What's your WW style? Read the definitions first!

[Honorary Bloke]

Reading some recent threads and analyzing the responses got me to thinking about how our personality styles affect our approach to WWing and often the responses we make to queries. I have been teaching courses in this for 25 years but never thought of it in WW terms before. So . . .

What's your style? :?

Driving: Work to a plan (yours or someone else's), make decisions quickly, push on thru stuff-ups, be in control of your project, results-oriented, not easily distracted.

Expressive: Visionary, results-oriented, hate details, impatient, creative, frustrated at stuff-ups, easily-distracted.

Amiable: Enjoy the process as much as the result, persistent, enjoy working with mates, accept stuff-ups and keep going, relaxed approach to WW.

Analytical: Careful planner, great attention to detail, stops to examine progress often, perfectionist, finds stuff-ups unacceptable and often starts over if necessary.

[Honorary Bloke]

What motivated this, in part, was the realisation that I was getting good advice but wasn't always willing to take it (nothing new there, of course). :D

I am a raging Expressive, so attention to detail is one of my worst traits and accounts for many of my stuff-ups. When advised to plan more carefuly, I would set out to do so but soon find myself impatient to get on with it.

I have many of the regulars on this board pegged pretty well, but I wondered if you recognized your own stylistic approach to projects. :wink:

[RufflyRustic]

Hmm, I'd say I was Amiable, but there are times when I swing into Expressive as well :D

cheers
Wendy

[Cliff Rogers]

Enjoy the process but just do it & talk about it later.
A bit of all of them.

[silentC]

I am undoubtedly a combination of all four - what would be called a Chameleon in the psych tool I work on - but in which I am a Promoter (read opinionated loud mouth).

I'm results-oriented but love the details; I hate stuff ups but push on through them; I'm impatient but stop to examine progress often. It would be easier to say what I'm not and so, by process of elimination, I declare myself Expressive according to your scale, but I really think Half-arsed would be more apt.

[Cliff Rogers]

Also prone to exaggeration. :wink:

[silentC]

I've told you a thousand times not to say that!

[Barry_White]

I would class myself as analytical but drift into all other areas which is how the results of a similar thing I did when I was with BHP in a program called the Versatile Sales Person.

[speedy]

Expressive: Visionary, results-oriented, hate details, impatient, creative, frustrated at stuff-ups, easily-distracted.


That's me to a "T" I've never followed a plan, in fact most things don't have a plan, just make it up as I go along. Correct the stuff ups as I go and often run out of patients and never finish some of the things I start.

:doh: :doh: :doh:

[Wizened of Oz]

Where's the category "Slow, mistake ridden" &"Start many, finish few"?

[Capt. Zero]

There you go Brian, that's me to a T. I do manage to finish most things though, I guess I'm willing to tolerate my own failures as long as I'm having fun.





"A nice steaming bowl of Lucner's Castor Oil Flakes chock full of glycerine vibrofoam. It not only cleans your mouth out, it cleans your whole system out, right on down the line."

Lt. Bradshaw:C

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I'm another definite Amiable Expressive. Maybe. :rolleyes:

[AlexS]

Analytical: (aka anal)
Careful planner - sometimes to no avail
great attention to detail - yep, the devil's in the detail
stops to examine progress often - sometimes it's indiscernible, sometimes I find stuffups instead
perfectionist, finds stuff-ups unacceptable and often starts over if necessary - yep, been known to run a completed box through the bandsaw cause it wasn't up to standard.

[Wild Dingo]

Im a mix of RAGING manic expressive and what the wizend fella said! :doh:

Its also a passion so all of it including the major stuffups are really enjoyable :2tsup:

[BobL]

Maybe someone can tell me?

Driving: Work to a plan (yours or someone else's) sometimes, make decisions quickly sometimes, push on thru stuff-ups sometimes, be in control of your project yes, results-oriented not really, not easily distracted no.

Expressive: Visionary sometimes, results-oriented not really, hate details not really, impatient, creative sometimes, frustrated at stuff-ups sometimes, easily-distracted yes.

Amiable: Enjoy the process as much as the result yes, persistent ,yes enjoy working with mates sometimes, accept stuff-ups and keep going sometimes, relaxed approach to WW yes .

Analytical: Careful planner sometimes, great attention to detail sometimes, stops to examine progress often yes, perfectionist not really, finds stuff-ups unacceptable and often starts over if necessary sometimes.

[JDarvall]

Driving mostly........because of time restrictions.

which causes frustration because I'm really analytical. Details are very important. Thats where people look to guage your work. Looking for gaps at joints...etc. Doesn't matter how strong the thing is, a gap or two kills it.

