This argument revolves around the myth that an executive with a dominant “Water” temperament, that is, one who is a more of a “people person” rather than a highly structured, by-the-book, type of manager, can’t be successful in leading an organization because they are too “touchy-feely.”

When my co-author, Jim Harden, and I began to write about temperament in our book, “What Makes You Tick and What Ticks You Off,” we looked at temperament primarily as that aspect of our personality concerned with emotions and the speed and intensity of our reactions to them.  We took data from hundreds of our various workshops and seminars and found, as Hippocrates did some 2,500 years earlier, that we are born with four temperaments and develop our “dominant” temperament, that is, those behaviors, attitudes and emotions that feel MOST comfortable to us.  We have described these “Basic Elements” in natural terms to describe the four temperament categories.  They are:

Earth— reliable, traditional, organized, sensible, and trustworthy. 

Air— intelligent, analytical, curious, visionary, and logical.

Fire— spontaneous, playful, innovative, uninhibited, and fearless.

Water— compassionate, friendly, personal, and benevolent.

The same argument surrounding the “Water-as-Executive” myth could be easily posed to the other three temperaments as well.  Can an “Earth” be an effective executive given that a highly structured and traditional leader may have nothing in common with today’s multi-generational workforce?  That being tied to tradition may somehow inhibit innovation and flexibility in the world-is-flat, global economy of today?

How about the “Air-as-Executive” myth?  Can an “Air” who values competence above all else trust his/her staff to be smart enough to get the job done the way the executive thinks it should be done?  Or, would an Air executive be a micro-manager, looking over the shoulder of everyone to a point where nothing could get out the door until he/she approved it, thus clogging production at the top of the organization?

How about the “Fire-as-Executive” myth?  Is there any way that a free-wheeling spirit with a short attention span and a bias for acting on gut feelings can be an effective leader?  Employees would never know what they were supposed to do until they came to work that day, so the myth goes.  Whatever idea the Fire executive got from watching TV the night before might become the new marching order for the organization the next day!  How could that ever work?

Each temperament has strengths and weaknesses.  When placed in a position of authority, the well-developed, well-balanced person knows his/her dominant temperament and is able to incorporate the others by delegating work tasks and hiring people with the necessary skills required, but not necessarily possessed, by the executive.

Our Water executive brings many personal strengths and skills to an organization.  He/She can relate to staff and employees from day one.  They keep an eye on how policy, procedures and processes impact the professional and personal lives of employees.  They are effective negotiators.  They are wonderful advocates and defenders of their organization to critics.  They support training and human development efforts.  Organizational morale is of critical importance to them.  Benefits packages, where they have influence on them, are substantial and constantly reviewed for improvements.  Feedback is a common and expected activity throughout the year – not just an annual performance review.  Interpersonal communication is one of their strengths.  You see the executive on every floor of the building interacting with staff from all organizational levels.  Site visits to satellite offices are the norm and meetings are opportunities for the Water executive to listen – not to orate.

The Water executive also is a delegator.  He/She recognizes that, to be effective, a Water executive must be able to trust employees to do the job they have been assigned.  There is often a Chief Operating Officer (COO) or a Chief of Staff (COS) – or the equivalent –

working directly for a Water executive.  This executive staff position insures that policies, practices and operational procedures are functioning smoothly.  It is typically the Water executive who plays the role of leader in their organizations while the COO or COS plays the role of manager.  The Water executive will work through the people in the organization to develop a strategy and vision for an effective future state while the COO or COS will work through the people in the organization to meet work requirements and deadlines using the available resources budgeted.

In our research, Jim Harden and I also found that we all possess a shadow temperament, that is, those behaviors, attitudes and emotions that feel LEAST comfortable to us.  So, if we take our four Basic Elements and prioritize them, the temperament that is our dominant preference would come first.  Our second and third preferences (i.e., secondary and tertiary) would come next and our fourth preference would be our shadow temperament – the behaviors, attitudes and emotions that we relate to the least.  We found that most of our conflicts with others (e.g., spouses, our children, bosses, co-workers, etc.) are typically with those who demonstrate our shadow temperament.

