The Magic of the Plane Metaphor Game: Why It Works for All Personality Types
Up, Up, and Aligned - article inspired from "Gamestorming" book in relation with PCM
This post is about explaining why the Plane Metaphor game fits all personality types and is not only worth trying for its added value but also because it feeds the psychological needs of all types. The object of the Plane Metaphor game is to get a project started while aligning team perspectives on different areas.
How is the Plane Metaphor fitting with all PCM personality types?
PCM (Process Communication Model®) is an innovative model that allows you to understand the depth of personality structure.
Created by Taibi Kahler in the 1970s, PCM was used by NASA in the training and selection of astronauts for 20 years, and today used by many well-known Fortune 500 companies.
According to PCM, we all have 6 personality types in us, which influence how we think, feel, and behave.
Each type has its own perceptual filter, a preferred way of seeing the world.
🎲 Thinker - likes to have data and facts and has the tendency to create logical connections between different topics.
as this level of personality perceives the world through data, and logical structure, and one of the main psychological needs is time structure, this game fits their traits and needs by answering the “W” questions, creating a sort of visual timeline from the left side from “Where do we come from?” to “Where are we going”
🎲 Persister - likes to offer his opinion and beliefs about specific topics.
the “W” questions are the ones that are frequently asked at this personality level and therefore they are also useful in this case
asking open questions means asking for your opinion and this is exactly the basic need of the persister level
🎲 Harmonizer - for them a comfortable atmosphere is important, they express themselves through feelings.
this game creates through alignment a feeling of team bonding, and relatedness to all the perspectives which brings at the end trust and a sense of belonging; these are basic needs of the harmonizer level
they will be answering these questions focusing more on the feelings which bring a sparkle to the team's perspectives
🎲 Imaginer - they reflect a lot, having a lot happening inside their own world, powerful imagination
the metaphor itself comes into the basic need of imagination of the imaginer type
as a lot of the sequence of this game is created through silent work when everybody writes on sticky notes, this is the environment where the imaginer type feels at home, and comfortable
🎲 Rebel - they like to have fun and react to the world with likes/dislikes.
it is a game, a plane? wow…it is purely what sparkles curiosity and motivation for a rebel type who seeks fun and playfulness in work as a basic need
the rebel type will even want to build a plane during this game and fly with it in the room ✈️
🎲 Promoter - they need actions and get things done
the plane metaphor gives them the impression that we move forward from the speed relatedness but also from going from A to B and accomplishing what we want to achieve
they will answer the questions with very tangible actionable steps / an action perspective which helps them feed their basic psychological need
One-phrase summary:
The Plane Metaphor game which is the perfect play at the kick-off of a project has a good fit for all personality types and this is why you can be sure it feeds all the basic psychological needs of your team.
Resources:
Book “Gamestorming” by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, James Macanufo
Gamestorming website
PCM online training by PCM Trainer Magda Tabac
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