MDNA Moment
7 Ways to Rest and Recharge Based on Your MDNA
Resting, whether it is taking a vacation or a mental health day, is an important skill if you want to achieve long-term success and fulfillment. The key to rest, however, is how you rest based upon your intrinsic motivations. Your motivational DNA reveals how certain types of rest recharge you most. Here is how to use your MDNA gifts to give yourself the gift of rest.
UCD
Go somewhere with wide-open spaces and very few (if any) people. The UCD wants to sit, think, and reflect—not build relationships. It also helps if there is a purpose to the excursion or location. Try to incorporate a personal project, discovery, or conceptualization.
SSA
As an SSA, do something where you can help others for a short-term period. Volunteer somewhere or go on a work-project trip—anything that meets people’s fundamental needs. But most importantly, after you’ve served, take a moment to celebrate the accomplishment. Avoid the temptation to continue to serve. Instead, rest from your service.
KWR
Go somewhere or do something you’ve never seen or done before. Before that, take time to thoroughly research everything—every detail, logistic, and historical fact. In other words, as a KWR, incorporate as much learning into your rest as possible. It also helps is what you’re learning has nothing to do with work, but rather something else of high interest.
EIA
Go somewhere where there’s a constant party with a diversity of people and a variety of activities. Avoid anything that requires responsibility. It’s time to cut loose EIA! And the larger than life your experience is—so you can tell everybody about it after—the better.
CVS
The CVS has two options. Option A) Go somewhere spontaneous. For example, get in the car and see where it takes you. Don’t make plans. Be flexible. Go or stay as long as you want to. If someone comes with you, they must agree to the same rules or else you’ll be frustrated, and it won’t be restful at all.
Option B) Go somewhere and do something that will generate an ROI for your time. In other words, what you do has to represent value. For example, visit a new city but attend a conference related to work at the same time. Or head to a retreat center but offer to teach a workshop while you’re there.
DLF
The DLF can do anything to rest just as long as they are the ones organizing it with others. Family reunions, camping, tours and sporting competitions all qualify. As strange as it sounds, the DLF loves thriving under the pressure of administrating the rest for themselves and others. The DLF loves seeing a plan come together that gives others the freedom to rest. This approach recharges the DLF.
IAF
Go somewhere or do something to simply relax and just “be.” Use your IAF intuition to do what fulfills you. It might be a favorite food, environment or entertainment. Don’t do it alone, though. Have someone close to you join that can be just as happy to be there as you are. But avoid doing things or being with people where you’ll be distracted by the strong opinions and desires of others. You’ll sacrifice your much-needed rest to make them happy. Make sure everybody has something to do and can have their needs met.
When Should You Rest?
Every MDNA requires different frequencies of rest for recharge. What’s difficult is that we’re often unaware of personal burnout. Self-awareness is key, however. As a rule of thumb, it is important to rest after there’s been a buildup of emotional intensity. For example, after you’ve met an important deadline for a major project. Or, if there’s been a life crisis that takes a period to resolve. Some of us even need rest after a family holiday season (depending upon the family, of course). Monitor your emotions and how self-regulated you are. If you find yourself more reactive than proactive, then chances are it’s time to consider giving yourself the gift of rest.
What's "Right" for Each MDNA (Results vs. Intentions)
To each MDNA gift, there’s an intrinsic framework that processes the difference between “right” and “wrong.” In other words, every MDNA judges things differently because intrinsic motivations lead to personal values and values ultimately drive our judgments.
Yet, there’s one principle that is common to all of us, regardless of MDNA. That is:
We all want to be judged by our intentions but we judge others by their results.
This means that our internal intentions are “right” based upon our own subjective perspectives. But we can quickly judge other people as “wrong” without knowing their intentions. This can become a pesky issue in every organizational culture. The key of course, is to have conversations and agree collectively on what is right and wrong.
What’s helpful from an interpersonal level is knowing how each MDNA gift approaches the difference between right and wrong along with results versus intentions. Here’s a small sample of what that might look like. You can read the full MDNA profiles to gain further insight.
UCD: What’s “right” is black and white, based on their convictions and principles. They make that judgment very quickly.
For the UCD, if intentions are ideologically aligned, then they are OK. But if they aren’t aligned, then even the right result can be wrong to the UCD. And they’re very willing to stand alone and lose friends for what they believe in. They’re willing to sacrifice and pay the cost upfront for what’s right to them.
SSA: What needs to be done first is “right” and supporting what the leader and team think is “right” is right for the SSA.
The SSA tends to give people the most slack based on their intentions. Although the SSA may have an idea internally what is right and wrong for them, they’re willing to set it aside to be of service and get things done. However, they’re very loyal to the leader and team, so anything that threatens this will be wrong.
KWR: Things are “right” if they are backed up with precise and logical information. They’ll accept claims on what’s “right” but need to validate it.
For the KWR, any information that’s misused, manipulated or inaccurate is always wrong in their mind, no matter how close it gets to the truth and what the initial intentions were. Because of this, the KWR can find themselves wanting to be right and defending the truth if they think they have better information.
EIA: What’s “right” is based on a combination of connections, vision and opportunity. They also value being “right” based on their intentions.
To the EIA, intentions based on relationships is the most important. They can be most hurt is they are judged by results without including intentions. They’ll also defend others based on their intentions and do what’s necessary for the whole group to strive towards a vision.
CVS: The “right” thing also has the “right” value and return on investment. They appreciate results more than others.
What’s even worse for the CVS is if the results are wrong and it’s been a waste of time. The CVS has no problems learning from intentions and results, but they’ll quickly get cranky with others that waste resources getting there.
DLF: The “right” thing requires loyalty and productivity. If there are both, anything “wrong” can be made “right” without blaming.
The DLF doesn’t get into the blame game of who was wrong. They just want the team to work together to make it right. If intentions are loyal then the results will get there with enough hard work. But this makes them extra sensitive to any wrongs that seem like “betrayals” to their leadership.
IAF: What’s “right” is based on everybody’s sense of fulfillment. They’ll sacrifice to make it “right” for one person.
The IAF has an intuitive sense, not necessarily of what is right or wrong, but how people feel about it. They recognize that everybody has their own sense of right and wrong and can empathize with each. Nor do they want anybody to feel left out. This means an IAF will sacrifice for the needs of the few, sometimes ignoring the needs of the many. Their intention is always to help everybody feel fulfillment.
Three Ways to Develop Intrinsic Curiosity
Curiosity is a skill that benefits us personally and professionally. Curiosity helps us with creativity, innovation and strategic problem solving among other skills. These are skills every organization wants more of in their employees. But there is a difference between intrinsic and extrinsic curiosity.
Extrinsic curiosity is when we are motivated by external forces to be curious. For example, if we see a box we can get curious as to what is inside. Or, in the case of organizations, we may be paid to be curious about every box we encounter. But typically, when we’re motivated by external rewards for curiosity, the motivation doesn’t last very long and the results are not as effective compared to being intrinsically motivated.
So, how do we develop intrinsic curiosity that lasts with better results?
Start with Self-Determination
MDNA is based upon a psychological framework for understanding intrinsic motivation called Self-Determination Theory (SDT). SDT teaches us that we have three psychological needs that motivate us: freedom, mastery and purpose.
Freedom is our sense of autonomy. It is the ability to make our own decisions and act without being controlled.
Mastery is our desire to develop competence. We all want to get good at the things that help us achieve our goals.
Finally, purpose involves how we relate to other people and the impact we make. Purpose gives us a sense of identity, belonging and significance.
It turns out that we all value these three needs in different priority. This gives us a clue on how to develop an intrinsically motivated sense of curiosity.
Prioritize Your Motivations
To develop intrinsic curiosity, the first step is to identify which one of the three motivates you most. Prioritize them. You now know what motivates you most to be curious and what to do about it.
For example:
If you value freedom, you can ask yourself, “How can I gain more freedom in this?” This will require you to be curious about to gain more responsibility and authority to make decisions on your own. This would be a great discussion to have with a manager.
If you value mastery, you can ask, “How do I master this better?” This will motivate you to be curious about how to improve on and practice the skills. You might experiment more or supplement your knowledge.
And if you value purpose, you can ask, “How can I make this more impactful for the people around me?” You will get curious about how others experience your work and what else they need. You will be open to feedback and empathize more with others.
As you explore each of these needs, you will realize that they all work together. For example, to gain more freedom, you could master an area of competence which will in turn cause others to trust you to do things on your own. The same goes for purpose. Mastery often makes the biggest impact. Try experimenting.
Ask Better Questions
What you will notice is that each of these needs is met starting with a question. Asking better questions is the fastest way to stimulate your curiosity. SDT is simply there to help guide which questions you motivate you and which answers you will value the most.
Fine Tune with Your Gifts
After you’ve prioritized the intrinsic motivations for curiosity, you can look deeper at your specific MDNA. Each MDNA gift addresses the three psychological needs of SDT in unique ways which will fine tune your intrinsic curiosity skills. But start with freedom, master and purpose. When you’re ready, look up your MDNA here.
