Cognitive Styles Flashcards
What does Cognitive Scale measure?
measures how you influence with ideas the storage and communication of raw data and facts
What does the upper value show?
Creates “abstractions”, or summaries, of raw data or ideas and stores it as a single principle, ideal or value. Tends to speak in non-specific summary statements.
What does the lower value show?
Creates “distinctions” or separates raw data or ideas and stores it as a many “facts”. Tends to speak in detailed narrative.
Describe the innovator
86 – 99.5 Generates new ideas or words to express ideas concepts and values. They love to motivate others by inspiring them with the beauty, complexity or simplicity of an idea.
Describe the strategist
66 - 85 Thinks ideas are interesting, but ideas that have practical implication are even more interesting. The strategic thinker tends to conceptualize vision in their context, with their resources, in their market, etc. Uses questions and debate to form clearer understanding.
Describe the planner
36 - 65 These people move into action when someone lays out the strategy. They can take a simple strategy and “see” what is needed in terms of time, people, procedures, or resources and they create a system through which all these pieces come together. These are the people who transition the use of information from the theoretical to the pragmatic.
Describe the organizer
16 - 35 This group tends not to try to shape what will happen (creating theoretically) but rather they use their minds to solve the pragmatic issues around making things happen physically. The coordination of effort and activity is their area of excellence.
Describe the refiner
.5 - 15 Execution has “glitches” (unnecessary steps, contradictory efforts, redundancies, etc.) . The Refiner sees these things and uses their highly pragmatic mind to “smooth them out”. They can easily see what is wrong or missing in an idea, strategy, system, or process.
Innovator
Process View:
Ties everything to the “big picture”, connecting multiple dots
Doesn’t seem to “get it” when unable to see the “big picture”
Asks questions to move others’ understanding toward their “big picture”
Speaks with persuasive motivational ability
Pragmatic Limits:
Negative Trigger: “Your idea is wrong / impractical / unnecessary”
Positive Response: Supporting, valuing, recognizing, and accepting ideas that are incomplete, imperfect, or not generated by you
Personal Need:
To learn experientially from life and to discuss or speak out their ideas
Strategist
Percentile Range: 66% - 85%
Process View:
Critiques ideas through questions and debate
Defines terms and illustrates ideas in terms of current strategies
Sees practical implication and clarifies exceptions and deviations
Understands how current activity limits future options
Pragmatic Limits:
Negative Trigger: “That is not how it works” / “That is not what it means”
Positive Response: Asking questions that do not sound like an attack on ideas and presenting objections in a way that is not an obstruction to progress… refine ideas into practical realities
Personal Need:
To be believed and trusted as a knowledgeable “content” expert
Planner
Percentile Range: 36% - 65%
Process View:
Quickly understands or builds systems that relate to the work
Builds organizational effectiveness through the use of structure and/or tools
Builds or adopts a system, plan, or policy
Promotes systems integration across the entire group or organization
Pragmatic Limit:
Negative Trigger: “We don’t need to discuss it” / “I am not listening”
Positive Response: Communicating about trade-offs without it sounding like complaining about the difficulty of the change or about how “impossible” it is
Personal Need:
Accessibility to people to discuss options
Organizer
Percentile Ranges: 16% - 35%
Process View:
Identifies the most expedient or simple solution
Builds an effective procedure
Clarifies what needs to be DONE NEXT to get things going
Defines implementation and process obstacles
Pragmatic Limit:
Negative Trigger: “We cannot do it like that”
Positive Response: Presenting flexible plans that do not sound dogmatic; using “best practices” rather than “right way” language
Personal Need:
Pragmatic problems to solve and the authority or the invitation to solve them “by the book”
Refiner
Percentile Range: 0.5% - 15%
Process View:
Actively produces data on any issue
Defines the imperfections in ideas, strategies, systems and procedures
Understands what organizational fail-safes and redundancies should be
Promotes efficiency of motion and effort
Pragmatic Limit:
Negative Trigger: “You did it wrong”
Positive Response: Actively communicating questions, corrections and improvements, without sounding critical, flippant or like a wet blanket
Personal Need:
The time and opportunity to collect data and opinions and organize them into tangible, efficient realities
Primary Skill:
“Big Picture” Formation and “Principle-Based” Communication
Innovator
Primary Skill:
Clarity around cause and effect, options and coordination
Planner
