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It’s been almost 2 years since I originally wrote this blog post but watching World Cup 2014 pre-quarter final filled with additional time, penalty shoot outs and the possibility of a death round in the Brazil vs Chile match and then again in the Argentina vs Switzerland match, I started to think, these teams are all a flock of successful birds with the goal of winning and making it to the finals.
As I watched the games, I started observing their strategies and game plan and how it could all go wrong for a team that looked like it might win only to have 1 goal change the scenario.
Messi’s late goal against Switzerland and the Dutch comeback in the 88th minute of their game are good examples.
I thought about the DOPE test and it occurred to me that each team actually had variants of each behavioural profile depending upon the circumstances.
I continue my observations…..
DOPE for Behavior Profiling
The first time I heard the word DOPE for behavior profiling, I thought, you’ve got to be kidding; do they mean people are junkies?
Just kidding!
In fact DOPE or Dr Gary Couture’s bird version of behavior profiling is quite popular since it immediately creates a visual object.
In this case the four basic personality types are Dove, Owl, Peacock and Eagle which I personally prefer as a description over DISC (Dominant, Influencer, Steady and Compliant) since one can visualize the character and behavior traits by simply thinking about the bird in question.
The kind of avian that describes you has a lot to do with how you handle life and the motivators required to help you achieve your goals, just like the Body Code which helps you to lose weight and maintain optimum fitness.
Success ultimately comes down to you and how you handle the execution of your goals.
Want to know your Bird Type? Try the Dope Test
Have a go and then read on to find out your type and the suggested Goal Setting Tips for your behavior type! You might want to keep a piece of paper and pen handy.
Dove
The word Dove immediately conjures the vision of a gentle, friendly and peaceful person. In fact, Dove people make for great team players, love to help others succeed, make friends and network easily and give more than they receive.
The downside of a Dove is that they have assertiveness issues, are averse to risk-taking, can get pulled into other peoples goals, avoid confrontation and put others before themselves.
Goal Setting Tips for Doves
Play on your strengths as a people-person and team player. At the same time, think more about what you really want for yourself and set your goals accordingly, not because someone says that a particular goal is good for you. A good personal development goal would be Assertiveness Training.
Owl
The human Owl, like the feathered counterpart conjures the image of a wise, meticulous and logical person, great at detailed work who thinks things through thoroughly. Curious by nature and motivated by knowledge and logic, Owls enjoy gaining knowledge and becoming experts in their field. They can sometimes be perceived as perfectionists.
The downside of an Owl is that they can be inflexible taking forever to plan rather than execute. Perfectionism is a problem for them and like the Dove, not great risk-takers.
Goal Setting Tips for Owls
Try stepping back and seeing the Big Picture rather than getting lost in the details. Set goals that make you step out of your comfort zone and challenge you to acquire more skills and knowledge and reach your potential.
When setting goals, set your long term goals and then focus on those mini-goals that help you to achieve milestones towards the bigger life changing goals. Try to let go of your need to be perfect. It is alright to be human and make mistakes!
Peacock
When it rains, the Peacock opens up its tail feathers and dances. Likewise, the Peacock person is said to be a charismatic leader, enthusiastic, optimistic and passionate.
They are known to be people-oriented although not very good with detail or time management and may even be accused of talking too much or seeing only the big picture and losing interest when faced with roadblocks in goal achievement.
Goal Setting Tips for Peacocks
Use your natural enthusiasm and passion to motivate others to work with you on achieving your goals. Having visualized the big picture, identify the main and specific goals that you need to achieve in order to realize the big picture.
Prioritize your tasks and goals.
Do take advantage of opportunities and challenges that you come across but be discerning in your choices and make sure that you use your time, energy and resources on those goals that make your big picture goals achievable.
Eagle
A natural achiever, the Eagle is independent, highly focused, motivated and driven. Not one to give up easily in pursuit of the goal, the Eagle is a risk taker and not afraid of failure. Of course, no Eagle likes to fail but they have the capacity to see failure as a chance to bounce back and often surprise others around them.
The Eagle’s downside is that they can choose goals on impulse lose sight of the big picture and get bored with details which affect their planning. They may come across as being dominating, insensitive and inflexible.
Goal Setting Tips for Eagles
Keep sight of the big picture and don’t get lost in goals that do not help you achieve your ultimate goal. Take time to plan out your actions and be flexible. It sometimes helps to have a Plan A and a Plan B. Practice being sensitive to others, particularly if you are part of a team.
Knowledge of behavior profiles helps to set goals that are more likely to be achieved since we are taking into account the personality of the goal setter. More often than not, our profile matches more than one behavioral profile which might also explain why we react differently under stress and pressure.
The next time you are engaging in goal setting, try looking at yourself and your strengths and weaknesses from a BIRD perspective. It might just help with success in goal achievement.
