By Crystal M. Kurzen

There is a path to being happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative, especially as a grant professional. Gretchen Rubin’s The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People’s Lives Better, Too)  and subsequent quiz came out in 2017 and provides great insight into human motivations. 

Rubin’s intervention is that everyone faces two kinds of expectations: 

• Outer expectations – Expectations others place on us, such as meeting a grant or report deadline; and,
• Inner expectations — Expectations we place on ourselves, such as our daily to-do lists.

Rubin’s crucial insight is that depending on a person’s response to outer and inner expectations, that person falls into one of four distinct types:

• Upholders respond readily to both outer expectations and inner expectations;

• Questioners question all expectations; they meet an expectation only if they believe it’s justified, so in effect they respond only to inner expectations;
• Obligers respond to outer expectations but struggle to meet inner expectations; and,
• Rebels resist all expectations, outer and inner alike.

If you find yourself having trouble meeting a grant or reporting deadline, you might ask this question: How can you “hack” your tendency to be a more effective grant pro? Understanding your tendency can help you figure out the best ways to be more in control of how you work. 

Figure out what motivates you and tap into that influence. Maybe you’re a “Rebel” and meet your goals because you draw on your identity as a grant pro. A Questioner might be satiated by having an honest conversation with a funder to better understand why they require specific information. 

As you can probably imagine, understanding yourself better in this way will lead you to understand those around you so much better. According to Rubin: “We can live more effectively with others when we identify their tendencies — as coworkers and bosses, teachers and coaches, husbands, wives, [and partners], parents and children, healthcare providers and patients.” This understanding fosters empathy for those who find motivation in different activities. “[W]hen we understand others’ Tendencies, we’re more tolerant of them […] we see that a person’s behavior isn’t aimed at us personally.”

An important aspect of this framework is that there’s no best or worst tendency. Rubin contends that “The happiest, healthiest, most productive people aren’t from a particular tendency, but rather they’re the people who have figured out how to harness the strengths of their Tendency, counteract the weaknesses, and build the lives that work for them.” 

Tendencies are hardwired, and none are better than any of the others. The key is to set up systems that work for your tendency. Don’t change yourself, just hack your Tendency. The Four Tendencies shape every aspect of behavior, so understanding this framework lets you make better decisions, meet grant deadlines, suffer less stress and burnout, and engage more effectively with yourself and others.

The post Know Yourself Better: Grant Pros Should Take The 4 Tendencies Quiz appeared first on The NonProfit Times.

Source From Non Profit Times