Epilogue
Do People Change?
Do people change? This is a good question and one frequently asked of Birkman consultants. People often want to take the Birkman more than once because they feel certain that their scores will have changed over the years. We usually tell them that it isn’t really necessary. The Birkman is a robust assessment and tends to remain statistically reliable although we continue to monitor such results.
Our Interests are apparent from an early age and generally remain consistent over a lifetime. Needs are part of our core personality and also tend to be steady over time, even if we appear to have changed over the years. What matters is that we change what we can change, and what we can change is our awareness. Where socialized behaviors are concerned, we have amazing abilities to determine, decide, adapt, develop, and, to a great extent, choose our behaviors. With heightened awareness, we can exercise significant control over our personalities in social interactions. This is one reason we may see a person we know to be quiet and reserved come across in certain situations as surprisingly outgoing; or a person who has been overbearing learn to listen.
In Birkman terms, we can consciously modify how we choose to “show up” when we relate to others. We can shift and adapt our outward daily (Usual) behaviors, even though the essential, innermost part of us (our Needs and Interests) will not change much over time. With understanding, we can adopt behaviors that are more effective in our personal or working environments. The Birkman assessment’s revelations about your Interests, Needs, and Usual Behaviors can be vital to helping you achieve fulfillment while showing you how to minimize your negative Stress behaviors. This is why Birkman International loves what it does. As you’ve seen in the examples throughout this book, when we gain understanding of ourselves and others, we can make positive changes. From this perspective of greater compassion and understanding, we believe people do change, and for the better.
What we cannot change—and should never want to change—is the essence of who we are. It’s easy to see in nature when we consider the example of a tree. An oak will always be an oak. No amount of coaching or assessing will ever morph the oak into a pine tree, and no matter how much its appearance changes, its basic “oakness” remains. From acorn to mature tree, it forever bears the DNA of an oak because that’s what it was meant to be.
A central message from the Birkman is that all of us have personality traits and interests that offer value to our family, team, organization, and society as a whole. We encourage everyone to embrace their combination of traits and take care to get their own Interests and interpersonal Needs met. What Birkman uniquely measures are those powerful internal core Needs—the part of us that others do not easily see yet are an essential part of who we are. These Needs that we call Components function for us like the complex underground root system of the oak tree, and like the roots of the oak, they anchor, nourish, and recharge us. Getting our interpersonal Needs met may seem easier. We know it’s easy to fall into the Stress behaviors that are the inevitable flip side of our strengths. When it comes to seeing our own personality, the Birkman can serve as our mirror, enabling us to see those parts of ourselves that are not easy for us to see on our own.
So we go back to the question about whether people change. Well, yes, they do. Even if our core doesn’t change, we see important behavioral changes happen when people make better choices because they view themselves and others in a new way. With better choices, we become more emotionally intelligent with the kind of self-awareness that enables better self-management. When we know ourselves and understand and appreciate others, we flourish. Will it look as if we’ve changed? Absolutely!
Relationships make and break companies, and not one of us succeeds alone or thrives in isolation. Leadership also is important because the reality is that each of us is a leader, whether it is a large organization, a small team, a family, or, most important, ourselves, that we lead. We seek a way to relate every day to everyone who comes in contact with us.
Birkman is grateful to have studied and worked with so many people over six decades and will continue to do so because we see people change and grow when they see themselves and others in a nonjudgmental light that is kind, bright, and objective. With self-awareness, you can know your strengths, see your value, and learn how to reach comfort and fulfillment in being exactly who you truly are!