What makes a good match? Whether you’re putting together a workplace mentoring program or just thinking about your prospects for Valentine’s Day, thinking preferences provide some clues.
On the work front, many organizations have begun setting up mentoring programs recently. With another estimated 4 million Baby Boomers expected to retire this year, these companies want to make sure their valuable knowledge, experience and critical thinking skills don’t leave along with them.
But just like any pair, not every mentor match is made to last.
HBDI® Certified Practitioner Lynne Krause has used thinking preferences as her guide in pairing mentors and mentees at the US Naval Command, and we’d challenge even the best of online dating sites to equal her 99% success rate!
Of course, it’s only natural to be curious about the connection between thinking preferences and your personal relationships, too. Here’s what we can tell you on an anecdotal level:
In working with thousands of people over the years, we’ve asked them where they think the preferences of their partner, spouse or significant other lie, and anecdotally, we can say that opposites attract—at least in first marriages.
On the other hand, couples in second and third marriages, as well as unmarried couples who are living together, are generally more similar in their thinking preferences. (Could it be that the unmarried couples think so much alike that they don’t feel the need for a formal contract?)
Being with someone who has significantly different thinking preferences from your own can be challenging, both in the positive and negative sense of the word. It doesn’t mean the relationship is doomed to fail, but maybe couples in their second and third marriages have figured out that they just don’t want to work that hard anymore!