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Intro to the FIRO-B
Understanding your interpersonal needs can help you be more effective one-to-one and in groups.
The FIRO-B (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior) is a personality instrument that can profoundly increase your understanding of the interpersonal needs of yourself and others. This understanding can help you to be more effective as a leader, to bring out the best in others, and to deal more effectively with interpersonal issues.
The FIRO-B is specifically concerned with our interpersonal needs, how we show up in our one-to-one relationships, and in groups. The FIRO-B provides insights into issues of organizational culture and team dynamics. This makes it especially valuable for leaders and team members.
Like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the FIRO-B is an effective tool for:
- Personal mastery
- Executive coaching
- Team performance
- Sales effectiveness
- Problem solving
- Organizational development
The FIRO-B was developed by Will Schutz, Ph.D. Schutz theorized that each of us has unique interpersonal needs that strongly effect our behaviors. He identified three areas of interpersonal needs:
Inclusion
The need to include others, and the need for attraction, contact, and recognition from others. Inclusion is about you in relation to a group, whether large or small.Control
The need for influence and responsibility, and the desire to be led and influenced by others. Control is about both one-to-one relationships and about group behavior. It indicates your relative needs for leading and following.Affection
How close and warm you are toward others, and how much closeness and warmth you seek from others. Affection is about one-to-one relationships, and reflects your comfort level with openness.Each of these areas is measured along two dimensions:
Expressed
The degree to which you prefer to initiate, or express, the behavior.Wanted
The degree to which you prefer others to initiate the behavior toward you.The FIRO-B yields six basic scores: an expressed score for each dimension (inclusion, control, and affection), and a wanted score for each dimension. In addition, there are total scores for each of the three dimensions, a total expressed behavior score, a total wanted behavior score, and an overall need score.
The information provided by the FIRO-B can be illuminating for individuals, teams, and organizations.
Organizational culture is a reflection of the interpersonal needs of everyone in the organization, especially the leaders. For example, an organization that emphasizes control may be more hierarchical, encourage competition between individuals and departments, have clear policies and procedures, and be more decisive. An individual, or a team, with a low wanted control score may find it difficult to fit in. Their need for flexibility, adaptability, cooperation, autonomy, and negotiation might be frustrated by the prevailing culture.
The FIRO-B is a much richer, and incredibly more useful, model than might be suggested from this brief introduction. To learn more about the FIRO-B, visit the publisher, CPP.
Intro to Myers-Briggs® Type and Temperament
What kind of person are you? How well do you know your team?
Type theory and temperament theory are two of the most useful models for developing self-awareness and appreciation of personality differences. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI), a questionnaire used to self-assess psychological type, is one of the most widely used personality instruments.
These are invaluable tools for:
- Personal mastery
- Executive coaching
- Team performance
- Sales effectiveness
- Problem solving
- Organizational development
Type and temperament will help you understand why you are more comfortable working independently or with others. You will understand why you get along so well with one person, but can’t seem to click with someone else. And you will understand and appreciate these differences, so you can be more effective as an individual or as a member of a team.
Type theory is based on the ideas of Swiss psychiatrist Carl G. Jung. Katherine Cook Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, elaborated on Jung’s ideas. Type theory has been researched, developed, and applied for over 50 years.
Jung observed that people exhibit differing, yet predictable patterns of behavior. These differences are caused by the different ways we use our minds. Jung theorized that when we use our minds, we are always doing one of two things: taking in information (or perceiving), or organizing and making decisions based on that information (or judging).
Jung also noticed that there are two kinds of perceiving, and two kinds of judging. We take in information through our sensing and through our intuition. We make judgements based on our thinking (objective analysis) and on our feelings, or values. Sensing, intuition, thinking, and feeling are called functions, or mental processes.
We use these mental processes in both the external world (which Jung called extraversion) and in the internal world (which Jung called introversion).
All of us use all of these mental processes in both the external and internal worlds every day. The differences in our personality can be attributed to our preferences for one mental process over another.
Four Dichotomies
Where do you get your energy?
Extraversion
Introversion
How do you prefer to process information?
Sensing iNtuition How do you prefer to make evaluations and decisions?
Thinking Feeling How do you prefer to interact with the environment?
