...Life Styles Inventory™ & Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator®: A Comparison of Two Surveys We are often asked: “What is the difference between the Life Styles Inventory™ and the MyersBriggs Type Indicator®?” Whereas both of these surveys help individuals to better understand themselves and others, they differ in terms of what they measure, how they measure it, and how the results are used. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to highlight what we believe are some of the most important differences between these two popular instruments. The Life Styles Inventory™ (LSI) measures twelve distinct thinking and behavioral styles that are distinguished by their orientations toward task versus people and higher-order needs for satisfaction and growth versus lower order needs for security and safety. The LSI builds on the work of a variety of noteworthy psychologists, including Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Albert Ellis, Karen Horney, Timothy Leary, David McClelland, Harry Stack Sullivan, as well as management scholars, such as Fredrick Hertzberg, Douglas McGregor, and Ralph Stodgill. It is designed to provide individuals with an opportunity to identify specific strengths in their thinking and behavior, as well as any “stumbling blocks” that may be standing in their way. As such, the LSI is used to initiate positive changes in how people approach their work and interact with others— changes that can increase both their personal and professional effectiveness. In contrast, the Myers-Briggs Type...
Words: 3222 - Pages: 13
...LSI : Life Styles Inventory MGMT591 – Dr. Hallcom 9/13/2013 The Life Styles Inventory survey, provided by Human Synergistics International, measures a person’s personal orientation toward thinking and behaving. The questions contained in the survey measure twelve styles related to the thoughts and attitudes that motivate a person’s behavior, how a person might relate to others, and how a person might problem solve and/or make decision (“What lsi measures”, 2012). Various psychologists and management scholars, i.e. Maslow, Hertzberg, etc., influenced the questions presented in the survey. The goal is to use the results to examine my strengths and those other areas that need improving. My styles profile is broken into three parts: constructive styles, passive/defensive styles, and aggressive/defensive styles (“Your lsi styles,” 2013). Of the twelve styles, my primary style is ‘achievement’ and my backup style is ‘approval’. These styles have the greatest influence on my behavior. In selecting that slice of my circumplex, the achievement style is characterized by “a focus on achieving a standard of excellence; the knowledge that individual effort counts,” and “a belief in the benefits of asking for and giving honest feedback” (“Your lsi styles,” 2013). Most of the items that comprise the achievement style manifest itself in my personal- and work-life. For example, I enjoy being busy, learning more, taking on difficult tasks and accomplishing them. I pride myself in...
Words: 857 - Pages: 4
...Guided By: - Romuald Stone Date: - 09/10/2015 Guided By: - Romuald Stone Date: - 09/10/2015 Life Styles Inventory Prepared By: - Amar ShahPatel Mgmt-591 leadership and organizational behaviour Life Styles Inventory Prepared By: - Amar ShahPatel Mgmt-591 leadership and organizational behaviour Life Style Inventory The “Life Styles Inventory” (LSI) is based around the Human Synergistics Circumplex, describing Constructive, Passive/Defensive and Aggressive/Defensive behaviours. It provides for self-description. Part I- Personal Thinking Styles What are your "primary" (highest percentile score) and "backup" (second highest percentile) personal thinking styles as shown in your circumplex? According to the LSI survey taken and from the twelve given skills I think following are my primary and backup skills. 1) Competitive 2) Conventional 3) Affiliative 4) Self-Actualizing After finishing the survey and result generated the highest percentile I scored the highest is Competitive. Competitive skill is the scale that measures my way of thinking with others. Competitive skill is the most required skill for a managerial role in any company. Because the company would like to see how you handle and motivate the employees with your creative thinking style. Backup Skill:- After completing the survey and analyzing the result the backup skill that I found out is Conventional. Conventional is the skill that I think is the one of the most important in these...
Words: 1083 - Pages: 5
...LIFE STYLE INVENTORY The life styles inventory is a survey of questions that help us to see our own personality and what type of behaviors we have on others. Also, it helps us to look at the positive and negative qualities of our personalities and ways to improve upon them. The LSI Style Profile helps to identify ones perception on how they reflect and behave in work involved circumstances. The profile is broken up into three style categories. 1. Constructive Styles: Reflects self-enhancing thinking and behavior that contributes to one’s level of satisfaction, ability to develop healthy relationships and work effectively with people, and proficiency at accomplishing tasks. 2. Passive/Defensive Style: Represents self- protecting thinking and behavior that promote the fulfillment of security needs through iteration with people. 3. Aggressive/Defensive Style: Reflect self-promotion thinking and behavior used to maintain one’s status position and fulfill security needs through task-related. Part 1: Personal Thinking Styles (primary, backup, limiting) “Primary” Thinking Styles According to my LSI profile , my primary style is conventional. Mostly people who have conventional style feel that they want to see everything unchanged .Conventional people feel that they are traditional and they like to know exactly what is expected of them in every situation. They are practical and very structured. Conventional people might be good at science like math ,but they may...
