Friday, May 11, 2012

Which Character Stands Out?

A colleague of mine describes her online profile as the ‘ENFP’ type; which gives away a lot of information if you appreciate the relevance behind the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) profiling instrument. There is much to glean from a person’s operative manual if you appreciate ‘Personality Types’, preferences, motivations and styles.

A current online poll urges readers to vote for their favourite character in the current Marvel Studios (formerly Marvel Comics) film ‘The Avengers’. It stands, at this point in time, that the leaders are Ironman and ‘The Incredible’ Hulk. Hawk and Black Widow who are not superheroes rank at the bottom, whereas Loki (Thor’s adopted brother, Loki who possesses extra-terrestrial powers is also companion to the former two).

What defines a character? Which inventory of indicators or measurements fleshes out a fictitious or real character? I personally enjoyed Stark/Ironman who is human, excessively intelligence and artfully narcissistic. Here is a ‘superhero’ that is living on borrowed time (shrapnel near his heart that can move and kill him), who has experienced an epiphany, and is determined to pit his annoying intelligence, humongous wealth, and cutting-edge technology against the Bad Guys. Each superhero has his/her demons with a personal point to prove, while attempting to exorcise their demons through good deeds. Dr Banner/Hulk clearly has anger management issues and has utilized a plethora of strategies to prevent another ‘incident’ that can be punitive for the taxpayer and town council.

Leadership Lesson: When selecting and recruiting staff, what are your criteria of choice? How much of a person’s initial character matters to you? Which values of theirs are you attracted to? Can you clearly discern between confidence and arrogance? 

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