The definition of leadership that I shall use comes from the 1935 book “the art of leadership” by Ordway Tead. He says that: “leadership is the activity of influencing people to cooperate toward some goal which they come to find desirable.”

Leadership is an activity. That means it is neither a skill, nor an attitude, but conative.  A leader’s actions are directly tied to identifying team members’ instinctive capabilities and finding ways of putting them to productive use.   A leader is both an influencer and an enabler, and such qualities were rare in 1935 and remain rare today.

Depending upon their MO, every leader will have a different way of working. Every conative method can be used to influence others, but the most effective approach is when the leader is true to their own instincts. Trust develops between leader and team members when neither with holes the instinctive self. When leaders use their own instinct is to gain the commitment of other people’s instincts, goals become more attainable.

Leaders act as a catalyst for freely given cognitive commitments and give direction the variety of problem solving methods that a conatively synergistic group will suggest. And they managed to do this without inhibiting anyone’s participation. They bring out the best in people, drawing forth and focusing instinctive energy toward cooperative efforts.

The difference between a leader and a star is that the leader strives to increase others’ performances toward group goals, and the star strives towards individual achievement. We are all capable of being stars. It only takes a situation where one’s conative talents are most necessary for the star to initiate activity. A leader on the other hand uses all three zones of instinctive energy to help group succeed.

Perseverance is an essential characteristic of leadership. It takes backbone, great, and strength of mind to influence the goal setting process and to gain the cooperation of others. A common trait among leaders is their decisiveness. Their tenacity singles them out.

I tend to see two extremes in my work with dental practices. There is a lack of leadership either:

1) Because of an abdication by the practice owner or owners who are seeking to have equality within their practice and fail to take responsibility.

2) No regard is given to the team members’ instincts and therefore they are forced into roles where they are the least productive.

In neither case does the practice get the best out of their teams. Frustration ensues resulting in high turnover of staff, low productivity, and poor service being given to patients with a resulting drop in business profitability.

As an aside, I see a great many dentists who initiate in Implementor, presume that their staff know their jobs, like to believe that because someone has the title “practice manager” they know what they’re doing and therefore ignore what is going on around. On the other hand I also frequently encounter insistent Fact Finder who will not allow anybody any space and persist in micro-management. Both these scenarios produce unhappy practices.

Leadership is a responsibility, not a prize. It ought not to be given as a reward to individual achievement unless the person expresses a determination to fight for the will of the group. If leadership were merely a matter of making demands, of telling people what to do and rewarding them when they did it, then oppressors would rule, and ultimately fail.

Leaders in the workplace who nurture employees’ instinctive strengths are awarded with high employee job satisfaction and high productivity. Team members are pleased when leadership intervenes in, conatively stressful situations, whether they be conflicts, cloning, unrealistic self-expectations or misguided requirements.

It is important to select and train people for most suited roles on a team that is balanced to achieve conative synergy. However, every team needs a leader to take responsibility for influencing its members to strive towards achieving common goals. Every team needs a person or people who are willing to contribute instinctive energy toward leadership efforts, often forsaking the opportunity to use their personal resources in ways that are more likely to make them star performers. That’s the sacrifice of leadership. The benefit of leadership is in helping a team reach its greatest potential.

This is the story of a venture that failed, the business survived but the fallout and bad feeling between the participants persists. It wasn’t a dental practice, it could well have been and, bearing in mind the readership, I will retell the tale as if had been a clinical practice.

Mike and Neil are two practice owners, for several years they have been running their own successful “one-man bands” with varying amounts of staff support. Occasionally Neil provides holiday cover for Mike and has taken some referrals from him for the specific skills that he has developed. They each have support teams; Mike has a part-time but enthusiastic associate, Oliver and works with his partner, Philippa, who is a hygienist.

After several months of discussion and enthusiasm they decide to go into partnership together. They will be expense-sharing partners, the business is launched and almost immediately there are operative problems.

Both partners are enthusiastic about using Kolbe in recruitment but make the fundamental error of failing to look at themselves as part of the bigger picture, in fact one of them says “this is bound to be a success we’re practically Kolbe twins.”

A brief explanation of some of the terms before we progress, Kolbe Wisdom is about how people will act and solve problems, the four Conative Characteristics are:

• Fact Finder – Gathering and sharing of information.
• Follow through – Sorting and Storing Information.
• Quick Start – Dealing with risk and uncertainty.
• Implementation – Handling space and intangibles.

Each Action Mode has three Zones of Operation, which determine how the individual acts when using it.

• Initiating Zone: how they insist on beginning the problem-solving process.
• Accommodation Zone: how they respond to people and situations.
• Preventing Zone: how they avoid or resist problems.

Let’s look at that “Kolbe Twins” optimistic statement, which ironically is one of the keys to their failure. Both Michael & Neil Initiate in Quick Start, Respond in Follow Through & Fact Finder and as they have very similar scores for Implementor will tend to Prevent in that mode.

Through in to the mix the fact that Oliver also initiates in Quick Start and you have 3 individuals who will:

• Take risks
• Create a sense of urgency
• Initiate change
• Seek Challenges
• Create Innovation
• Act on Intuition

Now these characteristics are great for individual entrepreneurs but they need to be balanced by one or more people within the organisation who can Initiate in Follow Through & Implementor.

