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The following examples of actual assignments demonstrate cases in which The Birkman Relational Method has been successfully applied:

Individual

Joanna had recently got a new boss. She was experiencing some difficulty in relating to this boss and wondered what she could do to establish a positive working relationship. Joanna completed the Birkman Questionnaire on line and then had a two hour session with Mary. During the discussion Mary examined Joanna's need for strong directive leadership and also her need for a high amount of freedom in carrying out her job. These were two areas where there was a degree of tension in relating to her new boss who favoured a participatory style of leadership and who, in addition, tended to micro manage.

During future sessions, Mary and Joanna identified strategies to manage these stress points resulting in a more successful and harmonious working relationship.

Manager and Direct Report

David has one direct report with whom he had a "scratchy" relationship. Anne was technically excellent at her job, however, it seemed that a lot of time was being wasted through "misinterpretation" of instructions. Both completed the Birkman and had individual debriefing sessions. Mary then ran a Differences to Watch report which clearly highlighted areas of possible tension. The neutral language of the Birkman allowed them to discuss how they could address these differences and find a more productive way of working together.

Team Interaction

A new cross funtional team had been set up and needed to hit the ground running. They used the Birkman Method to identify the strengths of individual team members and also possible areas of tension. Mary commenced the assigmnment with a safe Grid presentation which plots the team members' profiles across a four quadrant Grid. The Grid visually displays work and communication styles and highlights potential points of tension due to imbalance across team member profiles. The team workshop was conducted in an interactive manner to openly discuss differences in styles and encouraged reflection and analysis by team members. Team members walked away with a deeper trust and respect for colleagues and this promoted greater productivity and a deeper understanding of differing perspectives.

Husband & Wife in a business startup

Barbara and her husband decided to set up their own business. Barbara believed in a thorough, consensus driven planning process which involved many meetings. Her partner, Maurice was a more independent, action-oriented guy who was motivated by seeing rapid results. Each was frustrated by what they perceived as the other's lack of understanding of what was required to progress the business.

Through completing the Birkman with Mary and analysing a Differences to Watch report, they better understood each other's working styles and were thus enabled to complement each other's strengths to grow their business.

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