THE INVENTOR LEADER
There are four leadership subtypes in the TALK2ME© positive and effective communication system. Of the four – Inventor, Seer, Intuiter, Leader – do you know which you are?
In my leadership development studies, I found that the INVENTOR leader was the most powerful producer of positive results. Everything we see – from the light bulb, to computers, to psychotherapy – is the large-minded innovation of an Inventor leader. Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, and Sigmund Freud are all Inventor leaders, but from far different fields.
WHAT ARE THE INNER STRENGTHS OF THE INVENTOR LEADER?
Inventor leaders want to cut to the chase. They are true visionaries with the ability to magnify results and take action when others are chewing their fingernails or sitting on their hands. Inventors have the uncanny ability to find the diamonds in a rock-strewn canyon. Key characteristics which Inventor leaders share:
INVENTOR LEADERS:
▪ ARE VISIONARY. You envision the next great leap which is necessary to create a higher level of success. You see when the world needs an improved light bulb or laptop, and you aren’t afraid to make it happen. You utilize the key help of the super-motivated souls with whom you surround yourself.
▪ ARE MASTER CREATORS. What you see in your innovative mind is quickly formed, expeditiously created from the vision in your mind’s eye. Your mind is like a powerful broadcasting station that sends out requests which are quickly answered by the universe. You’re accustomed to your mental powers, but others are awed when you envision a future reality that, by today’s standards, might seem like science fiction.
▪ ARE CHARASMATIC. You can’t help being a “people charmer,” though you might claim that you are not. People tune in to your station, listening carefully to your viewpoints, internalizing them and often repeating them as their own. People like to love you. This is a little hard for you to fully comprehend because you measure yourself harshly. If you are in an oppositional relationship, you shrug it off, hardly missing a beat.
▪ ARE MAJOR MOOD MAKERS OR MOOD BREAKERS. Because your mood is infectious, you are a major mood-maker. You can make people feel good or bad, although you contend that every person is responsible for his or her own feelings. You can bring people up by using carefully crafted words, or, with nothing more than a skeptical glance, you can squash the self-esteem of another like a bug underfoot. Yes, you do have that kind of interpersonal power.
▪ CREATE SIGNIFICANT RESULTS. You rarely create outcomes or events that are average or mediocre. You either do “A” or “F” work, but never “C” work in the field of your passions and with your family. What you create is either extremely positive or extremely negative, and your results are typically big-time. The Creation Equation: When you are in a good mood or are confident, your results are positive. But, when you are in a bad mood or feel insecure, results are negative.
▪ ACTIVATE THE INNER POWER OF OTHERS. Why do others love to work for you? You push people hard to go way beyond their self-imposed boundaries to achieve new heights. To be around you, all talents must be tuned up. Your people will be pleasantly surprised that they are able to achieve levels of performance they had only imagined, before they began interacting with you. And they do have you to thank for pushing them outside their comfort zones, which they now know could easily have become their coffins.
▪ ARE MASTER LOGICIANS. You are the master of the meta-message. Often, what you don’t say but what you imply carries more weight in the minds of those you seek to influence. Thus, you gently lead others to the conclusions and impressions you wish to convey to them. If so inclined, you could be the wizard of propaganda.
▪ DOMINATE DECISIONS. You are quite able to convince others that your way is the best way to go. You can be perceived as intimidating and overpowering through the tool of conversational coercion. However, you feel you know what’s best for the group as a whole and only have the good of all at heart.
▪ STRUGGLE WITH INTERPERSONAL CLOSENESS. Your life partner may perceive you as backing up or putting the brakes on when he or she is trying to get close to you by using effective communication. When confronted, you will go to your island to cool off. You intensely dislike being pushed to talk about vulnerable emotions or past mistakes, as you see this as a sign of weakness and a big waste of time. Your partner disagrees.
▪ HAVE STROKES OF GENIUS AND SEIZURES OF INSECURITY. Life is a two-sided communicator coin of both positive and negative life challenges. Chances are, as a child you might have been reared by a tyrant parent who was controlling, belittling, moody, strict, or harsh. As a result, you set the pole vaulting bar very high for yourself, and you loathe failing or being put under anyone’s thumb. Perhaps those tough foundational times of loss vs. gain are the fuel for your strokes of genius.
You may have noticed that not every statement above fits you nicely, like hand in glove. However, many of these insights ought to ring true for you as an Inventor leader. I also know what you’re thinking. “Yes, but, what about the negative side of the coin? This is all fluffy and comfy, but it doesn’t capture the facts of my personal relationship life.” And of course, you’re right again.
