Revealed

Using Remote Personality Profiling to Influence, Negotiate and Motivate

J. Taylor, A. Furnham, Janet Breeze

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781137325938
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business Strategy
• Index: Business

It is not always possible to interview or meet people face-to-face before significant negotiations or decisions have to be made. They may be business competitors or candidates for an important leadership role. Revealed is a book for those who need to assess others and make decisions about people, without being able to meet and interview them

chapter 1

Introduction

A significant number of studies done over 40 years suggest that there is a one in two chance that executives will fail in some significant way. According to Michael Watkins, author of First 90 Days, 64 per cent of new executives hired from outside will not succeed in their new jobs. Similarly the Corporate Leadership Council data suggest that 40 per cent of newly appointed executives will derail within the first 18 months. The demands on business leaders and senior managers have never been greater, nor have the costs of poor selection.

64 per cent of new executives hired from outside will not succeed in their new jobs

When dealing with people, remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic; we are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity. (Carnegie, 1936)

We value executives with strong powers of persuasion, an ability to secure the best deal, to build networks and work alongside people of different cultures. Success in negotiation, entering a new country or gaining market intelligence usually comes down to building relationships of trust, liking and agreement with key individuals and decision-makers, both within and outside our organizations. Particularly in a competitive international context, this requires heightened understanding of whom we are dealing with and how their perceptions and approach might differ from our own.

Revealed addresses the urgent business challenge of understanding better the people on whom we depend for success. The methodology it presents – Remote Personality Profiling (RPP) – helps identify and manage the risks that a senior business leader will under-perform, particularly when under pressure. It also helps us identify and manage differences between our approach and that of others we might want to influence, negotiate with or motivate. The aim is to really ‘get under the skin’ of an individual: to get a ‘full picture’ of that person and to understand ‘what makes them tick’.

So, how do we ensure that we recruit the right person to the job? How can we use knowledge of an individual to influence, negotiate, motivate and manage them more effectively? These are perhaps the principal uses of RPP, but it has many other applications. Through RPP we can paint a picture of an individual who interests or matters to us, for whatever reason. A political leader, past or present, an artist or scientist. Someone whose achievements or actions set them apart from the rest. The criminal, spy or tyrant whose deeds remain unexplained. Someone whom perhaps we research in order to draw wider lessons regarding why individuals behave the way they do. Though it borrows ideas from both, RPP is more than psychobiography or personal profiling.

Revealed is a valuable aid to negotiators in business and public life, to headhunters and recruiters, heads of security looking for the insider threat, fiction writers and biographers. It would also be useful for intelligence officers looking for potential human sources.

The six elements of RPP

Based on extensive and rigorous academic research and their combined international expertise in the fields of psychology and business, the authors believe that there are six main elements affecting an individual’s attitudes, characteristic behaviors and motivation (see Figure 1.1). These are outlined below and explained in detail in Chapters 2–7.

Chapter 2: Culture and clan

The culture and society into which a person is born and in which they are raised has a profound impact on how they view the world, relate to others and tend to behave in everyday situations. Lack of familiarity with the manifestations of another’s cultural background, both superficial – body language, rituals and other practices – and underlying – values and beliefs – is perhaps the single greatest cause of failed international business dealings. We identify reliable sources of information regarding cultural differences at both levels.

FIG 1.1 The six dimensions

Chapter 3: Biography and family

Against the context of culture and clan, this chapter examines those experiences unique to an individual that are likely to have the greatest impact. Socio-economic background, family and key relationships and misfortunes, especially in early life, are hugely influential in shaping or dictating life choices and attitudes. We also look at how physical appearance, gender and sex differences, sexuality, age, class, illness, travel and work experiences affect how we behave and are perceived.

Baroness Thatcher’s early years – living above the family grocery store, regular attendance to the local Methodist church, wartime experiences and exposure to politics, particularly through her father who served as alderman and mayor of Grantham – are widely considered to have shaped her attitudes towards individual responsibility, entrepreneurship, economic policy and patriotism, as well as her decision to enter politics.