The shadow is that vaguely familiar part of us that we prefer to keep suppressed, unacknowledged, and “in the dark.”  We are most often not conscious of the existence of this shadow temperament but it plays an important part in our personality. These shadow aspects of our personality are either part of our biological inheritance (i.e., genes) or were stored there during our upbringing because we “learned” that they were unwelcome. “We don’t operate that way here in XYZ Corporation!”  This shadow affects our life daily—sometimes in helpful ways but most often it causes conflict and interpersonal strife.  When you experience your shadow temperament in others, you typically perceive their behaviors as negative.  The Basic Elements, viewed from your shadow temperaments, may include:

Earth—Earth’s may be described by others from their shadow as parental, conservative, inflexible and judgmental. 

Air—Air’s may be described by others from their shadow as calculating, condescending, unemotional, and cold.

Fire—Fire’s may be described by others from their shadow as irresponsible, immature, boorish, and reckless.

Water—Water’s may be described by others from their shadow as meddlesome, clinging, nosy, and emotional.

The continuous denying or repressing of the shadow creates two negative consequences. First, it will express itself at the worst time and place (e.g., at an all hands meeting with all eyes upon you) and in the most infantile fashion (e.g., rants or fist pounding); and second, we project our poor opinions of those behaviors onto others (e.g., the guy in finance is an idiot!).

The irony is that the more deeply we hide our shadow—the more evident it is to everyone but ourselves.  However this shadow can also become a source of strength, creativity and growth for anyone who takes the time to positively explore making these behaviors personally and socially acceptable.  As we grow older and begin to apply temperament to our own lives and behaviors, we can learn that our negative reactions to certain (not all) behaviors of others may indicate differences in the behavioral preferences with which they were born.  A dominant Water executive may have any of the other three temperaments (i.e., Earth, Air or Fire) as their shadow temperament.  Here are some examples:

Earth Shadow – The dominant Water executive may find it disconcerting to say no to staff and employees.  Policies, regulations, procedures, processes, and organizational culture may be viewed by the executive as obstacles to work around in order to provide the care and well being that his/her employees so desperately seek.  Others in the organization may perceive this Water executive’s efforts as “playing favorites.”  If he/she can get around the rules, why can’t I, may be a resulting attitude.  Often Water executives will use their COO or COS to enforce organizational rules and regulations.

Air Shadow – The dominant Water executive may find that relying solely, or even primarily, on hard facts, data and logic in decision-making limits their ability to use personal feelings” and the attitudes and emotions of other organizational personnel.  This approach may result in the bewilderment of some staff and employees as to how decisions are actually made.  For example, if presenting all the relevant facts and figures to support a particular position is still not adequate for the executive to make a decision, than what is?  Such personnel may feel that it is their personalities that are being evaluated, not their work by the executive.  Often Water executives will be very specific in the types of data (including employee or customer surveys) they are looking for in the decision-making process.

Fire Shadow – The dominant Water executive may also be concerned with the attitudes and behaviors of some staff and employees who want to make quick decisions based on little information in order to move the organization on to the next task or to solve a problem.  They may find these personnel indifferent and heartless in that they appear not to take the feelings of other people into consideration.  They may find the humor that Fire temperaments bring to virtually every situation a demonstration of insensitivity and lack of professionalism.  Often Water executives will make a point to know their personnel well enough to see that Fire temperaments mean well and bring an important troubleshooting capability to the organization.

The behaviors in others that tick us off the most are, more often than not, representing our shadow temperament—those behaviors that we are “hot wired” not to trust and not to value.  As the shadow behaviors of our Water executive illustrate in our examples above, personal reactions to behaviors, especially in conflict situations, are influenced by our own temperament – both dominant and shadow.

So, when you are having problems with your Water executive, what may be going on is a difference in temperament.  The dominant behavior of your Water executive may be perceived by you, especially if you have a Water shadow temperament, as negative – no matter what the actual intention.  Awareness of temperament differences may be enough for you to recognize and acknowledge why your Water executive usually ticks you off.  Those who can perceive the special gifts that each temperament bestows can have a more stress free and conflict free work life.

Why do you clash with your Water executive?  Maybe it is a clash of temperaments.