Free Spirit: The desire to pursue fun, be spontaneous and playful and push limits.
Are you always seeking out fun? Are you adventurous and charismatic? If so, you may be a high scorer in free spirit. Let’s take a look at the behavioral traits of someone with a high free spirit score and what managers can do to best encourage their growth.
High Free Spirit
Meet Chris. Chris is always egging people on to do something fun and is always “on.” He’s always up to try new things and is often jumping from one exciting thing to the next. He loves switching it up and often seeks out originality and art. He’s always the life of the party and always has the craziest stories to tell. People enjoy being around him because he “knows how to have fun.” He doesn’t like to postpone gratification and often pushes limits. Others are often swept along for the ride, whether they like it or not!
Chris is a good example of someone who likely has a high free spirit score. He:
- Likes to have fun
- Is playful, witty and quick, expressive and dynamic
- Is active, adventurous, and assertive
- Is often charming and charismatic
- Appreciates variety in life and is drawn towards originality, art, sensuality and aesthetics.
- Is animated, festive and enthusiastic
Disclaimer: We have since changed the name of this scale from “fun” to free spirit to more accurately depict the behavior.
Tips for Managing High Scorers
Although high scorers in free spirt can be a blast to be around, sometimes their high intensity behavior can have consequences in their personal and work life. At times, high scorers may threaten others and be viewed as aggressive and dangerous. Additionally, sometimes their behavior can be too “over-the-top” and lead to destructive habits. Whether you’re a manager of a high free spirit scorer or wanting to learn how to better understand a colleague’s behavior, here are some ideas on how to effectively manage this behavioral trait.
Recommendations for High Scorers
- Encourage them to appreciate and respect the limits and boundaries of others. High scorers in Free Spirit have a tendency to think everyone enjoys their “antics.” The truth is that, more reserved, cautious people are often overwhelmed by this behavior.
- Listening is an underdeveloped, underutilized skill of the high scorer in Free Spirit. Encourage them to slow down and really hear what other people say.
- Fun and Excitement, adventure and risk motivate high scorers in Free Spirit. Frequent rewards and daily “wins” also motivate them.
- Encourage them to occasionally practice stopping the fun early to better understand other people’s limits.
