Has anyone else done Tilt at work?

Totally not fashion related so I am putting this in off-topic. I am in my company's leadership program this year, and Angie's blog post today compels me to post this here, as I'm curious what this fab community thinks or has experience in this...

We've done the Tilt if you are familiar and I'm a Connection, based on my own self-test. The descriptions ring true (although other descriptions also resonate). But, my leadership coach thinks I may actually be a Clarity instead. After observing me for a week during our off-site, she says I seem to be more of the "quiet genius." Reading that description, I can see it too, but I'm also not sure if it matters. Heh! I wonder if it's not situational, as I can see how throughout my life and in different situations I've played all the roles. And as a manager (director), I want to hire all the roles for a balanced team.

I am now in the process of collecting Tilt365 observer feedback from peers and internal "clients" and people who work for me.

I know most of you have never met me IRL but I would be very curious what you would say about me, yes, even if it's just my fashion style, or community participation aspect. Especially those of you who've known me since I first joined this community, but I'm welcome to any feedback.

I'm also really curious if anyone else has been nominated and went through a company leadership program, and what you realized about yourself in the process, and how it directed your career afterwards.

8 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

I’m not familiar with Tilt. I have to go look into this now. I like this stuff.

I’ve been sent off for various AMA+ courses. Not at the bakery, but in the plushy corporate world. I think these things are very useful, but you can’t be passive in these courses.

At the bakery, our old manager was sent off to a leadership course for career development and he got nothing out of it. I was slightly appalled and surprised. It was all ‘basic jabber’ to him. I feel he didn’t think deeply about it enough.

But part of the thing is, no one ever tells you what a manager really does, how a manager thinks. That’s part of the test to see if you’re management material or not. You get the tools in the courses, not the blueprint for the house. So my old boss wasn’t thinking more senior, IMO, and that’s why he missed out on what they were giving out.

I think he’s a typical case. There’s a lot of incompetent management out there because organisations make people passive like that. People think they will get promoted or hired into a management position and then someone will train them. But you have to actually understand what management does first, at the various levels, before the training is useful.

This is a timely topic, because in our biggest week of the year - Thanksgiving - um, our production director has gone AWOL. I spent today talking with the person who was sort of the focus of his tantrum. She’s ‘management rank’ - but I spent my time explaining to her that a) he was a director, not a manager and b) the difference.

It’s all high drama, because our president and company owner, she sent the director home to get some rest... and maybe he’s taken that to mean he’s been fired.

Btw... I just want to say people end up in management positions for a lot of no good reasons. Last week, the bakery let a manger go. She’d applied for a packing job. She was hired as a manger because she said she wanted to be one, but they wouldn’t promote her at her last job. Potential and ‘actuation’ (is this a word?) are totally different things.

Haha. Back! Did I say I love this stuff? I think you tilt Clarity - at least here (I looked at the Tilt wiki). I think to be an effective leader, you definitely need all 4 tilts, at different levels of management and situations and times.

Beth Ann

I've not seen the "Tilt" test yes, although I'm off to check it out, since I find these tools interesting. I think there is a subset of people who cross categories in many of these tests (and I'm one of them). I wonder if some of us develop a sort of "portfolio" aspect to our personality --- drawing from different aspects of ourselves to meet needs.

As for your personality -- I perceive energy and vibrance, with a quick wit and mind that can focus and seek practical solutions. I would guess that you are mostly cheerful and friendly, but have little tolerance for fools!

I follow a book/lifestyle blog, Modern Mrs. Darcy (modernmrsdarcy.com). She's recently written a fun book about reading personalities ----
https://www.amazon.com/Reading.....ref=sr_1_1?

Stagiaire Fash

I haven’t seen the Tilt, but the idea of a “portfolio” rings true. I think the ability to use different approaches in different situations is maturity.

shiny

Rachy, I'm curious how you would define the difference between a manager, director, and a VP?

My sweet spot has always been director as I find it is the balance point between results and relationships. Results = VPs, relationships = managers. However I'm pondering "what next?" and exploring if I might not aim towards VP. Just not sure it'd make me happy, or be a fit with my skills and interests. Then again maybe I've got a mental block that's preventing me from aiming higher. Not sure. This program I'm in will enable me to explore that.

As I get older, I really love and gravitate more towards the human side -- how to develop an org, maintain strong culture, build teams, develop people, etc. I feel like I was more of a Clarity when I was younger, and as I mature I am more into tilting towards Connection.

Beth Ann - yes that is the point of tilt, you may have an innate tendency in one of the four aspects, but the goal is to develop your ability to tilt in different directions when needed, depending on the situation.

I think managers are people and process specifics - setting up specific individuals to do their best work, sorting out how to get the broad goals done, hiring. I think directors are broad goals, budgets, staffing levels, distribution of work at the department level, facilities development. I think VPs are financing, expansion, law. Presidents / board are same as VP plus vision, market direction. Generally speaking, of course. Depends on company, size, scope. And of course everyone has to feed each other ideas and info.

I think connection and impact are more needed in a bigger way at senior levels, clarity and structure at junior levels.

Supervisor and team leads are interesting levels. Moral support and go betweens that smooth social functioning.

Anyways, that’s how I articulate and classify.

I have to admit I don’t talk too much results and relationships in terms of organisational levels of responsibility. It’s true, but then I also think everyone needs to keep their eyes on the prize (results) and communication has to be a thorough web (relationships).

It sounds like you work for a big and/or modern company. In which case, you might have something akin to a corporate culture / organisational development department...?

I say... Are you a product or service or combo company?

Haha. I’m back again talking to myself about management, because I’m pretty sure our director is gone, has had enough... and my mother is pushing me to rise higher. Lol. That’s irritating. Because I sorta agree, but I like my company and we suck at the higher levels. I don’t want to be another person who has to get mad and leave!

I can see Connection in you too, anyways, but since this is a net forum... well, we’re not organising to do anything as a group that often, lol... But in terms of assimilating and spreading ideas... yeah!

Thanks Rachy, that is helpful. Yes we are a combo company (software). Rapidly growing -- when I started 4 years ago we had 6000 and we are about 11,000 now. We do have a "people" team (org development/ culture). Challenge is maintaining the culture while scaling so fast. I tell new hires "it's the sort of place that you can't change, it changes you."

At 11000, you must be in international waters, and as a VP would definitely have to be aggressively, proactively looking at/for the laws and competition and laws that protect the competition for things that could put the kabosh on anything... You don’t work for Uber do you? If you do or anyone does, no offense meant, but Uber sucks at that. This weekend was full of news about Uber running aground in these areas...

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