We've all been there. Feeling - or being - obliged to do things we'd rather not. Perhaps to follow a fixed routine, or to stay at our present level of personal development even when the world is changing around us.
What people like or don’t like to do makes a big difference to how they approach their on-the-job activities. When people enjoy something, it’s more likely to engage their interest and attention, and have them willing to put time and effort into what they do. It makes people feel good to use their minds and bodies in this way, whether or not the activities challenge them. When they are denied the opportunity to do something they enjoy, people can feel shut out, disappointed or frustrated. Being compelled to do things they don’t enjoy can make people resent the activity, or the authority that put them there. At best, they do what they must, but without enthusiasm or interest, resigned to their situation.
Promana's preferred activity factors were selected to improve the understanding of what activities attract people and what they will avoid if possible. Activities that interest a person have the potential to increase willingness, commitment and personal application. The opposite is also true – when people are not interested their willingness wanes; they become less committed, and their effort declines. When we ignore the relationship of interest to activity we lose an opportunity to influence morale. Through an improved understanding of our activity interest, we're better able to connect oureselves with activities that interest us, thus adding energy and enthusiasm to our (or another person or group's) efforts. Ignoring the connection raises the risk of underperformance through reduced satisfaction.
The range of activities people may choose to get involved in varies so widely we can’t hope to single out a critical few as common denominators. The list of professions and occupations, sports and hobbies is nearly endless. But we can identify common elements that apply across the board. For instance, problem solving is common to scientific research, management, social work and crossword puzzles; negotiation is common to legal practice, making sales and hostage release; and administration is common to clerical work, accountancy and corporate management. These are not exclusive examples.
Activity preferences are contextual
The positive choices we make for ourselves (and perhaps make possible for others to do the same) can be grouped into two classes.
In the first group there are nine specific activities, or factors. The mix of these factors will suit a given person to some environments and functions more than it will to others. For any person, three or four activities will always attract, engage and hold the person, outweighing the others (in which they may have little or no interest at all). Those three or four activities will tend to define an occupation. For example, management as a whole is likely to include problem solving, administrative and managerial activities. Specialised management such as engineering may also include practical or numerical activities; human resource management is likely to include an interest in social concerns; and managing a news organisation could be related to interest in communication and/or verbal activities.
But, people's preferred activities need to be understood in context. It’s one thing to have an interest. It's quite another to be able to pursue it, stick with it or develop it. So our second group of factors explores three critical "context" issues.
In this second group we examine three factors that help us understand the context of the nine interests in the first group. The first of these three is about the relationship of preferred activities to what is actually available. People might hanker to be a truck driver or a manager, but if they can’t get the job or role they want, their interest in that activity won’t be satisfied. It’s one thing to prefer an activity and something else to get involved in it. The second contextual factor is about a person’s need for or tolerance of change and variety. Individuals may need variable activities to maintain their interest, they may be required to function in an environment where demands require them to constantly shift between activities or the opposite might apply, with routine and predictable events all of the time. Will the person match the need and vice versa? The third contextual factor is about a person’s potential to develop by growing an interest in a new set of activities. As conditions and activities change will the person grow?
Keep in mind that we're talking about assessing preferences, not knowledge, skills or experience. There may be a correlation between high preference for specific activities – say verbal or numerical – and the knowledge, skills and experience needed to perform in those areas but we cannot presume that this is so in any specific case. Nor can we infer that low preference correlates with low levels of skill or knowledge, or with lack of experience. Someone skilled and qualified in maths may still have a low preference for working with numbers, their interest being absorbed by competing activities.
Matching personal interests with enjoyable activities
Improving the positive correlation between interests and activities can help a person steer away from things they find uninteresting, or, adapt their activities so they become more appealing. Coaches, facilitators and managers can be better placed to support people, by offering appropriate development where interests and available activities are at odds.
People who don’t share some interests in common often have difficulty getting along with each other. By understanding two or more people’s preferences and discussing our own observations with them, we enable ourselves to see and accept each other's interests for what they are. We may not change our preferences to suit someone else, but we can at least learn to recognise and tolerate the differences.
The nine preference factors
Let's dive deeper into the preference factors covered in the Activity Interests assessment. The nine factors in this group represent observable activities that relate to everyday occupations, paid or unpaid.
