The Power of Personalities

Yesterday we celebrated a staff birthday at NEHRA…for a fun treat, Natalie brought in The Secret Languages of Birthdays by Gary Goldschneider and Joost Elffers. This (very thick) book dedicates two full pages to each day of the year.  It gives a detailed personality description of people born on that day, as well as recommendations for their health, lucky numbers, and a list of famous people who share their special day.

We went around the lunch table and read the information about each person’s birthday, sparking lots of laughs and even more head nods and ‘Yes, that’s spot on’!  Even though we were really just having fun,  we were reminded of the importance in understanding what makes your co-workers tick.  As a staff, we have taken the Predictive Index System (PI) and reviewed our results as a team.  The PI is an organization performance tool that helps managers and co-workers understand what influences and drives their colleagues at work.  Many of us have also taken the well-known Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and use it to manage our working relationships.  While a little more light hearted than the PI/MBTI assessments, the “birthday book” did remind us that understanding where others are coming from plays a huge role in creating a cohesive, effective work environment.

If you are interested in learning more about your personality type, register for one our Success at Work programs, scheduled for March 14^th, April 11^th, May 9^th, and June 13^th.  Your participation in the program includes an MBTI assessment, and the workshops are full of tools to make you more effective and successful in your role, as well as improve your working relationships.