“What were they thinking?!” As a career coach, I hear that a lot when people describe to me an incident in their workplace. Someone has done something that my client finds absolutely baffling.

And generally, it turns out that the perpetrator did indeed have a Very Good reason for doing that thing—at least in his or her or their mind. And that Very Good reason was something that my client never would have seen, considered, or prioritized.

Why? Because people are different.

I know, that’s a “duh” statement. Of course people are different. We just tend to forget that—especially when they are acting in a way that we would never act, for reasons we might never have considered.

Is There a Tool for Understanding Other People?

This is one of the benefits of Predictive Index. The assessment tool helps us learn about ourselves—why we do what we do. And gives us insights into what drives other people’s actions too.

Personally, I’m especially fascinated by what PI can show us about communication styles. Using PI readings for A, B, and C factors, you can get a ton of insight into this part of your work relationships.

For instance, if you’re A factor is higher than your B Factor, you are likely task-oriented. A critical thinker, a problem solver with a high technical orientation. If the opposite is true and your B is higher than you’re a, you are likely more people-oriented. Empathetic, persuasive, sociable.

Now pair up your a/B orientation with your C factor to get a picture of your communication style. You can plot where your PI Profile falls on this chart: A>B (right half) or B>A  (left half); High C (top half) or Low C (bottom half). The stronger your factor, the farther from the center you fall.

PI COMMUNICATION STYLES:

Seeing these four quadrants helps us understand what our style is—and the styles of our coworkers. If you fall in the Connecting Quadrant, your communication style is going to have a lot to do with collaboration and getting everyone to the same conclusion. Conversely, if you’re in the opposite quadrant, Telling, your style is probably more geared to making an announcement that tells everyone how it’s going to be and expecting that they’ll fall in line.

The question “What were they thinking?!?” might be answered by looking at their Predictive Index profile.

Don't have a PI profile yet? Easy-peasy. Contact us below and ask for your FREE Predictive Index assessment.