Personality, Communication, and Leadership

Personality types can be classified differently depending on which test is taken, but for the purposes of this blog I will only consider the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

The test classifies personality traits into 3 categories

Attitudes

• Extraversion (E)
• Introversion (I)

Function

• iNtuition (N)
• Sensing (S)
• Feeling (F)
• Judging (J)

Lifestyle

• Judging
• Perceiving

How does knowing your personality type connect to communication and leadership?

Knowing your OWN personality type can help you understand why you react to people the way you do. But what's more valuable is understanding OTHER personality types.

To effectively communicate with different personality types the key traits we must acknowledge are

• Sensing vs iNtuition
• Thinking vs Feeling
• Judging vs Perceiving

Sensing vs Intuition

People with a tendency towards Sensing appreciate details whereas those with a tendency towards iNtuition prefer generalizations.

Student: How long many pages are expected for the report?

Sensing Teacher: Exactly 9 pages

iNtuition Teacher: As many pages as necessary, but no longer.

Thinking vs Feeling

People with a tendency towards Thinking appreciate direct straightforward communication whereas those with a tendency towards Feeling prefer to be eased into communication.

A company is downsizing and has to let go of some employees. Below are how a T and F would break the news:

T: Due to budget cuts we will be laying off some employees. If you need assistance finding a new job you can call the HR line. Do you have any questions?

F: I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but XYZ is downsizing and we have to let some people go. It has nothing to do with your performance. I understand that this may be a difficult time for you, so I want to help you in any way. Again, I apologize for this and will be happy to help you find employment elsewhere.

Judging vs Perceiving

People with a tendency towards Judging appreciate concrete timelines whereas those with a tendency towards Perceiving prefer to go with the flow.

Below are some examples of how you might assign deadlines to a J and P:

Assigning deadline to a J: Please have the assignment completed by March 11th, 11:59 PM.

Assigning deadline to a P: When do you think you have the assignment completed?

By asking a P to create their own deadline you can increase accountability and leave less room for excuses.

By understanding different personality types and how they take in information you can reduce misunderstandings and increase accountability.

Learn more about the MBTI!

Harry Potter and the Resolution of Conflict

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1), Harry, Ron and Hermione are on a mission to find and destroy the 7 Horcruxes (evil objects). The Horcruxes are not easily destroyed and have to be kept safe until the three find out how. The problem is that when a Horcrux is on a person, the person begins to see things in a negative light and behaves in a manner unlike him/herself. Ron was subject to this Horcrux “spell” and began perceiving situations that were not so. For example, Harry and Hermione in love,  and Harry speaking poorly of Ron. This resulted in a huge fight between Harry and Ron, and was not handled in the best way. This perception was Ron’s personal Horcrux and below I talk about two ways by which he could have destroyed it.

Walk the Cube

This is a process I learned in my Organizational Behavior class. It is a 4-step process that involves the two people involved, in this case, Harry and Ron.

1. Say what you saw: “I had a vision of you and Hermione kissing.”
2. Tell the story you made up about it: “I thought you two were actually in love and doing this behind my back knowing about my feelings towards her.”
3. Say how you felt about it: “I felt angry, confused, and betrayed.”
4. Say what you want from the other person: “I want you to speak your mind and tell me when I’m being ridiculous.”

In situations that are completely out-of-hand and cannot be resolved in one-on-one conversations a third party may need to be involved. When these types of situations occur you may need to consider the following Alternative Dispute Resolution methods:

Mediation: a third party facilitates discussion to arrive at a negotiation

Conciliation: a third party visits each person separately. The two people rarely meet to discuss the issues.

Arbitration: a third party decides how the conflict is to be resolved through a legally binding document that is to be signed by the people involved.

Litigation: when the conflict is resolved in court before a judge

Now that you’re equipped with these tactics, how do you think Hermione could have helped resolve the conflict as a third party?

Listening in Leadership

When I thought about charisma I would think about people like Barack Obama, Martin Luther King Jr., and anyone who has ever been a speaker on TED TALKS. According to 10 Habits of Remarkably Charismatic People, charisma is something deeper than delivering captivating speeches. 

I recently read an article about a perspective of humanity that expressed that people are only as valuable as the skills they possess. What the article was explaining is that people are perceived as more valuable when they can give of themselves. We are made to serve those around us. And this article supports that because it describes charisma as providing a service to the person you are listening to. 

Through the 10 Habits suggested I hear a common theme: listening. That is what it comes down to for one to be truly charismatic. But I want to take this past simply listening for the sake of being charismatic. Most of us have been, currently are, or will be in a leadership position at some point. But why is listening so important in a leadership position?