Judging Perceiving According to Jung, each of us has a preference for extraversion or introversion. We direct our focus, or draw our energy, primarily from the external world or the internal world. We also have a preference for one of the perceiving functions. Either we prefer to take in information from our senses (sensing), or by looking at patterns, relationships, and connections between facts (intuition). We also prefer to evaluate that information, or make decisions about it, based on logic and objective reasoning (thinking), or based on our personal values and the impact on people (feeling). Note that feeling does not mean emotions, and that both thinking and feeling are rational means of making evaluations and decisions.
Finally, we have a preference for perceiving or judging, which gives us our preferred way of interacting with the environment, or our basic orientation toward the world. Note that perceiving doesn’t mean perceptive, but a preference for gathering information. Judging doesn’t mean judgmental, but a preference for making decisions.
Your preferences are revealed by the MBTI, and are indicated by a type code. A preference for extraversion is indicated by an E, introversion by an I, sensing by an S, intuition (because the “I” has already been used for introversion) by an N, thinking by a T, feeling by an F, perceiving by a P, and judging by a J. Thus, someone with a preference for extraversion, sensing, thinking, and judging would have a type code of ESTJ.
There are sixteen possible combinations of the four preferences, which reveal sixteen personality types. Understanding your type and the types of other important people in your life can help you to make the best of your personal and professional relationships.
Temperament theory was developed by David Keirsey about the same time as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Keirsey drew on a long history of personality theory to identify four basic patterns of behavior, or temperaments. Each of the temperaments maps to four of the sixteen types identified by Myers and Briggs. Each model helps to clarify and enhance the other.
The four temperaments are:
Idealist
Idealists are motivated by a need for meaning and significance. They have a talent for bringing people together, and helping them develop.Guardian
Guardians have a need for belonging and responsibility. They are skilled at logistics, and maintaining useful traditions.Rational
Rationals seek mastery, knowledge, and competence. They have a talent for strategic analysis, planning, and model building.Artisan
Artisans seek the freedom to act, and to see tangible results. They are gifted at using whatever is available to make things happen.Type and temperament theory are much richer—and incredibly more useful—than might be suggested from this brief introduction. To learn more about type theory, temperament theory, or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, please visit the publisher of the MBTI, CPP or Type Resources.
Type Watching the Movies: The Secret Lives of Dentists
It is just about as thrilling as the title implies. Let me preface my comments by admitting that my husband and I watch an inordinate amount of movies rented through Netflix. This is no major box office hit, but I did find it an interesting slice of life movie particularly if viewed with type in mind.
The story line follows a couple of critical months in the lives of married dentists, David and Dana Hurst. At least it’s not Hurts. They are business partners, have been married for around 10 years, and have 3 young daughters. The little one is great fun to watch.
The opening scenes show the husband David (played by Campbell Scott) handling most of the classic wife and mother duties at home, cooking, caring for the children, and putting them to bed, etc. while his wife Dana (played by Hope Davis) pursues her amateur interest singing in a local opera. The turning point in the movie comes when David goes backstage to find Dana on opening night and sees her apparently engaged in an other-than-operatic relationship with another man. He turns around, walks out and never mentions what he saw.
(more…)Please Understand Me II by David Keirsey
PUM I was my introduction to type and temperament in the late 80s and I’ve been a Myers-Briggs and Temperament fan ever since. The chapters on Temperament in relationship, parenting, and leadership are chock full of good examples. Myers-Briggs explanations are on target as well. You will refer to it time and again.
Co-Active Coaching by Whitworth, Kimsey-House, and Sandahl
The 80 page Coach’s Toolkit at the back of the book justifies buying this book. The rest of the book covers fundamentals, coaching skills, and coaching practices. All is worthwhile even if this is not your primary approach to coaching. I’m sure you will find something useful.
The authors are connected with Coaches Training Institute, a well-respected coaches training program located in San Rafael, CA.
Gifts Differing by Isabelle Myers
This classic belongs on every type enthusiast’s shelf. Who would be more knowledgeable than the creator of the MBTI? She writes with the clarity and elegant simplicity that I’ve seen in many INFPs. It’s basic, it’s thorough, it’s insightful. I can’t believe I had a pile of MB books before I added this one to the shelf.
Difficult Conversations by Stone, Patton, Heen
The authors give useful distinctions and many conversation examples. The three 3 conversation components either spoken or unspoken (what happened, the underlying feelings and identity issues) are useful for any consultant facilitating meaningful and transformative client conversations. My copy has bent corners and underlining throughout.