Name
Ralph Waterman
Date
November 11, 2010
MONITOR BEHAVIORAL PROFILES
A Suite of Assessment Instruments
The Monitor Behavioral Profiles were developed by Monitor in partnership with
David Kantor, Ph.D.
Funded by a grant from the National Institute of Health, Dr. Kantor set out in the early
1960s to create an empirical understanding of family function in situ. What he
discovered was a set of fundamental concepts that describe the ways that human
beings interact with one another. Over the successive years, Dr. Kantor applied these
ideas to families, to couples, and then brought them into organizations.
Today, Kantor’s Theory of Structural Dynamics is a systems theory of face-to-face
communication that describes the dynamic structures of interpersonal communication
in any setting. His more recent work with Monitor on Personal and Leadership Model
Building has broken new ground as a powerful learning tool to enable complex
organizational change and leadership development.
Each instrument in the Monitor Behavioral Profiles is a measure of behavior, not
preferences, characteristics, qualities, or attributions. The suite of instruments helps
individuals, groups, and organizations gain insight into the underlying drivers of their
most characteristic behaviors. Each instrument also provides a roadmap for using
these insights to promote individual behavioral changes and to increase strategic
organizational efficacy.
For More Information contact:
[email protected]
Monitor Leadership and Organization
2 Canal Park
Cambridge, MA 02141
617.252.2000
1. David Kantor and William Lehr, Inside the Family (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc, 1975).
2. Kantor and Nancy Heaton Lonstein, Raising the Curtain: The Real Lives of Leaders (in process).
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Behavioral Propensities Profile
INTRODUCTION
As individuals mature, they develop their own distinctive patterns of behavior. These patterns can be observed in the
stances that you take in conversation, the words that you choose when you speak, and the implicit rules that you follow
when interacting with others.
We call these patterns behavioral propensities, and they are reflected in the three dimensions of your Behavioral
Propensities Profile (BPP).
This first instrument measures your baseline behavioral propensities, a set of distinctive behaviors that you typically
express in ordinary, low stress, interpersonal situations (called ―low stakes‖ situations). For the most part, it represents
the current and most stable part of your behavioral repertoire. When you are faced with stressful, high stakes conditions,
you may act differently and your behavioral repertoire changes. When the stress is removed, you return to your baseline.
Your responses to the BPP questions help to identify your behavioral patterns along three
different dimensions:
Action Propensities determine the
behavioral stances we take in
interactions with others
Operating System Propensities
determine the rules that govern the
language we use and the actions we
take when interacting with others
Communication Domain Propensities
determine the kinds of language that we
tend to use when interacting with others
Kantor’s theory of Structural Dynamics explains how and why communication in face-to-face contexts either
succeeds or fails. Research has shown that interpersonal relationships existing over time include patterns of ―stuck‖
behaviors that repeat over and over again. These patterns, constituting a limited and tightly rooted repertoire, often
contribute to failure in communication whereas a fluid and expansive repertoire contributes to success.
Raising your awareness about your own propensities and then learning how to recognize others’ propensities as they
play out are the first steps in your ability to Read the Room. The ultimate goal is to learn how to expand your
repertoire: knowing when to deploy more of the behaviors available to you as described in the information that
follows.
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Action
Your Strongest Action Propensity is BYSTAND
Four Action Propensities
Your Action propensity determines the behavioral stance you use most often
when interacting with other individuals--with partners, with groups, and in teams.
In Structural Dynamics, all conversation is comprised of four different types of
Actions: Move, Follow, Oppose, and Bystand. Strung together in conversation,
they form sequences that capture the structure of every interaction, no matter how
complex or distinct the subject matter being discussed.
A Mover initiates action by setting forth an idea, a statement or a
proposed direction. Movers often introduce a new idea or
concept to the group and, in providing such direction, help their
group move forward and find solutions to problems they face.
A Follower supports a previously taken action. Followers may
agree with an idea currently being debated or agree to carry
others’ ideas to completion. Their support serves to strengthen
others’ actions and to keep ideas on the table.
