Wednesday, January 7, 2009

I went to work today,

and sat upright through 4 hours of staff meetings in the board room barely functioning and relying on cold meds to get me through. I wished I'd been on top of my game, because the content was pretty fascinating...

Individually, everyone on our team completed a Kolbe questionaire and today our results were discussed. My Kolbe Index Numbers are 8453 which means:

1. I am a fact-finder. I need to gather information; be precise, seek details, correct errors, define differences, and question frequently and thoroughly. I can avoid stress if I don't have to; generalize, jump to conclusions, give simple yes or no answers, answer off the top of my head...

2. I am a maintainer. I stick with a system, follow procedures, keep things in a consistent place, coordinate with others, and use an outline. I should avoid initiating rigid systems, making guarantees, working without a sense of closure, working without a plan.

3. I am a modifier. I deal with risk/uncertainty by responding to challenges, making necessary adjustments, handling last minute changes, seeking alternatives and coping with the unknowns. It is stressful for me if I have to change for the sake of change, frequently be in completely unfamiliar situations, leap into many major changes at once, or if I take on too many competing deadlines at once.

4. I am an imaginer. I see solutions in my mind. I visualize possibilities. I am good at having discussions that don't have to be face-to-face. I can make a decision without having tangible evidence. It is stressful for me to; fix broken things, take apart technological things, use tools, maintain mechanical equipment, build things.

This part was worrisome to me, but probably accurate:

I spend approximately 40% of my time and energy dealing with the past in my fact-finder mode. Before I take time to tap into my other modes ( maintainer, modifier, imaginer) I will have defined a task, found the best of previous approaches, sought out expert resources and established where it fits into other priorities.)

And then this? This was the biggest truth of the day:
Others can throw your day off kilter by not doing what they promised they would do. You need to let them know you'll adjust to changes as long as you know it's necessary.

Each of us were able to celebrate who we are and what we bring to the team. It was a great exercise.

(And if I could insert a commercial here? ... if you are part of a team, I would recommend hiring Darren as a consultant to do a Kolbe day with you. Valuable information. Fun process. Interesting results. Transformative content?)

I was tired when I left.
(Prior to today's shift at work, I'd slept for most of the previous 48 hours. Having a cold is hard on me.)

I left the office at 3:30, stopped to pick up some groceries and drop off a DVD and got home at 4:30. I sat down on the couch in the living room, and with my shoes, jacket and gloves still on, I fell asleep.

I woke up two hours later, all feh-dutzed. (You might need a german background to understand.)

And then?

A fun thing happened.

Andrew asked if he could come by for a photo shoot. You have no idea how much I wished I knew how to take good indoor, low light photos. Because I SUCK.
He was patient with me though, and we ended up with one or two decent but not outstanding ones.

The next time I have some spare cash, I am going to buy a better flash. I'm sure that'd make all the difference.

Three things I'm thankful for:




1. I, or anyone I know, do not live in the barn on dad and mom's old farm. That puppy must be under 6 feet of water tonight.
2. Day three of cold. Gotta start feeling better soon. Can't get worse.
3. Slippers. How come I haven't worn them before? They're wonderful.

Shalom,







No comments: