Factor 4 Introduced: Difference between revisions
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=Factor 4 Labeled With a Number= | =Factor 4 Labeled With a Number= | ||
As with the three other factors, Factor 4 measures drives, behavior, and motivation with opposite meanings. Look at the extremes of Factor | As with the three other factors, Factor 4 measures drives, behavior, and motivation with opposite meanings. Look at the extremes of Factor 1: on the low end, it means being submissive, and on the high end, being belligerent. | ||
Giving a neutral label like "4" and learning | |||
Giving a neutral label like "4" and learning its meaning and use along the continuum has proven more effective than speaking only about the meaning of one side of the continuum with a label that’s already biased by idiosyncratic connotations, as traits do, while ignoring or being vague about the other side of the spectrum. | |||
Once learned, speaking about Factor 4 as low or high at different intensity levels facilitates its use at the individual, job, and organizational levels for comparisons and better-quality deductions. It also facilitates comparisons between factors, an aspect that adds critical nuance to the behaviors inferred from the profiles. | |||
=Factor 4 Low= | =Factor 4 Low= | ||
Revision as of 17:40, 22 February 2026
Introduction
Factor 4 is the fourth Factor in the profile. It shows how one needs and is motivated to be informal and casual on the low side (on the left), versus being formal and needing rules to follow on the high side (on the right).
It's important to understand that the factors are measured along a continuous scale, from one extreme to the other. Using “Low” and “high” is only a language convention for positioning the factor. There is no judgment of being right or wrong attached to being low or high on the scale. In fact, all positions offer something different and potentially positive for the person and their environment.
The position on the scale reflects how intense a factor is. The four factors are arranged vertically and connected by lines, as shown on the right. This profile helps explain how the factors interact. These features make the factor model distinct from type- or trait-based models by accurately depicting behaviors, as well as the thoughts, emotions, and growth that accompany them. Once measured and displayed in the adaptive profile, the factors also show how a person adapts and engages in different contexts.
Factor 4’s Intensity
The measurement scale shown below and above the factor is the standard deviation (also called sigma). The distance from the middle, the average, makes the behavior more pronounced in either direction: The further Factor 4 is from the average, the more intense and frequent the behavior, strength, and motivation indicated below. People whose Factor 4 is on average will show a neutral tendency or no inclination toward either side. The factor will be analyzed alongside the three others.
Factor 4 Labeled With a Number
As with the three other factors, Factor 4 measures drives, behavior, and motivation with opposite meanings. Look at the extremes of Factor 1: on the low end, it means being submissive, and on the high end, being belligerent.
Giving a neutral label like "4" and learning its meaning and use along the continuum has proven more effective than speaking only about the meaning of one side of the continuum with a label that’s already biased by idiosyncratic connotations, as traits do, while ignoring or being vague about the other side of the spectrum.
Once learned, speaking about Factor 4 as low or high at different intensity levels facilitates its use at the individual, job, and organizational levels for comparisons and better-quality deductions. It also facilitates comparisons between factors, an aspect that adds critical nuance to the behaviors inferred from the profiles.
Factor 4 Low
Factor 4, on the low side, measures a low level or absence of need, drive, and motivation to follow the rules. Individuals with a low Factor 4 are less sensitive to, or fearless of, the eventual negative consequences of what they do, say, or decide. People with an extremely low Factor 4 tend to remain obstinately outside the norms of their environment. Low 4s’ strengths include: being flexible and having an innovative approach that is unrestrained by rules, processes, and structure; easily responding to and accommodating the unforeseen, unpredictable, and unplanned. Low 4s do not tend to worry, are confident in the face of uncertainty and risk, and rely on their own wit and experience. They remain positive in the face of perceived rejections.
Low 4s are motivated by a flexible and casual approach to work. They want to avoid the constraints imposed by overly precise requirements. Low 4s need to be recognized for their self-expression and for their informal approach to pre-existing rules, knowledge, and expertise.
Extremely Low 4s have difficulties accepting no for an answer. They will underestimate the importance of the rules. Especially with a High 1, they will come across as arrogant and disrespectful. Extremely Low 4 will lack concern for organization and details.
A low Factor 4 helps the other three factors to be expressed more freely, without constraint.
