We all have sat through the team
personality assessments and cultural diversity seminars, right. Those that talk about how
different our personalities are, how we can work together and how to respect
everyone’s personality. Whether you
follow Myers-Briggs, DiSC, Colors, or TypeFocus, the conversation is all the
same. You take an assessment before the
seminar, during the seminar you hear everyone’s personality type, how we all
are contributors to the team, and how we all can utilize each other. OR!! You talk about cultural differences in the
workplace and how understanding everyone’s culture can bring out the best in us
all!
In theory these seminars are
great. You formally learn about
yourself, things that you don’t naturally think of. You find out why you and particular co-worker
always butt heads during projects. You
find out who is opposite of you and how to utilize their talents. You find out how people view and value
different aspects of the workplace. You
find peace, harmony, and clarity for your office.
In reality, are we really holding
our employees and teammates to this standard.
We can talk until the roosters come home about cohesiveness, but if once
we walk out the room it goes back to normal; we’ve wasted everyone’s time and
energy. How can we really grow as professionals:
