Face the (Low) Challenge
Now I know that some Birkman Consultants find the idea of doing feedback by phone rather strange, and that's fine.* We do a lot of our work that way, and Sarah (as in Mrs Mason, sometimes known as Sarah Jury) has a real gift for it. Honestly. Clients who don't know she is my wife rave on to me about how my colleague made them forget it was a phone call, it was like she was in the room etc etc. They never say that about me!
But every now and again we have had either someone stop the session after a couple of minutes / or freak out / or - as today - ask if one of us could give them just five minutes face to face to go through some scores they haven't ever had a session on, even though I know they had the phone session on exactly those scores just a few weeks back.
And in common - it is always people with ultra-low Challenge scores. (<5)
Not terribly surprising when you think about low Challenge. "Face" (in the oriental sense of the giving and receiving of respect / position etc) is extremely important to low Challenge, and it doesn't seem unreasonable to suggest that "face to face" communication protects and promotes "Face" more than talking over the phone.
So - even if you would never consider doing feedback by phone in a billion years, this may have other implications for communication with low Challenge clients, or at least underline the importance of choosing a time and place when you can give them absolute personal attention when there is something important to communicate that is about them.
*And if you wouldn't consider doing feedback over the phone - just have a look at your own Challenge Score. I've just realised that two of the people who told me that doing feedbacks by phone was a weird thing to do were sub-five Challenge scores themselves...
But every now and again we have had either someone stop the session after a couple of minutes / or freak out / or - as today - ask if one of us could give them just five minutes face to face to go through some scores they haven't ever had a session on, even though I know they had the phone session on exactly those scores just a few weeks back.
And in common - it is always people with ultra-low Challenge scores. (<5)
Not terribly surprising when you think about low Challenge. "Face" (in the oriental sense of the giving and receiving of respect / position etc) is extremely important to low Challenge, and it doesn't seem unreasonable to suggest that "face to face" communication protects and promotes "Face" more than talking over the phone.
So - even if you would never consider doing feedback by phone in a billion years, this may have other implications for communication with low Challenge clients, or at least underline the importance of choosing a time and place when you can give them absolute personal attention when there is something important to communicate that is about them.
*And if you wouldn't consider doing feedback over the phone - just have a look at your own Challenge Score. I've just realised that two of the people who told me that doing feedbacks by phone was a weird thing to do were sub-five Challenge scores themselves...
Labels: Challenge, communication
posted by jon at
17:18
2 Comments:
My Challenge score is a four - and I do almost all of my feedback on the phone.
When I'm giving feedback for another low challenge person, I use a lot of personal illustrations (yeah - I know that's "taboo"... but it has broken the ice for people and gotten them over the "low" part of challenge.)
I always take more time on it - and save it until the end of the components.
When I was debriefed after taking the Birkman - it was over the phone... and to be honest - I didn't "get" the low challenge thing at all... not until I went through certification. Then it really hit me!(LOL)
If you're a high challenge consultant, and you just don't "get" us low challenge types... I'd encourage you to talk about it with someone who is knowledgeable and comfortable with being a low challenge... and make sure you spend the time (if it's over the phone), relating positive stories about low challenge people as you "lower the boom" (typed tongue in cheek)...
At our last BUG (http//www.midwestbug.org), we spent well over an hour discussing the differences between low and high... fascinating discussion...
Personally - when it's a "transactional" debrief (ie. a one time thing)... I love doing them over the phone! (Get a good headset though... whew!)
Hope this has been informative.
Rod - http://www.vanderbeck.net
Brilliant, thanks Rod.
And couldn't agree more about the good headset. I can still remember doing feedbacks with an ordinary handset - that gives you an aching ear and a crick in the neck!
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