Rosie & Philippa who both score highly in Fact Finder both end up researching and researching until they come close to “Perfection Paralysis”, Rosie is the only person who initiates in Follow Through and she becomes overwhelmed.

The organisation lacks anyone who initiates in Implementor, there is no one who:

• Has a Time Zone that is the Present
• Is grounded in the here and now, who can create quality products that will endure through time.
• Communicates using props, models & demonstrations.
• Stores Information by Quality
• Works with models or prototypes
• Requires concrete, demonstrable goals that have lasting value.

So, the partners, who were always looking at the future, dominated business meetings with their MOs, the poor old practice manager (who had a financial stake in this particular business) desperately wanting to provide the information gets bogged down in detail.

The irony of this case is that what the leadership needed was someone who had the typical Kolbe score of a “hands on” dentist, who Initiated or Responded in Implementor and either Prevented or Responded in Quick Start, which would have brought the Team Synergy back to the appropriate levels. Unfortunately although those individuals might well have been available the partners’ “rush” was not balanced sufficiently from the outset and failure was inevitable.

The venture lasted as a going concern for fewer than nine months; the episode has left a bad taste in the mouths and soured the personal relationships of most of those involved. The two main protagonists have gone back to being – in the main – their own “bosses” but have learned to have great support teams.

The associate went on to give all his energies to his own practice that, contrary to his instincts, he had put on hold to do what he could for the new venture because he had wanted that to work. He proceeded to write articles like this one in an attempt to prevent the upset and confusion that can be caused when people ignore Kolbe Wisdom ™.

After several months of discussion and enthusiasm they decide to go into partnership together. They will be expense-sharing partners, the business is launched and almost immediately there are operative problems.

Both partners are enthusiastic about using Kolbe in recruitment but make the fundamental error of failing to look at themselves as part of the bigger picture, in fact one of them says “this is bound to be a success we’re practically Kolbe twins.”

A brief explanation of some of the terms before we progress, Kolbe Wisdom is about how people will act and solve problems, the four Conative Characteristics are:

• Fact Finder – Gathering and sharing of information.
• Follow through – Sorting and Storing Information.
• Quick Start – Dealing with risk and uncertainty.
• Implementation – Handling space and intangibles.

Each Action Mode has three Zones of Operation, which determine how the individual acts when using it.

• Initiating Zone: how they insist on beginning the problem-solving process.
• Accommodation Zone: how they respond to people and situations.
• Preventing Zone: how they avoid or resist problems.

Let’s look at that “Kolbe Twins” optimistic statement, which ironically is one of the keys to their failure. Both Michael & Neil Initiate in Quick Start, Respond in Follow Through & Fact Finder and as they have very similar scores for Implementor will tend to Prevent in that mode.

Through in to the mix the fact that Oliver also initiates in Quick Start and you have 3 individuals who will:

• Take risks
• Create a sense of urgency
• Initiate change
• Seek Challenges
• Create Innovation
• Act on Intuition

Now these characteristics are great for individual entrepreneurs but they need to be balanced by one or more people within the organisation who can Initiate in Follow Through & Implementor.

Rosie & Philippa who both score highly in Fact Finder both end up researching and researching until they come close to “Perfection Paralysis”, Rosie is the only person who initiates in Follow Through and she becomes overwhelmed.

The organisation lacks anyone who initiates in Implementor, there is no one who:

• Has a Time Zone that is the Present
• Is grounded in the here and now, who can create quality products that will endure through time.
• Communicates using props, models & demonstrations.
• Stores Information by Quality
• Works with models or prototypes
• Requires concrete, demonstrable goals that have lasting value.

So, the partners, who were always looking at the future, dominated business meetings with their MOs, the poor old practice manager (who had a financial stake in this particular business) desperately wanting to provide the information gets bogged down in detail.

The irony of this case is that what the leadership needed was someone who had the typical Kolbe score of a “hands on” dentist, who Initiated or Responded in Implementor and either Prevented or Responded in Quick Start, which would have brought the Team Synergy back to the appropriate levels. Unfortunately although those individuals might well have been available the partners’ “rush” was not balanced sufficiently from the outset and failure was inevitable.

The venture lasted as a going concern for fewer than nine months; the episode has left a bad taste in the mouths and soured the personal relationships of most of those involved. The two main protagonists have gone back to being – in the main – their own “bosses” but have learned to have great support teams.

The associate went on to give all his energies to his own practice that, contrary to his instincts, he had put on hold to do what he could for the new venture because he had wanted that to work. He proceeded to write articles like this one in an attempt to prevent the upset and confusion that can be caused when people ignore Kolbe Wisdom ™.

Their Kolbe scores:

I had been working with Julie for six months or so before Debbie was appointed and already knew the main problems that existed in the management team of the two partners and practice manager.

Neil, who initiates in Quick Start, is an instinctive innovator who:

• Challenges
• Originates
• Promotes
• Brainstorms
• Risks &
• Intuits

Sharon scores equally in Fact Finder & Quick Start but in the Kolbe “Theory of Dominance”, Fact Finder will dominate the other mode.

