Personality Types and When Processes Go Bad

Sometimes it’s great when two articles come together on different subjects, but providing a wonderful intersect.

While I was on holiday Steve highlighted an article by Andre on Personality types and today Kathy Sierra over at Creating Passionate Users has really gone to town on the whole issue of change, particularly process change.

Andre’s personality types:

• Builders – At the front of every train you typically have the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are all about ‘what could be’. They envision the world the way they want to create it and then set out to make that vision a reality. Entrepreneurs are typically described as both visionary or charismatic.
• Executers – In the middle car you have those that were born to execute. Executers might not brainstorm your next innovation, but once an idea is hatched, they can execute the heck out of it.
• Protectors – At the back of the train you have the protector. Neither innovation nor execution mean anything to a protector, who is motivated only to protect and guard what’s already been won in terms of assets. Protectors are better at saying “no” than anything else, for fear that any movement might somehow diminish or dwindle what’s been harvested by those before them.

And Kathy’s comments:

Too many times I’ve heard “upper management” assume that when employees (or users) insist that what the company is doing makes no sense (e.g. a policy that punishes customers or pisses off employees), it must be because the employee just doesn’t get it. The employee doesn’t have all the facts and doesn’t see things from the “higher” perspective of management. The employee doesn’t see the Big Picture.

Sometimes… sometimes that’s bullshit.

Sometimes the employee or user is the only one who DOES “get it”. Sometimes it’s the lower-level (or at least more user-facing) employee who really knows how damaging a company’s policies can be, or where the points of leverage really are. Sometimes it’s the user who has a basis of comparison — who hasn’t bought into the company’s worldview so long that they can’t see any other reality.

Personally I’m not sure quite where I would fit in Andre’s list; somewhere between Builders and Executers. I do know what I’m not though, and that’s a Protector. So Kathy’s comments have me cheering along; but at the same time I wonder what a Protector feels. Do they think “Yes!” to Kathy’s comments or do they think something more like “well I’m sure there is a perfectly good reason”.

Today I am reviewing a problem situation which I predicted about 18 months ago. At the time I didn’t manage to persuade the Protectors to part with their money, now they don’t have any choice. Who’s issue was that. Did the situation arise because I couldn’t communicate in such a way as to move the Protectors, or because the Protectors were too protective.

Is it up to me to learn to communicate better, or is it up to me to learn how to be patient?

Is it my lack of patience that drives me to care?

Does it matter that I care?

Is there ever a happy median where I can believe that I have done all that I could do and that there is no point in worrying anymore?

Does any company have the balance of personality types correct?

Does the fact that I ask the question make me a Builder?

Should anyone who has only been back from Holiday for a day really be asking these questions?

Do I need counselling?