Various roles, functions or occupations will have different factor mixes.
For example, an effective manager will have a strong interest in managerial and problem solving activities, whereas by contrast, someone engaged in more clerical work would hopefully be finding enjoyment in administrative activities, with interest in other activities relevant to their overall job function or role. A sales person in a ‘hard sell’ role could be interested in negotiating and problem solving while another person selling behind the counter in a store might combine social service, administrative activity and problem solving, depending on the actual sales function.
Factor #1: Problem Solving
Problem solving brings satisfaction to people who like to examine issues in order to understand them, to develop alternative solutions, then apply and test the most feasible of these. That is followed by checking that the original issue has been resolved and that no new ones have resulted. To be productive, they need to combine this factor with others that are relevant to their role - otherwise they are simply solving problems for the sake of doing it. For example, one needs to solve problems to be effective in negotiating, providing social service, engineering or operating anything. We may gauge which kinds of problem solving people prefer by looking for their strengths among the other factors in this group.
Problem solving also links to reasoning, logic, intuition and objective behaviours assessed in the transacting assessment. One issue of this factor is that people who have a strong need to solve problems may, in fact, hang onto the problem or look for new ones to keep them occupied. What will happen when there are no problems?
Problem solving is related to reasoning, logic, intuition, assertion, fate and magic in the Transactions chapter, and to rational and intuitive in Leading.
Problems always catch the interest of people who favor this activity. They find out what the problem is and how things cause the issue. They prefer to work with sound information and they get what they need. They find out how to solve a problem, considering all possibilities before deciding on the best possible answer for the circumstances. They work to have their answer ready on time. They demonstrate their answers are correct before they apply them, and their solutions work out in practice. Without problem solving interest, people spend time on other activities. Giving less attention or intensity to solving problems can lead to lower quality solutions.
Factor #2: Negotiating
Negotiating brings satisfaction through persuading others to one’s point of view, or bringing them to accept a given position or set of circumstances. People can do this openly or covertly and manipulatively, and for selfish or benign reasons. Negotiation is not limited to any formal role. People who are ‘ready to deal’ may be found in any function. Negotiating takes on different colors depending on the way it mixes with other factors across all groups. For instance, when coupled with wasted time in the chapter on Handling Time and use of surprise in Operating Style, negotiating may be less than genuine or mutually beneficial.
Negotiators seek to get agreement with what they want by using their power of persuasion with care. They use the most appropriate medium to convince the people. They enjoy a game of bluff and they talk people out of or into doing things according to the need at the time. They like to strike a bargain, and persuade others to accept what is offered. They take sides in a debate, trying to find a point of agreement and, when they may, they get others to concede ground to them. People who are less interested in negotiating deal with issues and situations as 'matters of fact' that lead to their own natural solution without compromise.
Factor #3: Social
Social interests bring satisfaction through looking after the needs and wellbeing of others and from seeing that everyone is treated fairly. These interests are suited to a function or role in an area of social services or human resources, for example, but may complement any function that relies on looking after other people’s interests. This factor links with others, such as supportive in Transacting, supporter in Team Roles and supporting in Team Building. It also relates to social reward in Activating People. Interest in this area of activity needs to be coupled with productivity factors in other chapters to show that the person is not just a ‘do-gooder’ or someone who like the ‘feel good’ of helping others.
People who prefer these activities show concern for the welfare of others, giving them support when they feel down. They take time out to listen when others want to talk about themselves, and they help them to solve their own problems. They tend to favor the underdog and they volunteer to help people out. They provide for the needs of others and see that they get the opportunity to try in areas that attract them. They ensure that benefits are shared equally.
Factor #4: Practical
Practical interest brings satisfaction through hands-on, physical activity and through making things run well – not necessarily mechanical things but organizational and functional as well. These people see issues from a practical point of view, and they are effective in areas such as engineering, operating machines and equipment, and organizing objects and events.
They use their time to make practical things, working out how to get a usable and useful result. They find out why things don't go and fix anything that doesn't work. They try to make everything run better by making sure the parts work together smoothly. They read about equipment and they enjoy operating mechanical things. They enjoy working with their hands, choosing the right tools for the job and making sure machines are used well. Without practical interests, people regard machines and tools as a means to an end, not an end in themselves, and they prefer work that does not have a high manual content.
