imapMyTeam Blog

Angst for the Memories

Our title is a play on the name of Bob Hope’s signature tune- ‘Thanks for the Memories’ – which he always sang to close out his act. The lyrics tell a story of two people’s interconnected lives with one favorably reminiscing over the great times they had together.

Have you thought about how your coworkers will remember you? Will they be inclined to ‘thank you’ for the memories of working together or might it be ‘angst’?

People that we interact with experience us in one of two ways; when we are at our best, through our usual behavior or when we are less than our best, through our stress behavior.

Our usual behavior is the source of our strengths and is also adaptable so we can manage ourselves to be more effective with others. Our stress behavior is our frustrated behavior and is a transformation from under control productive behavior to out of control counterproductive behavior. Our teammates and colleagues typically do not care for us much when we are this way.

While it may be obvious, if we operate from our stress mode much of the time, we can create angst for others. It’s also true that if we inappropriately or over-use our strengths we may inadvertently cause angst to others.

You can use the grid based strengths and stress points found in your “Team Player” report at www.imapMyTeam to point out the differences. The grid will provide insight on how to effectively use your strengths as well as ways to mitigate the impact of your stress behavior.


Armed with self-awareness of your stress behaviors and the discipline to effectively use your strengths, you’ll not only be productive but likely ensure others will remember you with “thanks” rather than “angst.”