PRODUCTIVE AND COUNTERPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIORS


When discussing the Johari Window we saw that there are things about ourselves that we are aware of (in awareness) and things about ourselves we are unaware of (out of awareness). Let's explore these concepts in a bit more detail.

You were measured on 16 Personality Dimensions.

(You have already, or will shortly receive a comprehensive feedback report (called the Expert Guides) which will give you detailed feedback on how you squared up on these personality dimensions. The Expert Guides are also discussed in detail in Module 2 of  MY EQ..

Each of the 16 Personality Dimensions impacts in some way on one's Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Each attribute or dimension represents a bi - polar continuum. For instance one of the self - regulatory personality dimensions or attributes looks at how we control or own behavior. On the one pole have:

Conscientious

and on the opposite pole we have

Opportunistic

We therefore have Conscientious versus Opportunistic, and everyone is somewhere on this scale, leaning either more towards being

                                                     Conscientious or Opportunistic

Each personality pole has productive and counterproductive behaviors, or behaviors that are emotionally more intelligent or less intelligent. The same personality dimension or trait, can therefore work both for and against us.

For instance, the productive behaviors associated with being Conscientious are:

  • Anticipates problems, plans ahead and uses foresight
  • Does well with tasks and projects that require follow - up and follow through 
  • Takes responsibilities and obligations seriously 
  • Upholds norms, rules and ethics 
  • Organised and methodical
  • Likes to complete tasks to a high standard

However the counterproductive  behaviors associated with being very Conscientious are:

  • Inflexible
  • Over – structuring tasks
  • Perfectionistic
  • Micro - Management
  • Getting lost in the detail

The same is true of the polar opposite dimension, Opportunistic.

The productive behaviours of this trait are:

  • Good at seizing opportunities
  • Good at cutting through red tape
  • See the bigger picture

While the counterproductive behaviours are:

  • Unreliable
  • Unsystematic
  • Failure to plan ahead
  • Poor organizing and structuring of tasks

The more strongly a personality dimension is developed, the more likely it is that a person will display both the productive and counterproductive behaviors associated with that personality dimension.

Emotionally intelligent behaviour is facilitated when we learn to reduce or eliminate the counterproductive behaviours associated with our personality traits. It is also facilitated when we develop some of the behaviours associated with the polar opposites of our personality traits. For instance.

Someone who is very conscientious should learn to:

  • Be Less Inflexible
  • Not Over – structure tasks
  • Be Less Perfectionistic
  • Stop Micro - Managing
  • Stop Getting Lost in the Detail

While also learning to:

  • Become better at seizing opportunities
  • Cut through red tape
  • See the bigger picture

While someone who is opportunistic can benefit by learning to be less:

  • Unreliable
  • Unsystematic
  • Inclined to fail to plan ahead
  • Less inclined to be poor atorganizing and structuring of tasks

While also learning to:

  • Anticipate problems, plan ahead and use foresight
  • Ensure follow - up and follow through 
  • Take responsibilities and obligations seriously 
  • Uphold norms, rules and ethics 
  • Be more organised and methodical
  • Complete tasks to a high standard

EQ - IQ believes that the whole key to behaving in a more Emotionally Intelligent way, is balance. This is the overarching objective of EQ - IQ's Leadership Journey e, i.e to help you to:

reduce counterproductive behaviors while also learning to

increase productive behaviors

using a range of Tools and Activities that we provide.

Your Expert Guides which have been, or will shortly be mailed to you, will form the cornerstone for bringing into awareness your productive and counterproductive leadership behaviors. The Tools and Activities that are explained in Modules 2 and 3 will provide you with the mechanisms that will help you to achieve better balance between your productive and counterproductive behaviors.

This concludes your preparation for MY EQ. Next we will discuss the Tools and Activities that you will be using to reduce counterproductive behaviors and to increase productive behaviors. First however, we recommend that you check to see whether you have reached the various milestones for Module 1. 

Next Page  Module 1 Milestones