I am certified facilator of the assessment tools developed and produced by the Consulting Resource Group. At times I struggle a bit communicating how critical it is to understand our own unique sales and personality style when dealing with other people. Ken Keis president of CRG put it well in his last e-zine article so I cut and paste a good portion of it into this blog entry as a follow-up to yesterday’s sales podcast on selling to the different styles:

How can you ever be intentional with your decisions and actions in
life, if you are not completely clear about your own personal style and its
related strengths, preferences, and challenges.

It’s a biological fact that we are born with a natural predisposition to a
distinct personal style. It’s not something we can choose to avoid. We take our
personal style with us, everywhere we go

After conducting over 2000 programs and writing on the subject for more than 16
years, I am absolutely convinced that without a full understanding of your
personal style—and the personal style of everyone with whom you interact on a
personal or professional level—you are missing critical knowledge that can
contribute to fulfillment for all the individuals involved.

It’s like flying a plane in a dense fogbank. Without training in aircraft
instrumentation, you are living by a hope and a prayer that you can make it to a
safe landing site. That is the way most people live their lives—but that need
not be true for you!

CRG is unique in that we teach a holistic development model wherein your
personal style and your personality are two separate concepts.

Your personality—the totality of who you are—is composed primarily of six
Personal Development Factors™ that contribute to your personhood. 

1. Your Personal Style

   You were born with it and it stays consistent throughout your lifetime.

    

2. Biophysical Factors

   They include your gender and any illnesses (and wellness levels),
   addictions, or injuries that affect your engagement of life.

    

3. Self-Worth Levels

   They affect how and when you engage your life and the various challenges
   that life brings to you.

    

4. Environmental Systems

   Your country, your local area, geography, and your culture all highly
   influence your perspective on life.

    

5. Social Teachers

   These include people who have shaped your viewpoint during your life—
   parents, teachers, mentors, friends, family, etc.

    

6. Emotional Anchors

   They include events in your life—both positive and negative—that leave an
   emotional imprint.

The CRG model acknowledges that who we are is based on
both nature and
nurture.

Research confirms that we each have unique and specific style preferences at
birth. From that moment, our personal style starts to play a powerful role in
our lives. Here are some of the things that are influenced by personal style.

• Choosing supportive child-care environments
• Parenting style
• Learning and instructional styles that meet your specific needs
• Selecting the right job and understanding job-style fit
• Accepting the differences in yourself and others
• Getting along better with your life partner
• Coaching others
• Customer service, sales, and leadership
• Designing a life that plays to your strengths
• Having the confidence to reject feelings of guilt and the pressures to
  change from those who are different than you are. That includes peer
  pressure, parents, and teachers.
• Building teams that complement your business needs
• Starting a business
• Hiring and promoting
• Resolving conflict

And much more!

If you really want to succeed in life, knowledge of personal style is
non-negotiable. 

Recently, I facilitated a team development process for a billion-dollar
organization. Even though some team members had been through our

Personal Style Indicator in the past, they identified the

PSI as the single-most-important element to take participants to the next
level.