Blog Tag: Organizational Growth

I was captivated this summer while binge watching HBO’s hit series featuring the Roys, Kendall, Roman and Shiv, as they battled it out for control of the family company. As an HR professional, there were so many cringe worthy scenes as the patriarch pitted his kids against each other, and I was glued to my couch.

Strategic HR includes restructuring, culture change, making difficult decisions about long term leaders, succession planning, leadership 360 degree performance and leadership development. These aspects can make or break an organization’s ability to thrive, and sometimes even to continue.

A few weeks ago, I found myself with more drive time than usual and decided to listen to an audiobook I’d been curious about for a while: The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin. The premise is simple—people respond differently to internal and external expectations, and Rubin groups those responses into four tendencies: Obliger, Upholder, Rebel, and Questioner.

I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first. But it didn’t take long before I could clearly see myself in one of the tendencies and, just as importantly, recognize how others in my work and personal life might fall into different ones. That insight felt familiar, because it reinforced something I see every day in my work with leadership teams: conflict often has very little to do with intent, and a lot to do with style.