The FIRO Business® Assessment Can Improve Your Work Environment

In Business and Leadership, FIRO, Leadership by Leon Jesmanowicz, Vice-President

“Knowledge is power”, and knowing yourself is a powerful tool when optimizing your work and business environment.  The FIRO Business® Assessment was created in order to target interpersonal needs as specifically related to your workplace behavior.  Regardless of whether you are a manager, group or specialist, you can benefit from learning what your specific needs are, and how they relate to others at your workplace.  Read on and learn how the FIRO Business® test has become an internationally recognized tool for team building, professional management, and leadership improvement.

The FIRO Business test was developed as an extension of the foundational work done to create and optimize the FIRO-B® Instrument over the last 60 years.  It was modified and focused to hone in on business related factors.  Unlike the FIRO-B, which has a much broader appeal, the Firo Business Assessment was created to maximize business application on an international scale.  It is based on the underlying theory that beyond our survival needs, we have unique interpersonal needs that lie as a major motivational factor for our actions in the workplace.  These needs relate to the business areas of Involvement, Influence, and Connection.  The next section will give you an overview how each area has a direct business application in your work life.

The first area of the FIRO Business Assessment is the area related to your need for Involvement.  This area tells you how much you include other people in your life and how much contact, attention, and recognition you want to receive from others.  The focus in this area is how you relate to small or large groups.  One-on-one relations are covered in the Connection area.  The Involvement area will tell you whether you prefer to leave people to their own devices or work to include others in what you do.  Do you prefer to work in solitude or prefer a close-knit working environment?  Do you require a lot of recognition for your work? Or are you happy with simply accomplishing your goals?  Is it important to you that people pay attention to you, or do you prefer to be independent?  It’s important to note that this area is not associated with emotional closeness or attachment.  It focuses specifically on work-based relationships.

The second area of the Firo Business Assessment is the area related to your need for Influence.  This section will indicate how much authority and responsibility you want, as well as how much you want other people to direct, lead, or provide structure for you.  The needs in this are related to both your group settings as well as your one-on-one relationships at work.  It will identify whether you prefer to be a leader or follower.  It provides you information on how you react to being given orders and how much structure you like in work situations.  It also scores how much direction you want to have over others as well as how much impact you want others to have on you.

The final main area of the Firo Business Assessment relates to your need for Connection.  This section focuses on your need to establish comfortable one-on-one relationships in a work setting.  It will tell you how friendly and approachable you are with others as well as how warm and friendly you want others to be with you.  Do you keep your distance, or do you openly show your friendliness?  Do you have a preference for impersonal relationships at work or do you like others to show you warmth?  These factors have a huge impact on what kind of role you will optimally fill at work and knowing how to deal with others that may have opposing preferences is a key factor to a healthy working environment.

The full FIRO Business Profile will provide you additional information about your preferences including, breaking down each area down further into “expressed” and “wanted” categories.

To see a sample version of the FIRO Business Profile, click HERE or to purchase a FIRO Business Report click HERE.

You can also see the more in-depth 13-page FIRO Business Leadership report that gives you thorough advice on your leadership strengths and strategies.

To see a sample report of the FIRO Business Leadership report, click HERE or to purchase a FIRO Leadership Report click HERE.

[ FIRO Business-based information was taken from the following publication: (Judith A. Waterman, 2010, CPP Inc.)]