Monthly Archives: September 2012

How do I know if we are compatible?

by Katie 26/09/2012

Whether it’s a romantic partner, a friend, prospective housemate or colleague, how can you determine your compatibility with another person?

compatibility

Compatibility doesn’t mean that you are just alike in every way. In fact, on some dimensions it is more the case the opposites attract because you will balance one another’s strengths and weaknesses. However, it is helpful if you share some basic things in common, such as your core values.

Here are a few things you can use to discover your compatibility:

1)    Determine if your values are aligned.

Crack open a bottle of wine or pop the kettle on and give yourselves some time to talk about issues that are most important to you. You could even start by discussing the traits that you appreciate in others. For example, is it better to be humble or to be famous? Is it more important to save the world, or to become wealthy? You’ll then get a good idea if your general values match up or if there might be conflict.

2)    Discover your common interests.

Although having a diverse set of interests allows each of you to maintain a sense of independence, it is helpful to have at least a few common interests and activities that you can enjoy together. For example, do you both enjoy tennis, classical music, cycling or modern art? You can also build new interests together, so try picking up a new activity you can both enjoy.

3)    Understand their personality- and yours.

When your personalities are similar, chances are that you will understand one another easily. For example, introverted types are likely to feel contented in the company of one another while an extrovert may become frustrated with an introvert who doesn’t like to go out to parties. A sensitive type may easily become upset or miss-interpret something from a tough-minded type. A flexible type who loves spontaneity may become frustrated or bored with a structured type who likes everything planned out. While it can be easier having similar personalities, it isn’t necessary for every dimension of your personality to be exactly the same in order to be compatible. Simply understanding one another is the best place to start.

One quick an easy way to establish your compatibility is to get together and take the free personality test on PersonaBubble. You can share and compare your results to uncover and learn more about your compatibility. You can use what you discover to spark a conversation and learn even more about your friends, family or colleagues. Let us know what you discover in the comment section below.

 

Compulsive woodpecker or popular robin? What your emailing style says about you.

by Katie 20/09/2012

How often do you check your email? Are they the bane of your life or can you not live without them? And what does your attitude to emails say about your personality?

email personality

The use of email in business and our everyday lives has increased resulting in the development of particular idiosyncratic patterns of emailing behavior that can either delight or enrage recipients. Researchers at the University of Glasgow and the University of the West of Scotland have examined our different email behaviours and matched them to typical bird-like personalities.

Dr Karen Renaud, senior lecturer in the School of Computing Science at the University of Glasgow, said:

“When we analysed all the findings we realised we could categorise email behaviours and match them to the characteristics of some well-known birds.”

The researchers identified a total of 12 bird-like characteristics of email users, with just one type of bird being associated with perfect email manners: the robin. Robins are people who are admired for not allowing email to dictate their lives and making time to speak to people in person whenever they can.

Dr Renaud added: “What the research really highlights is that email is a great source of stress for many people. Too often, email is used instead of a more suitable means of communication like actually talking to someone.

“It is likely most people will be able to identify some of their email correspondents with these behaviours and perhaps even recognise their own email style.

What type of Bird are you?

Compulsive Woodpecker: Can’t resist reading email at all hours of the day and night.

Hibernating Poorwill: Reads email only occasionally so that senders can never rely on them.

Incommunicado Ostrich: Reads emails but doesn’t reply to them. Often to be seen with the Hibernating Poorwill.

Caterwauling Peacock: Broadcasts emails to all and sundry, claiming that people “need to know” when actually he is grandstanding.

email personality

Pesky Crow: “Leans” on others by means of email, sending multiple versions of the same document, or sending multiple emails about the same topic. This bird inspires fear and loathing in the hearts of other birds.

Buck-Passing Cuckoo: Sends emails to others asking them to carry out some task she should do herself, and then leaves quickly and mimics the Incommunicado Ostrich so that the unfortunate recipient is left carrying the baby.

Back-Covering Emu: Sends emails in order to be able to prove, at a later date, that the information was passed on.

Camouflaging Woodcock: Uses blind copy to send copies of emails to other recipients without the main recipient’s knowledge. Unlike the Back-covering Emu, this bird is seldom seen in all its glory.

Echoing Mynah: Acknowledges all emails. For example engages in exchange something like: “thanks”, then “my pleasure”, then “thanks again”.


Echolalia Mockingbird: A serial forwarder, sending chain emails online petitions and anything else that takes his fancy. Most of these emails have a subject line starting with “FW”. This bird is easily ignored by other birds, but doesn’t know why.Boorish Parrot: Sends abusive or inappropriate emails and fails to understand why others get upset by them.

Night Owl: The midnight emailer, who fails to understand that others do wish to have “time out”. This bird flocks with the Lightning Response Hummingbird.

Hoarding Magpie: Keeps hundreds of emails in the inbox but can never find exactly the one they are looking for.

Lightning-Response Hummingbird: Responds immediately to email, and expects an immediate response in return.

Popular Robin: Simply does not allow email to dictate. They take the time to speak to people whenever possible and do not let email to take over their lives. This bird is the, favourite amongst all the birds.

Can you spot yourself in the 12 bird types above or perhaps you can identify a certain colleague. Let us know what type you are in the comments section below.

How can I improve my relationships at work?

by Katie 11/09/2012

Your relationship with your supervisor, peers and staff have a major impact on motivation, performance and engagement at work and ultimately could affect whether you decide to change jobs or stay where you are.  If you’re unhappy in your current job it might be that improving your work relationships can help improve things for you.

How can I improve my relationships at work

Building stronger relationships with your work colleagues will make you happier and have a positive impact on the people who work around you. The majority of us spend more time with our colleagues at work than we do with our families at home, so building positive relationships is worth the effort!

Here are a few tips:

  • Our top tip for improving your relationships at work is to make time to get to know one another, have fun and bond over shared experiences. This may sound obvious, but many people don’t take the time to look up from their work to do this. If it is not possible during work hours, try to meet outside of the office, such as for coffee before or after work. If possible, organise time away from the office for your entire team. It could be as simple as regularly scheduled Friday afternoon lunches at the local pub or as wacky as a day out learning circus skills!
  • Build trust and lean on one another for support when needed. Going through a rough period together can be an incredibly bonding experience. For example, if you are facing a department re-organisation, talk to your colleague about your anxieties and fears. They may be able to offer some advice, but most importantly a listening ear.
  • Understand and respect your personality similarities and differences. When your personalities are similar, chances are that you will understand one another easily. However, it is more often the case that your team members come with a wide variety of perspectives and approaches, and it can be fun to uncover those differences. PersonaBubble’s personality test allows you to uncover useful insights about your own personality as well as compare that with others.
  • Finally, be flexible and willing to change your approach. For example, if you are extroverted and like to speak out and make key decisions during meetings, recognize that your colleagues who are more introverted will appreciate more time to reflect after the meeting before coming to a conclusion. Instead of insisting that you resolve everything during the meeting, try to give them the time they need to think through an issue before expecting an answer.

Through mutual understanding, investing time to get to know one another personally and building trust, you can dramatically improve your motivation and performance, as well as have a bit more fun at work, too!

How similar are you and your colleagues? Invite them to PersonaBubble and compare personalities to find out how to make the most your differences and similarities. Let us know what you discover in the comments section below.