Workplace nirvana is within reach

Are you a product of the modern schooling system and workplace where you are encouraged to be outgoing and extrovert?  Does it feel alien to you?  Would you rather have some solitude and space to allow your creative juices to flow?

Susan Cain's TED video on the Power of Introverts eloquently probes whether the external stimulation forced upon us in the workplace is suppressing innovation and happiness.  Every one out of two or three people you know are introvert – not necessarily shy.  They get their stimulation from the inside whereas someone externally focused gets their energy from the outside.

Susan Cain has a simple message.  Yet  how many businesses are adapting tasks, activities and open plan work places to cater for individual preferences?  The impact on employee engagement and recruitment and selection could be significant if they did.

Achieving workplace "nirvana" is within reach using a conversational tool called the Language and Behaviour Profile (LAB Profile). It is a way of thinking about people and groups that allows you to notice and respond to how they get motivated, process information, and make decisions.

The LAB Profile is a set of about 12 questions that you can feed into casual conversation at work to understand someone's motivations such as if they are Internally referenced or Externally referenced. You pay attention to how people talk when they answer, rather than what they talk about. Even when a person does not answer the question directly, he or she will reveal his / her pattern by the manner in which they answer (or don’t)!

As you become familiar with the questions and the kind of responses people give, you will find that you can hear and pick up the patterns people use without having to actually ask the questions. You can immediately use the right Influencing Language in that situation to get the right response.

If you are interested in learning how to use the LAB Profile to create a happy, balanced workplace, and accommodate both introverts and extroverts, give Katherine Wiid a call on +44 (0)1780 484910 or visit the website.