Good mood, bad mood. What dictates your mood? Is it you or your environment?
We know of colleagues who always show their moods. If they are annoyed they show it in their expressions and speech. If they are happy it is clear for all to see.
And then we have colleagues we have been working with for a while, but feel we still don’t really know them. They are quiet and rarely show their emotions and interestingly whether colleagues show their emotion is more related to their personality type than to the circumstances.
And the descriptors of my 4 personality profiles incorporating the Influencer, Supporter,Analyst and the Creative clearly show this. jobcoach.org.uk
The Influencer has a transparent personality in terms of always sharing their problems. They are open and moody, and the events which dictate their moods will be self centric i.e. it is something which relates to them personally. They have failed an exam, they have just been offered a new job are typical situations which the influencer will share with their friends or anybody else who is in their company.
The Supporter’s moods at work are different to those of the Influencer as they will be very aware of their friends' circumstances.
If a colleague failed an important exam or just received an e-mail offering them that dream job, then the supporter will emotionally share the bad and good news with colleagues’ that’s a shame’ or ‘ I am so happy for you’ will be the unselfish reaction of the supporter.
The Influencer and Supporter are people orientated and their dominant focus and their mood swings will be volatile and susceptible also to transient events, events which are not permanent and whose outcome may change.
The Analyst and Creative are different in that their moods at work will be mainly influenced by events rather than people interaction.They don’t do tantrums and would prefer if others were less demonstrative and controlled their temper or did not jump around the office for joy when they heard of some really good news especially when there is important work to be completed.
The Analyst and Creative’s main focus is the job to be done rather than the people doing it.
They manage their personal emotions internally and when voicing their concerns or frustrations we know they will be work-related.
Our moods are dictated by events and our expectation of the outcome. If we expect not to pass the exam because of lack of preparation then we should not be surprised by the failed outcome. And if we are called to the manager’s office to discuss what we think is our poor performance and we are offered promotion and a pay rise then we are very animated. The Influencer will share the good news with any company prepared to listen. The Supporter will tell their friends and close colleagues whilst the Analyst and Creative will possibly share the good news if asked – they will not volunteer it – and then only when they have considered the confidential permutations.
So next time you are at work and you think Pete is very quiet and hard to know, and Sue is very sensitive and considerate whilst David is always talking and noisy you will know that it is a personality thing and they are all behaving normally and conforming to their particular type.
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