Use MDNA to Work Better Together
You have a task that needs a team to work together. How can MDNA help you decide how to approach individuals and integrate them into your team?
This article will help you make some quick decisions and explore team configurations when it comes to using MDNA. Just remember, this is only a starting point. Everybody has a primary and secondary MDNA gift. So remember to consider both profiles.
UCD - Unyielding Conviction & Design
When you’re starting from scratch and need a black and white approach.
The UCD will waste no time and just get straight to the point. This is especially helpful if you are stumped or the problem is something that needs to be triaged immediately. The UCD has no issues with chaos and getting things organized from scratch or creating a rapid prototype. Just let them go do their thing and have them check in at agreed times.
SSA - Sacrificial Service & Authority
When you just need help from somebody with no other motives other than getting the job done.
The SSA is the behind-the-scenes type who just gets things done. The SSA has the ability to keep new initiatives from stalling out by supporting leaders. If you’re in a position where the minutiae just needs to be addressed, contact the SSA. Just make sure you’re not taking advantage of them because they will overwork themselves. And they work best when they know they’re making the team great,
KWR - Knowledgeable Wisdom & Responsibility
When you need a researched and informed approach to educate the team.
Give the KWR room to be the intellectual, especially if your team requires a specific subject matter expert. It doesn’t matter what type of information; whether it’s data, analysis, instructions or theories. Let the KWR bring research and knowledge management capacity to the team. The KWR also tends to have the witty and quirky humor for the group as well.
EIA - Empowering Inspiration & Attraction
When you need the team to gel and enjoy working together.
We like to call the EIA the “social glue and teflon” of a group. They’re motivated to bring people together socially and become unified under a vision or overcome a task with courage. As master communicators they make sure people are getting along. And when relationships are stressed, they add life by telling a joke or larger-than-life story. They are often entertaining as well which can really be helpful.
CVS - Compelling Value & Stewardship
When you need the most flexible person willing to play any role or plug a gap.
The CVS is considered “relentlessly resourceful” because of how diverse and flexible they are willing to be. The CVS is often hard to pin down into a role because they’re pretty good at almost everything. This is extremely helpful in startup situations or if there’s something that needs to be taken care of because of a gap in resources. The CVS also can work with pretty much any group regardless of diversity. They just know how to fit in.
DLF - Dominion Leadership & Freedom
When you need a strong leader or administrator to get organized.
The DLF is best at being authoritative and bringing a strong leadership presence to the team dynamic. Give them the top title and they will know what to do. If not the leader, the DLF is also a master administrator. If you want lists and systems of execution you got it. If the group has to be organized for productivity, the DLF will have no problems. They also handle adversity pretty darn well.
IAF - Intuitive Alignment & Fulfillment
When you need that extra special something with detail orientation.
The IAF can be just as diverse as the CVS. The difference is the IAF will know what they want to work on and the excellence they’re capable of. And when they’re passionate about a vision, they will see and take care of all the details. They also prefer to work by design and not default. So if your team needs some creativity and empathy, go grab an IAF. Let them share what their instincts are saying and see the magic happen.
Like previously mentioned, this is just the starting point. Each MDNA gift is rich and deep with more to offer. If you want to learn more about each gift, visit the MDNA results page. And let us know if we can help you any further.
How Your MDNA Helps You Solve Problems
They say that success in life is all about how we move from problem to problem. And every once in a while, life gives us a break… with a crisis. In our experience, this is so true and we’re sure you can relate.
What helps with life’s problems is understanding how intrinsic motivations can help us find solutions that work for each of us. This is where the MDNA gifts can come in handy. Let’s take a look at each gift to see how different approaches might work.
UCD - Unyielding Conviction & Design
The UCD never looks at a problem just for the problem. Rather, the UCD will always account for strategy, principles, ideology and liabilities. In other words, a UCD solves problem from a design aspect. Design to a UCD is all about how something works and the reasons it should work a certain way. This is the reason the UCD is often the first one to take a problem and come up with a solution from scratch.
If you are a UCD however, know that a UCD has no problems prioritizing fixing a problem over relationships and people’s feelings. Problem solving comes naturally for a UCD, but often at the expense of relationships. For a UCD to be effective at solving problems, empathy is necessary. Also, the UCD will tend to fix problems solo and disregard team collaboration. While sometimes this is a beneficial trait, when there are complex issues to be solved, learning to collaborate only enhances the UCD gift.
