Are you a Lion, Otter, Golden Retriever, or Beaver?

By Pat Pinera in on November 22, 2011

“Leading from Your Strengths (LFYS)” is another great instrument to help you understand yourself and others.  Where Myers Briggs looks at innately how God wired us, this Disc-based instrument looks at how we behave and uses animals to help us remember the differences.

 So leaders who are high Lions(high Dominance in Disc), tend to take charge, be driven, competitive, and decisive.  I’m a high Lion and in my earlier leadership days, my nick-name was “bull-dozer” so needless to say I was over-using my strength!

High Otters (Infulencers) tend to get things done through other people rather than more task-focused like the Lions.  They tend to be more sociable and persuasive.  If they over-use their strength, they might be perceived as manipulative or too social and not getting their work done.

High Gold Retrievers (Steadiness in Disc) are generally deliberate, patient, and strive for harmony.  In over-use they might be seen as change-resistant.  Generally they are not against change, they just need to understand the reason.   Sometimes we think of these leaders as ‘steady-freddy’ and don’t fully value what they bring to the table.  One of the best, most highly successful bosses I’ve had is a high Golden Retriever, so don’t make make any snap judgements.

And last but not least our high Beavers (Conscientiousness) are very motivated to be accurate and follow the rules.  In fact they probably wrote the rules!  In over-use they can become perfectionists.

So which animal are you?  Be sure you are honoring those who are different!

Ephesians 4:29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.