Factor #5: Aesthetic
Aesthetic activities bring satisfaction through working with design, color, appearance and presentation, especially the look, sound and balance of the parts and the whole. These people may be sensitive to their surroundings or concerned for appearance more than substance. This factor has applications in many fields, such as artistic expression, industrial design and architecture, but it extends to any area – including personal presentation – where ‘look, sound and feel’ are valued.
They like their workplace to be well laid out and they rearrange things once in a while to feel at ease in their surroundings. They admire the shape or feel of things and talk about scenery they admire. They prefer things that are easy on the eye and they like to see a good polish on finished work. They see beauty in quite ordinary things and they enjoy the sound of music that suits their tastes. People who lack aesthetic interest place more importance on the content of their work than on appearances and they are able to work without concern for their surroundings.
Factor #6: Administrative
Administrative activities bring satisfaction through dealing with the detail of keeping things up to date. That includes looking ahead to prepare for what comes next and making sure things run smoothly. The underlying principles of simplicity, coordination, economy of effort, foresight and flexibility of arrangement apply equally to a clerical ‘keep tidy’ function and to formal administration at advanced management levels.
This factor connects with administer in Operating Style and administrator in Team Roles.
People who pursue administrative activities work in with others and coordinate their work with them. They use flexible systems and methods, without complexity, to keep things simple and easily understood. They check their work over in detail and finish it completely, yet get it done on time, every time. They keep their records up-to-date. They are well organized with room to make changes when the need arises. They seldom need to change their plans because they take alternative forecasts into account. Other people find it easy to know what they are doing. They give others timely notice of any change to allow them to adjust their own activities.
Without administrative interest, people may not 'get organized' before starting work, then vary their approach to routine work as they go. They could prefer flexible activities and independence of style. (See change and variety, below in the chapter.)
Factor #7: Verbal
Verbal interests bring satisfaction through correct use of both the written and the spoken word, to ensure others understand what is meant, and by taking care to understand what others try to convey. An interest in something does not establish skill or effectiveness by itself; we need some evidence of ‘can do’, beyond the promise of ‘will do’. The content of what people actually say or write varies with the make-up of their communicating modes, as we discuss in the post on transacting. This means that on top of subject matter, each person will bring their own flavour to a topic which will influence their effectiveness. Other influences such as training, qualifications, role and experience will, of course, affect verbal expression.
People with a strong verbal interest choose words others will understand, preferring words and phrases that are clear to their audience. They put words together carefully to express difficult ideas clearly and accurately, yet briefly. They use words well to make themselves clear when they speak and write, and they use language that is understood by whoever is listening or reading. They make sure they understand what is said by others, asking questions to clarify what is meant.
People who have a low verbal interest prefer activities that don’t require extensive written or oral expression. They may have difficulty explaining their thoughts to others or taking the correct meaning from what others say, but low interest does not automatically imply low skill.
Factor #8: Numerical
Numerical interests bring satisfaction through working with numbers to quantify results, and using them as a way of conveying information to others. As with verbal interest, concern for numbers doesn’t demonstrate skill or effectiveness by itself, we need to see some evidence of actual behaviours. It may be that a skilled person lacks interest and prefers other activities, while another person may be interested but incompetent.
These people are regarded as 'numbers' people who use figures to express themselves clearly. Numbers don't confuse them and they use them to explain easily and make their answers clear, although detail may leave others confused. They get their sums right. They enjoy the logic of numbers, which make sense to them, and they enjoy working with them. They show others what the numbers mean and help them to see what could be gained or lost.
People may have the understanding and skills needed to be competent with numbers but, with little interest in related activities they are likely to use numbers as a means to an end, not because they enjoy using them as a way of spending time and energy.
Factor 9: Managerial
Managerial activities bring satisfaction through leading others, and from planning, organizing and controlling the action to reach objectives. This factor is an essential element for an effective manager. It is commonly coupled with problem solving in this group and it is related to managerial factors in other groups, including the whole content of the chapters on operating style, team work and leading people. The elements of this factor are generic to all managers, not specific to some special stratum. This means that the base principles apply to any managerial function from personal assistant and first-line supervisor right up to president and CEO. They all have some things in common even when the content of their function is vastly different.