SSA - Sacrificial Service & Authority
The SSA solves problems through service. This means starting with the immediate actions that need attention and working from there. The best part about the SSA is that they don’t even have to be asked to help out. It just gets done because it needs to be done. This is the type of servant leadership that benefits everybody.
One problem the SSA can have is boundaries. More often than not, the SSA has a hard time saying no. This can open the door for others to take advantage of the SSA’s willingness for service. The SSA needs to learn to say no and understand appropriate boundaries. At the same time, those working with the SSA must be willing to have their backs and help manage the load. This prevents burnout and resentment by all parties. We like to tell everybody to give every SSA the authority to say no and trust they will never abuse it. They won’t.
KWR - Knowledgeable Wisdom & Responsibility
The KWR approaches problems from an intellectual perspective. The KWR uses all the information available (always seeking to learn more) and will create solutions with precision. As walking fountains of knowledge, the KWR prefers to teach or inform the solution and then let people decide. They don’t want to impose which makes the KWR safe to approach with problems to begin with, but can be frustrating when others want more decisiveness. This is where the KWR can get stuck in analysis paralysis.
Analysis paralysis occurs when the KWR gets overloaded with information and rationalizing that decisions are not made in timely fashions. Often, the KWR might even refuse to make a decision because not enough information is present. This is where the KWR must learn the social awareness to know when solving a problem requires immediate action over drawn out analysis. If you are a KWR, watch people’s reactions to your approach and be open to take responsibility for your part.
EIA - Empowering Inspiration & Attraction
The EIA is a natural collaborator when solving problems. They take a, “We can do it!” approach and use their social skills to inspire people to action. In this way, the EIA is highly flexible and attuned to the relational needs of the group. Also, the EIA will ensure that the social experience of solving a problem is just as rewarding as the solution itself.
Because the EIA is so relational, problems with interpersonal conflict can cause a challenge. The EIA naturally wants to know they are liked by everybody, so sometimes they can make grand promises that can’t be kept. And when conflict needs to be hashed out directly, the EIA can resort to “spinning” the issue and sweep issues under the rug. Many EIA will avoid confrontation at all costs, which we know is not healthy. When the EIA learns to be direct and risk popularity for the sake of resolving confrontation, they bring the right balance between results and relationships.
CVS - Compelling Value & Stewardship
The CVS is the most versatile, flexible and creative when it comes to solving problems. They don’t always have to break down the front door. Instead they will find the side door and create value in ways that many overlook. One of the strongest traits of the CVS is their ability to work with people regardless of ideological differences. They have no issue with social conflict as long as everybody is contributing value.
The CVS can get cranky if they are not seeing value for the time spent on a problem. This is where they can be blunt and also come across with arrogance when voicing frustrations. It’s not that they are unwilling to solve a problem, they just need to see the value for their time. This translates into the CVS often avoiding problems from the past. The past is the past and not worth the present time to the mind of the CVS.
DLF - Dominion Leadership & Freedom
The DLF solves problems with leadership, organization and administration. They don’t believe in casting blame when a problem occurs. They just want everybody to be loyal to the team, fix the problems and get back to productivity. This is the reason the DLF will think of organizational systems to solve problems. And they have no problem withstanding opposing resistance for the sake of a solution they believe in. The DLF will let the final results speak for themselves.
Sometimes the DLF’s, “Do what I tell you to do,” style is necessary in situational leadership. Other times it can come across heavy handed and authoritarian. The DLF must learn that the end doesn’t always justify the means and that people who feel exploited will not want to be on the team long term. If you are a DLF, remind yourself that not everybody can be as productive as you in the way you think things should be done. Learn to be sensitive to people’s needs.
IAF - Intuitive Alignment & Fulfillment
The IAF, as the label implies, takes an intuitive approach to solving problems. Combine this with their commitment to excellence and empathy, when the IAF solves a problem, the solution is often elegant and fulfilling for everybody. And most often, the mere presence of an IAF can make things better. This is the reason people love sharing all their problems with an IAF because they know how much compassion the IAF has.
If you are an IAF, you’ll completely relate to being overwhelmed at times. Since the IAF has the ability to see all the details and feel the burdens of everybody and everything in a situation, this can cause sensory and emotional overload. Quite often, the IAF will then have problems articulating what they’re feeling and misunderstandings can occur. The secret for the IAF here is communication. Learn to be direct, vulnerable and clearly articulate your needs. Others will be glad to help!
If you want to learn more about each gift, visit the MDNA results page. And let us know if we can help you any further.
MDNA Moment #CVS
The CVS prefers privacy and independence. But it doesn't mean they don't like people. They know the value of relationships and can realize that value working with anybody regardless of ideological differences.