An Opposer challenges an action. Opposers push back on ideas,
sometimes to make sure they are worthy, and at other times because
they genuinely disagree with another’s position or where the group is
going. Their dissent provides contrasting perspective and often
needed correction to ensure the quality of the group’s decisions.
A Bystander observes, adds neutral perspectives, and bridges
competing actions. Bystanders are best at summing up what
has been said and trying to find a solution based on disparate
points of view. Their reflections help the group members by
presenting new frames of reference, insights, and observations.
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Operating Systems
Your Strongest Operating System Propensity is RANDOM
An Operating System is the implicit set of rules for how individuals govern
boundaries, behavior, and relationships in organizations. Individuals have different
tendencies, preferences, and proclivities for living and working within these different
system structures, with one set typically achieving dominance. One’s system
preference, which often originates from our first experience in a system—our
families—affects how we relate to others and to the organizations we join throughout
our lives.
A Closed system regulates the life of its members, particularly
the time and space within which people work or live through
ordered processes that emphasize structure and planning. Those
strongest in this propensity value stability, tradition and hierarchy,
and orient themselves towards the leader as a means of
achieving the organization’s goals.
An Open system requires communication, and work gets done
through open deliberation and exploration of each individual’s
needs. Those strongest in this propensity value consensus,
participative processes and commitment and orient themselves
towards the individual as a means of achieving a shared goal.
A Random system requires fluid processes that emphasize
individual creativity so much that it is often viewed by outsiders
as chaotic or out of control. Instead of lacking order, the random
system represents a special kind of order of infinite possibilities.
Those strongest in this propensity value autonomy, innovation
and spontaneity and orient themselves primarily towards the
individual.
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Communication Domains
Your Strongest Communication Domain Propensity is MEANING
The way you speak with other individuals, with groups, and with teams is
shaped by your Communication Domain Propensity. Communication Domains
represent what you pay attention to when you are interacting with others and
are reflected in the language choices that you make.
The Affect Domain emphasizes feelings and interpersonal
connections. When we speak the language of Affect, we are
attending to the relationships between individuals and to each
individual’s sense of well-being. Affect is also the language of
emotion, caring, and nurturance.
The Meaning Domain emphasizes thinking and a search for
truth. It is the territory of ideas, of purpose, of high value, and an
unfiltered access to information – all toward the coherent
integration of thought. People who are strong in the Meaning
propensity seek to test and cement an understanding of
identities, to try out new theories, to gather more information and
to learn from how pieces fit together.
The Power Domain emphasizes achievement, efficacy, and a
sense of competency. The Power domain is the muscle of the
organization. People who are strong in the Power propensity tend
to talk about getting things done, promoting accountability, and
achieving goals and results.
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Behavioral Propensities Profile
You are a BYSTANDER IN RANDOM MEANING
The BPP is a measure of an individual’s dominant tendencies in low stakes
situations. Think of it as the core feature, but not the whole, of the Behavioral
Propensities Profile along three dimensions—The Action, The Operational
Systems, and The Communication Domains. Each of the 36 possible Profiles has
its own unique strengths and limitations. Understanding your profile and how it
impacts your ability to interact successfully with others is critical for your
development as you begin to experiment with ways in which you can expand your
behavioral repertoire.
The Talents, Traps, and Tips below offer some insight into your Behavioral
Propensities Profile.
Your TALENTS are:
• You are able to
synthesize and
reiterate the key points
of a lengthy debate
• Because you look for
commonalities, others
may perceive you to be
conflict averse
• You can identify
commonalities
between seemingly
disparate approaches
to a problem
• Your orientation towards
ideas may lead you to
neglect issues of people
or action
• Others appreciate
when you suddenly
offer a unique
perspective on an
ongoing problem
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TRAPS you may fall into:
• Your tendency to jump
into a discussion
suddenly can be
disruptive to others
TIPS to help you:
• Your ideas will get a
better reception if you
are an ongoing
participant in the
conversation rather than
just an occasional one
• Be prepared to couple
your perspective with
proposals of your own
• Help the group
recognize when a
debate has gone on too
long and there is a need
to move to action
Distribution of Scores in Your Behavioral Propensities Profile
The chart below shows how your behaviors are distributed across the three sets of
Behavioral Propensities. From these, it is possible to tease out a number of useful
insights about your current style of communication. Your best source of information
will be found in disproportionately low and high scores. Under ―Reflections‖, we
have included a few of the questions people ask most frequently when viewing
their results. To get the most out of the data, carefully consider each question and
then, to gain perspective, discuss your thoughts with a colleague, friend or partner.