People with managerial interest take time out to plan ahead. They make their decisions with care with concern for long-term effects. They write down their plan of action with clear performance standards and establish standard ways to do things. They choose the person best suited to each task and ensure work is shared logically. They get people to work well together and encourage, inspire or impel them to do better. They compare their progress with their intentions and make any necessary corrections to stay on track. They check that their final results meet the standards they set at the outset.
People with low interest in managerial activities are likely to act for the short-term or fail to act at all. They may let things run their course without trying to influence outcomes, or try to control without planning and organizing. Perhaps most important, they will fail to gather a following and build a team.
The three contextual factors
Knowing that someone has a range of interests is not enough. We also need to know whether they have an outlet for their interests or might be stuck with activities they find uninteresting; whether they will stick with their range of activities or shift from one thing to another; and whether they are open to modifying their preferred activities to adapt to reality or will stay doggedly committed to their original preferences.
Three contextual factors, Application of interests, Change and variety, and Growth help us to recognize the difference between reliability and rigidity, commitment and whim, development and stagnation.
Factor #10: Application of interests
Application of interests checks out the relationship between having a preference for an activity and having the opportunity to actually engage in it. Many people are in situations where they either have little chance to do what interests them, or where they may be unable to avoid activities that do not interest them. Both of these are damaging to morale and productivity. We ought not to be surprised that many people offset a boring day with an exciting hobby or pastime. But, equally, there are others who get so much fun from their interesting activities that they forget to stop and smell the flowers. We need a balance between full-on absorption and forced activity.
People who are able to apply themselves to activities that interest them enjoy their work and get absorbed in what they do. They find all of their work interesting and their work develops their interests further. Interest in what they do holds their attention. They have few interests other than their work, which may take most of their available time, and they put their effort into what they do.
But people who don’t find enough interest in what they have to do are forced to tolerate their situation, without satisfaction or real enthusiasm, or to move on to more attractive activities.
Factor 11: Change and variety
Change and variety is about ‘stickability’. At the low end of the scale, lacking the behaviours needed to adapt to varying conditions, a person is likely to prefer stability and consistency. At the high end, people accept or look for variable activities; this may be due to personal preference for a changing scene or to acceptance of the inevitable as their environment puts on pressure to adapt, conform or change. Both denial of change and variety where it is sought after, and forced variability where stability is wanted, may be sources of stress (discussed later in the Stress chapter).
With a high need for change and variety, people pick up a new activity easily and switch quickly from one to another. They try new ways and look for new and different experiences. When they are idle, they are easily bored or distracted. They experiment with new pastimes and get involved in others' interests to see what happens. They switch their attention easily between competing interests and change their mind quickly when they lose their commitment to the earlier attraction.
People with a low need for change and variety concentrate on what they are doing, and see projects through to completion. But they may have difficulty adapting quickly to changing conditions.
Factor 12: Growth
Growth considers the likelihood that a person consciously and deliberately chooses between specific activities, setting aside those that have little value to focus on those that can be productive. Over time, someone may give up an activity to take up another where they see it contributing to their next phase of development.
People who seek to grow sometimes decide to drop a real interest to prepare themselves for the future. They put their interests to good use and make the most of them. Their interests attract other people to them so that they learn from others and encourage them to learn as well by getting them involved in their activities. They put effort into developing their interests and persevere with them.
Those who are less interested in growth stay with the range of interests they have already developed. They are unlikely to move away from these interests unless circumstances place demands on them.
Combinations of Contexts
Various combinations of the three contextual factors can point to conditions that should be explored further. For example, a low concern for application of interests coupled with a preference for change and variety suggests a lack of commitment to the activities and, perhaps, to the team and organization. One conclusion we might draw is that a person responding with this combination could be looking elsewhere for satisfaction and may leave to get it – or stay and under-perform. Which is worse? Similarly, a high preference for application, coupled with low interest in growth, change and variety, suggests they are unlikely to shift their interests – this may point to conservative views or stagnation.
