The
Why
Temperament theory
describes four organizing patterns of
personality and is based in descriptions
of behavior that go back over twenty-five
centuries. It tells us the "why" of behavior,
our motivators, and sources of deep psychological
stress. Knowing our temperament patterns
tells us our core needs and values as
well as the talents we are more likely
to be drawn to develop.
Adapted from Linda
V. Berens, Understanding
Yourself and Others®: An Introduction
to the 4 Temperaments-4.0 (Telos Publications,
2010) *Used with permission.
Temperament
theory describes four organizing patterns
of personality and is based in descriptions
of behavior that go back
over twenty-five centuries. It tells us
the "why" of behavior, our motivators,
and sources of deep psychological stress.
Knowing our temperament patterns tells
us our core needs and values as well as
the talents we are more likely to be drawn
to develop.
Brief
History of the
Four Temperaments
The human community can be regarded as
a system, holistic in nature, seeking
survival. Throughout the ages, observers
of human behavior have repeatedly identified
four major patterns or configurations
of behavior. Such holistic sorting of
behavior patterns has been recorded for
at least twenty-five centuries.
In
450 b.c., Hippocrates described four such
dispositions he called temperaments—a
choleric temperament with an ease of emotional
arousal and sensitivity; a phlegmatic
temperament with cool detachment and impassivity;
a melancholic temperament with a very
serious, dour, and downcast nature; and
a sanguine temperament full of impulsivity,
excitability, and quick reactivity. During
the Middle Ages, Philippus Paracelsus
described four natures whose behaviors
were said to be influenced by four kinds
of spirits: nymphs, sylphs, gnomes, and
salamanders.
Most
twentieth-century psychologists abandoned
holistic observation of human behavior
for a microscopic examination of parts,
fragments, traits, and so on. To them,
all human beings were basically alike,
and individual differences were due to
chance or conditioning.
Two
German psychologists, Ernst Kretschmer
and Eduard Spränger, were among the
few to continue to view individuals holistically
in terms of patterns. Inspired by their
work, a modern psychologist, David Keirsey,
noted common themes in the various observations
and the consistent tendency of human behavior
to sort itself into four similar patterns.
Linda Berens continues to expand our understanding
of the four temperaments through the unique
contributions; including the core needs,
values, talents, and behaviors of the
four temperament patterns--as illustrated
by The Temperament Targets™. These
four major patterns are referred to as
temperaments. They describe the ways human
personality interacts with the environment
to satisfy its needs.
The
Four Temperament Patterns
Adapted from Linda
V. Berens, Understanding
Yourself and Others®: An Introduction
to the 4 Temperaments-4.0 (Telos Publications,
2010) *Used with permission.
|
Catalyst™
(Diplomatic Skill Set)
The core needs for the Catalyst™ are for the meaning and
significance that come from having
a sense of purpose and working toward
some greater good. They need
to have a sense of unique identity.
They value unity, self-actualization,
and authenticity. They prefer
cooperative interactions with a
focus on ethics and morality. They
tend to be gifted at unifying diverse
peoples and helping individuals
realize their potential. They build
bridges between people through empathy
and clarification of deeper issues. |
Stabilizer™
(Logistical Skill Set)
The
core needs for the Stabilizer™ are for
group membership and responsibility.
They need to know they are
doing the responsible thing. They
value stability, security and
a sense of community. They trust
hierarchy and authority and may
be surprised when others go against
these social structures. They
know how things have always been
done, and so they anticipate where
things can go wrong. They have
a knack for attending to rules,
procedures, and protocol.
|
|
Theorist™
(Strategic Skill Set)
The core needs for the Theorist™ are for mastery of concepts,
knowledge, and competence. They
want to understand the operating
principles of the universe and to
learn or even develop theories for
everything. They value expertise,
logical consistency, concepts and
ideas, and seek progress. They abstractly
analyze a situation and consider
previously un-thought-of possibilities.
Research, analysis, searching for
patterns, and developing hypotheses
are quite likely to be their natural
modus operandi. |
Improviser™
(Tactical Skill Set)
The
core needs for the Improviser™ are to have
the freedom to act without hindrance
and to see a marked result from
action. They highly value
aesthetics, whether in nature
or art. Their energies are focused
on skillful performance, variety,
and stimulation. They tend
to be gifted at employing the
available means to accomplish
an end. Their creativity is revealed
by the variety of solutions they
come up with. They are talented
at using tools, whether the tool
be language, theories, a paint
brush, or a computer.
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Things-in-Common
Adapted from Linda
V. Berens, Understanding
Yourself and Others®: An Introduction
to the 4 Temperaments-4.0 (Telos Publications,
2010) *Used with permission.
-
Abstract versus Concrete language—The
way we tend to think about things and
the way we use words
- Affiliative
versus Pragmatic roles—The
way we prefer to interact with others
- Structure
versus Motive focus—Where
we focus our attention when interacting
These
dynamics are always operating in a situation,
and if we become polarized along these
dimensions as we interact with others,
communication can become extremely difficult.
However, we need to remember that we have
at least one thing in common with every
temperament.
Temperament and the
16 Personality Types
Applications of Temperament
- Change
Change is a broad term we use when anything becomes different or is replaced. Considering change has such a sweeping definition, it is not surprising that change is all around us. Any workday may bring a number of changes, which can range from fairly minor details such as the type of coffee available to major modifications in policy and procedure....Read more...
- Creativity
Management expert Peter Drucker calls innovation, “change that creates a new dimension of performance” (Hesselbein, et al 2002). Innovation could not exist without creativity. To create new dimensions of performance, we need new ideas and new criteria. And we need to be personally involved, working from our restlessness with integrity....Read more...
- Learning
As well as knowing how you prefer to learn, you need to have a strategy for how to learn. A learning strategy will confirm specifically what is to be learned and why. When making a learning strategy, focus on and attend to the details of your learning, ensure that all the resources you need are available, schedule your time and resource use, and set specific goals and deadlines to work toward....Read more...
- Networking
Networking has become the single most important life skill in determining business and personal success. Your ability to be connected within your organization and externally with your network will determine your next promotion, sale, or job offer. Sadly, most people practice transactional networking and network only with those they think they have to in order to complete a transaction....Read more...
- Project Management
Imagine you are going to shoot a rocket to the moon. You don’t simply point a rocket in the general direction of the moon and blast off, hoping for the best. Yet that is exactly how many projects are launched, with great surprise and amazement—and finger-pointing—when the target is missed....Read more...
- Relationship Success
All interpersonal relationships face similar challenges. It is how you respond that makes or breaks the bond. Relationships should be about two people. There must be a match somewhere–something to relate around–whether the commonality is values, life-theme, career, shared history, type, chemistry, or philosophy of life....Read more...
- Stress
Temperament-related stress is not the same as the everyday stress of overwork, overindulgence, and worries over money, relationships, and so on. It results from the core needs and values of the temperament pattern not being met. As with most stress, it is worse when it is unconscious. Knowledge of one’s own temperament pattern can help manage and even prevent such stress....Read more...
- Teams (Forming)
It’s early in the life of the team and some of the members are looking to the team leader to provide the guidance and structure needed to get started. In order to satisfy all members, the team leader must make sure the following tasks are accomplished for each temperament....Read more...
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