I recently helped my husband, Mark, with some yard work in our garden. Well, ‘helped’ is an overstatement. I held on to the bottom of a ladder for stability as he balanced on its top, sporting a small chainsaw on top of a long pole to reach high up into a tree that he needed to trim. Everything went well… until it didn’t. Suddenly the large branch he was trimming tipped, broke off and rapidly swung towards him. He reacted lightning-fast, jumping off the ladder, into the air, while holding onto his chainsaw and yelling at my ‘get back’, and landing on the ground, on his feet, at a safe distance from where the branch crashed down at about the same time.
After he dusted himself off with a smile on his face, and we confirmed he was completely fine (and my heart rate settled down), I asked him how he managed to create such a spectacular exit instead of getting crushed by the branch. He answered, “I calculated where I needed to jump, and then I jumped.”
If you haven’t guessed it yet, Mark’s dominant temperament is Inquiring Green, and in the moment of intense pressure, his decision making was informed by knowledge and logic, not panic.
While we are all plaid, carrying traits of all temperaments, when the pressure gets intense, our dominant temperament’s core strengths can become our greatest assets. And in our backyard, it played out in real-time, in a matter of seconds.
Inquiring Green: In a high stress situation, an Inquiring Green’s biggest strengths are their independent thinking, clarity and data-focused decision making. Not just seeing the details, but always having the big picture in mind, an Inquiring Green can often appear as ‘having it all together’ under pressure.
Resourceful Orange: With strong problem-solving skills, a Resourceful Orange has a unique ability to maintain excitement & keep going even in the most challenging situations. Both adaptability and decisiveness allow a Resourceful Orange to adjust quickly when needed while keeping others around them engaged in the process to keep moving forward.
Organized Gold: Under pressure, an Organized Gold’s commitment to using their proven systems, and their commitment to their social group shine through. It isn’t unusual for an Organized Gold to have meticulous plans developed that can be put into action at a moment’s notice when a high-pressure situation arises.
Authentic Blue: When it matters most, an Authentic Blue’s strength of human connection allows them to communicate effectively and empathetically. As a highly observant temperament, an Authentic Blue is often attentive to not only what’s obvious, but also what’s going on below the surface, especially when a high stakes situation involves conflict.
For these core strengths of our dominant temperament to shine in high pressure situations it takes two things:
- Awareness and Understanding of our Core Strengths:
Through the Personality Dimensions® psychometric assessment and training, we can learn a lot about ourselves, both about our strengths, as well as what are not our strengths. Knowing both is equally important, especially in high-pressure situations. - Practice of Operationalizing our Core Strengths:
While our core strengths are part of who we are and are anchored in our personality, knowing how to use them well takes some practice. Think of it like working out a muscle, the muscle is always there, but it’s much stronger when it’s been trained regularly and properly.
The work of building awareness, understanding and practice is best done when the stakes are low, so that when the stakes are high, you don’t even need to think about it, and your dominant temperament’s core strengths become your high stakes ‘super-powers’ that you can put into play when it matters most. Like those moments in life when you find yourself having to jump off a ladder while holding a chainsaw.
The Science Behind the Article:
Berens, L.V. (2010). Understanding Yourself and Others: An Introduction to the 4 Temperaments-4.0. West Hollywood: Radiance House.
Bulstrode, A., Geary, S. (2010). Colour Savvy: Helping You Achieve Success in Your Work Life. Concord: Career/LifeSkills Resources Inc.
Keirsey, D. (1998). Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence. Del Mar: Prometheus Nemesis Book Company.
Peterson, C., Seligman, M.E.P. (2004). Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. Cary: Oxford University Press.
Alexandra Krieger, MSc is an emotional intelligence coach, trainer & researcher. She is a Personality Dimensions® Level I facilitator and holds a Master’s in Communication, Behaviour and Credibility Analysis, with a research focus on core beliefs, anxiety and the science of hope. Her work brings head and heart together through methodology grounded in science and empirical research, and practice informed by empathy, trust and accountability.