Words: 1742 - Pages: 7
...The Life Styles Inventory (LSI) Paper MGMT 591 Leadership and Organizational Behavior Instructor: Barbara Vallera 5/21/14 Introduction The Life Styles Inventory™ (LSI) presents a cycle of questions in the areas of personal fulfillment, tension, usefulness and value of interpersonal relationships and then collates participant responses into a circumflex identifying twelve exact patterns or styles of thinking, behaving and interacting on a personal, management and leadership level representing the essence of an individual's usefulness. The circumflex provides an image of an individual's thinking and behavior and then compares results with those of other individuals having taken the inventory in order to create self-awareness of strengths and weakness in order to create awareness of constructive behavior. The forming base for the LSI represents nearly ten thousand individuals from various organizations, ages, levels of education and from both genders. The results plotted on the circumflex a divided into area defined by higher order and lower order needs of satisfaction and security; and task-centered and people centered orientations. Within these spheres are twelve separate styles (agreement, conservative, reliant, prevention, oppositional, power, aggressive, obsessive, success, self-actualizing, humanistic-encouraging, and affinitive) which are consequently grouped into three exact patterns (success and reliant; self-actualizing and avoidance; humanistic-encouraging/oppositional;...
Words: 1709 - Pages: 7
...GM591 PREPARATION GUIDE: LIFE STYLES INVENTORY(LSI) Introduction: Thinking and Behavior "The quest for leadership is first an inner quest to discover who you are” (p.391).[1] --Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner--- Self-awareness is foundational to effective leadership and organization success[2]. Research in leadership and organizational behavior indicates that managers who are blind to who they are, and to the effects they have on other people in their organizations, place their effectiveness and their careers at risk. A frequently cited axiom is "the first commandment of leadership is to know thyself." For example, in their studies of managerial and executive derailment, the Center for Creative Leadership found that successful managers: (1) understand their values, personal styles, and strengths and weaknesses; (2) know the impact of these values, styles, and strengths and weaknesses on their ability to effectively work with others and achieve their goals; and (3) are quick to reflect upon and learn from their own experiences. Despite these advantages, we often resist opportunities to increase our self-awareness or to acknowledge error. We fear that learning something new about ourselves will be painful -- doing so may require us to change our treasured and habitual ways of seeing, thinking, and behaving. Self-awareness is also an important barometer to ensure that even the best leadership practices don't become destructive. As Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner caution...
Words: 1579 - Pages: 7
...The Life Styles Inventory Survey is assessed to allow me to answer the question of, “Who am I, and what causes me to act the way that I do.” It gives an insight to one’s personality and an insight as to how we may treat others. By giving my honest opinion of several questions the results are going to give me an insight on how my thinking styles will influence my behavior as a manager and allow me to use the results for self-improvement. My results show that I Research has shown that the styles measured by the LSI are related to a number of indicators of effectiveness and success, including leadership effectiveness, management effectiveness, problem solving effectiveness, quality of interpersonal relations, salary, organizational level, individual health and well-being, and organizational culture. In my Leadership and Organizational Behavior class, I had the task of completing a Life Styles Inventory Survey to come up with a self-description of my thinking styles. The goal of this exercise is to find out how thinking styles may influence my behavior as a manager and to help me to determine how to use the results for self-improvement. After taking this inventory, my circumplex shows that my primary thinking style is affiliative (2 o’clock position) and my back up thinking style is conventional (4 o’clock position). While I can identify with the affiliative style of thinking, I do not believe the conventional thinking style is a true depiction of the way I think. Part...
Words: 1895 - Pages: 8
...RUNNING HEAD: LSI Paper I am charged with the task of completing the Life Styles Inventory Survey to give a self-description of my thinking styles. The purpose of this assignment is to determine the impact that the personal styles have on my management style and to identify which one of my thinking styles may be reducing my overall effectiveness. After completing the survey, my circumplex shows that my primary thinking style is the “Conventional Style”(4 o’clock) and my backup thinking style is the “Power Style” (8 o’clock). I agree with the results of the conventional thinking style, but, I do not fully agree with the results of the power thinking style. According to the LSI results, the conventional thinking style is one that measures our inclination to act in a compliant way. Conventional thinkers worry about adhering to rules and established procedures. According to the LSI results, when we depend on on established procedures in determining how we do things, we risk losing our sense of uniqueness and individuality. I would have to agree with the results of this survey that I am a conventional thinker. As a child, my parents had very strict household rules that, simply, were not to my benefit to break. Therefore, I often abided by the rules. I think this is why I tend to do things strictly by the book. Doing things by the book gives me a sense of security in knowing that I followed the policy, in case something goes wrong. As a conventional thinker, I prefer...
