When was your last learning experience? 
And most importantly: How was your last learning experience?
Mine was a few weeks ago, during my LIFO training and the associated certification. I was excited to learn about my first behavioral typology.
My experiences up to that point hadn’t put me in a positive mood due to sporadic matches; I’m especially not a fan of prefabricated text modules that attempt to master the noble task of describing individuals and fail far too often. I can understand why there’s a demand for them, but for me, they don’t adequately reflect people’s individuality.
And then I ate fish soup at a restaurant the evening before the course, which didn’t sit well with me… a promising start! And that even though I enjoy learning (otherwise, I wouldn’t be studying psychology alongside my self-employment). So, I was a bit late to the event, with a somewhat calm stomach.
Behavioural, related and difficult to separate from personality analysis is already challenging, and so I was a little nervous.
The new assignment of colors to behaviors was a bit confusing… many who have taken a similar test before will probably, like me, approach this with a similar impression:
- Red = dominant
- Yellow = creative
- Blue = analytical
- Green = harmonious
Since the founders of LIFO never really wanted to work with colors, they’re going against the trend here, which takes a bit of getting used to. But once they’ve done that, I find the focus on behavior very nice:
- Activity
- Cooperation
- Excellence
- Reason
All areas that we can benefit from a little now and then, right?
LIFO is based exactly on this: that everyone has a little bit of everything within them, and uses some more, some less.
It might be worth taking a look at this, whether as an individual to see what you can develop or want to strengthen.
Or as a team to see whether the distribution of roles is conducive to the strengths of the team members and how you can better utilize this knowledge of strengths in teamwork … the possibilities are manifold.
I also like the foundations on which the LIFO system is built: on the one hand, a strengths orientation according to Peter Drucker, the intention-behavior-effect congruence theory of Carl Rogers, and on the other hand, the assumption that we all have a little bit of everything within us and can also use it depending on the situation.
An added bonus in my world, for the reasons mentioned above, is that there are (almost) no text modules in the interpretation. You only get those in the online version, which goes beyond the numerical results.
I also really liked how our trainer suggested that this is a starting point for a further process, not the end of one.
Based on LIFO, you can ask many questions and thus support the expert in this matter, the client, in getting to know themselves and others better.
Because, in my world, every test is just a test, and not a basis for pulling out the Freudian sofa!
So my last learning experience was characterized by a lot of information, a lot of permission, a lot of fun, and curiosity. Exactly what I need to learn well. How about you?
If you have any questions about this, whether as a manager or for your team, please contact me.
As a business coach and trainer, I often work with teams in development, in English and German, in Hamburg or at your location, as well as online.
