Past Issues
Mat, 2005
Keep The Good Ones
Employee Retention Techniques
April, 2005
What We Measure Part III
Why we measure Sociability.
March, 2005
What We Measure Part II
Some perspective on Readjustment.
February, 2005
Are You Being Served?
Profiling in the Restaurant and Hospitality Industry.
What We Measure Part I
A deeper understanding of Ascendency.
Motivating Termites
Selecting the most motivational rewards for job performance.
We Don't Care What Your Think
Because We Measure Behavior Instead.
Of Course It's Legal
To Use Personality Profiling in Hiring.
Do Unto Others (Or Not)
Good Advice for Sales People.
The Paul Principle
Give employees what they need to succeed.
After I'm Gone ...
Using Profiling to sell or buy a business successfully.
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The MRA Team Spirit Newsletter - December, 2004
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What We Measure Part I: There’s no "A" in Ego
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By John Loven
President
MRA Team Spirit
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In casual conversation with clients or job candidates, it’s easy to begin substituting
words like "high ego" as a descriptor for High A individuals. But to do so can lead
to preconceptions about the subject that are seriously inaccurate.
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One of the four key behavioral traits we measure with the MRA Leadership Matrix is
Ascendancy (A): Assertive response to challenge. High and low rankings on Ascendancy give a
strong indication about what kind of job environment the individual needs to be successful.
Low A people usually look for non-confrontational solutions to challenges, they manage risk
thoughtfully and look to others to set the agenda. By contrast, High A people are very
competitive, highly goal-driven. They are happy to have - and use - authority and will
take significant risks to win the prize. There is a temptation to equate Ascendancy with
"ego", in the popular sense of the term. But does that comparison make sense?
Freud's investigations into pathological internal conflicts led him to a division of
the mind into three parts. These three conflicting internal tendencies are the well-known
id, ego, and super-ego. Locked in a battle with the primal id, the ego's efforts at pragmatic
satisfaction of urges eventually builds a great number of skills and memories and becomes
aware of itself as an entity. With the formation of the ego, the individual becomes a self,
instead of an amalgamation of urges and needs. This connection with the satisfaction of
individual desires has led to the equating of ego with selfishness. Describing someone as
“high ego”, “egotistical”, or as an “egomaniac” connotes ruthless, unthinking self-gratification
at the expense of others.
High Ascendancy, in MRA terms, describes someone who rises to a challenge, is comfortable
with risk and authority, and who is goal-driven. Ascendancy says nothing about the nature
of the goals. An automobile may be used to drive to the art museum or the city dump.
Ascendancy is the measure of the car’s horsepower, not an indicator of the destination.
There are reasonable grounds for concluding that both Adolph Hitler and Mother Theresa
were MRA Group I (high Ascendancy, high Sociability) individuals. They were goal driven,
took risks, took the initiative to lead people and to mould the opinion of others. Each
had considerable political and legal authority in their realm and did not shrink from using
it. Yet the proper descriptor for Mother Theresa is “selfless” while Hitler completely
fulfilled the phrase “egomaniac”.
This underscores the MRA advice to managers of high A individuals: “Make sure their goals
and your goals are the same.” If the high A person’s goal is “helping others”, they are
perceived as “selfless” and determined. If the goal is beating the business competition,
they are perceived as powerful, competitive business people. If the high A goal is self-glory
and riches, they are “robber barons”. The key question is “What goal has the person chosen?”
In casual conversation with clients or job candidates, it’s easy to begin substituting
words like "high ego" as a descriptor for High A individuals. But to do so can lead
to preconceptions about the subject that are seriously inaccurate.
Questions or comments are welcome.
-John Loven
Questions or Comments? Let Me Know.
Copyright © 2004 John Loven
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