ANNUAL REPORT 2012
BY DORTE BREGNHĂ˜J BREHMER
At Quartz+Co, we use the personality type indicator MBTI in our team constellations and daily work
High-performing teams ACCOMPLISH more TOGETHER than individual team members can achieve WORKING ALONE
T
he world held its breath when Felix Baumgartner jumped out of the world’s largest helium balloon from an altitude of 38,969.4 meters, falling faster than the speed of sound during 4.20 minutes. Although Felix was the one taking the fall, the achievement was only made possible by
the hard work of a team of top scientists, doctors, engineers and many other dedicated individuals. Such an accomplishment requires courage, determination and perfect execution. And the skills of a diverse team coming together. At Quartz+Co, skydiving from high altitudes is rarely on the task list. However, we also believe that a key driver in creating remarkable results is diversity.
QUARTZ+CO
MBTI TEAM COMPASS E
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Contact to others Experiments Action Learning Talking Calm Writes Reads Thinks Works alone Works without being interrupted
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Challenges Changes Enthusiasm Inspiration Visions Creativity The familiar Step-by-step Realistic Applied knowledge
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Harmony Values Beliefs Empathy Needs recognition People-oriented Follows the plan Decides quickly Task-oriented Plans Finishes
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Juggles project opportunities Delays decisions Pressed for time Pros/cons Systems Objective Clarity Critical Ideas
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THE COLLECTIVE QUARTZ+CO MBTI PROFILE SPLIT IN PREFERENCES
80 + 20
80% Extroversion 20% Introversion
55 + 45
Mapping the team DNA
Early this spring, three of our consultants came together in a new team set-up to reflect on how to use the personality type indicator tool to tackle their new assignment. “The MBTI team compass helps us identify potential scenarios to be aware of in our team work. We’re all quite different, and some of us have rather similar ways of structuring our work, meaning that we have to take notice that others might have a different approach. Also, the compass guides us in terms of using our collective strengths to achieve higher performance”, explains engagement partner Morten Saitta Bregendal.
70 + 30
55% Sensing 45% Intuition
“I found it to be a really good tool to frame our different working processes”, says team member Sophie Fabricius. “It creates a positive structure for articulating our differences, since all profiles have something to contribute”. “Our MBTI compass outlines a common framework which helps address potential issues upfront and provides a guide for discussing our differences”, concludes team manager Nikolaj Bisgaard Nielsen.
70% Thinking 30% Feeling
60 + 40
60% Judging 40% Perceiving
Our ways of working with DIVERSITY EMBRACE and recognise individual differences and go beyond mere TOLERANCE to truly appreciate and LEVERAGE our differences
Thinking together
Building on each other’s strengths
The term diversity has become a bit of a buzzword, and as is the case with such expressions, they tend to lose their meaning over time. However, working with diverse teams in a structured manner holds great advantages. Studies of teams’ problem-solving abilities have shown that high-performing teams accomplish more than what the individual team members could achieve working alone. Therefore, creating a conducive environment in which all team members can provide their unique contribution is crucial. Our ways of working with diversity embrace and recognise individual differences, and go beyond mere tolerance to truly appreciate and leverage our differences.
So, we’re all different, and that’s a good thing. However, it requires some finesse to articulate the intangible and sensitive subject of personality types. There are many roads to Rome, and the one taken in Quartz+Co is to use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a personality indicator that measures individual preferences on four dimensions 1. How we get our energy 2. How we perceive information 3. How we make decisions 4. How we organise our lives We find MBTI to be a great instrument to explore the profile differences and strive to leverage the strengths of all team members as well as to steer clear of potential blind spots in a team.
Let diamonds stay rough Some speak about people being “diamonds in the rough”, needing polishing to fit in. To us, it’s quite the opposite. We’re looking for people who stand out, and have an edge. By leveraging diversity – ensuring that like meets unlike, femininity meets masculinity, function meets form, capitalism meets humanism and strategic analysis meets behavioural change – we will tackle and solve our clients’ most complex problems and engage and mobilise people in the process.