Factor 4 High
Factor 4 on the high side measures a need, drive, and motivation to comply with rules. Individuals with a high Factor 4 tend to follow rules and standards. They are more sensitive to the consequences of what they do, say, and the decisions they make. When Factor 4 is extremely high, every task is undertaken with extreme care.
High 4s’ strengths include: taking risks cautiously by applying processes, standards, and rules, being thorough and careful with follow-through, and taking no chances that could endanger outcomes. High 4s are dependable with the minutiae of details. With fidelity and resolve, High 4s apply discerning and exacting sense to their area of expertise.
High 4s are motivated by the opportunities to learn, train, know, and understand the precise knowledge, rules, and parameters of a job. They will seek recognition for their expertise and the quality of their work, delivered by following “the book.” High 4s need to be relieved from unstructured tasks.
Extremely High 4s appear rigid and inflexible. They look at people and things very seriously and anxiously, especially when both are new. Extremely High 4s have an excessive fear of criticism and failure.
A high Factor 4 influences the other factors by bringing them conscientiousness and formality.
Factor 4 at a Job Level
A low Factor 4 is of major importance in many business situations where being non-restrained, disrupting, and fostering innovation, communication, and team or organizational growth are valued. Testing new ideas and naturally accepting and being in a position to embrace the negative consequences of failures is of critical importance to keep or take a leading position in a market and surpass competitors.
We find Factor 4, low and high, in many different jobs and at all levels in organizations, including in the C-Suite and on boards of directors. As with the other factors, we find people with a low or high 4 more in some jobs than others. A low level of Factor 4 is a major component of high creativity and free thinking, which are required in many creative and innovative jobs. A one or two-sigma adaptation to a lower 4 is typically seen in management positions that often require accepting the delegation’s risks, more frequent and informal communication, allowing looser oversight, letting go of expertise, and acting more as a generalist.
A high level of Factor 4 is important for all jobs that require precision and strict adherence to processes and rules, such as quality control, the execution and supervision of administrative tasks, or IT maintenance. When factor 4, low or high, is required at different intensity levels in the job but is not present in the person’s Natural profile, with adequate efforts and support, the person will adapt; the behavior adaptation will appear in the Role profile and, consequently, in the Effective profile; the Effective profile shows the behaviors that will effectively be displayed in the job.
Factor 4 at an Organizational Level
Since an organization’s dynamics are typically explained in a flat two-dimensional 2x2 matrix, which is the easiest to understand and use, rather than a too-abstract four-dimensional space, only the high side of Factor 4 is used in this representation. The grid includes all possible combinations of the four factors, totaling 24, which helps regroup all of an organization’s individual profiles. The high 4-quadrant on the lower-left, which regroups profiles with a factor 4 higher than all other factors, is called Group 4. All other aspects of the low 4 will appear at varying degrees of intensity in the three other quadrants, as shown in the illustration on the right.
Typical organizations in Group 4 are public and private administrations, whose main characteristics include streamlining processes, operating efficiently through continuous improvement, and relying on the organization's leadership and market position, as well as vertical information flow, hierarchical levels, and cross-functional information sharing[1].
Please note that this typological representation is effective for analyzing an organization’s dynamics. But it is invalid for understanding a person’s natural ways of acting, adapting, engaging, and growing in context. For the latter, the person’s adaptive profile will be needed.
Adapting Factor 4
A High 4 can behave like a Low 4 from time to time. The higher the Factor 4, the more energy it takes and the less interest the person has in behaving like a Low 4. It works the same the other way around: The lower the Factor 4, the less likely the person is to behave at the extreme of the High 4 side.
But when required, people adapt, including in the roles they play at work. When this occurs, the adaptation will be reflected in the Role of the adaptive profile, indicating the extent to which it affects their natural behaviors. How the adaptation happens is also indicated by the factor itself. Low 4s will perceive High 4 behaviors as a necessity for coping with rules, formalities, and details. High 4 will perceive low 4 behaviors necessary to overcome their anxiety to do wrong.
Low and High 4s Coping with Change
A Low 4 is more inclined to accept and deal with radical change than a High 4. A high 4 is more concerned with the consequences of change, will argue and resist more strongly, and will need more details to accept change. High 4s are more inclined to think in terms of incremental changes. When part of a radical change, they bring the details and deal with the formalities needed for the change to happen.
