Ralph Waterman: September 23, 2011
Ralph Waterman: September 23, 2011
Ralph Waterman: September 23, 2011
2011
MONITOR BEHAVIORAL PROFILES
A Suite of Assessment Instruments
Funded by a grant from the National Institute of Health, Dr. Kantor set out in the early
1960s to create an empirical understanding of family function in situ. What he
discovered was a set of fundamental concepts that describe the ways that human
beings interact with one another. Over the successive years, Dr. Kantor applied these
ideas to families, to couples, and then brought them into organizations.
Monitor_Behavioral_Profiles@Monitor.com
Monitor Leadership and Organization
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Cambridge, MA 02141
617.252.2000
1. David Kantor and William Lehr, Inside the Family (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc, 1975).
2. Kantor and Nancy Heaton Lonstein, Raising the Curtain: The Real Lives of Leaders (in process).
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Behavioral Propensities Profile
INTRODUCTION
As individuals mature, they develop their own distinctive patterns of behavior. These patterns can be observed in the
stances that you take in conversation, the words that you choose when you speak, and the implicit rules that you follow
when interacting with others.
We call these patterns behavioral propensities, and they are reflected in the three dimensions of your Behavioral
Propensities Profile (BPP).
This first instrument measures your baseline behavioral propensities, a set of distinctive behaviors that you typically
express in ordinary, low stress, interpersonal situations (called ―low stakes‖ situations). For the most part, it represents
the current and most stable part of your behavioral repertoire. When you are faced with stressful, high stakes conditions,
you may act differently and your behavioral repertoire changes. When the stress is removed, you return to your baseline.
Your responses to the BPP questions help to identify your behavioral patterns along three
different dimensions:
Kantor’s theory of Structural Dynamics explains how and why communication in face-to-face contexts either
succeeds or fails. Research has shown that interpersonal relationships existing over time include patterns of ―stuck‖
behaviors that repeat over and over again. These patterns, constituting a limited and tightly rooted repertoire, often
contribute to failure in communication whereas a fluid and expansive repertoire contributes to success.
Raising your awareness about your own propensities and then learning how to recognize others’ propensities as they
play out are the first steps in your ability to Read the Room. The ultimate goal is to learn how to expand your
repertoire: knowing when to deploy more of the behaviors available to you as described in the information that
follows.
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Action
Your Strongest Action Propensity is BYSTAND
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Operating Systems
Your Strongest Operating System Propensity is RANDOM
An Operating System is the implicit set of rules for how individuals govern
boundaries, behavior, and relationships in organizations. Individuals have different
tendencies, preferences, and proclivities for living and working within these different
system structures, with one set typically achieving dominance. One’s system
preference, which often originates from our first experience in a system—our
families—affects how we relate to others and to the organizations we join throughout
our lives.
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Communication Domains
Your Strongest Communication Domain Propensity is MEANING
The way you speak with other individuals, with groups, and with teams is
shaped by your Communication Domain Propensity. Communication Domains
represent what you pay attention to when you are interacting with others and
are reflected in the language choices that you make.
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Behavioral Propensities Profile
You are a BYSTANDER IN RANDOM MEANING
The Talents, Traps, and Tips below offer some insight into your Behavioral
Propensities Profile.
Your TALENTS are: TRAPS you may fall into: TIPS to help you:
• You are able to • Because you look for • Your ideas will get a
synthesize and commonalities, others better reception if you
reiterate the key points may perceive you to be are an ongoing
of a lengthy debate conflict averse participant in the
• You can identify • Your orientation towards
conversation rather than
commonalities just an occasional one
ideas may lead you to
between seemingly neglect issues of people • Be prepared to couple
disparate approaches or action your perspective with
to a problem proposals of your own
• Others appreciate • Your tendency to jump
when you suddenly into a discussion • Help the group
offer a unique suddenly can be recognize when a
perspective on an disruptive to others debate has gone on too
ongoing problem long and there is a need
to move to action
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Distribution of Scores in Your Behavioral Propensities Profile
The chart below shows how your behaviors are distributed across the three sets of
Behavioral Propensities. From these, it is possible to tease out a number of useful
insights about your current style of communication. Your best source of information
will be found in disproportionately low and high scores. Under ―Reflections‖, we
have included a few of the questions people ask most frequently when viewing
their results. To get the most out of the data, carefully consider each question and
then, to gain perspective, discuss your thoughts with a colleague, friend or partner.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
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Behavioral Propensities Profile
Reflections
1. In which set(s) do you pass a low benchmark or simply score lowest? What does this
mean to you?
Action
2. Many people have trouble Opposing. Do your scores suggest that you are one of them?
If yes, how do you explain this?
3. In which set (s) do you pass a high benchmark or simply score highest? What does this
mean to you?
4. In many competitive organizations, strong Moving and Opposing are valued whereas
Following and Bystanding are under-valued. Does your organization favor some actions
more than others? How does this apply to you?
