LIFO is one of the best interventions you can make give a team a needed boost.

It's all strength based. It actually helps the team members build self esteem in the moment.

It's fun and safe. Team members can learn to laugh at themselves, their styles, their preferences in a supportive atmosphere.

It's accurate! 18 questions on-line yield a jaw dropping picture of each member's style under both favorable and unfavorable conditions.

It's short, powerful, easy to understand and opens feedback up across the team.

The leader goes up in the eyes of the group - guaranteed!

There are Four Styles : LIFO is aimed at: self-awareness, truth, and choice.

Styles in LIFO are behavioral preferences. The styles have been thoroughly researched and each on will be described in the upcoming slides.

Note: These are not personality descriptions. LIFO does not have types. It is not a rigid assessment aimed at prediction. Rather, LIFO presents an accurate description of how I like to interact with others.

LIFO describes styles under Favorable and Unfavorable conditions. When things get dicey we often choose to act differently. It's good to know this about ourselves.

Each Style in LIFO is associated with ten words and one theme that describe the style.

Supporting Giving:
• Considerate
• Cooperative
• Helpful
• Idealistic
• Loyal
• Modest
• Receptive
• Responsive
• Seeks Excellence
• Trusting

The them for Supporting - Giving is EXCELLENCE

The words that describe the Controlling - Taking Style are:

• Competitive
• Confident
• Directing
• Forceful
• Persistent
• Persuasive
• Quick to act
• Risk-taking
• Seek Change
• Urgent

The Theme for Controlling - Taking is ACTION

The words that describe the Conserving - Holding Style are;

• Analytical
• Detail-oriented
• Economical
• Factual
• Methodical
• Practical
• Reserved
• Steadfast
• Tenacious
• Thorough

The Theme for Conserving - Holding is ACTION

The words that describe the Adapting Style are:

• Adaptable
• Animated
• Empathetic
• Enthusiastic
• Experimental
• Flexible
• Inspiring
• Negotiating
• Sociable
• Tactful

The Theme for Adapting - Dealing is Harmony

The theory goes something like this. Under normal or favorable conditions, we act in ways that are more or less uniformly predictable. Good to know.

In the face of continuing conflict or opposition, conditions we call "unfavorable," our motivations change, our beliefs change, and we can behave quite differently.

LIFO gives us important clues into how we tend to act under both conditions. In the workshop we discuss these findings with our teammates and get even more information about our styles in the moment.

We learn to discuss style differences in a non threatening and non judgmental way.

We play to our strengths. LIFO shows us the strengths we use most frequently.

LIFO shows us our back-up styles. These are ways of acting that are also comfortable for us to go to. Knowing out most preferred style and our back-up style(s) helps us to become more aware of how we act in the moment.

Our Least Preferred Style is often a clue to our blind side. We don't perceive that we could be doing more of something we don't do. But others see this and LIFO helps us to see it also.

Circle the highest - This is your Most Preferred Style. If another style is within three points (+ or -) circle this as well.


Place a square around your Back-up Style The three point rule applies.


Place a Triangle around your Least Preferred Style

We do this work in small groups.

Each person tells a story about how the Most Preferred Style serves him or her. Make this stories personal and give specific examples.

Others at the table may help to confirm these strengths by giving other examples of how they see me using my strengths.

We discuss how our strengths apply under the best and worst conditions for these styles - More stories.

One of LIFO's greatest contributions is the concept that overusing my preferred style can come across as too much and get me into trouble.

We give specific examples in small groups. The other group members add to our stories.

We examine our Least Preferred Style for clues of what we could add to the mix.

Each person gives examples of where doing more of a least preferred style would have helped in a particular situation. Team members add to the stories with their own examples.

The most valuable part of a LIFO workshop is the opening up of feedback across a working group.

As we learn how to give and receive specific and descriptive feedback in the moment, we develop the additional skill of helping our team to make course corrections.

We learn that together we can help ourselves and each other continuously.

We learn that we can laugh at ourselves in a very healthy way.

We learn that openness is a valuable team asset.

We act as consultants to ourselves in small teams. What could we do less of? What could we dial back? What could we tone down?


We also share: What would help the group most if we were to do more of something? What style would we want to use more? What would it look like. How would the other team members feel?

The ability to pivot - to switch to a style at a particular moment requires a "diagnostic mentality" and the ability to choose and use different behaviors.

We do practice rounds with each person trying out new behaviors using their Least Preferred Style.

Wayne Gretsky exercise: Team members design and present problem situations for their teammates: "Don't Skate to where the puck is, skate to where it's going to be."

Each participant takes the time to develop an action plan based on the feedback he or she has received today.

Each participant take the time to share the plan with the other team members (large group).

We show the overall team results.

We have everyone become a consultant to the team. Collectively we explore our data and now make recommendations a the team level.

The Team Leader summarizes the data and explains how he or she will continue to use the new LIFO information as we all move forward together.