Profile Tips help you put your strengths profile to work
Beth shook her head in frustration. Why hadn’t she heard back from Shane? Two days had already passed since she’d sent the email. Beth could not understand why others on her team didn’t respond in a timely manner.
young woman with laptop
Sound familiar?
If so, then take a look at the way you process information.
Here’s a Tip
Trust – but verify to avoid frustration.
One of Beth’s strengths is her ability to trust information she receives. She accepts input at face value. When a team member asks her for a response to an email, Beth assumes her colleague needs the information right away. She hits “Reply” and sends her response immediately.
“Doesn’t everybody?” she wondered. Because Beth operates with a high level of trust when she processes information, she expects others on her team to do the same.
But not all do. Shane’s analytical approach, for instance, means that he validates information before acting on it. He sees the email from Beth in his inbox and thinks, “I’m finishing up a project. Beth’s email can wait. If it’s really important, she’ll message me again.”
While Shane waits to validate the information, Beth fumes. A little wedge of tension worms its way onto their team.
But what if Beth understood her tendency to trust information and Shane’s tendency to validate information before acting? Things would unfold differently.
On Day 2, Beth picked up the phone and called Shane. “Could you get me your response today?”
A few minutes later, his email was in her box.
If you operate with a high level of trust in others, realize that others do not.
Trust others to give you information – but verify that they do so.
More Tips for Building Strong Relationships
Which Is Better – to Trust Information or to Verify Information?
How Do You Value Strengths in Others?
Mary and Joseph: Two Ways to Process Information that Worked Together