MidWest Birkman User Group

We're taking notes "live" today at the meeting. (Any errors will be corrected shortly)

Our special guest today is Sharon Birkman Fink - Trained professionally  as a musician and college professor, Sharon was a National Merit Scholar and Woodrow Wilson Fellow who recieved a Master of Fine Arts deree from the University of Texas.

In 2002, Sharon took over the role of CEO of Birkman International, after a successful stint asa trainer and career advisor.

Interview with Dr. Birkman

First up:  A tremendous 16 minute video chroniclling the life of Roger Birkman - the founder of The Birkman Method.  Dr. Birkman shares from his life in a Q&A format.  Getting emotional at times, especially when talking about his mother (born 120 years ago at the time of shooting  in 2007) who he really never got to know.  She died in 1921.

He studied at the University of Houston - specifically history and philosophy.  His natural interest was psychology - anything dealing with human nature.

On September 25, 1939, he was drafted to serve in the U.S. Armed Services.  Knowing that life would never be the same again, he relished the fact that he was "chosen".  One of the early draftees, he went to Ft. Riley in Kansas for his basic training (Cavalry).  He was in the cavalry because he was a Texan... and Texans ride horses.  The armed services didn't know much about determining "best fit" back then.

On Lt. Birkman's 19th mission (May 27, 1944), he flew into enemy territory for the last time.  German planes attacked their formation and his plane was attacked.  One engine was damaged and another burst into flames.  They bailed out (parachuting for the first time) over Belgium where the Belgium people helped him to escape (even with a broken foot).  He hid in a haystack until the German soldiers stopped looking.  He was there for four months and was finally liberated went Montgomery's army came through.

On November 10, 1944 he received a hero's welcome back in the United States.  It was also the frist tie he saw his future wife, Margaret. They married on December 14, 1945 at First Methodist Church in Houston.  His father officiated the wedding.

When Roger desscribed holding Sharon for the first time (we saw pics!), he was beaming!  He described the relationship between a father and daughter - "daughters are very oriented to relationships - and that appealed to me because that was great and I feel very close to them."

When talking about the Birkman Method, Roger talked about the difference in his research from other tests.  Like Coca Cola has its formula, The Birkman Method recognizes "attitude"... the spiritual side of people. Starting his own business was the natural step - even though it was a difficult process.  It took a long time to really catch on.  The ability to tap the needs of a person, and the way the combinations are used... the symphony of the Birkman Method is what sets it apart from other methods.

Sue passed away in February of 2007 - Roger was with her when she died - congestive heart failure.  She passed away in their home.  All the way through her month long journey to death, she was positive and passed away very peacefully.When asked "If she were here today" - what would you say?  "Gratitude - If she hadn't been by my side, we wouldn't be having this conversation."  She had interest and passion for their entire journey.

Closing Comment:  "I would hope that we would continue to find for each generation, the legacy of accepting diversity - that everyone has a needed gift.  First - love yourself and accept yourself - our needs are an amazing gift where God shares His purpose with us." 

When asked about his legacy: "If we find our purpose, love, acceptance of who we are and then be able to see that kind of potential in everybody we meet, that would be a legacy I would dream about."

Roger Birkman 2007

Sharon shared with us the passion of the Birkman Company - to do their part in encouraging people to see our diversity is such a blessing - the differences we bring to the table are an advantage...

 Pics from the break:

After the break:

Sharon commented on the questin "Do we change"... bottom line answer - not really.  We are given certain personality traits and we keep them throughout our lives.  Birkman is doing more research on this issue - especially with younger (under 21) sets of subjects. Generally, a person's first Birkman test is the most accurate.  In the majority of cases that Birkman has investigated, a person may have felt pressured due to culture or something else to skew the results to be more socially acceptable in their context.

We really don't want to ask people to "change"... we want people to take the knowledge of their differences, put them in the right job, how they function best and flourish in their differences.

Q&A

1.  Using the Birkman with teens - there are certain indicators that will adjust during the ages of 16-26.  One of the things that tends to happen is that social responsibility is lower in teens (ie - not yet in control of their lives).  Low scores here are not a cause for concern.  There are no hard and fast rules... emptahy need may be lower as they grow older... the needs scores generally stay the same.  It is the usual behavior may change.  Usual behavior is like weather - there are general patterns, but from day to day, it may change slightly.  Usual behavior often gives you today's "weather report" - but not the weather pattern for the season.

2.  What is the validity of the report outside the workplace?  Birkman International is "hoping" to develop some tools for marriage counseling. - See article by Dr. John Gotman from Seattle. (See book at Amazon.com ).   The feedback thusfar is that is really designed for the business community.  Birkman is interested in releasing a product that will help marriages - and even pre-marital counselors in this area.

3.  Importance of the Challenge score - there are 250 questions on the Birkman.  In the online version of the test, the questions are scrambled.  If you say more things positively about yourself you'll get a low challenge score.  Generally, people with a low score see the opposite in society. High challenge people see the opposite.  They see themselves less positively. (Its hard to get them to stop beating themselves up!)  The Birkman is not a "silver bullet"... its a flashlight - giving us insight into the complex 

4.  The elevator speech "we work with people. We use a a questionnaire to help people understand themselves and others better.  The difference with our tool, is that we also look at their underlying motivational needs and their interests that are key to their lives. Yes, its a personality test - but it goes so much further as it helps you understand your needs and interests and how they impact your work life.

5.  International differences - no Russian questionaire. The struggle is making sure that the translation tracks apples to apples.  Birkman has been fascinated by the opportunity to go into different cultures.  There are some differences, but there are surprisingly minor shifts.  The issue may be that there just isn't enough data from different culutres to provide better data.

Sharon then showed us the new Birkman manual (Really cool)

6. Advice for new consultants - jump in with both feet!  you learn so much with every feedback you do.

7.  The issue of nature vs. nurture.  Its a combination (of course).  There are trends - but there there is nothing hard and fast

8.  Workstyles - more training?  - theres is some controversy around workstyles.  Back int he 70's, Dr. Birkman partnered with a psychologist and they came up with the interview guide.  Birkman is downplaying the interview guide now.  Some of the scores are not able to be defended in a concrete way - the data is not as solid as the other parts. 

9.  Managerial Styles - they are more concrete.  Its about leadership - the KS - leads by expertise.Directive - leads by forcefulness of their presence.  Delegative - leads by process and procedure.

Thank You Sharon!

From here we went to a Birkman Profile that we worked on together.

Todd led us through a "Dr. Birkman Trivia" Quiz... 50 questions about the Birkman method and all things Birkman

We presented Todd with a gift from the group - a way of saying thank you for a solid year of hard work on behalf of the Mid-West Birkman User Group.  We are by far the most successful BUG in the country. (Thank you Todd!)  Pictures coming...

We'll also post the Trivia Test...

It was a great meeting!!

See you in September