The Beautiful Differences in People
By Carson & Martha Lane
Ballooning is definitely a People Sport as was discussed in Part 1. With that being the case you can start learning about people right now. Read the following four questions and pick the question (1, 2, 3, or 4) that you feel is most important to you. Then, pick the second most important question. Then, the third, and the forth. There is no right or wrong picks and there are no tricks. We’ll answer the questions, you just rank the questions and write it down before you read the rest of the article.
Question #1) What is the easy method to learn about people mentioned in the last issue? #2) Why should we spend time learning about people to improve personal safety? #3) Who will benefit from learning about people? #4) How will it make us safer balloonists?
After you rank the questions according to the way you feel they are important (example, 4312), ask several other people (more than one person) to rank the importance of each question. Write down their ranking and compare it to yours. You will have begun to learn about "the beautiful differences in people."
Remember, to get the full benefit of this first lesson, rank the questions above before you read further. If you are ready, here are the answers to each question. To #3, "Who will benefit...," the answer is pilots, crew, passengers, landowners, spectators, everyone that will be involved in the ballooning operation. Question #4, "How will it make us safer balloonist," can be answered, when you understand how you feel, think, and act in relation to others, you have the opportunity to better prepare for situations you could be faced with in the future.
To answer #2, the "why" question, could literally take pages. Briefly, the reason is there are some dedicated balloonists among us who continue to increase their knowledge about baskets, burners, GPSs, all the latest equipment, ballooning safety, weather, you name it. It’s those balloonists who are the watchdogs, and keep us on course. They will see the mistakes in this series of articles (as hard as we try not to make any). Without these people, we would become even less accurate and consistent. These balloonists, while learning about themselves and others, will increase personal safety through constructive criticism.
Now, for #1, that easy method to learn about others. About 15 years ago we were introduced to this method of understanding how people feel and think, and why they do the things they do, or don’t do, as the case may be. It wasn’t so much learning about other people that impressed us, it was learning about ourselves that got our attention. After using this "people knowledge" for years in our business, social, and personal life, we got the opportunity to correlate it with ballooning experiences.
We got involved in ballooning at the U S Nationals as Official Observers, and were able to observe more than just the rules. Being assigned to a different pilot each flight, we would identify each pilot and their crew by using behavioral tendencies (explained below) and later discuss how different each was. From the very beginning, we would notice the different "safety profiles" the pilots had. At one mass ascension alone, there were unlimited combinations of inflation and launch procedures used by the pilots. If asked, each pilot would argue theirs was the safest. Over the years, as we increased our ballooning knowledge by becoming crew and then pilots, we set a goal to improve ballooning safety by sharing our knowledge about people and how to use the information to become a safer balloonist.
The method is based on a personal behavior profile. A person’s feelings, thoughts, and actions can be described by behavioral tendencies related to words. These tendencies are divided into four basic categories: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. Each person has varying degrees of each of these basic behaviors and, by being able to recognize these tendencies, it’s possible, after a little study, to actually predict how someone else feels, thinks, and will act under certain conditions.
The illustration below is a combination of degrees of each behavioral tendency and is known as a behavioral profile. Every person sees themselves as having a particular behavioral profile under certain conditions. There are over 2400 combinations of profiles. Because of outside influences, such as the environment, happenings, expectations, and other people, an individual’s profile is not constant. When you read each behavioral category that follows, notice the level of each in the illustration. This should help you understand such a person with that particular profile, and possibly understand why, to some of us, they are rather nice to be around.
Dominance (D) People with a lot of D tendencies seem domineering and want to be in control. People with low or few D tendencies are dependent and cautious. The D column in the diagram describes someone who is more careful and less likely to "give orders." If you’re the type that always wants to be in charge, we would say you are a High-D, meaning you have high D tendencies. On the other hand, if you’re the type that never wants to be in charge, you have Low-D tendencies. Stop a minute and think about your D tendencies?
Influence (I) People with High-I tendencies enjoy being around other people. They are enthusiastic and very optimistic. As the I tendencies decrease, the person becomes more restrained to the point of being known as a loner. The I column in the diagram describes someone who is a real "people person." As a pilot, they always seem to have a lot of crew. Again, think about the amount of I tendencies you might have. If you are comfortable around people, but you also don’t mind being alone, your I column would probably be mid way.
Steadiness (S) These tendencies are more passive and security- oriented. A person with High-S tendencies is generally structured and possessive. Just the opposite for those with Low S tendencies because they are discontented and seek change. You’ll hear a High-S say, "Please don’t change our balloon club meeting place." The S column in the diagram describes someone who is easy going, but stable. How high do you feel your S column would be?
Conscientiousness (C) Details and accuracy are tendencies of the High- C. High-C’s like written rules best, so they can "show you" where you are wrong. A Low-C is stubborn, sarcastic, and "rules are made to be broken!" There was a High-C pilot that flew till he almost ran out of fuel because the property he passed over had posted signs on it. Just the opposite, a lot of landowner problems arise from the pilot with few C tendencies. Do you feel strongly about proving you are right? If the answer is yes, you could have High-C tendencies.
In the remaining three parts of this series, only behavioral tendencies D, I, S, C, will be used to describe how different people react differently to the same situation. You will recognize some of the people in our examples, not by name, but by their behavior. At the end of the series, hopefully, you will be able to understand how certain actions can change negative situations into positive ones.
Finally, after 500 plus flights, none of which were the same, it’s an understatement to say we have had the opportunity to meet a lot of different people. Over the years, knowing how people feel and think has proven valuable in many situations, and priceless where ballooning is concerned. If nothing else, the ability to deal with landowners effectively is worth the time it takes to learn about people. For some people, it’s hard to understand the feelings and needs of others, but if we can accept the fact that we’re all different, it’s much easier to accept others the way they are.
As for you, our readers, the High-D probably didnít get this far. The High-I understands completely even though they scanned the article. The High-S will take their time and re-read from beginning to end. The High-C, hey, we’re sorry for the grammatical errors. We’ll do better.
And, if you would like to see if you are catching on, here are two exercises:
For Profiles of Safety, the ballooning operation was divided up into
three separate areas. Area One is the part of the operation where the pilot
makes decisions when no one else is involved, such as self assessment.
Area Two is where the pilot makes decisions when other people are
directly involved, such as crew. And Area Three is where the pilot makes
decisions when other people are indirectly involved, such as landowners.
Part 3 of this series, Number One is Your Best Friend will cover Area One.
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