Factor 2 Introduced

Introduction

Factor 2 is the second of the four factors in the profile. It shows how one needs and is motivated to be remote and analytically distant when the Factor is low (on the left), versus to socialize and be in contact with people when the Factor is high (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 2’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 2 is from the average, the more intense and frequent the behavior, strength, and motivation indicated below. People whose Factor 2 is on average will show a neutral tendency or no inclination toward either side. The factor will be analyzed alongside the three others.

Factor 2 Labeled With a Number

As with the three other factors, Factor 2 measures drives, behavior, and motivation with opposite meanings. Look at the extremes of Factor 2: on the low end it means being extremely remote, and on the high end, being highly persuasive. Giving a neutral label like "2" and learning the meaning and use of it along the continuum proves to be more efficient than speaking about the meaning of what it is on one side of the continuum only, which is what traits do, but ignoring or being vague about the other side of the spectrum.

Factor 2 Low

Factor 2 on the low side measures the need, drive, and motivation to be involved in the technical, data, tangible, and logical aspects of a task or job. A very Low 2 has little need to interact with others and often withdraws from social activities. An extremely low 2 will often show as mute.

Low 2s’ strengths include: a preference for dealing with data, information, and intangibles, and for addressing the task at hand; and an inclination to reflect, analyze, and explore an area of expertise in a logical manner. Low 2s are adept at organizing ideas and thoughts, taking time to evaluate them critically.

Low 2s are motivated by having time for solitary reflection and introspection. Low 2s need opportunities to challenge themselves through technical and intellectual accomplishments. They need personal, rather than public, acknowledgement. Extremely Low 2s will show as extremely sceptical, pessimistic, and negative. They will communicate, not being aware of their impact on others. Extremely Low 2s will appear unlikable.

A low Factor 2 influences the other factors by raising their technicality and the need for rationality.

Factor 2 High

Factor 2 on the high side measures the need, drive, and motivation to socialize and be in contact with others. The higher the Factor 2, the more social activity required and the more outgoing the person is. An extremely High 2 may be perceived as gregarious and superficial.

High 2s’ strengths include being social and engaging with people; communicating easily and articulately in ways that can influence, motivate, and persuade others. They have an accessible approach that enables them to accomplish tasks through collaboration and shared responsibilities. High 2s easily empathize with others.

High 2s are motivated by interactive and interpersonal social aspects. They seek recognition, status, and acceptance from people around them. High 2s seek rewards for their capacity to persuade, connect, and build buy-in and agreement. Extremely High 2s attach much importance to their image to attract attention. They may seem exuberant, overly positive, and optimistic. Extremely High 2s are flexible in their opinions and can be perceived as superficial.

A high Factor 2 influences the other factors by bringing them positivity and social interaction.

Factor 2 at a Job Level

Many jobs typically require a low 2. We find Low 2s across many jobs and at all levels of an organization, including in the C-Suite and on boards of directors. As with the other factors, we find that people with a low 2 are more common in some jobs than others. A low level of Factor 2 is critical for jobs that involve repetitive, complex technical tasks with little social interaction, such as those of a data scientist, market strategist, or programmer.

Many jobs typically require a high 2. We find High 2s in many different jobs and at all levels in an organization, including in the C-Suite and on boards of directors. As with the other factors, we find that people with a high 2 are more common in some jobs than others. A high level of Factor 2 is critical for all jobs that require communication and social skills, such as being a hostess, a nurse, a public speaker, or a public relations professional.

Factor 2 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 2 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 2-quadrant on the top-right, which regroups profiles with a factor 2 higher than all other factors, is called Group 2. All other aspects of the low 2 will appear at varying degrees of intensity in the three other quadrants, as shown in the illustration on the right.

Typical organizations in Group 2 are sales and client service, whose main characteristic include attentiveness to customers, focus on top-line growth, long-term growth planning, commitment to continuous re-alignment, as well as living with change, parochial and opportunistic growth orientation.

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 latest, the person’s adaptive profile will be needed.

Adapting Factor 2

A High 2 can behave like a Low 2 from time to time. The higher the Factor 2, the more energy it takes and the less interest the person has in behaving like a Low 2. It works the same the other way around: The lower the Factor 2, the less likely the person is to behave at the extreme of the High 2 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 natural behaviors.

