What’s it about personality “tests” that some love and others hate?

“But I don’t wanna be put in a box!”, he exclaimed. “He” could have been a colleague, a client, a guy I’m dating … I’ve heard it from all of them. But yet these same people want to be understood, they want to be loved and respected for their unique attributes, they want to relate well with others. And personality instruments like Myers-Briggs, DISC and others help us understand each other and provide a safe language for speaking with each other about our differences.

Yes, I love this stuff – I’m happily distracted by a personality test any day over many other activities (granted, I also liked taking tests as a kid, so I realize I might be a bit of an anomaly). I just think it is so fascinating to get a glimpse into the way people perceive the world, process information, and make decisions, especially when it is so different than me. To understand that an extravert has to take everything out of his head and pick through it with someone else to figure out what he actually thinks, or that an introvert, when asked a question, must run away for a few days to her little getaway just to come back with a one word answer … that helps people relate. To get that some people need to take information in visually, some auditory, some kinesthetically, that helps people connect. To understand that some people are uncomfortable making final decisions and others will be ancy until the decision is made … that helps people work together. And those are just a few examples.

Every one of these tools is just an instrument to learn more about ourselves and help us relate to others who are different than us. Understanding our natural preferences helps us figure out where we need help and what we need to work on. So why are some people so anti personality tests? Unfortunately these instruments have gotten a bad rap because people get so caught up in the classifications that they attempt to draw very specific conclusions without realizing the nuances. It should be more about the conversation that it gets started. When we talk through our types and say “oh, that’s totally you!” or “that really resonates with me”, we can open up communication in a non-threatening way, acknowledging our differences and advising each other on how we can relate effectively. The week after my office went through one of these facilitations, one of the guys in my office who tested strong “F” (feeling, not thinking) in Myers-Briggs, stopped me mid conversation and said, “Lisa, remember, I’m an “F”, so I’m sensitive when you tell me this stuff!”, which isn’t exactly the meaning of “F” in Myers-Briggs, but it helped us have the conversation we needed to have in a much more effective way. And we got a good laugh out of it.

So I think everyone should stop taking all these tests so seriously and use them for what they are meant – helping us better understand ourselves and others to improve personal and professional relationships!

IT job market seems to be improving

Just this week, I've had four people email me looking to fill IT related positions, mostly in consulting. Several have remarked that the market is getting tighter, it is harder to find good people now than last year. And I know fewer people looking. Based on what I hear from people, it feels as though the job market (at least in IT) has been steadily improving since December.

If you are looking for a job in the IT field in Denver or Dallas, feel free to email me what you are looking for and I'll let you know if you are a match for any of these opportunities. And no, I don't charge a fee, it is just your reward for reading my blog.

HB1192 needs to be squashed

I’m not usually one to get very involved in local or state politics, but this proposed House Bill 1192 is an exception. If you haven’t heard about it, you can read more here. Basically, it is a huge new tax on software that will affect our technology community and every company employing workers in Colorado.

There are several complexities that make it even worse – it is retroactive, it is based on employee usage of software (even if they use a software program one hour a year), and they are planning to penalize companies who do not somehow hear about this required tax through an industry association or some other means. It is so clear that basing a tax like this on the number of employees in Colorado will reduce employers’ incentives to hire/ retain people in Colorado.

Hopefully this won’t pass because it is unconstitutional under TABOR to add a new tax without voter approval, but please voice your concern by calling state officials and spread the word. I just emailed each person on the appropriations committee - it only took five minutes. You can find out more information here on who to contact…

What will be the technology turning point for remote work?

This week I flew to Michigan to kick-off a new project. We had eleven executives from seven different locations across North America. Only one lived and worked in Michigan.

During a fun dinner conversation about how technologies like Yammer and IM are changing business interactions, we got on to the pros and cons of TelePresence, the high end video conferencing solution this company uses. (If you haven’t used it before, I’ll share from personal experience that you can count the hairs on someone’s head. It is far beyond traditional video). Someone joked about how hard it is during a TelePresence call to multitask or even lean over and whisper to a coworker without being heard and seen. And that is exactly what made another person ask the group how long it will be until we all have setups in our home offices to allow us to connect in so “virtually-real”. The gap between remote and in person meetings is closing to the point that it will soon be very hard to justify the travel and/or office maintenance costs. Yes, George Clooney, in his recent movie “Up in the Air”, did make an adequate case that some things (i.e. firing people) should be done in person, but many other everyday interactions can and should be moved to video conference once the technology is there.

I, for one, dream about the day I can work from a home office from the mountains, connecting to my clients via a medium stronger than a phone. I like a mix; meeting people in person is great the first time and every once in a while or for longer meetings, but so much work can be done, more efficiently, remotely.

And it is happening…

Old-school consultants find it extremely surprising when we hypothesize that Thought Ensemble may never have a physical office. And yet I feel closer to my colleagues than ever before, with constant connection via IM, presence to show me where they are and video conferencing on our internal meetings. We still see each other once or twice a month and at various locations for internal meetings, but the majority of our time we work remotely.

My financial planner conducts his quarterly review meetings with me using video/ web conferencing. At first I thought it was a bit strange for him to suggest this type of meeting when I only live a few minutes from his office, but now I absolutely love just connecting in with him in the midst of my day, from home. I’m meeting with him more often and feel more connected to him than I did my previous financial planner. There’s something about seeing him on the screen while he projects the report online that feels much more connected than a phone call.

It is even happening in larger companies, although our clients seem to still congregate in various offices rather than work remotely from home offices. Some of our clients are dispersed across the country and globe and stay very connected with each other via video, phone and instant messaging. In some ways, those in remote offices may have more effective communication. Recently, I’ve noticed that companies that primarily operate out of one location are less rigorous about setting and running effective meetings because they take for granted their ability to snag a coworker’s time. Yes, there is something nice about walking down the hall, but being dispersed requires people to use each other’s time more thoughtfully. It seems the more dispersed the team members are, the more they respect each other’s time, showing up to meetings as planned, setting agendas, and sticking to the time alloted.

That all said, there’s still a huge cultural shift to having people work remotely. Many technologies along the way have supported that shift –beginning with the phone, onto email, instant messaging, presence and social networking. (Good) video may be the turning point. Once quality video is pervasive, I believe the majority of knowledge work can be done remotely…