La tarea: Desarrollar estrategias de influencia
El escenario que se presenta a continuación ha sido diseñado para poner a prueba su perfil de personalidad y sus habilidades de influencia. Utilice las técnicas enseñadas en el Programa de influencia TypeCoach to form a personality profile for each of the fictional characters described below. Next, think about an appropriate influencing strategies to address the low EQ situation at Far Elysian.
Background: High Tech/Low EQ
Usted es un Director con Socios de Infinite Signal (ISP), one of the leading VC firms in artificial intelligence and select other high-tech categories. Your Managing Director, Tomasle ha pedido que investigue los datos de una encuesta reciente a los empleados de una de las empresas en cartera más prometedoras de ISP, Lejano Elíseo. While the technology at the heart of Far Elysian has everyone at ISP excited, the company is at an inflection point in its growth and there are several red flags emerging, including low EQ. ISP has previously led a $27M Series B investment into Far Elysian and the company is in the process of doubling its employee base as it expands both the marketing function as well as the product team.
Datos de la encuesta
Tomas shared Far Elysian’s employee survey data and asked for a review of the company’s culture and leadership to see if those played a role in the results. While portfolio company leadership always get a lot of scrutiny at ISP, Tomas is usually more interested in the culture of an organization than the other Managing Directors. A quick glance at the survey results however, and you began to understand why Tomas wanted you to look closer:
- Anonymous survey respondents: 142
- All ratings are aggregated with a total possible score of 100
- Overall satisfaction? 63/100
- Does management clearly convey the strategic vision of the business? 33/100
- How well do people collaborate? 21/100
- Do you envision being at this company in 3 years? 51/100
- Are you energized and inspired to do your best work most days? 22/100
- Is the product you are building what the market wants and needs? 86/100
- Are you encouraged to share your ideas and suggestions? 15/100
- En pocas palabras, describa al equipo directivo:
- "La cabeza en la arena"
- "Desconectado"
- "Reactivo, disperso, caótico"
- "MIA"
- "Fuera en su búnker haciendo sus cosas"
- "Nunca hablé con ellos"
- "Desguazado pero sin mirar a 36 meses vista"
- "¿Quién?"
High Tech/Low EQ: The Players
Para sortear esta situación, tendrá que crear un perfil de personalidad para el tres principales implicados.
Adriana Brunner, Directora General y Cofundadora de Far Elysian
Adriana Brunner is Far Elysian’s CEO and Co-Founder. The company is where it is today primarily based on Brunner’s product vision. She has anticipated major trends and is hailed as an industry leader ahead of her time. A hands-off leader, Brunner is known to take lengthy breaks from day-to-day operations, usually returning with a new breakthrough idea.
Demanding, direct, intense, unconventional, and driven, Brunner will often take the opposite side of an argument and play devil’s advocate. Seen by many as intense (and intimidating by some), she reacts poorly when the team falls behind deadline or when there are changes that come up unexpectedly. Brunner also tends to focus on product with a very low appetite for dealing with anyone but her core team. And, to the extent that the product has been what the market has wanted so far has been a happy accident – she has her own vision of where the wants to take the product and leaves it at that. The team is now concerned that some of the projects she’s pushing are “fringe” features that will only be relevant to a fraction of Far Elysian’s current users.
David Haas, Director de Operaciones y Cofundador de Far Elysian
David Haas is Far Elysian’s COO and Co-Founder. The yin to Brunner’s yang, Haas is the grounded, practical, realistic counterbalance to her long-term vision. A behind the scenes operator who is unflappable in a crisis, Haas brings a calm yet playful style that puts everyone at ease. More comfortable in the lunchroom than the board room, he gets antsy when there is a lot of talk without a lot of action. One of his signature traits is to let a whole room work through a plan of action before suggesting something twice as effective and 1/10th as complicated.
When Haas and Brunner disagree, they can clash with real sparks flying – and then continue working as if nothing happened (often leaving collateral damage around them). On his best days, Haas comes across as personable if not a little curt and to the point. As Far Elysian has grown, he has continued to bring a “keep it simple” approach that has prevented overcomplicated organizational structures, bloated approval processes, and too much bureaucracy. However, Haas has also started to show signs of stress and has recently stepped further out of the spotlight to focus on projects that feel closer to the action. It’s likely that the operations side of things has become more of a chore for him than it was when the company was smaller, and every challenge was new and different.
Tomas Wolfe, Director General de Infinite Signal Partners
Tomas Wolfe, is the Managing Director of Infinite Signal Partners and is also your boss. Over the last 3 years working with Tomas, you’ve learned very little of his personal life. At work, he is extremely dedicated, diligent, organized, and detail oriented. Polite, patient and thoughtful, he does not move rashly or reach conclusions quickly – and certainly not without a spreadsheet. One analyst has noted that Tomas works very much like the Swiss watches he is fond of wearing – always precise and always on time and deadline. What has surprised you most is that as you have gotten to know Tomas he has shown himself to be warm, caring, and empathetic – he seems tuned into many of the subtle interpersonal elements involved both within the leadership of the firm as well as at the portfolio company level.
Far Elysian Employees: Low EQ
As with many AI firms and those in the broader high-tech space, a significant percentage of the Far Elysian staff have advanced degrees in computer science or engineering. A fair number of recent hires are in the firm’s research division, which has brought in expertise from a number of the life sciences (an arena where Far Elysian sees major room for AI advancement). Staff describes the culture as cordial but dry – people do their work, but they don’t tend to socialize much. Moreover, business calls and meetings focus on the issues at hand, discuss and resolve them, and then move on.
It is quite common for people to find out that someone else within the company was simultaneously doing the same or similar work as another person. There are no informal channels for sharing project work or status, and generally people work on their own thing in silos. Recently, the firm has lost some high-profile talent to larger, more established players. Research suggests that Far Elysian compensation remains competitive and that the departures were the result of conflicts with managers/colleagues.
One staffer was quoted in their exit interview as saying, “There’s nothing remarkable about this place. It’s not bad, it’s not great. But, I am leaving because it is a wasteland when it comes to basic emotional intelligence.” Como muestran los datos de la encuesta, existe una falta de claridad generalizada entre el personal sobre la dirección que está tomando la empresa, cómo llegar a ella y cuál se supone que es el papel de cada miembro del personal para conseguirlo.
Your Assignment: High Tech/Low EQ
- Profile the personality type of Brunner, Haas, and Wolfe, and then use the quiz features above to see if you’re correct!
- Identify solutions to address Far Elysian’s challenges
- Take into account both Brunner and Haas’ personalities and capabilities, and then consider how they influence your recommendations.
- Articulate how you would influence Brunner, Haas, and Wolfe to accept your recommendations
Tips for Influencing in this High Tech/Low EQ Scenario
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Next Steps
We are looking for client opportunities like the Far Elysian scenario above – where we can train and support all staff over a 3-year learning window to implement our solutions with full ROI measurement. To learn more, please contact Rob Toomey – rob@typecoach.com.