How adaptation happens is also indicated by the factor itself. Low 2s will perceive High 2 behaviors as a necessity for meeting people and getting their opinions. High 2 will perceive low 2 behaviors as necessary for dealing with solitary analytical reflections rather than people aspects.

Being Low and High on Factor 2

The GRI measures how frequently and intensely a person is high or low on a factor. The higher or lower the factor 2, the less likely the person is to move the factor to the other side of the continuum. A Low 2 can be social, but it will be less frequent and with less interest than for a High 2. The lower the Factor 2, the more it is so. Generally, the social interaction of Low 2s is more technical, direct, less political, more factual, and related to work or "serious" matters.

Extremely High 2 and Gregariousness

Extremely High 2s are more sensitive to the positive interaction and feedback from their environment than to the content and logic of the topics at hand. They will more naturally follow their listeners and benefit from social interaction rather than stick to the rationale of arguments, which may be described as gregarious.

However, you need to look at the position of the other factors to refine what was just said. For instance, a High 1 will need to impact and influence, while a High 4 will formalize more and be more concerned with outcomes.

Where Low 2s Show up

Extremely low 2 people stay away from social interactions, which they perceive as uninteresting, superficial, or even stressful. They prefer situations that require their analytical skills, to ruminate deeply on facts and data, and prefer to act remotely rather than energetically in public.

Factor 2 and the MBTI Extraversion

You may view Factor 2 as the way the dimensions I and E are described in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The definitions are rather similar, with the restrictions outlined below about sociability versus extraversion. Combining Factor 2 with the three other factors brings gradations that the MBTI, as a typology, can’t. The MBTI has types: you are either in or out of a type, and thus does not capture the nuances along continuums, unlike the GRI. Also, it is doubtful that the introversion and extraversion measurements are centered around an average, as they appear to be. As we compare MBTI and GRI results, many more people who take the MBTI are shown as extroverted rather than introverted.

Sociable vs Extravert

The two constructs, extraversion and sociability, must not be equated or confused. A high Factor 2 is defined as sociability rather than extraversion. Extraversion is a broad factor. Watson & Clark evidenced six facets of extraversion:

• Venturesome: feelings of excitement, seeking, and desire for change
• Affiliation: feelings of warmth and gregariousness
• Positive affectivity: feelings of joy and enthusiasm
• Energy: feeling lively and active
• Ascendance: feeling dominant or being exhibitionistic.
• Ambition: valuing achievement and endurance.

The venturesome, ambitious, and ascendant facets of extraversion are included in the high 1 factor. The energy facet goes with the low 3. Sociability refers to individual differences in the enjoyment of social activities and the preference for being with others over being alone, which is a closer definition than the one given above for a factor 2 being high. A High 1 and Low 3, but with a low 2, will qualify for extraversion, but with the absence of sociability. The same characteristics of a High 1 and Low 3, but with a high 2, will bring the sociability facet into extraversion.

Analytical vs Introvert

Being analytical comes at the other extreme of being social in factor 2. It needs to be differentiated from introversion in the same way as extraversion and sociability are different.

Introversion and extroversion, as studied by Pavot et al., show that both introverts and extraverts benefit from social interactions. Extraverts do not spend more time in social situations than introverts, and report even more pleasant affect when alone.

Factor 2 in Personality Research

Contrary to a High 2, who is naturally associated with positive affectivity (see below for details about the High 2), a Low 2 is associated with negative emotions and inclinations to factual, direct, and tense social interactions. In the approach left-brain/right-brain found in organizational development, those managing from their left-brain are involved in planning, data processing, and connecting the logic, like do Low 2s, as opposed to those who manage from their right-brain with intuition and in a holistic way, as done by High 2s.

A high 2 is found in the Extraversion dimension of the Big Five model, which demonstrates positive effects on group performance when its value is high (extravert) rather than low (introvert). A high 2 goes along with extraversion, defined as the capacity to act positively in situations that offer opportunities to interact with others rather than staying alone. A meta-analysis on 15 studies shows a positive relation with performance in positions such as sales and coaching, which require ease with frequent social interactions, as shown by High 2s.

Sociability, as in a high 2, is involved in numerous situations such as those requiring transformational leadership, or job searching. The natural ability of sociable individuals to engage in interpersonal activities is valuable for receiving support from coworkers. Their capacity to speak easily in public and their empathy come along with their optimism and receptiveness to the emotions of others.