When danger is invisible
Few hazards are as deceptive as an iceberg. On the surface they appear small and harmless, but every sailor knows this: the essential is always hidden.
This is exactly what a captain experienced during a calm Atlantic crossing. The sea was a mirror, the sky a cloak of stars. In the distance, a white spot appeared: a iceberg.
«The danger is under control,» he thought. «All we have to do is stay on course, it's shifted to the left.»
He adjusted the rudder slightly and continued confidently.
A few minutes later, the ship shook with a crash. The hull had just been torn apart. Not by the visible white part... but by the immense hidden mass underwater, far beyond what the eyes could imagine.
The truth beneath the surface
With people, it's exactly the same. In life professional, As managers, leaders or colleagues, we look at what is being done. visible: behaviour, the way someone speaks, reacts and organises themselves.
But the biggest part of the iceberg remains invisible: the values and motivations that guide each choice, each decision. To ignore this dimension is to believe that it is enough to avoid what you see. Sooner or later, the relationship will collide with what lies beneath the surface.
Imagine a sales manager who is results-oriented. From his point of view, the priority is to move forward quickly, sign contracts, conquer the market.
Opposite him, his assistant or a salesperson in the team may attach much more importance to the quality of the customer relations or the care taken with the service.
On the surface, they seem to be talking about the same thing: customers, proposals, contracts.
But what everyone considers to be “important”It's not the same - and it stays hidden.
If the manager is unaware of this, he or she will can judge his colleague “slow” or “not very proactive”. And the employee, can feel the manager as “cold” or “obsessed with figures”.
In reality, none of them are wrong. They simply navigate with different invisible forces.
Spranger currents
At the beginning of the XXᵉ century, the German philosopher Eduard Spranger asked himself a universal question: “What really motivates human beings?”
His research has shown that, over and above visible behaviour, there are other core values that guide every decision. These values are also universal than ancient: they cross times, the cultures and contexts, because they belong to the human condition.
Spranger has identified six main motivations, These are comparable to invisible currents that push each ship in a particular direction. His work inspired the AEC DISC methodology, which translates these forces into six universal motivations :
- Cognitive → need to learn, understand, analyse.
- Aesthetics → search for beauty, harmony and balance.
- Utility → focus on the concrete, the useful and the return.
- Altruistic → desire to help, support and contribute to others.
- Individualist → the desire to assert yourself, influence and have an impact.
- Traditional → search for meaning, values and spiritual coherence.
None of them is better than the other: they are all complementary strengths present in each of us, in different proportions. To ignore them is to sail blindly. Visit recognise, is to equip ourselves with a an invisible but essential compass.
My own iceberg
On the surface, what you see most in me is the blue (structured, rational) and the green (stable, oriented relations from trust). But beneath the surface, there are invisible forces who steer my ship:
- My motivation cognitive, It's what drives me to constantly learn and understand. It's what makes you dive in methods such as AEC DISC to turn them into practical tools.
- My motivation aesthetics, It's about finding harmony and beauty in human relationships. This is reflected in my work: help people and teams to find clarity, fluidity and alignment.
- My motivation traditional, which anchors me in values and deep meaning. It's what makes me see coaching and training not as techniques, but as a way of life. mission Helping others to act in accordance with their convictions.
These motivations are not abstract concepts. They explain why I chose my current path, between training and coaching.
When I lead a course or accompany a change, I feel in my element. It's not a role I'm playing, it's a way of life. natural expression of my invisible forces.
If I tried to live against these motivations, it would be like sailing against myself - and the hull would eventually crack.
When the invisible becomes the compass
The AEC DISC methodology, also known as “colour method”It is not just about mapping visible behaviour. It also reveals what is hidden These are the deep forces that, like the tip of an iceberg, are submerged, guide our choices and explain so many misunderstandings.
When these forces remain in the shadows, they cause unexpected collisions. When they are makes visible, they become a powerful compass for align people, teams and decisions.
Just like a captain, we need charts that show not only the water line, but also what lies below it. We need need to understand what is invisible in others.
👉 What about you? Have you ever experienced a “shock” in a relationship that came not from the visible behaviour, but from what was hidden beneath the surface?
- Exploration in Colour 🌈🧭
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