Kevin Briggs

How someone fits in an organisation is very important for the success of a role, whether that position is interim or permanent. I have worked my way through a number of different tests to assess my personality over the years (and of course these change over time); this section forms a summary of what I am about and what makes me tick, and most importantly, how I assess the people in an organisation and how it ticks under the following headings:

• styles
• communication
• culture

Styles

To see how I can fit in, please refer to the results of my tests in both Belbin and Myers Briggs. A word of warning on these types of inventories. In time, as a result of personal development and the influence of people and events around them, these inventories in themselves change. For example, I am aware of the limitations of my Myers-Briggs inventory and I've been working on those, and in the Belbin team role inventory, my "Shaper" role has become more dominant compared to the others. Also, note that they can conflict; as an INTP, Myers-Briggs suggests that I would leave implementation to others, whereas Belbin suggests that I have a strong "Completer/Finisher" aspect. The websites for these two inventories can be found at Belbin and Myers Briggs.

If we ignore all the personality profiling stuff, I would expect previous clients to assess my styles like this:

• someone who is open with views and expects people to be open with theirs
• leads "from behind" where necessary, but also demonstrates vision in implementing change
• respectful of others throughout the organisation
• firm but fair in both internal and external relationships
• prepared to make a decision and stick by it, and where appropriate, to acknowledge mistakes when they're made
• someone that can manage upwards where needed, particularly of expectations or where mistakes could be made

Also, check out What is interim management? for some general traits that you can expect from an interim manager.