Words: 1454 - Pages: 6
...LSI survey MGMT 591 Leadership and Organizational Behavior The Life Styles Inventory (LSI) is a self-assessment diagnostic instrument that measures 12 key thinking patterns, or "styles". The LSI promotes performance change and improvement by increasing personal understanding of one's thinking and behavior. By responding to these 240 inventory items, individuals learn exactly where they need to focus their development efforts, without ambiguity or guesswork. The results of the self-description are plotted on a circular graph for easy visualization of how the individual thinks and behaves in the 12 LSI styles. This profile acts as a personalized developmental needs assessment, calling attention to the individual's strengths as well as areas needing improvement. After using the Life Styles exercise and receiving my results, I feel that I have been able to accurately analyze my behaviors in the workplace and in my personal life. I noticed how my personal thinking style has influenced my ability to be effective in my work and as a result, there are some things that can be improved upon. This exercise has allowed me to look back and critically analyze my behaviors and thinking styles and assess how they affect me in day-to-day activities. I have been able to identify the mechanisms by which the relationships I have with my family and friend have manipulated my personal behavior and lifestyle over the years.Taking the Life Styles Inventory (LSI) survey has really made me realized...
Words: 1029 - Pages: 5
...The life Styles Inventory (LSI) is developed by Dr. J. Clayton Lafferty. The lifestyle inventory is a self assessment diagnostic instrument that measures 12 key thinking patterns or “styles”. The results of the self-description are plotted on a circular graph for easy visualization of how the individual thinks and behaves in the 12 LSI styles. By responding to these 240 inventory items, individuals learn exactly where they need to focus their development efforts, without uncertainty. It promotes performance change and improvement by increasing personal understanding of one’s thinking and behavior. These styles of patterns of thinking that can either help or hinder a person from reaching his or her potential. There are 3 LSI styles namely; 1. Aggressive/ defensive style. 2. Constructive style. 3. Passive/ defensive style. Research has shown that the styles measures by the LSI are related to a number of indicators of effectiveness and success, including leadership effectiveness, management effectiveness, problem solving effectiveness, quality of interpersonal relations, salary, organizational level, individual health and well being, and organization culture. According to the circumplex output my percentile style which represents me most is aggressive/ defensive style. Upon completing the Lifestyles Inventory I found that my dominant styles are competitive, approval seeker, conventional followed by dependent. The results from my LSI survey were found to be somewhat...
Words: 994 - Pages: 4
...Life Styles Circumplex Profile By: November 4, 2011 Introduction: The Life Styles Inventory (LSI) assessment exercise is a self evaluation survey that measures various thinking and behavioral patterns. The LSI assessment exercise provides an opportunity to evaluate oneself against twelve (12) distinctive styles within three (3) core evaluating areas: Constructive, Passive/Defensive, and Aggressive/Defensive styles. The results from the LSI assessment pinpoints my strong and weak attributes, and provide suggestions on how to improve on my less desirable characteristics which will enable me to implement a Self Improvement plan to better equip myself effectively within my work and personal lifestyle. Position | Style | Score | Percentile | 1 | Humanistic-Encouraging | 40 | 99 | 2 | Affiliative | 40 | 99 | 3 | Approval | 23 | 90 | 4 | Conventional | 35 | 99 | 5 | Dependent | 28 | 95 | 6 | Avoidance | 23 | 99 | 7 | Oppositional | 17 | 92 | 8 | Power | 26 | 99 | 9 | Competitive | 31 | 99 | 10 | Perfectionistic | 35 | 99 | 11 | Achievement | 38 | 90 | 12 | Self-Actualizing | 34 | 80 | Part 1: Personal Thinking Styles (Primary, Backup, Limited) My LSI assessment results constructed a profile which indicated that my primary style to be Humanistic-Encouraging, my backup style to be Affiliative and my limiting style to be Oppositional. The Humanistic-Encouraging style is described as individuals who believe that they can help others...
