Administrators

A President is a member of the Administrator family; they strive to execute their ideas efficiently and either rely on themselves to get things done or utilize their ability to rally diverse groups around their cause to reach a goal. A direct, firm communicator, a President prefers to focus on completing a common goal before establishing or maintaining relationships in the group. They communicate clearly but direct their communication toward the task at hand. A President exercises strong control over their impulses and emotions and will modify their behavior in the moment to stay focused and on track. They tend to develop and adhere to familiar patterns of past behavior. Although their tendency to stick to what they know could seem rigid, they are routinely open to feedback from the group. Because a President believes that respecting and valuing differences can help to accomplish a goal, they generally appreciate everyone’s opinions, no matter how different they may be from their own. A President does not determine their sense of self based on their current circumstances and tends to embrace new challenges with an inner confidence in their decision-making ability.

Overarching Tip: Practice reciprocating. Reciprocity is an essential aspect of cooperation, and it can be done in small and easy ways. For example, if someone always asks how your weekend was, return the gesture by asking them how their week is going. If you tend to be the one who speaks more in a relationship, make sure to make time to listen to the other person.

Mindfulness Tip: Are you able to understand when it’s time for work and time for play? As a President, focusing on the task at hand can be gratifying, but sometimes the best work comes from taking breaks. Take a mindful, cleansing breath. Check in with reality. What do you need? What do those around you need? When you can understand different realities happening around you—the reality of the situation, the reality of others, and your own reality—you can create a plan that better aligns with the world around you.

Competency Tip: Consider how constructive criticism from peers can help to make valuable adjustments. Notice your initial reaction when receiving constructive criticism. How does that reaction affect your understanding of what was said? Be sure to listen, take a breath, and think about the criticism before responding to it.

Self-aware and goal oriented, an Ambassador is a member of the Administrator family. They focus on bridging differences and representing themselves and their cause clearly, but without negating someone who may be different from them. They use their strong moral compass as a guide for achieving a goal by way of a responsible and ethical path. They possess a keen ability to assess and manage their emotions, which provides them confidence in their decision-making process because they understand what motivates them. An Ambassador may be prone to overanalyzing what they are thinking or feeling because they attempt to keep the peace and not hurt anyone’s feelings. Because they view success as completing a goal rather than what was learned while getting there, they tend to focus more on results than on the process and focus their communication on what needs to be done to achieve their desired results. Although an Ambassador prefers to work toward a goal independently, they are mindful of others in the group and will listen to and respect others’ diverse ideas and opinions.

Overarching Tip: Adopt a “yes and . . .” mentality to encourage a growth mindset. When dealing with challenges or setbacks, notice your initial reaction. Practice reframing negative thoughts into a “yes,” to acknowledge and accept the setback, followed by an “and . . . ,” which reminds you to focus on what to do next, what you can learn, and how you can be more successful in the future.

Mindfulness Tip: As an Ambassador, recognize the difference between being in tune with your emotions and being beholden to your emotions. When they start to feel heavy, take a breath and focus on this moment. What do you see, hear, and smell? Roll your shoulders away from your ears. Take stock of how you feel in each moment, so you can learn when your emotions ebb and when they flow.

Competency Tip: Focus on building your capacity to respond passionately and respectfully to disagreements. If you anticipate someone will disagree with you, try planning your response ahead of time. If a disagreement arises in the moment, take two deep breaths before responding. Practice asking open-ended questions and listening to responses with curiosity.

As a member of the Administrator family, a Shareholder prioritizes projects that align with their interests and tends to collaborate with like-minded individuals. A Shareholder has a strong sense of their own emotions and thoughts. They take time to assess and analyze their internal cues, so they understand what they want and how they prefer to get there. They have a sense of self that is not determined by their present circumstances and tend to operate within the boundaries of widely held moral standards. These standards provide a Shareholder with the confidence to make thoughtful, constructive decisions, and they typically choose options that seem highly likely to lead to a positive outcome. While a Shareholder will listen to the ideas and opinions of everyone in the group, they are likely to be more receptive to those who are most similar to them. They prefer to communicate directly and in service of achieving a goal over forming or maintaining relationships and, because a Shareholder generally makes decisions informed by what’s worked in the past, they can build a strong foundation for future success. They tackle new challenges head-on, equipped with trust in their ability to execute what has worked for them and to resourcefully seek help when they need it.

Overarching Tip: Diversify your free time. Meaning, if you love to read on weekends, check out what books you’re drawn to, and make your next book something totally different. The same can be done with movies, music, and more. Seeking out and exposing yourself to different stories, perspectives, and experiences is crucial for building empathy.

Mindfulness Tip: When working with others, whose ideas do you tend to value most? As a Shareholder, you may be quick to align yourself with those you can easily understand. Take a breath and practice asking questions. Reset your experiences. Get curious even when you think you already understand something. To reset experiences is to adopt a learning perspective, allowing possibilities to become limitless.

Competency Tip: Analyze your strengths and consider how you can best leverage them in a given situation. What can you offer to help a group reach a goal? Being self-aware and flexible about your skills and limitations can be crucial for strong cooperation and working well with others. Brainstorm with others what everyone brings to the table, and make an action plan rooted in using everyone’s skills to their fullest potential.

As a member of the Administrator family, an Official takes their work seriously and tends to choose a cause that benefits their interests. They are independent and self-controlled, preferring to focus on achieving a goal before building relationships or socializing. As a guide, the Official relies on their strong impulse control and self-awareness, and they tend to stick to widely held moral standards when considering their available options. They view success more as achieving their goal than the process they used to get there, and they tend to define themselves by their present circumstances. An Official may be prone to overthinking how their actions will impact others, and they may withhold their feedback to avoid offending someone. They focus intently on steering the group’s choices toward their definition of success and focus their communication on work-related matters. They are confident in their choices and use what has worked for them in the past as a foundation for reaching their current goals. They typically value the ideas and perspectives of those who are most similar to them and travel a tested and familiar path toward a goal. They find confidence in conventions and strive to behave responsibly and feel good about the choices they make.

Overarching Tip: Work on seeing situations from another person’s perspective. If you’re at an impasse in a disagreement with someone, pause. Take a breath, and ask them to explain their actions. Be sure to listen to understand rather than to respond.

Mindfulness Tip: While as an Official you may have a clear picture of what success means to you, it’s important to remember that success is not static. As you’re working toward a goal, practice taking mindful breaths and doing body scans to live in the moment. Staying present helps you notice when a goal starts to change shape so you can better adjust your approach. By taking stock of how each moment adds up to a whole, the finished product may look more vibrant than you could’ve imagined at the start.

Competency Tip: Brainstorm ways to try a new way of doing a familiar task. If you always begin with an outline, what happens if you try a freewrite? Even something as simple as using your nondominant hand for routine tasks like turning on a faucet can spark creativity. While doing what’s always worked can bring success, trying new things may lead to innovation.

Task oriented and intuitive, a Governor is a member of the Administrator family. They are strong-willed and focused, but they also let diverse opinions and desires of a group’s constituents inform their decisions. They focus on achieving a goal before building or maintaining relationships. They use their ability to communicate directly to guide a group’s energy toward the work that needs to be done. A Governor evaluates their own and others’ emotions, and they value diverse perspectives and integrate them into their work. When making a decision, they tend to choose the option that will lead them toward their preferred results rather than considering various alternatives. A Governor is self-aware and strong-willed, giving them confidence in their ability to navigate toward that positive outcome. Although they may sometimes act too quickly and must address unanticipated consequences of their decisions, a Governor is generally receptive when others remind them to keep the ethics and future implications of their decisions in mind. In addition, they are flexible and will modify their actions and decisions to stay on a path toward achieving the results they want. And because they tend to reference past choices as a roadmap for their current situation, a Governor feels confident embracing new challenges.

Overarching Tip: When making a difficult decision, take the extra time to write out a list of pros, cons, and possible outcomes of each choice. Writing it down can not only help you understand the practical application and consequences of a choice, but also illustrate the emotions that can accompany big decisions. When you can work through the practical and emotional aspects of making a decision, you can feel good about the choices you make.

Mindfulness Tip: As a Governor, you know what you want and work hard to get it. However, there are times when other people’s ideas or alternate options may serve you well. Use mindfulness to put it in neutral and just listen. What do you notice that you hadn’t seen before? By purposefully tuning in to what’s happening around you, you may uncover ideas you’d failed to notice when you were working so hard.

Competency Tip: Think about how you feel when you have something difficult to say. Is there an inner conflict? Practice strategies to manage the discomfort that can come with speaking your mind—role-play with someone close to you, write out your thoughts and feelings, or rehearse beforehand. Spend a few minutes reflecting after the fact and assess what went well and what could have gone better.

A Judge is a part of the Administrator family. They tend to think deeply before they speak and place a high value on morals and regulations. They prioritize goal completion over forming relationships and communicate directly insofar as the communication is relevant to the work. They utilize their strong willpower to assess and manage their emotions and thoughts to avoid distractions and stay on a successful course. A Judge likes to use their preferred method to achieve their desired results and will use their past successful means as a foundation, often acting intuitively because they are confident in their decision-making abilities. Because a Judge is generally goal oriented and defines themselves by their current successes or failures, they may be prone to overanalyzing and making choices without necessarily considering all of the consequences; a peer or group member may need to remind them to change behaviors that may be at odds with the morality of the overall group. Yet, a Judge respects and appreciates the different opinions and backgrounds of others, sometimes going so far as to keep their thoughts to themselves if they feel it may hurt others’ feelings. This trait complements their results-oriented tendencies because a Judge not only values diversity in others but also understands that hurting the feelings of others may distract the group from completing what they came together to achieve.

Overarching Tip: Embrace your growth areas and be proactive about addressing those habits. If you’re someone who is consistently late, feeling ashamed about being late won’t make you more punctual. Practice setting small, achievable goals. For example, schedule alarms for when you should start getting ready and when you should leave. If you’re forgetful, set reminders and write notes. Taking initiative to hold yourself accountable for your actions will help to grow responsibility.

Mindfulness Tip: As a Judge, you are goal oriented and confident that you know the best way to achieve desired results. While you are competent and capable, are you precluding innovation by assuming your way is best? Pause, listen, and reset your experiences. Adopt a learning perspective by saying yes to someone else’s idea, even if it isn’t how you would have done it. Ask new questions and see what answers you find.

Competency Tip: Honor the process as much as the destination. When you encounter a setback or failure, notice your thoughts. Acknowledge the frustration, but follow up with curiosity and a growth mindset. Ask yourself: What can I learn from this? See how that changes your resolve to persevere.

As a part of the Administrator family, a Mayor strives to follow through on their ideas and keeps mainly like-minded individuals in mind when making choices. With a strong sense of self born from their ability to analyze their thoughts and emotions, a Mayor will focus their energy on working toward a goal before focusing on building relationships with group members. They tend to follow their intuition in the direction of their preferred outcome, and may sometimes focus so intently on using their willpower to reach their goals that they overlook the needs of group members, especially those who may be different from them. They might need a reminder from their peers to make choices with the ethics of the whole group in mind, and they will generally modify their behavior once they’re told. A Mayor keeps goal fulfillment as a top priority and communicates directly; their communication is generally focused on the work that needs to be done. A Mayor uses what’s worked for them in the past when mapping out their future goals, and they enthusiastically embrace learning new things and tackling challenges.

Overarching Tip: Notice how often you speak or interrupt others when working in a group. Cooperation is improved when everyone listens respectfully while others share their ideas. When you’re talking to others, practice pausing for 2–3 seconds after someone finishes speaking before you respond.

Mindfulness Tip: As a Mayor, you likely place a big emphasis on reaching your goals, sometimes to the detriment of progress. How does focusing too much on the future or dwelling on the past hinder you? When you find yourself in a thought loop, practice mindfulness to suspend judgment, learn from it, and let go. Trust that you’ve received the lesson from the past, exhale into a new moment, and carry on with more space for innovation and opportunity.

Competency Tip: Find strategies that work for you to identify and manage your emotions. Is it deep breathing, spending time outdoors, or an active reflection? Remember that emotions, even negative or overwhelming ones, offer us information about ourselves. Developing an understanding of what triggers certain emotions allows you to respond intentionally. 

As a member of the Administrator family, an Attorney is driven by results. They tend to follow their intuition and leverage their strong willpower to arrive at the outcome they desire. An Attorney will focus most of their energy on completing the group’s given task before forming relationships in the process. An Attorney analyzes and assesses their thoughts and emotions, and they will use a mix of their own willpower and suggestions from other sources to work toward success. Because an Attorney understands themselves and trusts their intuition, as well as relying on their past methods of success as a guide, they feel confident working independently toward a positive outcome. They define success as achieving the goal and not by the growth, learning, or improvement gained while reaching that goal and tend to root their identity in their current circumstances. An Attorney may overthink situations and withhold their thoughts from the group, as they tend to be sensitive to the feelings of others, particularly those who are similar to them, and may be hesitant to share their input so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings or distract from the work that needs to be done.

Overarching Tip: Practice making comparisons between your culture and someone else’s to develop the ability to step into their shoes. What are the similarities between your celebrations, rituals, and beliefs? Though the manifestation may be different, when viewed more closely two different cultural norms may serve a similar purpose.

Mindfulness Tip: Consider how you tend to avoid undesirable tasks. As an Attorney, you may procrastinate in a variety of ways: daydreaming, cleaning, entertainment, etc. If you avoid the task, will that stop it from needing to be done? Close your eyes, and picture something you don’t want to do. Use mindfulness for a reality check: say to yourself, “I need to do this.” Focus on your breath, and see yourself doing it. Try writing down what’s preventing you from taking action; it may surprise you.

Competency Tip: When working with others and something goes wrong, it’s important to understand the problem and avoid placing blame. Focus primarily on your role even if it seems you were not at fault. What could you have done differently? Can you take the lead on fixing the problem? Try writing down mistakes that were made, without using names. Read them as a group and consider how everyone can support each other, grow, and work better together next time.