This is a continuation of the blog I posted last week following research that Don Fornes, founder and CEO at Software Advice, wrote a series called Psychological Profiles of the Dream Team. In the series of 4 articles, he details the attributes of four types of employees in today’s work force. These include: The Giver, The Savant, The Champ (and the chip), and The Matrix Thinker. Each of these profiles has strengths and weaknesses. You can read about them here and over the next four weeks I plan to release a post to cover this series so you can see what they entail.
Most people want to get promoted to a better position and make more money. But knowing how to do that is not the kind of thing you learn in school or in many cases even on the job. A big part of what facilitates getting promoted and making more money comes from examining yourself and connecting your talents to a job that enhances them.
I know a lot of people that want to know the secret to being promoted and earning more money. Who doesn’t really? In my post I identify these three types of people: the showman, the implementer and the Abe Lincolns. Each of these types of people has their strengths, which is the secret of their success.
Based on some interesting new research, I would argue that there is another secret for certain types of people. Interestingly enough, the secret isn’t based on their strength. Ironically the secret to success for these types of people is what each of them would consider their greatest weakness. Or as Don Fornes calls it, their Chip.
In this post I want to examine Fornes second profile: The Champs (and their Chips).
The Champs….
First of all, you need to understand that champs are people lovers. They are typically your quintessential top-performing sales people. Extremely skilled at reading people, they are confident in their ability to handle people well. Optimistic to their core, they tend to believe in themselves, the products they sell and the companies for which they work.
…. And Their Chips
The fascinating part of this profile for me is what Fornes calls the Chip. Perched on the champ’s shoulder, the chip could be insecurity about his or her background, their education, or their physical appearance, or essentially anything else that they feel less confident about. While insecurity is generally considered a negative quality, champs use it to drive them. They use their chip to motivate them to work harder and achieve more.
In addition to the chips on their shoulder, champs tend to have other similar characteristics, which include:
- They believe the glass is half full. Quite honestly, a champ really needs to think this otherwise he or she would never be able to make that next sales call, try that new program, or start that new company. Champs must sincerely believe that this call/program/company will be the one that will work…or it most assuredly won’t.
- They have plenty of confidence. Despite that chip that drives them, they tend to believe in their ability to do their job well. More mature champs do not allow their confidence to become arrogance, however, and are respectful of managers and clients.
- They are competitive. They always want to be the best. They love to win, even if they are just competing with themselves.
- They genuinely like people. Champs get what makes people tick. With strong verbal communication skills, they have a natural ability to converse and connect with all types of people. Best of all, they really like doing it.
My Chip
I have a chip on my shoulder. I have written before about how I didn’t do well in school. I was the class clown and I spent more time being witty and entertaining the class in discussions than I did studying. For my school career, this was fine.
But when I found myself stacking boxes after school while my other friends went on to get better positions in firms, I was acutely aware of the price I paid for clowning around instead of studying. Luckily I have excellent taste in British rock, so Pink Floyd set me straight. But my late start to recognizing the importance of education and a good career is definitely the formation of my Chip.
This chip motivated me to read everything I could on customer experience. It drove me to climb the corporate ladder in telecommunications. It spurred me on to start my own company, consulting other businesses to mind their customer experience. The chip has definitely served me well.
Champs have things they do well, and things they don’t. Champs are best suited to start a company, run a company, or sell for a company. They are not great at details, or creative roles, and their interaction with customers is best suited to introducing them to the company, but not supporting them once they are there.
People who see themselves with these characteristics should look for ways to use these skills in order to get promoted and make more money, for themselves, for the company, and in some cases, for the customers. But you have to know who you are to know what you need to do. And if you are a champ, you should get to know that chip on your shoulder and use it to your advantage.
|
|
Colin Shaw is founder & CEO of Beyond Philosophy, one of the world’s first organizations devoted to customer experience. Colin has been recognized by LinkedIn as one of the top 150 Business Influencers in the world. He is an international author of four best-selling books on Customer Experience. Colin’s company, Beyond Philosophy provide consulting, specialised research & training from our Global Headquarters in Tampa, Florida, USA. Follow Colin Shaw on Twitter: @ColinShaw_CX |