PS. Want a copy of the DOPE Test? When you buy my Kindle book Goal Achievement Simplified, you also get access to a pdf copy of this assessment as a gift.
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I LOVE these analogies you use for personality types. I am definitely an eagle and spiritually, bald eagle has been around me the past year helping me to soar to new heights. Thank you so much for sharing.
You’re welcome, Laura. Make sure you set goals where Eagles excel.
DOPE is an interesting concept, Vatsala. It encourages us to look at goal-setting from a different perspective and gently nudges us to evaluate what is the best plan-of-action that fits our personality. I can see aspects of me in each of the birds…depending on the mood I am in a particular moment. Thanks for bringing awareness to this way of goal-setting!
You’re welcome, Cindy. We normally have a combination of 2 or more of the birds and depending upon the situation and goal to be achieved, the qualities of the bird come into play.
I have given up on goals as they disempower me and embraced intentions as my mentor has me working on.
Setting intentions is similar to goal setting, Suzie. What’s more important is having a plan of action and doing the work to achieve our intention or goal.
What a fun way of looking at goal setting which can be boring at times, especially after decades of creating them.
I think I’m a peacock so the suggestions to “prioritize my tasks and goals” is most helpful now; my business partner and I are setting our 2020 goals along with our shared mission and vision statements.
I always learn from you Vatsala!
It’s fun, isn’t it, Lore. 🙂
Knowing our behavioral profile and using our strengths in creating goals and actioning them leads to success. If you follow the guidance for your profile, then I guarantee 2020 will be your Year!
I like this profile assessment better too. It seems to show the strengths of each personality trait instead of its weaknesses. I worked for a company that used the DISC profile heavily, to the point of using it as a hiring (or not hiring) tool. I never agreed with that. I think everyone has natural strengths but they also have learned strengths.
You have made a very valid point Crystal about natural strengths as well as having learned strengths. Quite often the headhunter who tracks us down for a new job has seen something in our profiles and work experience which indicates that we have skills and areas of learned strength that can be transferred to the position for which they are headhunting. I’m not fond of the DISC either as I believe that people have to work from an area of their strengths to overcome any perceived weakness and not focus on their weaknesses alone. Coming from a place of strong natural and learned skills empowers us to achieve our potential. Thanks for visiting my blog.
Hi Vatsala,
I’ve never heard of this type of test before, I have heard about the DISC though.
I think for certain positions they can benefit you so that you’ll know the type of person you’re dealing with and for those who have great training in this area then they know how to approach them so much better than the rest of us do. I’ve always been a little slow on the draw myself and about the time the entire conversation is over is when I’m just now figuring out who I’m dealing with.
I saw a combination of a few for me personally. That’s kind of interesting I have to say.
Thanks for sharing this and I learned something new today. Yay!!!
Enjoy your week.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne! DISC is well known among coaches and yet the Bird Test as a profiling tool is quite popular. You are absolutely correct about the benefits of profiling in order to deal with people and especially for a Team Leader who has to nurture and empower his team members. I’m happy I shared something new with you. I learned a lot back at your blog too! 🙂
I do love a good personality test! I took the test. And I’m mostly Eagle
The description rang true for me. Especially the part about needing to be flexible. I can be single minded in the pursuit of my goals. Which I recognize is a good and a bad thing!
Thanks for providing this useful insight.
Glad you liked the test and insights for goal achievement, Sally. I’m a predominant Eagle type too and have had to teach myself the art of self-control and seeing the big picture if I am to achieve the goals that enhance my bigger purpose. 🙂
Hello! Interesting post about goal setting! I love the metaphor of the birds as it makes it so much easier to relate to, when everyone knows and understand birds! And goal setting is so important! I love that you encourage people to set goals and chase their dreams!I believe I am mostly an Owl, with a little bit of Peacock bird in me 🙂 I am scared of risk, but I will do it if I see the benefit! Thanks for the great read!!!
Welcome to The Karmic Ally Coaching Experience Blog, Valerie. I’m delighted that you found the exercise useful. Quite often people set goals and then wonder why they are not successful in achieving them. Knowing one’s personality and behavior type helps to formulate a strategic plan that takes into account one’s strengths and possible shortcomings and how to get around the roadblocks that they might create. Most of us are a combination of 2 or even 3 of the birds. Your combination sounds like your well covered! 🙂
Hi Angela.
It is not unusual to have 2 or even 3 behaviors of similar strength. According to the DOPE test, this is an indicator that you are a “well balanced” individual from a behavior point of view. So a hybrid of all four is super cool!
The actual test is even more interesting as scores are charted onto a graph. Behaviors above the line indicate preferred behaviours, whereas behaviours below the line are the ones that one doesn’t show any preference towards and would be considered uncharacteristic for the person.
Hi! I like the analogy, and the visualization of something beautiful rather than a label that have limiting beliefs attached.
I think I am a hybrid of all four, and imagine if others search their soul they will find the same!