Characteristics 

• Relationship-oriented but with the feeling of longing for something missing. Usually wants to be emotionally engaged. 

• Strong interest in initiating and responding to aesthetics and individuality. 

• Both idealistic and analytical with the need to understand meaning and motivation. 

• Critical thinking applied to self and others in the search for excellence. 

• Basic self-perception emphasises the need to be authentic and aesthetically correct. 

• Avoid feeling deficient or inferior in relation to other people. 

Strengths 

• Work to create a sense of meaning and value in all endeavours. 

• Able to get to the heart of the matter; not satisfied with surface content, want to understand things deeply. 

• Critical thinkers who are willing to challenge themselves and others in striving for excellence. 

• Excellent sense of style and beauty and capable of providing leadership in these areas for other people. 

• Often perceived as warm and compassionate. Can convey caring and empathy for other people, particularly in regard to problems and suffering. 

• Access to the great feeling tones and emotional rhythms of life; can apply this to personal creativity and relationships. 

• Find value in own inner world, having a place inside themselves for a safe retreat where values and priorities are formed. 

Potential Problems 

• Difficulty in managing own emotional reactions can lead to being viewed by others as overly dramatic or unstable. 

• Too much emphasis on own individuality can create distance and contributes to perception of aloofness. 

• Can have trouble staying with routine activities or completing tasks that seem mundane. 

• Can be highly critical of people and activities that don’t measure up to own standards. 

• Hard to accept criticism, tolerate ambiguity or let others be right. 

• Perception of others becomes limited to only those parts they want to see due to competition or envy. 

General Focus 

Seeks meaning and emotional depth in work and relationships and needs to express personal creativity and authenticity. This may lead to feelings of deficiency and chronic disappointment when reactions to events are over-personalised. 

Application to Your Leadership Style 

Major Assets 

Possessing a high degree of awareness of human needs and relationships, you are able to focus both on people and task. You have the capacity to be both empathetic and analytical. You place a priority on excellence and authentic self-expression and your work is infused by the search for value and meaning. 

Major Challenges 

You need to find or create value in whatever activity you are engaged in, even if it doesn’t meet your ideals. Try to balance your tendency to swing from over-involvement to withdrawal when it comes to people and projects. Be careful with both your negative emotional reactions and situation. 

Preferred Learning Style 

• Responses to material can change based on inner feeling state. 

• Prefers experiential training which is useful for achieving personal involvement. 

• Material should be ‘attractive’ in order to bring out of internal experience and engagement with others. 

• Affinity for metaphor and symbols leading to deeper meanings. 

• Needs to understand theory and the ‘why’ of things. 

• Wants personal rapport with the instructor. 

• In performance or test situations, can lose focus even though competent or knowledgeable. 

Suggestions for Your Professional Development 

• Use your empathy and attunement to other people’s feelings as a source of important information about what they need in structure or support to do a good job. 

• Work to contain your emotional reactions so they don’t disrupt your working relationships. Other people may not know how to handle strong feelings, particularly when it involves them. 

• Your emotional affect can be powerful. Be aware of the feeling tones and attitudes expressed in your voice and body language and how these impact others. 

• Practice neutralising your attitudes. They can distract people from the content of what you are saying and lead them to perceive you as disappointed, victimised, superior, blaming, etc. instead of hearing your intended message. 

• Your concern for others can lead to over-involvement or inappropriate caretaking. Balance your empathy with detachment and make appropriate boundaries. 

• While empathising with other people’s problems, maintain your standards for performance. 

• Allow others to communicate their needs, areas of conflict or criticism without necessarily taking it as a personal rejection. 

• Try to stay organised and succinct while talking to people. You may tend to get off track, become disoriented or ramble on when feeling stressed. Repeating yourself doesn’t increase your credibility. 

• Be careful not to insist that other people enter into your frame of reference or see it your way. While acknowledging differences, also seek that common ground. People will be more likely to see your point of view if you can see their view. 

• Be careful of your negative reactions when you don’t find value in an activity or what other people are doing or saying. Look for the meaning or value for others. 

Suggestions for the Leader 

• Don’t insist on rationality as the only valid response. 

• Encourage responses that include both thoughts and feelings. 

• Allow feeling responses but bring the attention back to task. 

• Give personal attention or recognition. 

• Help them establish a personal connection with the material. 

• Consider aesthetics and creativity in presentations. 

• Present the material in a thoughtful way, establish your personal interest in the topic and communicate with personal conviction. 

• Make room for learner disorientation or confusion at times and refocus without judgment.