People often hire people exactly like themselves, which is a big
mistake, according to Global Business Educator and Author Catherine
Mattiske. Instead, high-performance leaders seek out opposite and
contrasting opinions. Because if you have a team thinking just like you,
you end up spinning your wheels and never getting anywhere.
A balanced team is one constructed of people who differ widely,
bringing a variety of mindsets, points of view, and opinions, Catherine
says. Each works on a different part of the puzzle, seeing the task at
hand from their unique perspective, which allows them to come together
to create the most robust and most viable solution.
Catherine is founder of The Performance Company, a leading training and
consulting organization that has worked with Fortune 100 companies
around the world. A globally-recognized training expert and
author/creator of the “Inner Genius” book and e-suite, she has focused
her 30 years of experience on creating the
Genius Quotient
(GQ). GQ maps 12 learning, listening, and communication profiles; with
knowledge of these 12 profiles, high-performance leaders are able to
populate their teams with contrasting opinions plus perfectly balance
them out with a diversity of thought.
Everyone has their unique way of learning and taking in information. Catherine calls this our “Brain Fuel.”
Everyone processes the information they learn in different ways. Some
of us focus on the big picture, others zero in on the facts and
concepts, others want hands-on practice, and others explore every
variation and variable. Catherine calls this our “Processing Power.”
Everyone’s learning gets energized in different ways. Some of us
learn better while alone, others in groups; some are fueled by the
written and spoken word, others numbers and data; some of us want to
classify and sort, and others enjoy a rhythmic flow, beat, or sequence.
Catherine calls this our “Power Up.”
As a leader, to strive for a diverse, balanced team, you want these
varied types of learners, listeners, communicators, and thinkers on your
team. A team that approaches problems differently, providing a
different perspective, results in inclusion, ideas that you may never
have considered, and coming up with solutions you may never have thought
of. Imagine a workplace where different thinkers work together in
harmony and tinker to provide solutions to the problem at hand. Now
contrast with a team solely comprised of people fueled by numbers and
data — those solutions are bound to be one-sided and static, especially
if the leader is fueled by numbers and data. “It’s easy to hire people
like ourselves,” says Catherine. “And, just because they are like you
doesn’t mean that they provide the optimum mixture of thought,
productivity, and ideas to the team. Balance and diversity are the
keys.”
With her 30 years of experience, Catherine has compiled each of the
“Brain Fuel” and “Processing Power” profiles down into 12 “Inner Genius
Archetypes.” This is known as the Genius Quotient (GQ). Every one of us
fits quite snugly into one of the 12 Archetypes. After gaining knowledge
of which Archetype you are — and which 11 you aren’t — you can quickly
identify them in others and create perfectly balanced teams. However, this doesn’t mean you need to recreate a Round Table of
exactly 12 employees with each of the 12 Archetypes — though it would be
nice! Catherine instead suggests:
1. Avoid hiring anyone who matches your own Inner Genius Archetype.
You already have you — why do you need someone to parrot your same
thought processes back to you?
2. Populate your team with at least one Archetype of each of the four
“Processing Power” profiles. This ensures your team members are
tackling the problem from a different angle.
3. Use the “Inner Genius Wheel,” a communication tool used to design
emails, presentations, reports, and any other form of communication.
When people use this tool, they can ensure that everyone will be hooked
in, engaged, and influenced to action.
4. Use the “Inner Genius Team Map,” a leadership tool used to
determine which Archetypes to create your team from. The Team Map
quickly shows which Archetypes are related by “Processing Power”
profiles. This tool is valuable for a team-building session to bring the
entire team on board with who’s who and optimize working together.