It’s often said that “You can choose your friends but you can’t always choose your work colleagues”. Or can you?
Whatever your political views, most people would agree that Donald Trump has a specific character that manifests in his verbal and non-verbal behaviour. Even his supporters may not want to work with a colleague (male or female) who behaves in the way he does. But, how do we explain his behaviour and how would you go about hiring someone who didn’t have the same strong traits that Donald has? Or, to be non-partisan – how would you hire a Donald if you wanted someone like that?
How CAFE traits can explain Donald Trump’s behaviour
Now you may be wondering, what is he talking about? CAFE traits? Is he talking about coffee shops?
CAFE traits come from the work of Dr Dan Harrison whose Harrison Assessment Talent Solutions tools I’ve been working with for some time now. More specifically, they come from Dan’s Paradox Technology a unique way of understanding balances and imbalances in individuals and teams at work. In fact, it feeds in nicely to the much talked about Paradoxical Leadership.
Let me explain…
In the Paradox Model a trait that seems to be a strength may in fact be a weakness or de-railer if not balanced out by its complementary opposite trait.
Whilst there are 12 Paradox combinations in the model, I’d like to cite 4 here to demonstrate how the CAFE traits can explain Donald Trump’s behaviour.
C stands for Certain
Being Certain is a good thing. It leads to us appearing confident and sure of our opinions and much more. However, too much certainty and we come across to others as Dogmatic. The trait that balances Certainty is Open Reflectiveness – the ability to listen to, appreciate and take on other people’s viewpoints. However, too much Open Reflectiveness can lead to you becoming Inconclusive and this can also lead to problems in dealing with other people. The ideal is to be able to balance both traits and become what we call Truth Exploring.
A stands for Assertive
I’m sure you’d agree that being Assertive is also a good thing. It leads to us being able to put forward our needs and to get what we want out of situations. However, too much assertiveness and we are perceived as aggressive or dominating. In fact, in some East European cultures there is not even a word for assertiveness. The trait that balances Assertive is Helpful – the ability to respond to other people’s needs. However, too much helpfulness and we can become totally self-sacrificing and this can lead to lots of stress. The ideal is to be able to balance both your Assertive and Helpful traits and practice what we call Mutual Help.
F stands for Frank
People often associate frankness with being honest, direct and to the point and in some contexts this can be much appreciated. It can lead us among other things to providing clarity and direction. However, too much frankness and you can come across to others as Blunt. The trait that balances Frank is Diplomatic – the tendency to state things in a tactful manner. However, too much diplomacy can give the impression of being Evasive and this can destroy trust. The ideal is to be able to balance both your Frank and Diplomatic traits and become Forthright Diplomatic in your communication.
E stands for Enforcing
Being able to enforce things means insisting upon necessary rules being followed. It can increase accountability and prevent mistakes and losses, especially in highly regulated or compliance driven environments. However, too much enforcing can lead others to perceive you as being overly Harsh or punitive. The trait that balances Enforcing is Warmth/Empathy – the tendency to express positive feelings and affinity towards others. This can lead to high levels of motivation, employee retention and growth. Once again too much warmth or empathy can also result in poor performance in others, mistakes and resentment. The ideal is to be able to balance both your Enforcing and your Warmth/Empathy to achieve Compassionate Enforcing in the workplace.
And the flip side?
Often people who are very strong in these CAFE traits use them to compensate for an underlying vulnerability in their life such as a fear of being out of control or a fear of being caught out or confused. That’s why balance is so important.
What can you do?
So there you have it. Recognise The Donald in all of this? (We could of course add in Insensitive, Narcissistic and Ego-centric to get CAFFEINE but that might be a step too far!)
- Are there any male or female Donalds in your workforce? Or in your teams?
- How would you like to avoid hiring such people in the first place?
- What can you do with the ones that you have?
Understanding traits that are essential to success in a job is critical to hiring the right people. However, it’s also critical to ensure that you don’t hire someone with the traits that you don’t want. Harrison Assessments provide a unique ability to identify these traits and match people precisely to the requirements of a job to ensure you get the best possible fit.
The great thing is that we can also plot all of these 12 Paradox elements on a graph for both individuals and teams so they can better get to know their strengths, balances and imbalances. Based on my experience of applying Paradox Technology in team development programmes insights have flowed, team understanding has grown and collaboration has improved quite significantly.