Both Julie and Debbie initiate in Fact Finder also. This means that all three will:

• Probe
• Prioritise
• Prove
• Specify
• Calculate
• Define

That’s a certain amount of theory behind things but what happened in practice? Let’s not forget that Neil & Sharon are married and both can initiate in Quick Start, so one problem was predictable and happened as predicted. Julie would have management meetings with both of the partners where decisions would be made, Julie with her high Fact Find & Follow Through wants to plan, co-ordinate, seek order, establish procedures and work sequentially.

The partners would go home, talk things through, change decisions and act on their intuition. Result – one thoroughly irritated Practice Manager not because she disagreed with anything that her bosses had done, as she would say “It’s their business and ultimately their success, so they can do what they think is best”, but rather because, as she prevents in Quick Start, her instinct is to not be impulsive, ambiguous or to create chaos, neither will she want to operate in crisis mode whereas Neil & Sharon thrive on that.

One other problem was that Sharon, with her high fact find, a trait common in dentists, would frequently duplicate Julie’s efforts and draw conclusions leaving Julie feeling by-passed.

Sadly, although the partners had introduced Kolbe analysis into the practice I don’t believe they realised the evidence in front of them. Julie struggled with her role, not with getting the work of practice manager done but with any allowance for the way that she worked and how challenging she found working with the partners.

To go back to the addition of the associate. She initiates in Fact Finder, add that to the same scores from Sharon & Julie, could well result in there being a tendency for the clinical & management team to fall into “Perfection Paralysis”.

Here’s a quick look at the team synergy;

They score above 30% in the Initiate and Prevent Zones this can lead to Polarization which in an organisation is like conflict between individuals. Productivity is blocked because energy is sidetracked in internal tugs-of-war.

Their energy is turned inwards and this results in “on again, off again” efforts culminating in a self-destructive team.

The solutions?

• Appoint people to “bridge” the gaps for selective projects – not necessarily easy for a small set up.
• Break into project teams, this was tried on an informal basis but as soon as the partners got to talking across the dinner table the efforts were undermined.
• Work independently towards shared goals, within a small organisation not that easy.
• Look for an associate with a complimentary Kolbe MO

There was no simple answer to this one and most of my time was spent supporting the practice manager who, in spite of her efforts, felt repeatedly let down by her employers and was planning her long-term exit strategy.

Ironically although she was, at least on the face of it, regarded as a highly valued employee and a cornerstone of the practice, it was possible that she had come to the end of her time in terms of the use of her skills. Her instinctive initiation in Fact Find and Follow Through had been invaluable during a period of change and growth (coinciding ironically with Debbie’s maternity leave) but now in a time of building on those changes her skills MO wasn’t as applicable.

There also came into this, obviously, the practice owners whose emotional relationship overrode most other things although it was frequently to the detriment of the smooth running of the practices. So if you’re going into business with your spouse / partner or you’re already there your Kolbe score may explain a huge amount.

PS There was a coach’s dilemma, I was employed by the partners to coach the manager, to whom was my duty? In this and every case, to the individual who was being coached.

I have had some queries from readers and clients about where the Kolbe Index fits with other measuring methods favoured by coaches, HR & recruitment agencies. My considered response is: “I’m glad you asked me that because I have done a lot of research into them and that is why I choose to have invested in becoming a Kolbe Consultant”

Usually I am asked about Myers-Briggs (MBTI) and DiSC; but I am also aware of MSCEIT (which measures Emotional Intelligence), IQ testing (the use of which with the US military was pioneered by Kathy Kolbe’s father, E.F. Wonderlic), PF16, HVVA, TONI, Social Styles, OVA and the Hogan Personality Inventory. There are plenty of others all with their adherents.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the most widely used employee test in the world, not because it is better than other methods, but because it’s the oldest and most studied. The MBTI is based on Carl Jung’s landmark 1921 book, “Psychological Types”.

MBTI asks questions that rate four pairs of personality traits: your natural predisposition toward extroversion versus introversion; sensing versus being intuitive; thinking versus feeling; and judging versus perceiving. After taking the test, you get a score based on which traits are most dominant, with each trait represented by a single letter. The MBTI is a affective instrument it provides a deep insight into the way people want to work. It can change over time and people do have difficulties remembering their preferences.

The MBTI is a good for understanding how people think and interact emotionally and cognitively. But it is not so great in the job world as a predictor of performance. It is based on preferences, which may change over time or even with situation.

DiSC is a behavioural (observed) model, it helps people understand why they do what they do, by measuring the interaction of four behavioural factors: dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness. Using this information, DiSC can be used to describe a person’s general approach, including his or her motivation, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. The way you relate to other people is, in large part, defined by which of these social styles is dominant in your personality.

The Social Style™ training model originated by Merril & Reid looks to find flexibility – the ability to get along with people whose styles differ from one’s own. It is said that flexibility frequently distuinguishes success or lack of success. The two continuums in this model are Ask vs Tell and Controls Emotions vs Emotes. This results in the four social styles: Expressive, Driving, Analytic and Amiable.

The 2008 study by Colorado University and Regis Learning showed that Social Style is easier to understand and apply than Myers-Briggs or DiSC.

