Pure strength, Cultivating S’s to their full potential.

How do you spot an S? They Smile. They are warm. For some unidentifiable reason you like them. They are counselors, full of serenity. The S is symbolized by the Ox, massively strong, serene, and stable.

With thanks to Nicole Compton
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nic2488/

High S

Superpowers:

1. Warmth – The overwhelming personal warmth of the High S can overcome frustration and anger. They easily manage difficult personalities and calm angry customers.

2. Serenity – The High S lives in a bubble. Sorrow and anger tend to roll off of the bubble, allowing them to project an aura of peace.

3. Stability and Strength – The S can push longer than other personalities. After the D and I have grown bored and the C has exhausted themselves, the S will continue forward.

4. Contentment – S’s will generally stay at a job, working solidly until they are pushed from it. Many of your long tenured employees are high S’s.

5. Long Term Focus – S’s are not consumed with the immediate. They are focused on the long term. An S will never accidentally sacrifice a relationship for a temporary material gain.

Weaknesses

1. Fear of Conflict – S’s hate conflict. They fear it and will avoid it. Sometimes they will even make poor moral decisions, lying to avoid conflict.

2. Low Ambition – S’s contentment is a double edged sword. They think in terms of relationships, not careers. This tends to limit their career unless a strong sponsor takes interest.

3. Susceptible to Peer Pressure – Due to their people focus and conflict avoidance, S’s will bend to peer pressure. This can lead to destructive behaviors including substance abuse.

4. Laziness – S’s can be lazy. They work hard when motivated, but they don’t easily generate internal motivation. An external push is required.

Dealing with S’s

S’s love people. They are the masters of one on one. They excel in counseling, customer service, or collaborative positions. They require strong structure or they will tend to drift into steady mediocrity. Remember, the S personality is your workhorse. When driven by a strong leader they are rocks who you can lean on to be consistent and stay with you even when conditions are tough.

Healthy Vs. Unhealthy

Unhealthy S’s are driven by fear and peer opinion. They will tend to go to extremes to avoid conflict and garner approval. This behavior is characterized by bad habits, laziness, and even dishonesty. For a strong leader, S personalities are the easiest to bring to health. Provide a strong, safe structure. Push them occasionally. Most importantly, appreciate them. S’s steady performance is often overlooked, yet, as people persons, they absolutely crave appreciation.

S’s as employees

S’s tend to be straightforward. Managing them is similarly straightforward.

1. Give them team or people oriented work – S’s like to work with people. To best motivate them, put them in team or people oriented work. This is also an excellent environment for their Warmth superpower. In teams they serve as peacemakers and arbitrators. In client facing situations, give them the worst clients. They will amaze you with how they turn your dogs into diamonds.

2. Protect your S’s – An S operates best under a healthy D they trust. Someone who will tell everyone else that no one is allowed to attack the S but them. Seeing that ferocious Lion guarding the pasture from enemies, they will operate contentedly. Forever! Other personalities can achieve this as well. The key is to protect them from attack. They won’t protect themselves.

3. Give them structure – S’s need to be pushed. They need deadlines. They need expectations. Don’t expect them to come up with goals themselves. They are very poor at short term goals.

4. Provide them with Appreciation – S’s are the most unappreciated personality. The high achieving D’s and C’s care little for approbation, but their achievements tend to draw it. I’s will demand appreciation whether they deserve it or not. S’s wait hopefully for a pat on the back. Oblige them, and they will follow you into Hell. Forever!

5. Build a Career for them – When you take on an S as an employee you are recruiting the strongest, most loyal of the personalities. What they lack in drive, creativity, and energy, they more than make up in pure tenacity. This gift requires recompense. Provide them opportunity; they will not seek it themselves. Show them the way to the next level. They still require strong upper managers to protect and provide them structure, but S’s make special managers. Their Warmth superpower takes over and anchors all the other personalities to them. Suddenly you find your D’s are more patient, your I’s are more stable, your C’s are happier, and far fewer employees are leaving the company.

Tell me about a high S you love.
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Pure strength, Cultivating S’s to their full potential.