Complex to explain humans?

A curious client has once again sparked my creativity. Time to dive deep into several different subjects and weave them together into a coherent text that readers can understand. Join me in the thought-spiral below.

So, what’s the topic? It’s about the competition between different systems and their race to be the “best in test.” I’m so bored of this constant competition narrative – yet also intrigued. “Big Five is the only scientific model” was the trigger for this column.

I think about how incredibly much time we humans have spent trying to understand ourselves, since the beginning of time. Humans have created models, tools, teachings, religions, energy systems, and elements. We have a thousand names for God and just as many theories about why we do what we do.

And still, we always seem to return to the same thing: that humans are nature – and that nature is humanity’s best manual. Or?

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Several different worlds meeting!

It feels as if we humans are incapable of having curious minds, and instead insist on choosing conflict over love. What if the foundation is so ridiculously simple that it becomes too simple for humans to grasp – so we feel we must make it incredibly complex and difficult to understand?

Let’s look at the Big Five model as well as Extended DISC and other profiling tools. Big Five is a model spun from the world of academic psychology, while tools like Extended DISC arise more from the fields of behavior and communication, where leadership has its mecca.

Two models trying to describe the complex human – but from different perspectives and angles.

• Big Five describes personality traits that are relatively stable over time. Think of it as the human’s “core temperature.” Here we talk about openness, extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability. It’s research, statistics, and large datasets.
• DISC describes behaviors – how we communicate, what motivates us, and what drains us in everyday life. Think of it as the human’s “weather.” We can imagine that D, I, S, and C represent fire, air, water, and earth – in a modern form. It’s more practical, more human, and more useful in leadership. The elements function as keys and clues.

Long before modern psychology, the theory of elements existed – in both Greece and the Eastern world. In Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, and Japanese philosophy, people observed how humans follow:

• The seasons
• The energies
• The daily rhythm
• The body’s reactions
• The balance between logic and emotion

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We humans have two brain hemispheres – and DISC helps us understand them

• In Extended DISC, when we say that D and C represent logic, we are referring to the left hemisphere of the brain.
• When we say that I and S represent emotion, we are referring to the right hemisphere.

Two models with two different viewpoints. Big Five helps you understand why you are the way you are. DISC helps you with self-insight – how you communicate and function both independently and with others.

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Every human has their own unique “roadmap”

Humanship is inspired by Horsemanship, and what captivated me is that each horse has its unique roadmap. As humans, we must understand the horse’s behaviors and needs in order to lead it.

But in my world, I cannot lead any other being if I cannot lead myself – meaning that I am in inner balance and harmony. That is the concept of Humanship & Leadership. In my view, there is not a single model that can describe the complexity of a human being; it is the mental, the physical, and our energy (quantum physics). To me, humans are more than just an analysis – we are emotion, energy, history, biology, rhythm, and nature.

At Humanship & Leadership we always say:

Find your way back to your natural self. You have your own unique roadmap, and that voice is stored within you. Take the clues that come your way – don’t listen to right and wrong, but listen to your inner compass.

That is the way forward for humanity.

//Therése