My harmonizer vulnerabilities and opporTUNITIES

Our blog post theme for March is "Growth Areas." So, our blog post authors will be challenging us toward growth in personal awareness for the sake of strengthening relationships.

By Lavern Nissley
Encompass Executive Director

If you're like me, when I see the words "Growth Areas", a tinge of cringe hits me. I mean, who wants to examine this very personal area of life?

Yet, on the other side of diving into this topic are positive opportunities. I discovered this when looking at my DISC Archetype of Harmonizer in order to understand what's at stake. You'll see a link after this post to discover your own DISC Archetype(s) and what your growth areas might look like.

The DISC Archetype of Harmonizer is pretty much what you'd think in terms of interpersonal vibe: warm, even-tempered, accepting. I'm also an Enneagram 9, which is essentially the same in terms of being a peacemaker. So, how could there possibly be any growth areas to consider with such a positive description!?

Well, I definitely found some vulnerabilities that I've needed to confront over my lifetime. They are very well expressed in CrystalKnows, an excellent resource for understanding a variety of personality assessment approaches. Here are mine.

• Too easily giving into people who are argumentative.
• Putting off decisions that may negatively impact someone.
• Becoming too close with others and then being unable to judge them objectively.
• Being unrealistically optimistic when considering big problems.
• Avoiding decisions that potentially involve losing approval or looking bad.
• Displaying discomfort when communicating with hostile or aggressive people.
• Minimizing negative feedback, leaving others unclear about the problem.
• Correcting or redoing work rather than confronting someone who becomes hostile.

Yep, those are all my initial tendencies, but thankfully, not necessarily my eventual responses. Reading through this list is helpful because I can see that each item is certainly NOT where I'd like to stay.

The next list is one of opportunities, and I found myself feeling inspired and energized with each one.

• Make a list of the positive results that can come from a decision that may also negatively affect someone else. Sometimes, difficult decisions are necessary and beneficial, overall.
• Hold your ground when communicating with an aggressive person; ask for help from others, when needed.
• Though it may be difficult, practice delivering feedback in a clear, direct way. You might be surprised by positive responses.
• Understand that some decisions may be unpopular but are ultimately necessary for the growth of everyone involved.

This is one way of looking at growth areas. Ronda, my wife of 45 years, could probably list many areas where I could up my game. Fortunately, she has also been generous with citing my strengths, many of which surround the Harmonizer Archetype.

We offer a FREE DISC Personality Assessment that will give you a feel for your own Archetype(s) - there are 16. You can then dig deeper and see your personal list of related vulnerabilities and opportunities.

Exploring "Growth Areas" isn't all bad. Wouldn't you agree?

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