Whats Rats ring Bob ?

[Honorary Bloke]

Whats Rats ring Bob ?

Thanks Jake. I understand. Rat's ring is just special for Cliffie. :D If you don't offer it, he raises holy he11. :wink: Apparently there are a few Cliffie wannabies. :p No accounting for taste. :rolleyes:

[JDarvall]

gotcha :D

[Cliff Rogers]

... Rat's ring is just special for Cliffie. :D If you don't offer it, he raises holy he11. :wink: Apparently there are a few Cliffie wannabies. :p No accounting for taste. :rolleyes:

Actually, it is an option that was first put in a poll by Gumby some time ago & I liked it.... I liked it that much that I happened to ask for it to be added to a couple of other polls & now it is a standing joke. :D

[Iain]

I try to work to a plan (mine or someone else's), make decisions quickly, push on thru stuff-ups, be in control of my project, results-oriented, not easily distracted with visionary, results-oriented, hate details, impatient, creative, frustrated at stuff-ups, easily-distracted enjoy the process as much as the result, persistent, enjoy working with mates, accept stuff-ups and keep going, relaxed approach to WW and woulf like to think I am a careful planner, great attention to detail, stops to examine progress often, perfectionist, finds stuff-ups unacceptable and often starts over if necessary.
I have never to date made, planned, polished or turned a rats ring, however, I do have a familyn of rats in the shed if anyone would like a plan.

[Frank&Earnest]

Well, Bob, this poll seems to have run its time, what is your considered opinion on the results? Does our perception of ourselves match your assessment based on the analysis of our posts?:wink:

What I found interesting, after putting on my social psychologist hat, was that because the options (deliberately or not) were roughly graded expressions of enthusiasm, from "I'm driven" to "I don't give a rat's", the distribution clearly follows the predictable Poisson curve. No surprises here. We would not be doing it if we were not interested. The low skew because of the mode in the "I care but I take it easy" option tells me that the majority of the membership is represented by older hobbyists...:)

Always easy to interpret in hindsight, isn't it? :D

[HappyHammer]

Expressive...GDI

HH.

[wheelinround]

I'd say all catagories but at times when things aren't going to well (like today less said the better) I loose it others just quietlly except the situation and work around it.

I'd say reading all the posts I have so far.... many are artists some more watch where you step others creative

[Honorary Bloke]

Well, Bob, this poll seems to have run its time, what is your considered opinion on the results? Does our perception of ourselves match your assessment based on the analysis of our posts?

Fair enough. Realising, of course, that this is worse than unscientific in this context, I am willing to make some broad genralisations based not only on this poll but on my observation of posts over time and my own experience with others. :rolleyes:

First, the distribution is about what I expected. The low incident of Drivers supports your assertion that the board is skewed to older WWers. Those who were Drivers in their careers are happy to slow down a bit, although they will never quite shake the tendency. Also, younger Drivers are too busy to take up a hobby like WW as it takes too much of their time. So, the younger Drivers on the Forum will tend to be professional WWers who are quality-results-orientated but want to achieve those results efficiently. I offer Lignum as my example. :rolleyes:

My half-arsed analysis also leads me to conclude that the Analytical types often self-select as Dark-Siders. The need for attention to detail and the analysis of the process as much as the result is a typical Dark-Sider/Analytical trait. For example, and based on no data points except his posts, I would place Major Panic squarely in this area. Someone who would painstakingly refinish an old tool which may or may not ever actually be used in anger is the poster boy for Analytical. :D Plus, I gather his shed is always pristine, a classic case!

The Expressives are much more likely to be electron-burners as they want a) to speed up the process and achieve the result, and b) know they can be prone to stuff-ups due to easy distraction and hope the next "great" tool will help them avoid mistakes. :wink: Their motto is: Ready, Shoot, Aim and as a result become quite adept at work-arounds and "fixing" problems. So as not to pick on anyone unnecessarily, I will offer myself as the example. :D

The Amiable contingent have the best of both worlds. They enjoy both the process and the result, as well as the cameraderie of sharing their work with mates. Along with some Expressives, they will often be found in the Drivel Forum where they can share a laugh with friends. But they still produce some serious work of quality, though perhaps not as quickly as some others. Many examples spring to mind in this category, but I'll pick on our mate Wongo as the epitome of the genre.