Action
Bystand
33%
0%
10%
Operating
Systems
Move
29%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Random
46%
0%
10%
Communication
Domains
20%
10%
20%
60%
70%
80%
Open
37%
30%
40%
50%
Meaning
46%
0%
Oppose
28%
60%
40%
50%
60%
90%
100%
Closed
17%
70%
80%
Affect
37%
30%
Follow
10%
90%
100%
Power
17%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Benchmarks for Each Propensity
Action
High=40% or higher
Low=15%or lower
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Operating Systems
Communication
High=50% or higher
High=50% or higher
Low=20% or lower
Low=20% or lower
Behavioral Propensities Profile
Reflections
1. In which set(s) do you pass a low benchmark or simply score lowest? What does this
mean to you?
Action
2. Many people have trouble Opposing. Do your scores suggest that you are one of them?
If yes, how do you explain this?
External: for example, you are in an organization that discourages it.
Internal: for example, you experience self-imposed prohibitions possibly based on
family experiences.
Contextual: for example, whenever you are in the presence of a superior or boss.
Does this apply to you?
3. In which set (s) do you pass a high benchmark or simply score highest? What does this
mean to you?
4. In many competitive organizations, strong Moving and Opposing are valued whereas
Following and Bystanding are under-valued. Does your organization favor some actions
more than others? How does this apply to you?
Operating Systems
5. In most organizations, Random propensities are rare on both the system and individual
levels. In some organizations, Randoms are considered odd or weird. How does your
organization perceive Random propensities? How do you?
6. In many organizations, in which Open or Random is the system of choice, the Closed
system is considered controlling or insensitive. How does your organization perceive
Closed propensities? How do you?
Communication Domains
7. In many competitive organizations, Power is the language of choice, with Meaning a
distant second, and Affect a very distant third choice. If you are in such an organization,
how do your scores match up? If there is a mismatch, how are you affected?
8. In many organizations, Affect is the language of choice, with Meaning a close second,
and Power a distant third choice. If you are in such an organization, how do your scores
match up? If there is a mismatch, how are you affected?
9. In many organizations, Meaning is the language of choice, with Power a distant second,
and Affect a very distant third choice. If you are in such an organization, how do your
scores match up?
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Balanced and Unbalanced Profiles
Individuals differ in terms of the dominant propensities in their Behavioral Propensities
Profile and their varying levels of fluency in the other propensities. For example, two
individuals whose strongest Action Propensity is Move, may reveal very different
tendencies in the other three Action propensities. Person ―A‖ may Move 40% of the
time and distribute her remaining actions more or less equally among Follow, Oppose,
and Bystand. Person ―B‖ may Move 60% of the time, Oppose 35% of the time, and
rarely Follow or Bystand.
For a more complete understanding of how you interact with others, it is important to
look beyond how your propensities are distributed to determine whether the set is
balanced (all propensities getting more or less equal play) or unbalanced.
Your Action
Propensities
Move
29%
0%
Example of
Unbalanced Action
Propensities
Move
10%
0%
Example of
Balanced Action
Propensities
20%
30%
Oppose
28%
40%
Follow
20%
10%
20%
10%
50%
30%
40%
50%
Follow
25%
20%
Bystand
33%
60%
70%
80%
Oppose
50%
Move
25%
0%
8
10%
Follow
10%
30%
40%
60%
60%
100%
Bystand
20%
70%
80%
Oppose
25%
50%
90%
90%
100%
Bystand
25%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Balanced and Unbalanced Profiles
Reflections
A Balanced Profile
Is an asset:
When an individual or leader is managing conflict between people with
clashing, diametrically opposed propensities—for example, an Opposer in
Closed Power with a Mover in Open Affect. The subject’s balanced profile
permits him to hear both voices and to model greater tolerance for
difference.
