I’ve been listening to some personality-themed podcasts, exploring ‘cognitive functions’ i.e. how we make decisions. In this article, I attempt to distil some of this, exploring what each of four different types of people particularly value. I focus on one of our most important relationships at work: the relationship with our boss, and unpack each type considering what’s likely to be important to them. The underlying theory is that each type has different mental wiring, and they evaluate the world through this process i.e. how they believe the world ‘should’ be.

The four types are split by two dimensions: 
(i) thinking/logically-driven or feeling/people/emotionally-driven
(ii) structured/process-focused or flexible/opportunity-focused

You probably have a pretty good feeling of which type your boss might be, and which type you are – where these differ, it’s important to pay particular attention as valuing different things could lead to misunderstandings between you, especially in pressurised situations. 

Over the remainder of this article, I explore each type in turn, discussing what’s important to them. The more you can adjust your behaviour and delivery to give your boss what they value (while still being true to yourself), the better your relationship with them is likely to be, and the more you will meet their needs – which could lead to better increases, higher bonuses and more promotions. Read more to dive into the detail of each type.

As you would imagine, a number of our proteges are quite ambitious, seeking to fast-track their professional careers in a variety of ways. Often these proteges are aiming to get ahead, work their way up into the C-suite and/or manage a business one day. And, fortunately, a number of our professional mentors have themselves worked in senior and C-suite roles, so are able to guide these proteges!

So, it’s not a surprise that we regularly have conversations about whether MBA (Masters in Business Administration) or Executive MBA (EMBA) programmes would help these proteges in their executive ambitions. Some of our professional mentors and coaches have themselves done MBAs at different schools globally, or altMBAs, or MBA Essentials courses... There is naturally a wide range of considerations at an individual level, including location, part-time vs full-time, specialisations or alternatives like Masters in Business Leadership or Masters in Business Analytics, entrance requirements, application processes and personal statements, and more… Given how specific and personalised these are, this article concentrates on career goals and whether an MBA could help. It’s not just those aiming at the C-suite who consider an MBA...

At a very high level, MBAs are particularly helpful to add broad ‘business skills’, especially if you’re coming from a highly technical professional background like an engineer or doctor. It’s unlikely that these professionals, unless they’ve also run an entrepreneurial venture, would have developed business skills at undergraduate level or in their working careers to date. These include aspects like strategic analysis, negotiation, marketing & branding, communication, networking etc, all of which are required for executive leaders. 

MBAs are a very significant investment of money as well as time (which can also have a financial consequence if forgoing a salary for a full-time programme). Some programmes are hundreds of thousands of dollars (!) although you may be able to get a scholarship and/or convince your employer to pay part of the cost. So, are they worth it?! As you’d expect, it depends… Read more as we unpack career goals that our proteges have where an MBA might help, including C-suite ambitions, making a career switch into management consulting or a transition into a new field or industry, entrepreneurship, personal growth and more...

​Perhaps you’re one of those people who loves meeting new people, sharing your own story, and hearing about what makes them tick? More likely not. Networking has a slightly grubby image, bringing to mind suave but slippery souls pretending to want to build a relationship and get to know you, all so they can sell you something… 

So, given that we’re meeting more and more in person again, including at business and professional events, this article shares some tips for those to whom networking doesn’t come naturally. Across many industries, business relationships are very important to career progression, but initiating and nurturing them can be a challenge for some of us.