imapMyTeam Blog

Juxtaposition

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view -- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."

- Atticus Finch, in To Kill a Mockingbird

Mr. Finch would love imapMyTeam®.

It is not all that unusual to be left wondering why someone else did what they did; said what they said; thinks the way they did, etc. The reason that it is not unusual is that when we contemplate that situation, we are processing it through our own unique set of filters.

And something that you can count on is that people have very different filters that impact their perception of the situation and then how that perception drives behavior.

To simplify this complexity we look at broader dominant characteristics of behavior. Those are reflected in the team player grid or team dynamics grid found in imapMyTeam.com®. In both of these grids you want to pay attention to the other person’s need.

Despite outward behavior, people use their need to evaluate the person or the environment that surrounds them.   If one of your colleagues always reacts differently to the same person or environment than you – they have different needs.

This is important for us to know and understand because once we have a better understanding of what another person’s underlying needs or unique set of filters are, the better we understand their choices.

Spend time reviewing and understanding your teammate’s reports in imapMyTeam®.  This is the equivalent of ‘climbing into their skin and taking the walk’ that Atticus Finch suggests.  Follow his advice and see the world through new eyes, theirs!