Is NOT an asset:
When the leader is managing a project that calls for strong, quick, and
decisive action, but his team’s profiles completely lack these behavioral
capacities—for example, there are no strong Movers in Power on the team.
The leader’s balanced profile may add little to the critical needs of the
situation.
An Unbalanced Profile
Is an asset:
When groups, teams, and families encounter critical situations that call for
special, even extreme behaviors such as profound empathy (Followers in
Affect), analytic genius (Movers in Meaning), and warrior-like driver
(Power). Entities that lack such capacities may suffer or be harmed.
Is NOT an asset when:
Groups are led by people who gather others around them with identical
Profiles and the ability to Bystand is lost. Groups without Bystanders lack
the often critical perspective that this function provides.
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Your Profile vs. Your Self-Rating
A Comparison of Scores
Before completing the BPP, you were asked to rate yourself on an abbreviated version of
the dimensions covered in this report. The bar graphs below compare your BP results
with how you rated yourself. There is much to learn from examining and reflecting on
how the results do and do not correspond. In doing so, bear in mind that there are limits
to the accuracy of self-perception. We all struggle with a natural tendency to see
ourselves as we would like to be rather than how we are and how others see us.
ACTION PROPENSITIES
Behavioral Distribution
Your Profile
Bystand
33%
0%
10%
30%
40%
Bystand
35%
Self-Rating
0%
10
20%
Move
29%
10%
20%
50%
Oppose
28%
60%
Move
30%
30%
40%
50%
70%
80%
Oppose
20%
60%
70%
80%
Follow
10%
90%
100%
Follow
15%
90%
100%
Your Profile vs. Your Self-Rating
Operating System Propensities
Behavioral Distribution
Random
46%
Your Profile
0%
10%
20%
Open
37%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Closed
17%
70%
Random
60%
Self-Rating
0%
10%
20%
30%
80%
90%
Open
35%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
100%
Closed
5%
90%
100%
Communication Domain Propensities
Meaning
46%
Your Profile
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Meaning
70%
Self-Rating
0%
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Affect
37%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Power
17%
80%
Affect
20%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Power
10%
90%
100%
Your Profile vs. Your Self-Rating
Reflections
1. In which propensities are there discrepancies between your self-rating and your
BPP results? How do you explain this?
2. Some people see themselves as much more committed to the Open System
than their BP shows them to be. If this is true for you, what meaning do you
make of it?
3. Some people think that being a Strong Mover in Power is the only way to be
effective in a competitive work environment and will assign higher scores in
their self-ratings than the BPP rates them. If this applies, what consequences
does this have for how you function in your job? In your personal relationships?
AN EXERCISE
We recommend that you share your results with a colleague, friend or partner.
Caution: It is likely that how any ―other‖ sees you will be filtered through the lens of that
person’s Profile and will most certainly be influenced by your relative positions in a shared
hierarchy.
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Strong, Weak, and Stuck Behaviors
Most individuals have behavioral tendencies that skew their profiles in ways most
recognizable to others and to themselves as well. One way to characterize this familiar
phenomenon is to say that most people have at least one ―strong,‖ one ―weak,‖ and one
―stuck‖ behavior in their repertoires. What this means is that they characteristically
overuse some of the available options and, likewise, under use others.
A “strong” behavioral tendency is a propensity we use often and well. People are known
for and are associated with these behavioral tendencies. For example, ―John is often the
first to come up with a new idea or direction.‖ He is a ―Strong Mover‖.
A “weak” behavioral tendency is a propensity we fail or hesitate to use when in fact the
situation we are in calls for that very action. ―John handicaps our team because he
seems unable to challenge whoever is in charge.‖ John is a ―Weak Opposer‖.
A “stuck” behavioral tendency is a propensity we use more often than is necessary and
as such, is not only self-limiting, it fails to serve our group, team or family. ―John can’t
seem to stop volunteering, particularly when it seems to please our boss. By working
nights and weekends he makes himself look good and the rest of us look bad.‖ John is a
―Stuck Follower‖.