Team Development

If you want to have a high performing team it will take more than task completion. A high performing team will bring new ideas to the table. I recently learned that although some of the ideas will not be feasible, it is better to allow your team to get the ideas out of its system. Make them feel like they have been heard rather than shutting down the ideas before they have had a chance to discuss the ideas. Remember that not every great idea has to come out of your mouth!

Team Member Development

This is about getting to know your team on an individual basis. By talking to them and understanding their goals and motivations you are able to develop a stronger relationship with the team members (which can lead to loyalty and higher performance). You also develop an understanding of how you can help the individual achieve those goals through the project or job.

Leadership is about your team members and making them better, and listening is the best way to make that happen. I have been working on being a better listener for over a year now. It is difficult because it is draining. But it can become your most valuable skill whether you are a professor at a university or an up-and-coming director.

Marketing Communications Toolkit

A friend recently shared this extremely helpful checklist with me. Great tool to help define what avenue is important when developing a marketing plan for a company.

How to LIVE

The GIF that Keeps on GIF-ing: 7 Ways to do Vine Marketing

How did you kick off your week?

My Monday started off in my Marketing in a Digital World class where we tested out Vine, the new Twitter App. Vine is like Instagram, but instead of still-photos it allows you to create 6-second videos that play continuously (like the moving pictures in Harry Potter).  

The free app is easy to download, and even easier to use.  At the touch of a finger you can capture a moment with you and your friends, or create a work of art. The app is less than two weeks old, so there are a few bugs, and it is limited to use on the iPhone and iPod Touch. But it already seems to be developing a community of individuals and businesses around itself  despite the bugs and exclusivity to Apple users.

Here’s the big question: How will businesses incorporate Vine into marketing strategies?

I thought about 7 ways a business can use Vine to engage with its customers:

1) Mini-advertisements

This is the most obvious way for businesses to use Vine, but it might be the most challenging with only 6 seconds. Malibu Rum created a pretty cool ad here: Malibu Rum on Vine

2) Mini-Series

Create stories around your product ending with cliffhangers. Like the commercial this will be a challenge to construct because of the time constraint, but story boarding is a process that can help achieve the best use of time. 

Creating a mini-series will keep people tuning in every day (or week, but I suggest you keep that the maximum wait time) for the next episode. So, even if people don’t use your product, if the series is entertaining they may tune in just to keep up.

3) Facility Tours/Process Tours

Use Vine to bring your customers into the facility! Give them mini-tours, so they can feel more involved with the company or organization. Especially if your product is foreign to the customer.

I love Heineken beer, but I’ve never been to Germany. Heineken should use Vine to take me on a tour and maybe show me their brewery (hint hint @Heineken).

The point is to make the customers feel like they are a part of the process.

4) Updates 

Simple updates like those on Twitter are also an option. Videos make the update more personal! 

5) Live Vines 

Live Tweets are a common occurrence at most events these days. Live Tweets bring the action of an event to all of those who can’t be at the scene. Why not use Vine to show people what they’re missing?

A few soccer clubs in the English Premier League are doing just that! 

6) Collect Testimonials

Creatively collect testimonials. Vine makes it easier for customers to be a brand ambassador. You can tie this point in with the next.

7) Contests

It’s a new way to issue challenges to your customers and you may be able to engage with more of them since it’s a simpler process than Youtube. (might even take less time and effort).

Want to learn more about Vine? Here are a few sources:

Pro-tips for making your own Vine

The Next Big Thing: Smartphone Mini-Videos

7 Ways Vine can make Animation Easier

Cool Vines

Content is the New Campaign

We have been hearing about how content is the new campaign since early last year, but companies and marketers still struggle to grasp the concept. So let me try to explain this again. Content is exactly that. Content. It's about cutting-the-crap out of marketing and "keeping it real". It's about establishing reliability by focusing on easily accessible valuable information. So please, cut the sales pitch out of your blog. It's not about you, it's about everyone else.

Still don't get it?
Maybe this will help.

2013: The Year of Working Social Smart

CMO recently released the 2013 Social Media Landscape. Last year’s social media landscape featured a great amount of social media platforms, but this year it seems that we are taking a depth over breadth approach. The 2013 Social Media Landscape focuses on the big six in SM: Facebook, Google +, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Youtube.

The landscape rates the platforms on multiple variables, and inspired the creation of my first infographic. This infographic transforms the 2013 Social Media Landscape to act as a quick reference for which platforms to use to optimize customer communication, traffic to your site, brand exposure and SEO. So the next time you’re uncertain about which platform to use to reach your customers or acquire better rankings,  just look at this!