A Low 4 is less concerned than a High 4 with the negative consequences of change. Low 4s will welcome new opportunities to disrupt established structures and norms. The low 4 will also apply to their communication, which is more open. The three other factors also need to be considered when analyzing how someone copes with change, such as how distant or sociable the person is with their factor 2.
Extremely High 4 and Being Rigid
Extremely High 4s are sometimes described by some as “rigid,” especially when being in a management position. People with an extremely High 4s are very concerned with making sound decisions in accordance with the rules and standards they have learned. Their sense of extreme correctness and worries also apply to the way they socialize. The higher the Factor 4, the more strict the use of those rules is, and the more the person will probably be described as rigid.
In a positive context, the word "rigid" may often be better replaced by expressions such as "extremely demanding” and “exacting."
Other factors will bring important nuances in understanding what’s happening. For instance, a high 1 will bring more insistence, tenacity, determination, and even aggressiveness when the factor 1 is extremely high. A low 1 will dramatically soften those characteristics and open the door to concessions. Factor 2 will have an effect on how the communication may be softened or not, and Factor 3 on how intense, quick and insistent, the person will be.
Factor 4 Impacting Delegation
The higher the Factor 4, the more detail, concern, and control there is on delegation. The lower the Factor 4, the more informal the delegation will be.
The other factors than factor 4 need to be considered when analyzing delegation: a High 1 will not delegate authority, while a Low 1, on the contrary, will appreciate sharing responsibility. High 2s are more inclined to communicate when delegating, whereas Low 2s are more direct and to the point. High 3s will put urgency and speed into the execution of delegated tasks, while High 3s will expect execution to happen over time.
Factor 4 and Creativity
Low 4s typically bring forward unconventional ideas. Their creativity is unhindered, with an open mind about what the creative idea, product, or project will involve. Their informality also extends to how they communicate, market, and sell. High 4s can be creative too, though their style of creativity radically differs from that of Low 4s, bringing their expertise to reconsider and refine existing materials. The communication and marketing of their creative project is more conventional than that of Lows 4s.
The positions of the other three factors help bring nuances to how Low and High 4s deal with the communication, speed, and how they face resistance to their creativity.
Factor 4 in Personality Research
In the Big Five approach to personality, low 4 emerges at the low end of the Order dimension, with markers such as indolent, nonchalant, or lax[2]. Other facets or adjectives include impulsiveness[3], as well as extravagant and frivolous[4]. In the Big Four approach, it is present in the Order dimension with adjectives such as unsystematic, inconsequent, or disorganized[5].
A high level of factor 4 is present in the high end of the Conscientiousness dimension of the Big Five approach to personality, with adjectives such as careful, meticulous, precise, or industrious[6]. Other facets or adjectives include dutifulness, self-discipline, and order[7], as well as conscientious, organized, cautious, and responsible[8]. In the Big Four, it falls under the other end of the Order dimension, characterized by adjectives such as consistent, careful, disciplined, thorough, or orderly[9].
Notes
- ↑ Cameron, K. S., Quinn, R. E., DeGraff, J., Thakor, A. V. (2006). Competing Values Leadership. Creating Value in Organizations. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.
- ↑ De Raad B., Hendricks A. A. J., Hofstee W. K. B. (1992). Towards a refined structure of personnality traits. European Journal of Personnality, Vol. 6, p. 301-319.
In this article De Raad and Hendricks suggest that the label “Order” better characterizes the Big Five “Conscienciousness” dimension, the term used in this section. - ↑ McCrae R. R., Costa P. T. (1997). Personality trait structure as a human universal. American Psychologist, 52, p. 509-516.
- ↑ Goldberg L. R. (1992). The Development of Markers for the Big-Five Factor Structure. Psychological Assesment. Vol. 4, No. 1, p. 26-42.
- ↑ De Raad, B., Barelds, D. P. H., Timmerman, M. E., de Roover, K., Mlačić, B., Church, A. T. (2014). Towards a Pan-cultural Personality Structure: Input from 11 psychological Studies. European Journal of Personality, 28, 497-510.
- ↑ Ibid, De Raad B., Hendricks A. A. J., Hofstee W. K. B. (1992).
- ↑ Ibid; McCrae R. R., Costa P. T. (1997):
- ↑ Ibid, Goldberg L. R. (1992).
- ↑ Ibid, De Raad, B., Barelds, D. P. H., Timmerman, M. E., de Roover, K., Mlačićwhich, B., Church, A. T. (2014).