Originally Posted by
Ezra
What makes the SLE and the LIE look so much alike is the way they take charge of things. Both of these types want to get things accomplished and get that achievable result as quickly as possible. They have a fundamental belief that it is worth the risk to go ahead and decide and trust they can take care of anything that comes up. They tend to make quick decisions. For them, there is no such thing as a wrong decision, just one that didn’t work. Both tend to be very Directing in their communications and Initiating in the roles they take with others.
SLEs have a core need for having the freedom to choose the next thing they are going to do with a drive to action and to make an impact, whereas LIEs have a core need for mastery, self-control, knowledge and competence. The LIE need for competence also resonates with the SLE. However, for the LIE, being competent ahead of doing something is crucial and they will want to understand something completely before they go ahead and act. The SLE, on the other hand, will be more likely to quickly grasp the essence of something and then go ahead and take action, gaining competence as they go. When hearing descriptors, they may interpret competence in terms of their love of skillful performance.
Both types have a preference for taking pragmatic roles in a given group, so the freedom to choose the next action resonates to both types, as autonomy is the hallmark of pragmatic role taking. Pragmatism means doing what ever it takes to reach a goal, often ignoring rules or social norms. For the LIE, that freedom is around devising and getting others to follow a strategy. For the SLE, that freedom is more often about the necessary tactical actions to get something accomplished.
Their differences come in noticing their use of language, with the SLE more likely to use language that describes things tangibly and the LIE language describes things conceptually. Also note that SLEs easily tune in to other’s motives and LIEs are much more interested in structure than motive. The LIE often engages in quickly reading the external environment and is drawn to act on and shape that environment. This can easily look SLE-like as they respond and adapt to what is going on, especially enjoying some of the more exciting activities. The SLEs are quite tuned into future payoffs and quite optimistic about what will happen in the future. They often get a sense of what is just around the corner and then want to seize the opportunities.