both gifts and possible

hindrances that can be further explored.

In managing others, Tom Greder may tend to:

Base decisions on facts and logic.

Be demanding of accuracy, logic and focus.

Neglect praise when praise is due.

Become stubborn when challenged.

Dislike confrontation as a means of criticism.

Set extremely high performance standards for self and others.

Get involved in the detail.

Prefer organising ideas and information rather than people.

Become irritated with lack of organisation, preparation or perfection.

Appear to be less understanding of his colleagues' feelings.

Personal Notes



The Insights Wheel

Tom Greder23.06.2012

R E F ORME R

H E L P E R

MOTIVATOR

COORDINATOR

DI

RE

CT

OR

SU

PP

OR

TE

R

OB

SE

RV

ER

IN

SP

IR

ER

REDREDREDREDREDREDREDRED

YELLOWYELLOWYELLOWYELLOWYELLOWYELLOWYELLOWYELLOWGREENGREENGREENGREENGREENGREENGREENGREEN

BLUEBLUEBLUEBLUEBLUEBLUEBLUEBLUE RED

YELLOWGREEN

BLUE

1

21

41

2

22

42

3

23

43

424

44

525

45

6

26

46

7

27

47

8

28

48

9

29

49

10

30

50

11

31

51

1232

52

1333

53

14

34

54

15

35

55

16

36

56

101

121

141 104

124

144

105

125

145

108

128

148

109

129

149112

132

152

113

133

153

116

136

156

Conscious Wheel Position

55: Reforming Observer (Accommodating)

Personal (Less Conscious) Wheel Position

15: Reforming Observer (Focused)



Insights Colour Dynamics


0

3

6

Persona(Conscious)

BLUE

3.52 59%

GREEN

3.16 53%

YELLOW

2.99 50%

RED

3.48 58%

0

3

6

Persona(Less Conscious)

BLUE

3.01 50%

GREEN

2.52 42%

YELLOW

2.48 41%

RED

2.84 47%

100

0

100

50

50

PreferenceFlow

21.2%

(Conscious) (Less Conscious)



Jungian Preferences


Attitude/Orientation:

Introversion (I) Extraversion (E)

100 1000

Rational (Judging) Functions:

Thinking (T) Feeling (F)

100 1000

Irrational (Perceiving) Functions:

Sensing (S) Intuition (N)

100 1000

(Conscious) (Less Conscious)

Documents

Tom Greder - 55 Reforming Observer (Accommodating) - 23.06.2012