As for those who posted in this thread (but not based only on these posts):

Ruffly: Amiable right down the line
Cliff: Amiable Expressive
SilentC: Driving Analytical
Barry: Analytical
Speedy: Amiable Expressive
Wizened of OZ: Amiable
Capt Zero: Expressive
Skew: Amiable analytical
AlexS: Analytical
Dingo: As Expressive as they come! Off the friggin' chart!
BobL: Amiable
Apricotripper: Driving Analytical
Iain: Amiable Expressive
Frank & Earnest: Expressive Driver
HH: Expressive Amiable
Wheelin: Amiable Analytical


As has been pointed out, there is some back and forth movement, depending on the circs, but generally speaking we are all creatures of habit and will revert to type a good bit of the time.

If the blokes I chose as examples are offended, I'm sorry. If I left you out and you are offended, I'm sorry. If I pegged your style and you are offended, I'm sorry. Anyone wanting a private reading should write to me, using one side of the paper only, and enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope to cover return postage. :)

[Cliff Rogers]

What happened to the Rat's Ring option????? :?

PS. Good job Bob but you have me worried now. :D

[Zed]

im def a rats ring kinda guy, mostly coz i like the sound of it. but on any given day i can swing from one to another, depends on my monthly cycle i guess...

[Frank&Earnest]

What happened to the Rat's Ring option????? :?



Actually, it was very useful, Cliff, thank you! :)

Bob certainly used it as an indicator of "amiability", according to his definition, so it was not wasted in that respect.

Its real value, however, IMHO was to balance the spread of the options along the "commitment" (for lack of a better definition) axis, which allowed this small, unscientific example of popular psychology to become further evidence of the truth of two basic principles:

- any manifestation of human behaviour (in this case, commitment to WW) is described by the normal distribution (see how nicely the binomial distribution approaches the normal in this poll);

- personality inventories have superficial appeal because everybody can find, with some wriggling, a tag that makes them happy, but have no real value in predicting behaviour. (Bob might be a bit unhappy with this but...)

Bet you did not expect your Rat's Ring to be such a scientific breakthrough, did you Cliff? :wink:

[Cliff Rogers]

....Bet you did not expect your Rat's Ring to be such a scientific breakthrough, did you Cliff? :wink:
Can I vote again? :D

[munruben]

Analytical, hate when things don't look just right or don't fit right. Have scrapped many projects and started over because I didn't like the results.

[wheelinround]

Bob thanks for your efforts.

You may have just saved me from selling everything off and giving it all up. :C:(:-

[echnidna]

Hey,

It's FULL MOON again,

Can I change me style :wink:

[Honorary Bloke]

- personality inventories have superficial appeal because everybody can find, with some wriggling, a tag that makes them happy, but have no real value in predicting behaviour. (Bob might be a bit unhappy with this but...)

Not too unhappy, I've heard this before. And I admitted, and still admit, this one was more tongue-in-cheek than scientific. :) That's because you can learn more from non-verbal cues than verbal ones. I would be much more confident of my assessments if I could visit your sheds. :wink: :D

1) You are right that people will wiggle to find a tag that pleases their view of themselves--this is not the value.

2) But if you can accurately gauge their actual style it is quite helpful in predicting their reaction to a given situation in a gross sense. This is particularly helpful to salespeople and customer service people who can learn to handle that person using a skillset suited to their style. I have been using it successfully for over 25 years and am still amazed at how accurate it can be.

It's no "wonder system" but it has its uses.:)

[echnidna]

So what are trying to sell us?

[Cliff Rogers]

So what are trying to sell us?
Stuff that will make ya vegies grow. :2tsup:

[Honorary Bloke]

So what are trying to sell us?

Cordless drills with protective shrouds and cordless screwdrivers that recharge in 90 seconds. :wink:

[Shedhand]

I'm a temperamental (emphasis on mental) expressive type. Prolly why I have a thousand half completed projects (including the bluddy reno's) around the place. :no:

[echnidna]

Cordless drills with protective shrouds and cordless screwdrivers that recharge in 90 seconds. :wink:

Phew thats good,
for a moment I thought you were selling cordless motorcycles :wink:

[Frank&Earnest]

.....
if you can accurately gauge their actual style it is quite helpful in predicting their reaction to a given situation in a gross sense. This is particularly helpful to salespeople and customer service people who can learn to handle that person using a skillset suited to their style. I have been using it successfully for over 25 years and am still amazed at how accurate it can be.



Yep. No argument here. But can you see that it is a truism? If you can understand a person's preferences well enough from a multitude of cues, then you can predict their reactions. Being attuned to perceive these cues is what broadly is called having "people skills", emotional intelligence, or what the buzzword happens to be now. Having a person telling you what his/her perception of him/herself is by answering a set of questions can give you useful information to interpret. Whether the method for getting this information is any good is a different issue.