High C Profile – Series Analysis of High Drives
He who fails to plan is planning to fail. And, I spend more time with co-workers than I do with some members of my family – shouldn’t I try to get to know them better?
The source of self-confidence for a High C is twofold: knowing the order and process of workflow and developing affiliation in the workplace.
Albert Einstein said doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different outcomes is the true definition of insanity. If that definition is true – than High C’s are the most rational among us. The High C drive seeks order and relies on the process or steps to be followed to deliver expected outcomes. It is a drive that seeks to develop and then follow a plan to achieve consistent results. High C’s that become familiar with a particular workflow seem to intuitively know which steps or phases in the process are essential, problematic or redundant. They understand and employ written or mental flowcharts, diagrams and schematics to outline the steps to be followed and have the patience to stay the course and allow the plan to come together as required. A High C can often bring order to a chaotic situation.
The ideal training for the High C profile allows them to see and experience the steps in the order required in the process. If there are six steps that need to be completed in a manufacturing process for a finished product, the best learning environment to train a High C profile is to demonstrate each of the steps in sequential order and allow the High C to replicate the process and result. Skipping steps, jumbling the order or taking the steps out of sequence significantly increases the High C learning curve. A workable plan that can be repeated for consistent results provides assurance and self-confidence to the High C profile.
The second way to build self-confidence for the High C is affiliation. The High C drive is a very social drive which seeks to develop co-worker relationships. A full-time employee may spend more time with co-workers than family members or personal friends which justifies getting to know co-workers better on a personal basis. Gallup surveys often ask workers if they have a “best friend at work” to measure engagement. A best friend at work is a High C indicator that there is a personal aspect to their working relationship. A High C that affiliates with co-workers is more likely to look forward to coming to work to see friends every day and is thus more likely to be a long-term employee.
High C’s may also affiliate with co-workers when they feel the need to band together due to pressure or competition from others. The “bunker mentality” of “us versus them” can occur within or between departments inside an organization when it is perceived that the other department’s values conflict with your own. E.g., Sales only wants to make the sale without regard to how it will affect Operations – or Operations isn’t willing to go the extra mile to accommodate new sales opportunities causing the loss of sales. Management needs to monitor these affiliation tendencies which can lead to cliques or silos within companies or departments and be potentially damaging to interdepartmental cooperation or reaching certain business goals. Or, the thought of “us versus them” may be focused on others outside your organization that are perceived negatively by your workers such as demanding clients or aggressive competitors who need to be reined in or handled differently which may or may not be an appropriate response.
Team-building activities, group after-work experiences, company retreats and interdepartmental problem solving successes can all add to the cohesiveness of a team of High C profiles and strengthen workplace relationships at the same time.