Change: The love of variety and constant newness in one’s experience.
In contrast to last week’s deep dive, there are people who crave variety and adventure in their life. These people are the ones that take spontaneous trips or spend a month in a different country where they don’t know anyone, or may not even speak the language just to experience something new, exciting and out of their comfort zone. Let’s take a look at some of the characteristics of someone with a high change score:
High Change
Meet John. John recently began his own start-up business, inspired by his 5-month backpacking trip across Europe after he spontaneously quit his 9-5 job. He is constantly looking for new ways to innovate and isn’t afraid to take risks with his business, valuing the opportunity over the planning. He has always been interested in experiencing different cultures and places, and often seeks inspiration in the outdoors and in art. He’s always the first one to try a new food at a restaurant and is constantly embracing new projects and roles within his company. If you want to take a spontaneous trip, you call John because he’s always down.
John is an example of someone who likely has a high change score. He:
- Loves variety
- Moves and thinks quickly
- Is spontaneous and flexible
- Is a risk taker who loves a good challenge
- Tends to become bored easily
- Seeks adventure
- Believes chaos and complexity are part of the adventure
- Tends to comprehend problems rapidly
- Has wide interests in areas such as art, beauty, intelligence and nature
- Embraces risk and is energized by new ideas
Tips for Managing High Scorers:
High Scorers in change can be incredible assets to your business, as they are often the ones to suggest creative new ideas, are early adopters of new technology and policies and can go with the flow. However, high scorers in change can also become frustrated if they perceive things as stagnant and can lack stability and consistency that is sometimes necessary for growth. As we’ve seen in previous weeks, achieving a healthy balance is key.
Here are some ways to manage and encourage the growth of someone with a high change score:
- Encourage them to realize that others move more slowly and less decisively than they do. They need to not only accept that others are more conservative and careful, but to embrace these differences as a necessary part of making sound decisions.
- They may benefit from critical feedback about their ideas as a form of protection and risk mitigation.
- Always point out opportunities for them to grow and build on their current knowledge, even if you aren’t going to focus on them yet. For instance, if you’re training a high scorer in change on the very basic functions of a software, mention more advanced things they’ll be able to learn later so they have something to look forward to.
- Put them in roles that require and reward flexibility.
- Consistently offer them new projects and training opportunities to keep them engaged.
- When communicating, they may benefit from informing others when they are brainstorming. This helps more operationally minded people to relax.
- Finally, high scorers in change often move a mile a minute when they get excited and are constantly bouncing from project to project. “If you start it, finish it,” is a motto that will increase their credibility. Encourage them to make friends with people who are good finishers.