Hogan Assessment Systems specialise in personality instruments. Their 3 primary indices contain 28 separate scales designed to identify:

(a) how others perceive one’s behaviours and day-to-day interaction style from a leadership/managerial perspective,

(b) one’s values, and

(c) derailing tendencies that inhibit positive interactions.

The complete set of reports provides a comprehensive description of an individual’s behavioural tendencies, how they are viewed by others, and insights into how/why they are effective.

So it’s clear that there are a lot of instruments out there, all with their fans. To differentiate Kolbe we need to go back to basic principles. The mind has three basic features:

• Cognitive relates to knowledge or intelligence.
• Affective relates to attitudes, beliefs or values.
• Conative relates to instinct or natural energy.

• The Cognitive, telling you what you can or can’t do, is measured by IQ, and similar, tests.
• The Affective, telling you what you want to do, can be measured by most of the systems that I have described above.
• The Conative or Natural Instinct is measured by use of the Kolbe Index.

The Kolbe Index has been shown to be consistent over periods of many years. As a potential employer or someone looking to build a team that you can predict and rely upon for consistency this is most important. The measures of the Affective mentioned earlier can change dramatically in a relatively short space of time, MBTI as much as 50% in six weeks, as an employer I would find that scary.

Kolbe is a straight forward, simple to remember, system that tells you how employees and colleagues approach their work and problem solving, and how they will ACT during stressful times. Let’s face it that’s really what we want to know when we hire someone or work with them on a team isn’t it?

For more information and to take the Kolbe A Index go to my website.

So far in this series of articles I have concentrated on the Kolbe A index and how its use can benefit both individuals and teams. This time I will talk about the other tools that are available particularly the Kolbe B and C index and their use.

The indexes correct titles are really “Kolbe Conative Index” which from here are referred to as KCI, I will start with a definition that is taken from Kathy Kolbe’s book “Conative Connection.”

Conation: Conation is the area of one’s active mentality that has to do with desire, volition and striving. The related conatus is the resulting effort or striving itself, or the natural tendency or force on one’s mental makeup that produces an effort.

Conative: is the term in psychology that describes anything to do with conation.

All these words come from the Latin conatus, past participle of the verb conari (to try). The Scottish philosopher William Hamilton (1788-1856) considered conation to be one of the three divisions of the mind, the one that included desire and volition, the other two being cognition (perception, awareness) and feeling.To recap: the Kolbe A Index (KCI-A) gives an individual’s Modus Operandi (MO) and shows their instinctive strengths thus how they will best operate.

The Kolbe B Index (KCI-B) focuses on the methods a jobholder perceives are necessary for success; a questionnaire similar to the KCI-A with results on the same four-mode grid makes it straightforward to detect similarities and differences between realities (KCI-A) and self-expectations (KCI-B). The information highlights obstacles that keep workers from functioning through their instinctive strengths.

The Kolbe C Index (KCI-C) is completed by the business owner or the individual’s immediate supervisor (traditionally, this would have been the practice owner but there is an argument for the business manager taking this role). Again the result appears in the four-mode grid for easy comparison.

We have a situation where we now have available to compare:

KCI-A = Individual’s instinctive Talent

KCI-B = Jobholder’s self-expectations

KCI-C = Job requirements or functional necessities

Comparing A and B gives a sense of how much strain you may be under because of the pressure put on yourself. Comparing A and C indicates whether the organisation is limiting the individual’s opportunity to achieve, therefore causing tension in the workplace. Comparing B and C can explain differing perceptions of the role.

How to apply in a practice – I presume that the existing team members and management are all aware of their KCI A results. The time has come to recruit a new team member, from the analysis of existing KCI-A any operating zones that are lacking can be identified. The manager completes the KCI-C for the post to be filled and the search begins.

Firstly look at the current team members. Are any of them more suited to work in the vacant post than where they are currently? Is there a nurse with really high fact find that is clashing because her current role needs an individual who prevents in fact find? Her skills may well be more suited to an administrative or front desk role.

OK, the decision has been made to recruit from outside the current set up. Throw your recruitment net in the usual manner until you are in a position to have the final three or four candidates and at this point you ask them to take the KCI-A.

This is where a lot of business owners baulk, they seem to think that spending $48 is throwing money away. The logic for investing in the Index at this stage is that if you get the wrong person it will cost you immeasurably more in poor performance of the individual and other team members. Then you will have to go through the whole process of removing the wrong cog from the machine, fraught with potential difficulties, and start the recruitment again.

With the A index you are in a position to see who “fits” both with the post and with the skills of the other team members. If you are still torn between, say, a couple on a final shortlist then use the KCI-B to see what the make of the prospective job and the conative skills required. A final comparison should hopefully give a successful and happy result for all parties.

In the short and long term an unhappy and unfulfilled team member does nobody any good. They will not function at anywhere near their best, they will bring the performance levels of the rest of the team down and the resulting organisation operates way below its optimum.

It is estimated that something approaching 50% of staff recruited stay in post for less than 12 months. The cost in terms of time, money and team morale is immeasurable, isn’t it time you took your team recruitment and retention procedures up to the level of your clinical skills?

Take the Kolbe A Index

Conative diversity provides the multiplier effect that converts the otherwise limited creative energy of independent contributors into vastly magnifies productivity. Any one person, no matter how intelligent and committed to an effort, can contribute only through one zone in each Action Mode. No one can do it all. Some methods of problem solving will go untried unless a project is undertaken by a group of people with a variety of MOs. Synergy is a productive balance of instincts within a team. It is derived from a mixture of complimentary conative talents.”

Kathy Kolbe wrote these words in her book “Pure Instinct” at the start of the section on Team Building. In this article I will talk about Synergy (defined by Kathy as: the whole being greater than the sum of its parts), its opposite Inertia (definition: loss of productivity caused by uniformity of action among people in an organisation) and how they can have a positive or detrimental effect in small businesses and teams.

Previously I have outlined the principles behind Kolbe Wisdom™ and how, by using the 32-question Kolbe A Index, it is possible to identify the striving instincts that drive natural behaviours.

I outlined the four Conative Characteristics:

• Fact Finder – Gathering and sharing of information.
• Follow Through – Sorting and Storing Information.
• Quick Start – Dealing with risk and uncertainty.
• Implementation – Handling space and intangibles.

Each Action Mode has three Zones of Operation, which determine how the individual acts when using it.

• Initiating Zone: how they insist on beginning the problem-solving process.
• Accommodation Zone: how they respond to people and situations.
• Preventing Zone: how they avoid or resist problems.

We lead from different strengths and it is the mix of the intensities in each of these characteristics that gives rise to our individual ways of doing things – our modus operandi, or MO.

Anyone who has worked with a team that is at the top of its game knows how easy it feels to achieve great results, how the work that you’re doing just seems to flow from within you and how you just appear to mesh with your colleagues.

On the contrary far too many people’s experience of “team-working” is soured by the fact that it seems to be like trying to walk through treacle whilst feeling that everybody else is holding you back.

The definition of a true team is one where

• Members work interdependently
• There is reliance on others for contributions
• Success is dependant on others
• There are implications for team viability

Easy examples can be seen in sport in Basketball or Netball and in business in a Software Development Project Team.

In the first example there is synergy manifesting itself through the productivity of the team being greater than the productivity of individuals working independently. On examination of the Kolbe A™ analysis it will normally be seen that, from the collected MOs:

• 25% (+/- 5%) prevent problems
• 50% (+/- 10%) respond to situations
• 25% (+/- 5%) initiate solution

Outside these parameters there are potential problems and a definite loss of synergy.

Inertia – if the Kolbe A (or B or C) Indexes Synergy Report shows twice as much energy (normal is 20%) in the insist or resist zones or more than 60% in the respond or accommodate zone the group has Inertia.

The symptoms are:

• No momentum.
• Repetition of behaviour.
• Kittle variance in method.
• Ganging up on those out of step.
• Inability to break the mould.

Polarization – If the Synergy Report shows at least 30% in both the initiate and prevent zones, you have collective Conflict or Polarization.

The symptoms here include:

• Energy turned inward, against each other.
• Power battles, feuds.
• On-again, off-again efforts.
• Self-destructive team.

Depletion – This is the name given to collective strain (strain coming about when efforts have to be made which go against the instinctive grain). When more than 15% of the team have strain in any one mode it becomes an organisational problem. 25% is a serious problem; 45% is disastrous.

In this case we look for symptoms:

• Long hours, hard work, with little sense of accomplishment.
• Lack of job satisfaction.
• Ill-health.
• Substance abuse.
• Absenteeism.
• Fatigue.

Meltdown – this occurs when 15% or more have tension (caused by the efforts of working contrary to required processes) leading to Collective Tension.

Manifests itself:

• Employees don’t meet management’s requirements.
• Disappointment and lack of reaching objectives.
• Turnover.
• Labour / management disputes.
• “Communication” dissatisfaction.
• Bankruptcy, takeover and / or buy-out.

Sounds like a normal day in the multitude of dysfunctional small practices out there. Don’t despair there are remedies; coaching from a Kolbe trained consultant can help if you are in the midst of problems. The use of the Kolbe system when recruiting is even better as a preventative tool and that’s what I shall cover next time.

If you would like to find out more about using these fantastic tools in your practice or if you would be interested in a presentation to your study group or society contact Alun at alun@alunrees.com or on 07778148583.

First published in Apex the on-line Dental Journal from the Dental Learning Hub.

Recruitment is a difficult business and easy to get wrong, if you need any advice on using Kolbe to build your team get in touch.

In previous articles I have described how the majority of people initiate their problem solving in one of the four Conative Characteristics

• Fact Finder – Gathering and sharing of information – Specifiers.
• Follow Through – Sorting and Storing Information – Classifiers.
• Quick Start – Dealing with risk and uncertainty – Improvisers.
• Implementation – Handling space and intangibles – Builders.

One of the questions that I am asked is what happens if someone doesn’t initiate action in a particular way and it’s this case that I will explore this time.

Keith is a practice owner in a rural town, he has taken until his late thirties to become a practice owner and is transitioning from the previous owner. He and the old owner, Larry, have effectively swapped positions. Larry had promised that he would reduce his days at the practice over a period of months but he is starting to give excuses and postponing his plans. Keith is finding this very frustrating and feels like he should be taking the bull by the horns but when he broaches the subject with Larry he comes across as being aggressive and the two of them, having enjoyed a good personal and working relationship to date, are hardly speaking.

