I’m a unicorn. A rare breed with a split TMP profile. This means that I am both a ‘Thruster-Organiser’ and a ‘Creator-Innovator’. But why is that special and why might unicorns be important for high performing teams?
Firstly, what is a ‘Thruster-Organiser’ and ‘Creator-Innovator’?
At OE Cam we do a lot of work reviewing the effectiveness of senior leadership teams. There are various different approaches we take, depending on the leadership team in question, but frequently we employ tools that can look at team members both individually and collectively.
A psychometric tool we often use is the TMP (Team Management Profile). This tool identifies an individual’s unique preferences and helps a team improve performance, as they learn about and understand colleagues’ preferred ways of working.
Created by two Australian psychologists, Margerison and McCann, the TMP identifies eight work roles that people take on, these are:
- ‘Creator-Innovator’ – Creating and experimenting with ideas
- ‘Explorer-Promoter’ – Exploring and presenting opportunities
- ‘Assessor-Developer’ – Assessing and testing the applicability of new approaches
- ‘Thruster-Organiser’ – Establishing and implementing ways of making things work
- ‘Concluder-Producer’ – Concluding and delivering outputs
- ‘Controller-Inspector’ – Controlling and auditing the working of systems
- ‘Upholder-Maintainer’ – Upholding and safeguarding standards and processes
- ‘Reporter-Adviser’ – Gathering and reporting information.
Research suggests (1) that for high performing teams it’s necessary (but not sufficient) to have an even spread of preferences around the wheel.
As with most personality style assessments, people answer a number of questions online and their responses are analysed to indicate which work role is their ‘major’, and which two associate roles are ‘related’ roles.
For me, my major work role is ‘Thruster-Organiser’ and my two related roles are 1) ‘Creator-Innovator’ and 2) ‘Concluder-Producer’. Being a ‘Thruster-Organiser’, I establish and implement ways of making things work. Being a ‘Creator-Innovator’, I create and experiment with ideas and being a ‘Concluder-Producer’, I conclude and deliver outputs.
This means that I have a two-way split profile on the wheel which means I am one of 18% of the population who is likely to have this. Admittedly I’m not quite as special as the 4% who have a three-way split wheel (where none of the roles are next to each other on the wheel), but even a two-way split has advantages.
What are the advantages of a split role?
Those with split roles on the TMP, or Unicorns as I like to think of them, are more readily able to adapt to situations and likely to utilise different styles, depending on the topic or who they are working with.
Those with split profiles on the TMP, or Unicorns as I like to think of them, are more readily able to adapt to situations and likely to utilise different styles, depending on the topic or who they are working with.
While this can be somewhat annoying for their colleagues – for example, not knowing whether to pitch an idea at the big picture level or dive down into the detail (as the unicorn can flip between wanting both), it really does have advantages. It’s important to note that a TMP profile is not suggesting that someone can’t do something, only that it might not be a) their preference, or b) their natural instinct, to act in that way. My colleague Jodie talks about preferences in her journal article ‘Giving Up to Fit In‘.
To illustrate one of these advantages, I’m going to use an example of a recent project I was working on.
Unicorns in Action – a key role in high performing teams
I was working on a project which looked at what made an organisation special with my colleagues Sam and Charlie. We were trying to create a sense of unity between three very different divisions of a firm that would allow it to continue growing and delivering against its business strategy.
On the TMP, Sam’s major role is a ‘Thruster-Organiser’, (like me), whereas Charlie is a ‘Creator-Innovator’ (like my first related role). This means that they have very different approaches to a situation; Charlie looks creatively at a project, will happily brainstorm ideas and then later work out the practicalities once we have a solid idea. However, Sam will get straight into the practicalities of ideas to build from the ground up. In essence, Sam will join the dots to make a picture, and Charlie will throw paint at the canvas to create equally beautiful and impactful pieces of work.
I mentioned that I am both a ‘Thruster-Organiser’ and a ‘Creator-Innovator’. This means that I am comfortable adapting to both Sam and Charlie’s approaches. With Charlie’s ideas, I add the practicality as we go along, and with Sam’s ideas I throw some creative colour at them (to continue my artist analogy!). This evolves their thinking so that other approaches are taken. People will naturally think in-line with their major and related roles, rather than straying too far across the wheel. We can consciously press ourselves to think outside our comfort zone, but often having someone who thinks differently to us is a real benefit and can speed up the process. In Charlie’s case, we don’t spend a lot of time discussing things that won’t work with the group as I add the practical ‘will this work’ thought line, whereas with Sam, I come at puzzles from a different angle and we step out of the box more in our brainstorming sessions to create more innovative ideas. Both Charlie and Sam may have these thoughts at some point, but by bringing in someone with a different thinking style earlier (and thus introducing these ideas earlier), the ‘practicality’ or the ‘creative idea #2’ is not an afterthought and can be built on at the same time as other ideas.
the unicorn understands their perspective but then complements it with an opposing approach to deliver a better outcome more quickly. They are a flexible member of the team and can bridge gaps between individual approaches and encourage others to think outside of their natural preferences.
Are Unicorns the flexible glue that increase team effectiveness?
With great power comes great responsibility… while I (and other unicorns) don’t yield swords or have Spidey powers, we do have the ability to pull people out of their comfort zones by coming in with a different approach.
People will naturally stick with their preferences, if they are a ‘Thruster-Organiser’, they might rarely consider solutions which don’t have an easily identifiable practical approach unless they are consciously prompting themselves to do so. If they are a ‘Creator-Innovator’ then considering the practicalities of ideas will be the absolute last thing they do, potentially when they have spent a lot of time on an idea that won’t work as well. So, the unicorn understands their perspective but then complements it with an opposing approach to deliver a better outcome more quickly. They are a flexible member of the team and can bridge gaps between individual approaches and encourage others to think outside of their natural preferences.
High performing teams have diversity of thought – research suggests that ‘groupthink’ leads to less innovative solutions than those from teams with a balanced mix of thought patterns, or a spread of preferences (2). In addition to having individual people who have different preferences, those with split wheels can bring in very different approaches themselves so can be a benefit if you have smaller project groups.
Okay, how can I find my team some unicorns?!
The best way to find your own unicorns is to identify the unicorns that are currently in the team through the use of psychometrics and team workshops to share insights. When team members are aware of each other’s preferences (and explain why someone might respond in the way they do), team members may start to actively seek out others with different approaches, and begin to collaborate on projects. Ensuring the understanding of why people respond the way they do is crucial to ensuring people work effectively with each other – or that they ‘link’ effectively.
If there aren’t any unicorns in the team at the moment, then you should carefully consider what you are looking for in the recruitment process – is something truly important to the role, or is it because everyone else who has done the role has been like that / had that experience? Try to allow for as much diversity within the role as possible to encourage unicorns to apply.
Other things that can help are enlisting the support of others in the organisation who don’t think the same way as the hiring manger and considering utilising personality assessments or ability tests (e.g., abstract reasoning) to ensure that you are recruiting individuals with diverse thought patterns.
For more information about unicorns and high performing teams, please email me at: felicity.wolfenden@oecam.com
Felicity Wolfenden (unicorn)
References
- McCann, D.G., & Mead, N.H.S., (Eds.), (2018), Team Management Systems Research Manual 5th Edition: Types of Work Profile Questionnaire, Team Management Systems, Brisbane, Australia.
- Hassan, G. (2013). Groupthink principles and fundamentals in organizations. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 5(8), 225-240.