The Four Personality Types: Initiators, Blockers, Supporters, and Observers by Richard Nantel (reposted by JoDa Hodge)

The Four Personality Types: Initiators, Blockers, Supporters, and Observers

I just finished reading Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior,
which explores the psychological influences that can lead us to make
bad decisions. One section of this book proposes that only four types of
people exist in any group:

• Initiators who always have ideas, propose new projects, and are optimistic about the outcomes
• Blockers who are likely to question and block new initiatives
• Supporters who side with either the initiator or the blocker
• Observers who don’t take sides but prefer to just comment on the matter at hand

You would think you’d like to fill up your team with plenty of
initiators and few blockers to help drive innovation. But, that would be
risky. Initiators tend to be highly optimistic about any new idea.
Without a sobering second thought by a blocker, energy can be wasted on
bad ideas.

The risks are significantly higher in the airline industry. Research
indicates that a large percentage of plane crashes have been caused by
pilots who, as confident and optimistic initiators, attempted dangerous
maneuvers. The other members of the cabin crew, too respectful of the
captain’s authority and swayed by the captain’s optimism, remained
silent. As the author describes it:

“A strong initiator can quell a blocker.”

To address this risk, airline cabin crews are being provided with
Crew Resource Management training to learn to become potential blockers
when faced with bad or overly optimistic decisions by those in
authority. This training program was designed by NASA and is intended to
catch bad decisions before they result in loss of life.

“When pilots spot a departure from safety procedures, they are trained to challenge the captain.”

Teams in any workplace should learn these skills. Those in charge
need to learn to tolerate dissent. Blockers need to be given the freedom
to voice concerns without reprisal and need to be encouraged to provide
feedback.

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