Your BP Propensities
Weak-Strong-Stuck Continuum
STUCK ZONE
STUCK TENDENCY ZONE
STRONG ZONE
WEAK ZONE
Random
Closed
Open
Power
Meaning
Affect
Bystand
Oppose
Follow
Move
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Expanding Your Behavioral Repertoire
Your ability to engage in the various behavioral propensities in a given conversation is
what we call your Behavioral Repertoire. Your repertoire describes the range of
behaviors you engage in as the conversation demands. Your Behavioral Propensities
Profile is a deeply ingrained pattern of behavior, what you tend to do more often than
not. It is not, however, irrevocably fixed. You do have the ability to broaden your
Behavioral Repertoire, thereby expanding the range of behaviors that you are
comfortable engaging in and your capacity to use the most appropriate behavior for a
given context.
Here are some thoughts for evaluating your Behavioral Repertoire and getting started
on expanding it:
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
Look at your Strongest Operating System, Communication Domain, and Action
Propensities. If your profile indicates that you disproportionately exhibit one type
of behavior, ask yourself whether you have a tendency to overuse that behavior.
When you have difficulty behaving in any way other than your Strongest
Propensities, you become what we refer to as stuck, which can be demonstrated
in a limited Behavioral Repertoire.

Look at your Weakest Operating System, Communication Domain, and Action
Propensities. How difficult would it be for you to use those behaviors instead of
the ones with which you are most comfortable? If it would be quite difficult to use
these behaviors, it may imply that your weakest propensity should be
strengthened to expand your Behavioral Repertoire.

Do you find it difficult to communicate or work with those whose Behavioral
Propensities Profiles are significantly different from yours? If so, find opportunities
to work with someone whose profile is very different. Try to appreciate the
difference in how you both approach work rather than eliminating the difference.

With practice, reflection, and follow through, you will begin to become more
fluent in the different behavioral choices available to you.
Applying Your BPP to Different Systems
The behaviors described in the BPP do not take place in a vacuum—they take place in human
systems. Individual behavior never fully escapes the powerful influence of the system in which it
takes place. The workplace, teams, families, and close two-person relationships, in any
organizational context, are systems.
Below we have listed a few implications that stem from the interplay between an individual’s
Behavioral Propensities and their Organization of choice. Asking yourself, ―How do these
implications apply to me and my BPP results?‖ can open you to valuable insights about your
relationships with others and your organization.
The Workplace System
• Operating Systems (Open, Closed, and Random) control and regulate how individuals use
the three languages (Affect, Power, and Meaning) and which language should dominate.
Example: In a tightly run highly competitive market, Closed System Power, effectively
―getting things done‖, is likely the systematically enforced language of choice; individuals with
a very high score in Affect and a strong preference for an Open System are not likely to thrive.
• Operating Systems impose rules on who can speak when and in what voice (the four
Action Modes: Mover, Opposer, Follower, and Bystander).
Example: In an Open System committed to unlimited process (equally valuing all four Action
Modes) and the free expression of emotions (Affect); a Stuck Mover in Closed Power, who
impatiently presses closure before her team is ready, is not likely to thrive.
The Family System
•
In many families governed by parents with polar opposite propensities, children may
become confused, feel compelled to take sides, or assume too much power
depending on their own behavioral profile.
Example: A precocious 15 year old is steeped in reading the classics and their search for truth
(a Follower/Bystander/Mover in Open Meaning). His father is a Mover/Opposer in Closed Power
and regards his son’s obsessive theoretical questioning as punishable insubordination.
However, the boy’s mother, a Follower/Bystander in Open Affect, cannot imagine a better way of
being for her son.
•
Many couples, in their strivings for intimacy, get bogged down in repetitive struggles
that leave them emotionally drained and disappointed. In many cases, what drives
these struggles is how different Profiles define connection and intimacy.
Example: One partner, a Follower in Closed Affect, rarely actively seeks closeness and never
initiates lovemaking; while the other, also a Follower, but in Open Affect, equates closeness with
fusion and feels burdened by the responsibility to always initiate lovemaking.
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