The Case for Discovering “Deeper Truths”
It almost goes without saying that hiring the right person for the right job makes a huge difference to the success of an organization. Removing people from roles for which they are not suited has an equal if not greater value. But it is not always easy at first glance to identify those that are a mismatch.
For many technical roles, technical / professional competence may be sufficient to get a job done and these are easily measured by many traditional assessments. However, for roles that involve leadership (formal or informal) or that affect the organization systemically, getting beneath the facade with a deeper assessment is essential. Roles that impact large numbers of employees, major parts of system architecture, or leadership of key client projects demand a deeper insight into their values, drives, thinking models, and motives.
Some Don’t Respond Well to the Revelation of “Deeper Truths”
Deeper truths are the unconscious drivers of many of our behaviors. When they have become deeply vested and go unchallenged over many years, they become our “modus operandi.” Psynet Group has identified two types of people that are likely to reject a deeper truth that is not in their favor.
The Self-Deceptor
Self deception has its roots in low self-esteem, which makes the individual very uncomfortable. Going through life believing you are a loser is painful. Some understand their gaps and work hard to close them; for others, their unconscious takes a shortcut and creates a false “super person”. The complicated part is that these people truly believe they have skills and abilities that most people don’t and by acting “as if” they may convince others.
When the self deceptor is told that they are not so “super”, you pierce their defense against all those feelings associated with feeling like a loser. They respond by trying to do anything to restore their deception.
The Bully
Bullies know the truth about themselves already, so when confronted with it, they know that you know it too. This makes you the enemy. Once the bully is exposed, the truth teller becomes a target. When the power differential is in favor of the truth teller, expect passive sabotage; when in favor of the bully, expect an increase in aggressive behavior.
It is easy to imagine how self-deceiving or bullying individuals can have a profound impact on the culture of an organization and the motivation of their colleagues.
How Should Deeper Truths be Revealed?
Revealing deeper truths in a way that motivates the individuals to change is a careful process. A sophisticated assessment tool like Psynet Group’s PsybilⓇ will discover those truths. However, the real challenge is moving the recipient through potentially strong reactions to feedback, such as denial, anger, and confusion — to accepting the insights and being willing to change. This can only happen by establishing a trusting coaching relationship that promotes deeper self-reflection and understanding.
The goal of coaching is to motivate the individual to accept feedback and take responsibility for steering their behavior in a new and more functional direction. Feedback about deeper truths delivered too early, too intensively, too negatively or out of context disrupts this process and can result in the recipient denying the truths. Both the organization and feedback recipients need to commit to a coaching process that sets the feedback in a positive context, shows an appreciation for how the participant currently sees and responds to their world, explores alternative approaches and uses the feedback insights as a way to set priorities for action.
The Point
Discovering and revealing deeper truths is critical to organizational health and business growth. Psybil will help your organization identify deeper truths and the Psynet Group consulting team will equip you to create the context and develop the skills to help your employees act on those truths.
Curious to discuss this further? Let’s schedule a 15 minute conversation to explore how Psynet Group can help your organization identify deeper truths and equip your leaders to best act on those truths.