Photo By Sgt. Quentin Johnson | Chaplain (Maj.) Donald Ehrke, chaplain for 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry...... read more read more
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE WARHORSE, Iraq – A “personality inventory” resiliency class was conducted at the Contingency Operating Base Warhorse, Iraq, chapel for soldiers of the 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, U.S. Division – North, to help soldiers discover and understand their personality type and reduce miscommunication.
The class, third in a five-part resiliency class series, introduced soldiers to four common personality types: dominant, influential, supportive and competent, said Chaplain (Maj.) Donald Ehrke, 2nd AAB chaplain.
Someone with a dominant personality is described as being task oriented and very outgoing, according to the “Understanding the Love of Your Life” study guide. This is opposed to an individual with a competent personality type, who focuses on the task in a reserved manner.
A person with the influential personality type won’t focus on a specific task, but on the people associated with it. That same personality has a lot of energy and is outgoing. Much like the influential personality, the supportive type is also focused on people, but in a more reserved manner.
Learning the personality types helps leaders and their soldiers build stronger working relationships, alleviate miscommunication and increase soldier-family togetherness, explained Ehrke.
Building those leader-soldier relationships is easier with deployments, said Ehrke. However, he added, when you interact with the same people everyday for an extended amount of time, personalities can clash.
Understanding someone’s personality helps ensure work relationships complement each other in any circumstance, he said. Work then becomes interpersonal.
“When leaders understand subordinates, they reach out to them and put them in a job [position] that is best fit for them,” said Ehrke, adding that this will enhance communication as well.
Leaders and their soldiers will know how to respond to each other when dealing with issues during deployment, stated Ehrke. These issues may cause unnecessary stress on a soldier, such as family issues, and cannot always be handled in person because of the deployment.
Personality conflicts increase between soldiers and their spouses or loved ones back home, he said. Understanding a soldier’s personality helps family members acknowledge their soldier’s difficult times, while affording soldiers an opportunity to help their family deal with issues back home.
Another benefit to conducting a personality inventory is self-awareness, explained Ehrke.
Self-awareness opens a soldier up to discovering their weakness, he said. This is vital for any soldier who wants to be a better person and understand what motivates others.
“If I understand what motivates me, I can understand other people better,” said Ehrke.
Pfc. Ryan Saunders, from Katy, Texas, said having an understanding of his personality type has made him more self-aware.
Saunders added, being a competent-type personality, he tends to over-analyze most of what he does. Recognizing this as a hindrance to his work, Saunders can adjust, making him more proficient as a human resource specialist for the 2nd AAB.
By understanding personality differences, communication between his superiors, co-workers and himself will improve, explained Saunders.
Everyone should attend a personality inventory class, he said. Not only was it intriguing and insightful, but understanding the different personalities other soldiers possess encourages clearer communication and stronger relationships.
| Date Taken: | 08.25.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 08.26.2011 03:21 |
| Story ID: | 75961 |
| Location: | CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE WARHORSE, IQ |
| Web Views: | 42 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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