There is a practice manager who has been with the practice for several years. She has a background of running her ex-husband’s business and is very confident in her approach to running the business. Keith is somewhat in awe of her and tends to defer to her.

So we have a new principal desperately wanting to put his mark on the business but tending to “beat himself up” because he felt that he ought to be more dynamic, he wanted to feel like he was an entrepreneur, that he was a trailblazer and leading from the front. Unfortunately some poor coaching previously had re-enforced these feelings of inadequacy so poor Keith was battling with his demons. He attributed his perceived lack of progress to a weakness in himself.

Keith’s Kolbe score is 5:6:4:5, this means that all his measures are in the mid-range and he is classified as a “Mediator™”. It is not an Action Mode but rather an ability to accommodate to all of the others. A Mediator easily switches among the Action Modes, moving from one mode to the next as needs arise.

A Mediator is willing to:

• Accommodate all other modes
• Adapt to changing needs
• Gain cooperation by mediating
• Commit to group progress
• Provide backup support

A Mediator’s contributions include:

• Having the ability to act as a facilitator among people with various insistences
• Being a team player
• Being adaptable – thriving when cross-trained for many roles
• Being able to lead by consensus
• Being able to empower and delegate

In common with many of my clients who have taken their Kolbe A™ there was a huge moment of clarity when Keith’s scores were explained to him. Another name for Mediator is Facilitator and Keith realised that he had been his most successful and happy when he was not in a starring role but rather when he was acting as the glue that held people with different insistencies together. He naturally liked to work in environments with individuals who had a lot of instinctive diversity. Keith’s flair for leadership came from bringing consensus to those around him. Without a particular way of getting the job done, the Mediator is a crucial bridge between polarized conative factions on the team. He actually resists taking a starring role as he thinks it is superficial and stops him contributing.

So much for theory, with all this awareness Keith was able to resurrect the amicable relationship with Larry that they had enjoyed for many years and was able to help and support Larry through his move to new challenges.

Whether the “Kolbe aware” Keith changed in his attitude to the practice manager I am not sure, but she moved on within 12 months or so. Instead of this being the crisis that it would once have been, he was able to appoint a successor that was his choice and this has been a success.

The team that he has built, and continues to build, is a far happier crew than it was. Keith is at one with his role of Facilitator – Conciliator and no longer feels that he has to be the “dynamic, thrusting entrepreneur” (whatever that may be) that he had previously imagined was the only way to be a success. Now at one and happy to trust his instincts his efforts are bearing fruit and he has one of the best practices with the best team for miles around.

“Success – the freedom to be yourself” Kathy Kolbe

If you would like to find out more about using these fantastic tools in your practice or if you would be interested in a presentation to your study group or society contact Alun at alun@alunrees.com or on 07778148583.

First published in Apex the on-line Dental Journal from the Dental Learning Hub.

Recruitment is a difficult business and easy to get wrong, if you need any advice on using Kolbe to build your team get in touch.

]]> http://www.alunrees.com/blog/kolbe-%e2%80%93-practice-success-stories-2/feed/ 0 http://www.alunrees.com/blog/kolbe-practice-success-stories-1/ http://www.alunrees.com/blog/kolbe-practice-success-stories-1/#comments Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:13:14 +0000 alun http://www.alunrees.com/?p=1907 Practice Success Stories -1

In the past couple of weeks I have outlined the principles behind Kolbe Wisdom™ and how, by using the 32-question Kolbe A Index, it is possible to identify the striving instincts that drive natural behaviours.

I outlined the four Conative Characteristics:

• Fact Finder – Gathering and sharing of information.
• Follow Through – Sorting and Storing Information.
• Quick Start – Dealing with risk and uncertainty.
• Implementation – Handling space and intangibles.

We lead from different strengths and it is the mix of the intensities in each of these characteristics that gives rise to our individual ways of doing things – our modus operandi, or MO.

Jimmy and Kate run a one-dentist dental practice. They bought a run-down practice and have successfully converted it from a large dependence on the NHS to 100% private.

Jimmy is a dentist with an MO of 4:5:3:8, he is technically excellent and loves nothing more than expanding his clinical knowledge. Kate’s background is in dental nursing, in the past she has worked for a small corporate in a management position she admits that her real love is working with people. Her MO is 5:3:8:5.

They have a full time receptionist, Susanna, who has an MO of 7:6:4:3, a hygienist Marion with an MO of 5:7:3:5 and a dental nurse, Jane, with an MO of 7:8:2:3.

Kate has been trying to act as a practice manager and, whilst she can cope with the systems desperately misses regular contact with patients, but feels guilty about “not pulling her weight” in the office.

What do their MO’s tell us? Jimmy’s “8” in Implementor means that he is well suited to working with his hands, he will prevent stress by acting skilfully, mechanically and dexterously. His “3” in Quick Start means that he prevents in that mode, his instinct wants to keep things on track, he dislikes working to deadlines and tends towards the status quo. If change is inevitable he wants to understand how and why and he will then prevent chaos.

