BUILDER PROTECTOR CONCEPT
Builder Protector Assessment
Think of the Builder Protector Ratio assessment as a mind set within a company. Usually established by the CEO and management team the BP Ratio is a measurement within a company of confidence vs. caution. It is a tool to assess the company’s ability to accept change, react with confidence to that change and help the company achieve its stated goals.
A good leader works from solid information. Making decision, determining how well the company is performing, and knowing how the organizational culture is affecting productivity are all critical factors that are influenced by the balance or imbalance of the Builder Protector Ratio in a company.
A builder mindset creates new ideas, takes on new initiatives and finds ways to expand the revenue and profitability of the company. A Builder chooses to challenge the status quo and continually improve the way things are done. They are normally risk tolerant and highly supportive of growth. A Builder tends to be confident in the financial strength of a company and hold a high degree of confidence in the company’s processes and systems.
The Builder mindset flourishes when the company is in a strong financial position and when open communication exists throughout the company-both up and down the ladder. Additionally it is easier to maintain or develop a Builder attitude when employees feel valued in an organization.
Often the executive leadership team may tend to lean more to the Builder Mindset because this group of people has more control over their destiny simply because they are more likely to have direct access to the top decisions and directions.
A Protector mindset is cautious and generally prefers to slow down the pace of change. They tend to be risk adverse and highly suspicious of growth-particularly rapid growth that appears to be out of control. Protectors may not feel confident about the company’s financial strength and are slow to embrace optimism about the future. They tend to be suspicious of new markets and the stability of those markets for the long term. Protectors tend to keep the brake pedal on even during times of rapid expansion and react cautiously to leadership’s ability to take the company forward.
Protectors tend to evolve more noticeably when there is a downturn in business, either from internal or external issues. When there is an attitude of fear in the workplace Protectors emerge and begin to apply the brakes to new ideas, resource requests and change in general.
Protectors are critical in companies, particularly in certain positions, such as CFO’s, controllers, accountants etc. A healthy mix of Protectors is beneficial because they tend to be a solid voice of reason when movement within a company is too fast and decisions are made too quickly-in a more reactive mode than proactive.
Why is the B/P Ratio so important?
‘measures the intensity and balance between the state of confidence and the state of caution inherent in the psyche of an organization, a department, a team or individual’ James Fischer
The research by James Fischer shows that understanding this ratio improves a CEO’s insight into his/her company’s mental health by:
- Allowing you to measure the company’s ability to meet and overcome its challenges
- Communicating the company’s willingness to perceive and take advantage of the opportunities in its path
- Measuring the strength of a company’s immune defense system, which acts as a barrier against low morale and poor performance.
- Assessing the company’s willingness to advance itself through change.
- Telegraphing the company’s belief in its future.
- Communicating the company’s trust in its leaders.
