Have you ever thought that you have different roles or hats in any given day?
We might have one ‘hat’ we wear in work or in our business, and another ‘hat’ when we are at home with our families.
The ‘hat’ we wear with our peers or children would be very different, wouldn’t it?
How different are the ‘hats’ you wear and are you aware how often you might change ‘hats’ and why?
You may or may not have heard of Edward de Bono’s Thinking Hats? He explains that each coloured hat has a different purpose.
For example, the green hat is a creative hat; the feelings or intuitions hat is red, the blue hat is a leader, the black hat is cautious, and the yellow hat focuses on benefits, the white hat relies on data and the black hat on process.
At a meeting or at work with different people we might wear different colour ‘hats’ and fulfil different roles to achieve different outcomes and to work within the environment or business culture. Even at home we wear different hats with our family and friends.
We might also use the ‘hat’ analogy for being a manager. What type of manager might we be with different members of our team? As a manager we may need to adopt the management style or ‘hat’ of the participative manager, someone is more democratic, ensuring everyone is involved and has ownership. Alternatively a manager in some situations and with some employees may need to adopt a different style, for example that of a coaching style focusing on long-term professional development, empowering others to step up and grow.
Alternatively you may want to look at the iMA questionnaire link below to see what High Colour you are. This colour tells you what you are, however it is a communication tool and can help identify typical characteristics and behaviours and that of others to see how you can best work with others to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome.
Whichever one of these you may choose to focus on or use, focus on which role you play in what situation for whichever reason. We are complex human beings and the more aware of ourselves we are and the more aware of others we are can help us relate to others more easily and understand each other’s differences better.
Why not complete the iMA Questionnaire and see what colour you are: http://successfactor-ima.com/questionnaire.html
To find out more email Debs on: debs@successfactor.co.nz
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