Kate’s “8” means that she initiates in Quick Start, her “3” means that she resists in “Follow Through”. Her instinct means that she thrives on short deadlines, loves the flexibility of having several balls in the air at once, she’s an improvisor. She’s far more of a natural entrepreneur than her husband and business partner, which will result in stresses between them until they understood their “Kolbes”.

Susanna scores highest in “Fact Finder” and is well suited for a post of receptionist, she asks lots of questions and is good on long term projects although she needs to be reminded of deadlines as there may be a tendency to keep researching. Her “3” in Implementor means that she imagines ideas or concepts without the physical structure she is able to imagine.

I will leave the other two team members to another time. The real light bulb moment came when Jimmy and Kate realised not only why she (Kate) was struggling with the Practice Manager role but also that she was the ideal person to fulfil the role of treatment co-ordinator that none of the rest of the team suited. Also Jimmy was able to come to terms with his misgivings about expanding the practice.

They decided to recruit a practice manager and to help them with this I was able to produce a synergy chart showing where they were lacking energy, what different individuals might offer and how they would fit. So on with the recruitment.

Two individuals were short listed for the post, Dawn and Emily. Dawn’s MO was 5:6:3:6, Emily’s 7:4:6:3. Differences between them were in “Quick Start” Dawn was a “stabilizer”, Emily a “modifier” and in “Implementor” Dawn was a “restorer” and Emily an “imaginer”. Of significance was where their MOs fitted into the synergy chart of Natural Talents that I had produced. My advice was to give the job to Dawn but, clients being clients, they had been more impressed with Emily in the interview so she was offered the post and accepted.

Two weeks after she started work I called them to see how everything was going, “a complete disaster” was how it was put to me. All my misgivings were correct, she showed no signs of being able to work with the rest of the team or on her own, tasks started were never finished and there was a tendency to ignore or just not accept deadlines.

Thankfully, Dawn was still in the market and accepted the post, two years on she’s still in post and is a valuable member of the team. Her tendency to stabilise is still there but Kate and Jimmy can work with that and know what to look for when they are working with her. More to the point they still give thanks for the fact they were able to see why Emily was wrong for the post, it wasn’t just a new employee settling in it was a matter of synergy. It might have taken months or years to realise what was wrong and they would have then possibly be faced with the challenges of employment law.

If you would like to find out more about using these fantastic tools in your practice or if you would be interested in a presentation to your study group or society contact Alun at alun@alunrees.com or on 07778148583.

First published in Apex the on-line Dental Journal from the Dental Learning Hub.

Recruitment is a difficult business and easy to get wrong, if you need any advice on using Kolbe to build your team get in touch.

• Fact Finder – Gathering and sharing of information.
• Follow through – Sorting and Storing Information.
• Quick Start – Dealing with risk and uncertainty.
• Implementation – Handling space and intangibles.

This time I would like to start to share with you how I use the system in my day-to-day professional life.

Before working with an individual or a group I have them take the Kolbe A Index and I spend some time examining the results.

Individuals

There is invariably a “light-bulb” moment when a person first sits down and reads their Kolbe A analysis. Usually it comes with a sense of comprehension, which can lead to acceptance of why they struggle with some aspects of their life. Frequently there is a feeling of relief that that there isn’t something “wrong” with them because they seem to succeed in some areas but continue to wrestle with others.

Often people will tell me that they wished they had known their Kolbe Index result years ago as they are able to discover the source of their stress.

With the assistance of the analysis I am able to coach individuals on how they might perform better and to be a happier and more useful member of a team. In some instances it is apparent that someone is doing the wrong job and would be better employed in a totally different role.

Teams

With the Kolbe A analyses for the whole team then it is possible by examining the Kolbe Synergy report to determine the distribution of talent within a team or the separate parts of teams e.g. nurses, front desk, clinicians, partners.

If there is an imbalance of any of the conative characteristics then the team’s performance cannot be at its optimum.

Cloning is the term given to uniformity of talent or lack of conative diversity, which limits opportunity and leads to Inertia. Frequently people will appoint others that agree with them and work the way that they do. Ultimately this will result in stagnation and a loss of productivity caused by uniform action and boredom.

Conflict or too many people with similar characteristics can result in Polarisation between separate parts of a large team e.g receptionists who initiate in Fact Finder may clash with nurses who initiate in Implementor and have a significantly different approach to problem solving.

Far too common is strain which results in Depletion. This comes from too high a proportion of team members trying to perform in ways that are not natural to them. Mental energy works against itself when the conative instincts are denied. If this happens in a group then it will be reflected in the bottom line.

Tension leads to Meltdown, which happens when people who know perfectly well who they are, suffer from unrealistic, external rather than self-imposed, pressure to act otherwise. A classic example of this in Dental Practice is the nurse that returns to work after a career break and runs the front desk to last only a month before leaving in tears.

Recruitment

With our knowledge of the existing team we can see where there may be missing energies in the set up. So when looking to make the final choice of candidates for a post, each of the short-listed takes the A Index and the result is compared with the existing strengths and, above all, deficiencies of the team.

Beyond the A Index

I am not trying to muddy the waters but it’s time to mention the B & C Indices. You will recall that the A index measured the individual’s instinctive talent.

The Kolbe C is taken by the employer or supervisor and completed as if the ideal individual were taking the index. This gives the job requirements or functional necessities.

