Counterpart – Introverted/Head

In this conflict, your counterpart reacts as follows:

Introverted and “From the head”

So your counterpart is a “reliable doer” and, under stress, a “busy bee” who acts in the following manner:

Here are some of the most prominent features for this type of stress typology:

• Know-it-all attitude
• Pessimism
• Scepticism
• Analysing
• Withdrawal
• In extreme cases, compulsive, perfectionist, and unyielding
• In case of escalation, they often have the following thoughts or feelings: “I always have to take care of everything, it’s too much to bear.”

Their motivation, i.e. their intention is:

• Do the right thing and get things done.

What your counterpart wants to avoid, what they mostly fear:

• Criticism
• Refusal
• Aggression

Stressors, i.e. behaviour that stresses your counterpart:

• Motivation attempts, i.e. others try to motivate
• Excuses or pretexts
• Empty promises
• Verbal attacks
• Accusations

Recommendation on how to deal with this stress pattern:

• Recognition of achievement
• Listen
• Call for solutions
• Clearly explain who will be taking over a task
• Enquire as to whether the individual is on board
• “Hey, I will do this. I will take care of that. You no longer need to worry about it.”

Copyright Dr. Gabriele Lang

Use your skills and tools for future situations. This will help you release “tensions in the air”. It helps you distinguish your counterpart, i.e. the person from their behaviour. On the premise “skill comes with practice”, think about it especially in stress situations and apply what you know now.