COMMANDER

Positive Commanders are the true leaders of the world. They are decisive, goal-directed, confident, and capable. They are driven to succeed, and are happy to take others to the top with them. They know what it takes to achieve an outcome and they understand that there is power in cooperation. They are excellent delegators who will assign complete projects to others and never ask more of others than they are willing to do themselves. They are honorable, helpful, considerate and highly motivated to seek out and get positive results that will allow everyone to win. They want to control their own destinies, but have no desire to control others. They believe that the best way to achieve their own goals is to help others achieve their goals as well. They are independent, adventurous and love a challenge. They are conscientious, efficient, and capable, and can do just about anything they set their mind to. They are ever willing to help others help themselves, but refuse to hand-hold or act as a crutch. They mentor, manage and lead willingly where they see potential for greater things. Positive Commanders seek to inspire and motivate, rather than to control.

Mid-zone Commanders function within a sort of gray zone, moving between positive and negative behaviors, depending on the situation or circumstance. People who function in mid-zone space are constantly coping. Under stress, they can be argumentative, pushy, irritable, stubborn, somewhat controlling and obstinate when things aren’t going their way, but they can also resemble a positive Commander when things are going well. They don’t generally move to the levels of abuse that are common to the very negative Commander, unless pushed too hard. They have a low tolerance for slowness, or what they view as inefficiency in others, and can quickly become frustrated and impatient. Mid-zone Commanders believe that interactions are mainly for the purpose of furthering one’s goals and they tend to ignore or discount those who cannot contribute to their idea of success in some way. They are very serious about their own goals, and will not hesitate to step on a few toes, if they feel they must, to get what they want. They tend to control through demands or coercion.

Negative Commanders tend to be bossy, controlling, argumentative, hard to please, overly aggressive, insensitive, and thoughtless. Their goal is to win and they will do whatever it takes, including steam rolling over those who get in their way. Though they may appear caring at times, it's usually a calculated move to get ahead. They use and take advantage of people and situations, regularly placing their own desires ahead of the needs and feelings of others. They can be abusive (both physically and psychologically). They believe in win/lose interactions and their goal is to always be on the winning side. Negative Commanders have little empathy, so causing others pain is of little consequence to them, especially if it gets them what they want. In fact, those at the extreme end of the negativity scale actually enjoy watching others squirm in discomfort. They control through intimidation, humiliation, threats and punishment, if not outright abuse.

ORGANIZER

Positive Organizers are reserved and careful, but not overly cautious or suspicious. They are keenly observant, noticing details that others usually miss. They attend to details easily and are real jewels to have around where close attention to detail is crucial. They are perceptive, sensitive and alert to subtle changes in environment or mood, so they catch things before they get out of hand. They are serious and industrious at work, and serious and dependable at home. They can be counted upon to do what they say they will do and to carry out projects to the very end. They are quiet, unobtrusive, and always willing to do their part to achieve group goals. They are very protective of the people and things they care about and are willing to champion their causes endlessly if that is what it takes to effect positive change. Though they don’t usually show their feelings easily, they have great depth of feeling. They can be idealistic, working long and hard to create the world they believe every living creature deserves. They see interactions as mutually protective alliances, where all parties feel safe and secure. While they are strict on themselves, wanting to control their environment, insofar as is possible, they prefer to teach by example and reason rather than to control others.

Mid-zone Organizers function within a sort of gray zone, moving between positive and negative behaviors, depending on the situation or circumstance. People who function in mid-zone space are constantly coping. Under stress, they can become cautious, skeptical and apprehensive and sarcastic. They want the rightness of an action or idea proven to them before they are willing to act on it. They may be so hung up on perfectionism that they find themselves stuck in inaction because they can’t be certain of a perfect result or outcome. They tend to be too focused on minute details, which can slow their progress and cause them (and others) a great deal of stress and distress. Their relationships with others can suffer because of their need to be right or perfect, which they insist on trying to develop in those around them as well. This makes them appear critical, aloof and judgmental. They see interactions as neutral at best and sometimes as a necessary evil they could do without. They are rather cautious and guarded even in personal in relationships. They control by manipulation, which can range from mild to coercive.

Negative Organizers tend to be suspicious, argumentative, sarcastic and uncompromising. They believe their position is the only right one and are unwilling to consider the thoughts and ideas of others. They believe the whole world is a hostile place and that they must constantly be on guard. They accuse others of deliberately sabotaging their efforts, often with no evidence to support their position. They trust no one fully, not even their families or the few people they claim as friends. Everyone is out to get them in some way. They never forget a slight and tend to reuse things from the past again and again to prove their point and hold onto their grudge. When not arguing, cajoling, manipulating or complaining, they are withdrawn and reclusive. They see interactions as lose/lose...there are no real winners in life; everyone must lose something. They control by manipulating, shaming and embarrassing others.