NEGATIVE PERCEPTIONS OF INVENTORS
As I’ve pointed out, there’s not much you do that is average. You’re quite rightly sized up as having superhero interpersonal superpowers. However, these are some negative perceptions people you love and live with may have….
You:
• Can break the will of others through bullying
• Will throw people under the bus when you are ticked off
• Can sell snow to Eskimos, who obviously don’t need it
• Poke people in the eyes with a few harsh words that will be forever remembered
• Are moody
• Will break the rules, if necessary, to achieve the result you want
• Wear the face that others want to see
• Confront others, but you don’t like to be confronted
• Will debate as a diversion to facing criticism
• Take the stance that it’s your way or the highway
• Won’t talk about the elephant in the room
• Don’t walk your talk
• Struggle to control outbursts of verbal anger
• Are a conniving convincer
• Only listen to what you want to hear
• Are able to brainwash people to your way of thinking
• Are too work-focused and suffer from relationship-deficit disorder
• Make lies of omission
• Have one face in public but another face in private
• Are afraid of emotional intimacy
• Run the other way from old grief baggage
• Make miracles or messes or a mixture of both
• Amplify negative emotions in others
• Hide feelings of insecurity
• Can’t deal with being wrong
• Can have great ideas but poor execution
• Don’t often let others into your inner private world
• Can be haughty, close-minded, sarcastic, rude, or snarky when moody
• Use a measuring stick of daily results to judge your worth
• Promote the virtues of a positive attitude, but you also create a negative climate
• Don’t change what bugs others
• Aren’t genuinely happy
Inventors direct the will of others to accomplish big results. Simply put, you command respect as a leader in every way – every day. You think big, and you deliver even bigger. No wonder you feel ashamed when problems that you are in charge of aren’t solved. Overall, people feel awed by your ability to find the golden needle in the proverbial haystack.
HOW MANY MALE AND FEMALE INVENTOR LEADERS ARE THERE?
Are Inventor leaders as rare as spotting a dragon flying across the sky? Nope. Are they mostly men? Not really. Here are my estimates of this leadership subtype, by gender, from my 2005 clinical case studies of 160 participants:
INVENTORS: 31% OF ALL COMMUNICATORS YOU MEET
➢ 19% MALE
➢ 11% FEMALE
Inventors lead the pack, followed closely by their Instigator extrovert cohorts. By the numbers, the four leadership subtypes in the TALK2ME© system addressed in separate reports are…
• INVENTORS: 31%
• LEADERS: 29%
• INTUITERS: 23%
• SEERS: 17%
In my corporate communication skills training workshops, company presidents are often Inventors who can spatially envision what new angle needs to be taken to stay competitive.
I’M A PASSIONATE PERSON VS. A COMPASSIONATE PERSON
How one Inventor leader in his own words puts this life mission:
I’m a passionate person vs. a compassionate person. Wherever I go I create significant results. Those results can be significantly positive or negative. It’s always been my responsibility to put the best situation together in my mind, which may not always turn out test. I want to make it a better world. I deliver the objectives of the goal. I’ve lived with the strong feeling that if I don’t deliver I let other people down. I want to see other people happy. It’s always how I’ve been. Now, it’s about how people perceive me. I have your best interests at heart but it doesn’t always come out that way. I am driven to deliver results. It’s almost like a high I get. It’s never meant to hurt anyone. Failing isn’t an option, and it hasn’t happened very often. It’s my responsibility to make sure these results are achieved. I need to look at the big picture more often.
ARE YOU AN INVENTOR LEADER?
Inventor leaders are Instigator-type introverts (or ITIs) who sit around the Communicator Table in the TALK2ME© system. If you prefer to solve problems logically, are thicker skinned, a big believer that any action is better than no action at all, and mistrust the usefulness of emotions than you are likely an Instigator communicator. If you prefer to recharge your battery alone instead of recharging with others than you use the introvert’s advantage. Ergo: An Inventor leader.
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About TALK2ME©
Dennis O’Grady delivers TALK2ME© effective communication workshops that provide a Communication Toolbox full of positive communication tools, to executive, managerial, and supervisory groups, to set people up for success. He also uses the TALK2ME system with his private, relationship communications-training clients. Dr. O’Grady is known as the “Talk Doc” since the advent of his positive and effective communication system, TALK2ME. He is past president of the Dayton Psychological Association, founder of New Insights Communication, and is a clinical professor at the Wright State University School of Professional Psychology. His talk textbook, TALK TO ME: Communication Moves to Get Along With Anyone, received the 2008 Axiom Business Book Award Silver Medal. Please feel free to contact New Insights Communication at 937.428-0724 to set up a time to speak with Dr. O’Grady. Your questions and inquiries are welcomed.