Operating Systems
5. In most organizations, Random propensities are rare on both the system and individual
levels. In some organizations, Randoms are considered odd or weird. How does your
organization perceive Random propensities? How do you?
6. In many organizations, in which Open or Random is the system of choice, the Closed
system is considered controlling or insensitive. How does your organization perceive
Closed propensities? How do you?
Communication Domains
7. In many competitive organizations, Power is the language of choice, with Meaning a
distant second, and Affect a very distant third choice. If you are in such an organization,
how do your scores match up? If there is a mismatch, how are you affected?
8. In many organizations, Affect is the language of choice, with Meaning a close second,
and Power a distant third choice. If you are in such an organization, how do your scores
match up? If there is a mismatch, how are you affected?
9. In many organizations, Meaning is the language of choice, with Power a distant second,
and Affect a very distant third choice. If you are in such an organization, how do your
scores match up?
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Balanced and Unbalanced Profiles
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Example of
Move Follow Oppose Bystand
Unbalanced Action 10% 20% 50% 20%
Propensities
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Example of
Move Follow Oppose Bystand
Balanced Action 25% 25% 25% 25%
Propensities
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
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Balanced and Unbalanced Profiles
Reflections
A Balanced Profile
Is an asset:
When an individual or leader is managing conflict between people with
clashing, diametrically opposed propensities—for example, an Opposer in
Closed Power with a Mover in Open Affect. The subject’s balanced profile
permits him to hear both voices and to model greater tolerance for
difference.
Is NOT an asset:
When the leader is managing a project that calls for strong, quick, and
decisive action, but his team’s profiles completely lack these behavioral
capacities—for example, there are no strong Movers in Power on the team.
The leader’s balanced profile may add little to the critical needs of the
situation.
An Unbalanced Profile
Is an asset:
When groups, teams, and families encounter critical situations that call for
special, even extreme behaviors such as profound empathy (Followers in
Affect), analytic genius (Movers in Meaning), and warrior-like driver
(Power). Entities that lack such capacities may suffer or be harmed.
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Your Profile vs. Your Self-Rating
A Comparison of Scores
Before completing the BPP, you were asked to rate yourself on an abbreviated version of
the dimensions covered in this report. The bar graphs below compare your BP results
with how you rated yourself. There is much to learn from examining and reflecting on
how the results do and do not correspond. In doing so, bear in mind that there are limits
to the accuracy of self-perception. We all struggle with a natural tendency to see
ourselves as we would like to be rather than how we are and how others see us.
ACTION PROPENSITIES
Behavioral Distribution
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
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Your Profile vs. Your Self-Rating
Operating System Propensities
Behavioral Distribution
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
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Your Profile vs. Your Self-Rating
Reflections
1. In which propensities are there discrepancies between your self-rating and your
BPP results? How do you explain this?
2. Some people see themselves as much more committed to the Open System
than their BP shows them to be. If this is true for you, what meaning do you
make of it?
3. Some people think that being a Strong Mover in Power is the only way to be
effective in a competitive work environment and will assign higher scores in
their self-ratings than the BPP rates them. If this applies, what consequences
does this have for how you function in your job? In your personal relationships?
AN EXERCISE
We recommend that you share your results with a colleague, friend or partner.
Caution: It is likely that how any ―other‖ sees you will be filtered through the lens of that
person’s Profile and will most certainly be influenced by your relative positions in a shared
hierarchy.
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Strong, Weak, and Stuck Behaviors
Most individuals have behavioral tendencies that skew their profiles in ways most
recognizable to others and to themselves as well. One way to characterize this familiar
phenomenon is to say that most people have at least one ―strong,‖ one ―weak,‖ and one
―stuck‖ behavior in their repertoires. What this means is that they characteristically
overuse some of the available options and, likewise, under use others.
A “strong” behavioral tendency is a propensity we use often and well. People are known
for and are associated with these behavioral tendencies. For example, ―John is often the
first to come up with a new idea or direction.‖ He is a ―Strong Mover‖.
A “weak” behavioral tendency is a propensity we fail or hesitate to use when in fact the
situation we are in calls for that very action. ―John handicaps our team because he
seems unable to challenge whoever is in charge.‖ John is a ―Weak Opposer‖.
A “stuck” behavioral tendency is a propensity we use more often than is necessary and
as such, is not only self-limiting, it fails to serve our group, team or family. ―John can’t
seem to stop volunteering, particularly when it seems to please our boss. By working
nights and weekends he makes himself look good and the rest of us look bad.‖ John is a
―Stuck Follower‖.
Your BP Propensities
STUCK ZONE
Weak-Strong-Stuck Continuum
STRONG ZONE
WEAK ZONE
Move
Follow
Oppose
Bystand
Affect
Meaning
Power
Open
Closed
Random
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Expanding Your Behavioral Repertoire
Here are some thoughts for evaluating your Behavioral Repertoire and getting started
on expanding it:
With practice, reflection, and follow through, you will begin to become more
fluent in the different behavioral choices available to you.
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