RELATER

Positive Relaters are gentle souls who are genuinely caring, considerate and compassionate. They are deeply interested in the welfare of people and work at making relationships positive and effective. They see and anticipate the needs of others and are ever willing to lend a helping hand or a sympathetic ear when needed. They express their own wants and needs, but seldom make demands on others. Though there is a natural tendency to defer decisions to others, they recognize that indecisiveness can be detrimental to them and to building healthy relationships and so, have generally learned decision-making skills. They are great team players who work well with others. Though they don’t typically aspire to lead, they make excellent managers and supervisors who earn trust and deep loyalty from their followers. They are ever willing to adjust themselves in the interest of harmony, but will not allow themselves to be mistreated or abused. Positive Relaters see meaningful relationships the essence of life. Happy, healthy relationships are central to their own happiness. They have no need or desire to control others. Their aim and goal is one of mutually supportive and beneficial relationships. No one is better at building long term relationships than a positive Relater.

Mid-zone Relaters function within a sort of gray zone, moving between positive and negative behaviors, depending on the situation or circumstance. People who function in mid-zone space are constantly coping. Under stress, they can be somewhat passive and reserved, but can function somewhat effectively except where there is a threat of conflict or disapproval. When they perceive a threat, they withdraw and can become more needy or dependent than usual. When in situations they perceive as neutral or friendly, they can be quite pleasant to be around. They appear moody because they are dependent on others to set the mood and then they react accordingly. If those around them are acting the least bit aggressive, they perceive a potentially threatening situation and move toward negative behaviors as a self-protective measure. If those around them are including them and the Mid-zone Relater feels safe, they tend to move toward positive behaviors. They, like the Negative Relater, gain any semblance of control over others (more unconsciously than consciously) through eliciting guilt or pity.

Negative Relaters are what is commonly known as co-dependent. Negative Relaters are very passive and refuse to take a stand on anything. Because they are overly concerned about creating any kind of conflict, disappointing someone, or hurting their feelings, they won’t stand up for themselves or disagree with others, even when they know the others to be wrong. Negative Relaters have great difficulty initiating projects, expressing their ideas or speaking up in group discussions. They are easily hurt by the slightest criticism or disapproval, so they avoid areas where these are possible. Negative Relaters require approval so much that they will volunteer to do unpleasant or demeaning things in order to get others to like and approve of them. They feel helpless and are extremely unhappy or uncomfortable when alone, so they go to great lengths to find ways to have others around on whom they can depend. They have very poor coping skills, so they tend to go from acting very passive and helpless to becoming very aggressive, blowing up and throwing tantrums whenever they feel threatened. They see most interactions as threatening, but seek comfort by leaning on others. They control by eliciting guilt or pity.

ENTERTAINER

Positive Entertainers are the most colorful and interesting people in the world. They are open and honest about their feelings, expressing themselves easily and comfortably. They enjoy a large variety of new experiences, handle change and lack of predictability well, and are good at multi-tasking. They see variety as the spice of life and seek it out. As creative visionaries, they tend to be very innovative. Their optimism, passion and genuine enjoyment of life is contagious. They can turn the most mundane of events into something interesting with their infectious enthusiasm and flair for presenting information in bold, colorful ways. They are charismatic, and have a knack for inspiring and motivating others. Positive Entertainers are warm, friendly, demonstrative and completely delightful to be around. They truly enjoy people and are comfortable in large groups. They tend to be good on stage, but don’t need to be the center of attention. They realize that they can be more effective by sharing the limelight with others and find ways to do so. They have no need to control others, preferring to inspire them instead...and at that, they are masters.

Mid-zone Entertainers function within a sort of gray zone, moving between positive and negative behaviors, depending on the situation or circumstance. People who function in mid-zone space are constantly coping. Under stress, they can be somewhat insecure and require more attention than positive Entertainers, but can at times control the urge to be the center of attention. They tend to be more predictable than negative Entertainers, but still somewhat scattered. They can be overly emotional too going from top-of-the-world headiness to totally depressed and back again in the space of an hour. Mid-zone Entertainers tend to wear their emotions on their sleeves for the world to see, and they play them for all they are worth. When in a positive frame of mind, they can be genuinely delightful to be around and when in a negative one, a real annoyance. The most observable things about mid-zone Entertainers is their rapid and unpredictable changeability and their inability to stay focused on a task for too long. Mid-zone entertainers see interactions as important and necessary at times and as a pure hassle at others. As a result, they may be warm and friendly one moment and purposely cold and distant the next. They control through an entire range of behaviors from overpowering others to manipulating them. Manipulations range from overly sweet (and often transparent) comments and appeals, to sulking and pouting.

Negative Entertainers tend to be excessively emotional and overly dramatic. They must have constant attention and will do almost anything to get it. They can go from overly charming to whining, loud, demanding, and boisterous. To be around a negative Entertainer can be completely exhausting, because they rarely stop talking, and they are scattered and somewhat hyperactive. They are constantly moving about or moving objects to the point of creating a distraction at best and being disruptive at worst. Their need for constant attention, preferably from the opposite sex, may cause them to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, flirting and acting seductive at times when such behaviors are out of place. Their emotions, though highly visible and quite dramatic, are generally shallow and superficial. They tend to be very self-centered and everything has a “me” component to it. They are too general in their communication for most people to be able to follow their line of thought, and too willing to sacrifice verbal content for what they consider color and pizzazz. They are completely unpredictable, jumping from interest to interest and from project to project, completing little to nothing of what they start. They see interactions as opportunities for attention. They control through overpowering others conversationally, through insults, through inducing guilt, or by just wearing people down.