HBDI training proves ‘insightful, educational,’ for Elm employees

Back in November, Elm employees Rose Daley, Deana Casamento, Nikki Puza, Matt Vella, Tim Rzeszutek, Chris Welch, Chris Jarrett and Nick Mulveyhill participated in a “HBDI Assessment.”

HBDI stands for “Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument” and is a “Whole Brain Thinking” model.

The process started in mid-October with the Elm employees listed above receiving an online assessment that asked which words would best describe how they think in certain situations.

A menu of words was provided for each question/situation: What word best describes you; what word least describes you, etc. The last question was to describe a picture displayed as if you were telling a friend about it.

Each assessment was then reviewed and dissected.

Packets were sealed, sent to Deana and given out at the training session. Then, as a group, they went through each part of the packet. Moderator Rachel Elkind explained page by page what it meant and compared assessments, while discussing each person’s results.

Each person could see what percentage they scored. It’s not meant to be good or bad, but just shows how you think as an individual. No one is better or worse than another person.

The training session took place at Cycle Street on Tuesday, Nov. 14^th.

HBDI is a system used to measure and describe thinking preferences in people. The whole brain is divided into 4 quadrants: A: Analytical Thinking (logical, factual, critical); B: Sequential Thinking (structured, organized, detailed); C: Interpersonal Thinking (emotional, spiritual, feeling); D: Imaginative Thinking (visual, holistic, conceptual). There are many, many other words that fall into each quadrant but the ones provided give you a basic understanding.

“I was very unsettled going into the session,” Rose told us. “I’m not a person who has spent a lot of time delving into why I think a certain way but I really enjoyed finding out how I think and what that means as far as how I deal with personal situations and work situations.”

Rose explained that a fair amount of time was spent “sharing” with others in the group how they would assess co-workers, family members, each other.

“That was somewhat uncomfortable because some things felt a little too personal to share

with a co-worker,” Rose said. “Overall, I liked finding out about myself in a way that I never knew existed. I can tell you that I think about it every day. I use it daily at work to ask myself how I can tackle a task in a better way. How I can finish something that.”

Nick told us he found the session interesting, learning how people in different departments think and how folks in the same department seemed to have a similar mindset.

“I have tried applying a specific thing I learned about myself in my at home life,” Nick said. “I thought the group exercise was very entertaining, seeing how different people react in different situations. I don’t think it was too invasive, but there was a point or two when I was asked a question on the spot and it felt a little uncomfortable, or I wasn’t prepared with an answer. My follow up meeting with Rachel was also very good. She asked a few questions about specific things, gave me some ‘homework’ and that was about it.”

Nikki felt the HBDI training was a positive experience.

“It was interesting to see your own assessment and comparing to others,” Nikki said. “I think it made me step back and think about things a little differently — not just at work, but especially at home. I enjoyed the team building portion and reflecting back on it once we completed the task. Overall, I think it was educational, may have gotten a little invasive at times, but not the whole time.”

“Insightful and educational,” is how Matt described the assessment.

“The assessment explored the workings of my thinking preferences and cognitive strengths, shedding light on how I approach problem-solving, communication and decision-making,” Matt said. “It was interesting to see how my cognitive preferences align with various aspects of my personal and professional life. This assessment has not only provided me with a deeper understanding of my thinking style but also equipped me with valuable understandings to enhance teamwork and flexibility in different contexts.”