Words: 1477 - Pages: 6
...LSI Paper Introduction The Life Style Inventory (LSI) is a survey in which one can identify their underlying thoughts and motivations that may shape their individual behaviors. The LSI is a series of self identifying questions which are scored and results tabulated. The results are scored in 3 major categories; constructive styles, passive/defensive styles, and aggressive/defensive styles. The three major categories are then broken down further into twelve subcategories. Enclosed will be a copy of the results of the LSI I have taken. Also, in the following, I will identify my primary and back up thinking styles and any styles that may be limiting my professional effectiveness and ways to overcome those obstacles. I will also discuss the impacts of my thinking styles on the four functions of management. Finally I will discuss how these thinking styles were developed in my life. Personal Thinking Styles My personal thinking style results varied and were extremely surprising. However, there were two particular areas which stood out the most. My primary thinking style is oppositional. This is a subcategory of the aggressive/defensive style. The oppositional style means that I tend to be aggressive and defensive when disagreeing with others. According to the results of the survey, I would rather put someone down in order to make myself feel better. Oppositional people also tend to have a strong need for recognition which may result in sarcastic responses. Oppositional...
Words: 1373 - Pages: 6
...assessment survey known as Life Styles Inventory (LSI). Human Synergistics (2007), the Life Styles Inventory (LSI) is based around the Human Synergistics Circumplex, describing constructive, passive/defensive and aggressive/defensive behaviors. The personal LSI profile dictates that I exemplify a constructive style of behavior. Attributes of a constructive style are Achievement, Self-Actualization, Humanistic-Encouraging, and Affiliative. My primary style is Humanistic-Encouraging, LSI (2007), it reflects an interest in the growth and development of people, a high positive regard for them and sensitivity to their needs. People high in this style devote energy to coaching and counseling others, are thoughtful and considerate and provide people with support and encouragement. My backup is Affiliative, LSI (2007) it reflects an interest in developing and sustaining pleasant relationships. People high in this style share their thoughts and feelings, are friendly and cooperative and make others feel a part of things. This is truly accurate. They are equally manifested in my life. No matter the place nor time, I make the needs of others a priority. I am a firm believer of treating others as you want to be treated. My Affiliative backup style is also limiting for my kindness is at times taken for weakness. This happens more at home more than in the workplace. My work past and present work history validates my LSI profile. Exemplifying this constructive style has benefited...
Words: 789 - Pages: 4
...| | The Life Styles Inventory (LSI) is a self-assessment diagnostic instrument that measures 12 key thinking patterns, or "styles". The LSI promotes performance change and improvement by increasing personal understanding of one's thinking and behavior. By responding to 240 inventory items, individuals learn exactly where their strengths lie and where they need to focus their development efforts. The results of the self-description are plotted on a circular graph for easy visualization of how the individual thinks and behaves in the 12 LSI styles. This profile acts as a personalized developmental needs assessment, calling attention to the individual's strengths as well as areas needing improvement. My primary thinking style is humanistic – encouraging. My score within this style is in the high area, falling into the 80th percentile. According to the LSI, humanistic people are accepting of themselves and others for who they are. People who use this style are attuned to people’s needs and will focus on counseling and coaching others. They empower their team members to make decisions for themselves and hold themselves accountable for any errors they may make. Scoring high in this style was not a surprise to me. Helping, coaching, and developing people have always been a passion for me. I am...
Words: 1979 - Pages: 8
...Life Styles Inventory (LSI): Self Description May 8, 2012 Personal Thinking Styles The key to recognizing individual thinking style for most people can sometimes be found right on the surface. Consider the way in which a person might be described or referred to. For me that includes statements such as: • She’s a people person. • We never thought of that before. That’s a great idea now put together a strategy. • She will make sure everyone on the team has an opportunity to participate. • Don’t worry. She’ll cross the T’s and dot the I’s. Each of these phrases are things I’ve heard consistently over the years so when I completed the Life Styles Inventory (LSI) survey I was not surprised to receive my highest level scores in the Constructive Styles: Humanistic-Encouraging (99 percentile), Affiliative (99 percentile), Achievement (80 percentile) and Self-Actualizing (80 percentile). But what was surprising to me was that I received my third highest score and my fifth highest score in the Aggressive/Defensive Styles: Oppositional (84 percentile) and Power (79 percentile). What was visually intriguing is the fact that my two highest level Constructive Styles (Humanistic-Encouraging and Affiliative) are direct opposites of my influencing Aggressive/Defensive Styles (Oppositional and Power). What does all of this mean and how does it matter? The assessment seemed pretty accurate and it helps me to better understand why I approach everything in the...
Words: 2154 - Pages: 9