The Kolbe B focuses on the methods that the jobholder perceives are necessary for success, so the jobholder’s self-expectations.

Comparing A and B gives an idea how much strain you may be under because of the pressure you put upon yourself.

Comparing A and C indicates whether another person or the organisation is limiting your opportunity to achieve, thereby causing tension between you and that person.

Comparing B and C can explain differing perceptions of the role.

Conclusion

At first you may feel this is a significant investment of time and effort and indeed that is how many clients have felt. However if you consider the cost to your business of just one bad appointment, one person doing the wrong job you will find that getting involved with the Kolbe Wisdom™ not only makes economic sense but also strengthens the team as a whole and as individuals.

Next time I will give some specific examples from practices that have used Kolbe Wisdom™ for their benefit.

There are only four fully trained and accredited KOLBE Consultants in the UK.

There is only one experienced in working with Dentists and their teams.

If you would like to find out more about using these fantastic tools in your practice or if you would be interested in a presentation to your study group or society contact Alun at alun@alunrees.com or on 07778148583.

First published in Apex the on-line Dental Journal from the Dental Learning Hub.

One of the biggest challenges to any clinician and small business owner is the blending of individuals together to make a team.

These are the same challenges that can afflict larger businesses and corporations too.

• Do you recruit people then find they aren’t quite what you thought?
• Are you beset with problems retaining staff?
• Do have difficulties integrating the individuals into a team?
• Is your hygienist outside the wire?
• Do your associates fail to embrace your vision for the future?

The KOLBE Wisdom™

• Identifies the striving instincts that drive natural behaviours.
• Focuses on the strengths of your team.

The KOLBE A Index is a 36-question survey that reveals the individual mix of striving instincts; it measures individual energies in:

• Fact Finder – Gathering and sharing of information.
• Follow through – Sorting and Storing Information.
• Quick Start – Dealing with risk and uncertainty.
• Implementation – Handling space and intangibles.

The results are a serious of ‘scores’. Mine for instance is 6/3/8/3, this isn’t the place to give full analysis, my partner’s is 8/8/1/4 which means we work together well.

Hence the question: What’s your KOLBE?

Some background. Kathy Kolbe is a well-known and highly honoured author and theorist who has been working in the field of human behaviour for nearly 40 years. From her scientific studies of learning differences between children she devised The Kolbe Wisdom™, which has been used by such businesses as Kodak, IBM and Xerox and many others around the world. It is now available to be used with smaller teams.

The Kolbe Wisdom™ is based on the concept that creative instincts are the source of the mental energy that drives people to take specific actions. This mental drive is separate and distinct from passive feelings and thoughts. Creative instincts are manifested in an innate pattern (modus operandi, or MO) that determines each person’s best efforts.

These conative or instinctive traits are what make us get things done. They should be differentiated from the cognitive (knowledge) or the affective (feelings). As Kathy Kolbe has written, “The conative is the clincher in the decision making hierarchy. Intelligence helps you determine a wise choice, emotions dictate what you’d like to buy, but until the conative kicks in, you don’t make a deal – you don’t put your money where your mouth is.”

Conation doesn’t define what you can or can’t do, rather what you will and won’t do.

A person’s MO is quantifiable and observable, yet functions at the subconscious level. MOs vary across the general population with no gender, age or racial bias.

An individual’s MO governs actions, reactions and interactions. The MO also determines a person’s use of time and his or her natural form of communication. Exercising control over this mental resource gives people the freedom to be their authentic selves.

Any interference with the use of this energy reduces a person’s effectiveness and the joy of accomplishment. Stress inevitably results from the prolonged disruption of the flow of this energy. Others can nurture this natural ability but block it by attempting to alter it.

Individual performance can be predicted with great accuracy by comparing instinctive realities, self-expectations and requirements. It will fluctuate based on the appropriateness of expectations and requirements.

When groups of people with the right mix of MOs function interactively, the combined mental energy produces synergy. Such a team can perform at a higher level than is possible for the same group functioning independently.

Team performance is accurately predicted by a set of algorithms that determine the appropriate balance and make up of MOs.

Leaders can optimise individual and group performance by:

• Giving people the freedom to be themselves.
• Assigning jobs suited to individual strengths.
• Building synergistic teams.
• Reducing obstacles that cause debilitating stress.
• Rewarding committed use of instinctive energy.
• Allowing for the appropriate use of time.
• Communicating in ways that trigger the effective use of the natural, universal and unbiased energy of creative instincts.

Any (dental) team is as good as:

• The conative fit each individual has with his or her individual role.
• The members are, in accurately predicting the differences between each other.
• The management of the team is, in using the talent available.

In dentistry the use of Kolbe does not only help build the right teams. When the concepts are understood and applied to clinical situations or ones of patient choice and treatment planning then resistance can be handled and the correct way of presentation used.

There are only four fully trained and accredited KOLBE Consultants in the UK.

There is only one experienced in working with Dentists and their teams.

If you would like to find out more about using these fantastic tools in your practice or if you would be interested in a presentation to your study group or society contact Alun at alun@alunrees.com or on 07778148583.

First published in Apex the on-line Dental Journal from the Dental Learning Hub.