How coach can interpret people, see their true nature, perceive their underlying qualities, offer them meaningful guidance and help them to see and choose the best options for their life? I use for this a psychometric theory, classified as a weapon in England by MI6, prompting Congress to fine Facebook over $2 billion.
This tool is called the Five Factor Personality Model or by abbreviation we call it simply OCEAN. Today it’s the sole psychometric assessment that has undergone extensive research and possesses a robust statistical foundation.
This test is based on the statement that people are genetically predisposed to a particular behavior or emotions. For example, your discipline, we are used to think that this is the result of environmental influence or upbringings methods, and in fact, there is this influence, but only 50%. Your level of discipline is also predetermined by your genes. As well as general level of your happiness or emotions, your anxiety or creativity.
Psychologists have identified 5 independent traits that do not correlate with each other across any population, each trait with its own causes and observable behaviors:
Openness - openness to experience and creative thinking
Conscientiousness - hard work and love for order
Extraversion - the ability to experience positive emotions in response to stimuli in the external environment
Agreeableness - care and compassion
Neuroticism - volatility and anxiety
I have learned this Big 5 model at the Seeing Through course at Academy of Exponential Coaching and use a lot in my coaching consultations. It allows me to see much clearly what might be the reason behind the actions and which kind of motivation might work, to see what are values of the client and what is important in his life, what he is predisposed for. For clients I looks sometime like a clairvoyant when after 15 minutes discussion you can tell almost complete story about clients’ character and usually behavior. And I find it very important for the working team building – according to your OCEAN you can be more or less suitable for particular job or getting well or not with articular manager or team, which very important in hiring people.
In my next article I will tell you more about each letter of the OCEAN