Know Thyself

How to effect improvement of self-knowledge, strengthening of self-knowledge; the psychology of self-knowledge; understanding of self-knowledge; understanding myself, knowing my identity; understanding typology; innovation.

If you are like most people, you know only vaguely how you are different as a leader from other leaders. Also, you have probably realized that some of the leadership improvement ideas proposed by trainers and leadership gurus are not very meaningful to you. You can rest assured that there is nothing wrong with that reaction. It is because leadership improvement requires a personalized approach and leadership training most often teaches to the middle; that is, it provides information which supposedly applies to everybody, or to the average person, but there really is no such thing as an average person. It is an approach of mediocrity and it leads to mediocre interest among trainees and to mediocre results. In order to achieve excellence, an attitude of personal innovation is needed.

Leadership training that produces results of excellence consists in helping the trainee to understand himself better, helping him to identify his own strengths and the areas needing most improvement, and helping him to achieve those improvements by aligning his efforts with known leadership principles.

Understanding oneself starts with understanding one’s motivations, one’s likes and dislikes. Each person possesses a pattern of inborn motivations that is distinctly their own. Persons with similar patterns can be seen to belong to a particular type of persons. According to knowledge dating back to ancient Babylon of 2000 B.C. or even to earlier prehistoric time, there are six basic types of people, each type being made up of persons possessing similar motivational patterns.

As explained in the ThreeBrainSynergy BASIC Leadership WORKSHOP, which is the primary workshop our members go through, when you practice the ThreeBrainSynergy method, you are in a different dimension of teamwork. It's a new world. It really needs to be experienced to be fully appreciated. The difference in the effectiveness of decision making is like the difference between night and day. In ThreeBrainSynergy both the CEO and his team of direct reports understand fully why the CEO delegates his operational decision making to them and the team appreciate the advantageous this offers them. As a result, the team is fully engaged and is eager to learn how to become autonomous. Soon the CEO doesn't need to lead them any longer, they lead themselves. He no longer needs to direct the Company. The Co. is self-directed.

In this process, the CEO gains the freedom to WORK LESS and EARN MORE. This new freedom can mean different things and may include looking more after one's personal life and one's private goals. Among the satisfactions gained by the CEO and the direct reports is the realization that everyone in the team of direct reports benefits by being autonomous, strongly self-reliant, and fully participating. As stated above, one needs to experience this new dimension of relationships in order to fully understand and appreciate its significance for the CEO and for his direct reports fully.

You can start to define your ways of asserting leadership and look at how you can become a better and greater leader by first determining how you are motivated. You can do this by carrying out the following exercise.

Check which one of the six motivations listed below is the strongest in you. Do this spontaneously, without being too analytical, for this is not a scientific test.

When you have determined the motivation that’s strongest in you, place the number “1″ in front of it. Then proceed to find the second strongest motivation and place the number “2″ in front of it. Continue in the same manner until you have covered them all.

You will not always be certain which motivation comes next, and that’s OK. This exercise is only a preliminary look at what motivates you. It will be your initial choice for determining your motivational pattern. You will be looking at your choices again in the ThreeBrainSynergy process.

a) I like to do what’s right, to accomplish things, and to reach goals and objectives, making sure to take to task those who do not make a sincere and equitable effort (motivation: ACCOMPLISHMENT)

b) I prefer a life of abundance and of pleasure, which I like to share with others, and I use diplomacy which helps to create goodwill and which helps me to succeed and have fun in getting ahead in life (motivation: PLEASURE)

c) I am happy when I can concentrate on what I am doing, when I can work undisturbed to do a good job and avoid endless discussion and argument (motivation: HAPPINESS)

d) I like to help people, I appreciate all that’s good in people and all that’s beautiful in this world, and I enjoy my little comforts (motivation: LIKING)

e) I have a need to come up with good ideas for improvement and for change in any area in which I am involved at any given time, and to communicate those ideas with style in order to ensure that they are realized (motivation: INTEREST)

f) I look into things thoroughly and make sure that all angles are covered, that decisions are based on solid ground, and that they take into account the needs of everyone concerned (motivation: TRUTH)

When you have done the above, you have established your main motivation as well as your personal order of priorities for all six motivations, which means that you have determined your own motivational pattern. We all share the main motivations of all six basic human types alluded to above, and what makes each of us different from everyone else is the way in which the six motivations are combined in our make up. In other words, we are different in accordance with the relative weight that each motivation has in our make up. It is this motivational pattern that is the basic difference between individuals.The information you now have will allow you to deepen your understanding of your type. The ThreeBrainSynergy e-learning process will help you to maximize its potential. Do not worry if you are still uncertain about the motivational priorities you have selected. At this point the important thing for you is to have considered the six motivations and to have made a tentative choice. You will make changes to your choices as required when you go through the steps of the ThreBrainSynergy process.You will be able to find out more about motivational patterns and about the way they condition your behavior. You will also be able to take the first step in improving your way of dealing with people belonging to all types.

The six basic types are discussed in detail in ''Human Types'' by Susan Zannos. They are presented in the context of a fable in my book ''CRazYZoo! Know Thyself Made Easy''.