Chapter 4: Intelligence

Often overlooked or downplayed by assessors, particularly in selection for senior posts, many experts identify intellect as the most reliable overall predictor of an individual’s performance in a job. If broken down and analysed in relation to specific requirements or learning environments it can maximize individual contributions and development potential. In this chapter we define and look at how general, multiple and executive intelligence, learning quotient and thinking styles affect performance and behaviors. We also look at gifts or strengths identified by Positive psychologists as contributing to overall performance.

Chapter 5: Personality

While some people can adapt, personality traits are fairly fixed from our late teens. A comprehensive trait assessment is a powerful tool in understanding under what conditions an individual will be at ease and operate most effectively. There is a broad international agreement on different personality traits (the preferences of each individual), and they lend themselves to remote assessment, obviating the need for standard personality tests. In this chapter we describe the Big Five basic personality traits and highlight the significance of the related concepts of ‘multiple intelligences’, trust and integrity. We also examine ‘personality misfits’ and those aspects of personality that are broadly considered most desirable in an employee.

Chapter 6: The dark side

Particularly at senior levels, hitherto masked ‘dark side’ traits, sometimes called personality disorders and mental health issues, can surface with devastating impact. In this chapter we look at DSM-IV personality disorders in the context of Hogan and Hogan’s work, identifying 12, remarkably common, dark side traits. We supplement this with recommendations regarding how to weed out potential ‘derailers’ and manage associated problems.

Chapter 7: Motivation

The sum of the previous elements, motivation is ultimately what leads individuals to behave in a particular way. Motivation is more prone to change than other elements and is often hard to fathom. As outlined in the chapter, consciously and sub-consciously we adopt defence mechanisms to explain motivations that are deep-seated and sometimes unpalatable, both to us and to others. But, perhaps more than any of the other elements, identification of consistent/constant underlying motivations gives vital clues as to how best to approach and manage others. In this chapter, in addition to clarifying some key concepts and popular motivation theories, we describe nine motivations that we believe encapsulate thinking on the topic and provide a useful framework for assessment.

The general format for each of the above chapters is:

Clear definition of the element and exploration of why it is important by highlighting associated risks

A simplified overview of dominant theories regarding its impact on behavior

Highlighting of those aspects which the authors identify as most useful in the context of RPP

General conclusions and a short recommended reading list (supplemented by a classic alphabetical bibliography at the end of the book).

Chapter 8: Remote personality profiling

This chapter provides step-by-step guidance to collecting the evidence and building a subject’s profile using the RPP Research Questionnaire. The methodology is simple and requires no specialized background in personality assessment. Taken together with the information provided in the preceding chapters, it can be analysed to reveal any risks or sensitivities of which the assessor should be aware in their dealings with the subject. To illustrate our approach we present the case study of Alphafox who has had a successful international business career, but whose remote personality profile would indicate some cause for concern. The RPP Questionnaire is presented in full in Annex I.

Chapter 9: Managing extremes

There are many possible approaches to managing and influencing people. In this chapter, as well as highlighting some important general considerations, we introduce our RPP Framework (Annex 2) as a means to ensure that these as well as RPP research findings are taken fully into account. We provide a wealth of tips in relation to the six elements and, where meaningful, also direct the reader towards appropriate heuristic tools. Primary amongst these are Cialdini’s ‘weapons of influence’, supplemented by the influence of logic which we have introduced. All of these are described later in this Introduction. Once again, we illustrate our approach using the case study of Alphafox, recommending how to make an initial pitch for his cooperation and also manage him on a long-term basis.

Chapter 10: Case studies

This chapter comprises eight case studies. Six of these are well-known figures: Stephen Hawking, John Lennon, Margaret T...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter: 1 Introduction
• Chapter: 2 Culture
• Chapter: 3 Biographical Information
• Chapter: 4 Intelligence
• Chapter: 5 Personality
• Chapter: 6 The Dark Side Traits
• Chapter: 7 Motivation
• Chapter: 8 Remote Personality Profiling
• Chapter: 9 Managing Extremes
• Chapter: 10 Case Studies
• Annex 1 RPP Research Questionnaire
• Annex 2 RPP Framework
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index