In this article, we will explore a seemingly at odds combination of high scale scores: Excitable and Leisurely. As we discussed in the last post, high Leisurely individuals tend to exhibit more passive aggressive behaviors when they find themselves in stressful situations. They will appear cooperative on the surface, but may be privately stubborn and resentful. Many times, these individuals are among the hardest to coach, as they appear to be working to achieve organisational goals and objectives, but in fact are pursuing a private agenda.
Individuals who score high on Excitable tend to be overly emotional in stressful situations. Their unpredictable moodiness may result in stressed relationships or an overly critical nature. While their tremendous energy could be harnessed to motivate and empower others, many times their emotional unpredictability causes them to lose interest in people or projects and abandon commitments.
When coaching an individual whose profile consists of both high Excitable and high Leisurely scores, it is important to consider how their inclination to both show their emotions without restraint and hide their resentment towards others might play out. Although both of these derailers fall into the Moving Away profile, there are some inherent conflicts when considering individual behaviour for someone who scores high on both scales. High Excitable individuals readily exhibit signs of stress when facing pressure. They tend to be easily annoyed with others and my over react in situations by vocally expressing their frustration to others. However, we do not typically see this same behavior from high Leisurely folks. Rather, individuals who score high on Leisurely tend to keep their opinions of others to themselves. When high Leisurely individuals hold negative feelings about another, they are prone to engage in passive aggressive tendencies, rather than outright criticism or confrontation. We may not know that a high Leisurely individual privately resents a colleague or group of individuals, as they tend to keep such thoughts to themselves.
When providing coaching strategies, it is important to encourage high Excitable and Leisurely individuals to recognise their tendency to see disagreement as criticism or exploitation, and take time to reflect and confront others with direct (but appropriate and not emotionally charged) statements of frustration or annoyance when feeling overwhelmed or challenged. Thus, the high Excitable and Leisurely individual should take steps to directly express their concerns with others in order to avoid the possibility of unnecessary tension which could result in emotional disruption.
Highly Excitable and Leisurely folks can also mitigate potential disruption by communicating consistently with others to ensure that expectations are understood and build others’ trust by asking for their opinions. Taking steps to do this will ensure that the individual understands what is expected, and will be less prone to emotionally volatile expressions when faced with stressful situations. Another suggestion is to provide these individuals with explicit timelines for completing tasks, and encourage them to make a commitment to abide by expectations. This will help the high Excitable and high Leisurely individual complete tasks in a timely manner and not give up when frustrated.
Finally, encourage high Excitable and Leisurely folks to limit the promises made to others and ensure they fulfill their commitments. Not biting off more than one can chew will also reduce the likelihood of abandoning or overlooking commitments.
