We should all use DOPE!

I bet you are thinking I've gone crazy! What have I been smoking? Well, hear me out. Maybe I'm not as crazy as you think I am!

Firstly, let me tell you about an experience I had which reinforced the point to me that we should all use DOPE. 

Some years back I had a coaching session with 2 co-owners of a business. It was the first time I had done a session like it - coaching two business owners together. I was recommended to them by a mutual friend and they were very keen to have me involved to help them through their challenges. I had very little information about the challenges they were facing so I started the session as any coach would - by asking lots of questions to understand the current state of play.

After about 15mins of Q&A, a strange thing started to happen. Each business owner started to talk to me about the other owner like the other person wasn't even there. For the story sake, let's call the business owners Cagney & Lacey (not their real names!). Cagney started complaining to me about Lacey and how she wasn't getting things done. Lacey started complaining about Cagney and how she didn't care about her or any of their employees. Suddenly, I was a therapist running a therapy session! You could say, that is coaching - but this was different.

This 'different' situation required a 'different' solution. My solution - both Cagney and Lacey needed to use DOPE! My hope was that if they tried DOPE they would better understand each other.

Now, you must be thinking I am smoking DOPE myself to come up with this solution!

Let me explain my kind of DOPE. DOPE is a personality profiling tool that helps people not only understand themselves better, it also helps to understand others. D.O.P.E is an acronym for birds that each relate to the four personality types.

D = Dove

O = Owl

P = Peacock

E = Eagle

Let me give you a basic overview of each personality type:

Dove

The dove is people-orientated, loyal, friendly, hardworking and a great team player but tends to avoid change, confrontation, risk-taking, and assertiveness. 

Owl

The owl is logical, mathematically minded, methodical and sometimes seen as a perfectionist. The owl can be slow to make decisions and inflexible if rules and logic say otherwise. Owls are not big risk-takers but love details. 

Peacock

The peacock loves talking, being the centre of attention, has a wealth of passion, is highly enthusiastic, and is generally optimistic. Peacocks can be accused of talking too much and tend to lag in the ability to deal with details or time-management. 

Eagle

Eagles are dominant, stimulated by challenge, decisive, and direct. Eagles can be blunt and stubborn, they can lose sight of the big picture, and they can be insensitive to other people's needs. Eagles are natural achievers. 

Both Cagney and Lacey agreed to take the test and to share their results. Can you guess the dominant bird type for Cagney and Lacey?

Remember, Cagney was focused on getting things done. If you picked her dominate type as Eagle, you are right!

Lacey was focused on the employees and how they felt. Did you say Dove? If so, a gold star for you!

We came together the following week to talk through the results of the DOPE test. Both Cagney and Lacey were able to use the personality test to better understand each other's strengths and weaknesses. There was an acknowledgment of how they could utilize their individual differences for the good of their relationship and for improved business outcomes. In many respects, their differences in personalities should have made for a very productive and successful partnership. 

Did it? Unfortunately, not.

One key aspect of Cagney's personality which made the relationship healing process very difficult; she had zero percent, yes, absolutely zero percent Dove in her personality make up. Cagney had no 'care factor' for how Lacey was feeling...not to mention the stubbornness of the dominant Eagle refusing to acknowledge she didn't care! This proved to be the downfall of the relationship and ultimately the split of the partnership. 

It was the best decision. They have now both made progress in their own business ventures - each run very differently I might add!

It could have been such a different outcome had Cagney and Lacey understood each other's personality types earlier in their business relationship.

Don't make the same mistake in your business!

Take DOPE now! Get every member of your team to take DOPE!

Use the results to have a conversation about each other's strengths and weaknesses and how your team can benefit by utilizing the unique differences of each team member. Having some awareness of each other's personality types will help strengthen the relationships within the team, which ultimately will help improve team performance.

By the way, did I mention it's FREE! Now you will definitely do it - we all like FREE stuff!

There are various personality profiling tools around, e.g. DiSC & Myers-Briggs to name a couple. It doesn't matter the tool, what matters is the conversation and understanding developed from using the tool. 

I would love to know the results of the conversations generated by doing this simple personality test. It will only take you 5-6 minutes to complete. Please share in the comments below.

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Are you frustrated by politics and confusion in your workplace, is there low morale and productivity, or is your business experiencing unwanted turnover and hiring costs? Call me on +61 417 191 409 or email me at [email protected], and let's have a conversation!