Reflecting (Northwest Heading)

If people with a SW Heading are the "heart" of a team, people with a NW Heading are the "soul." They may tend to be quiet; still they have a subtle yet powerful influence on group interactions. With a quiet bearing of trustworthiness, they tend to become the ethical backbone of the group. They are often creative and able to write effectively, generating sensitive, inspiring, and motivating insights or ideas.

They dislike mundane, irrelevant, or superficial work and will be among the first to mentally vacate conversations or meetings that seem trivial or unnecessary. In the ready, aim, fire sequence, they would be the first to ask why we are using a weapon command as a metaphor for teamwork.

Formulating (Northeast Heading)

People with a NE Heading are often the ones with the long distance, bigger picture view of the work of the team. They are attuned to systems thinking—being aware that decisions in one sector can influence and impact others in the organization. They tend to be thorough and thoughtful, some would say analytical, in understanding complexity.

When others may want to just get something accomplished, people with a NE Heading may urge caution until decisions are more fully thought through. In this way they serve as a sort of governor on premature action. In the ready, aim, fire sequence, they enjoy most taking careful aim.

Associating (Southwest Heading)

People with a SW Heading are often inclined to hold groups together. They enjoy generating harmony and camaraderie among people, often seeing the optimistic bright side to every situation. They support traditions and cultural values as the intangible glue that holds people together. If a NE Heading is the "head," the SW Heading is the "heart" of group interaction. They are highly attuned to how people are doing and feeling, and will go out of their way to make things better for team members —even if it means their own self-sacrifice.

In the ready, aim, fire sequence, they tend to the "ready" component, looking after the interests, preparedness and well being of the people in the team.

Producing (Southeast Heading)

People with a SE Heading are often catalysts for action. They find practical solutions, troubleshoot concrete issues, and dissolve snags and problems quickly as they rapidly acquire the necessary facts and relevant details. Seldom content to simply think about the work, they must do it, and do it in a highly directed and organized manner. They provide a highly practical influence to team interaction, often considering the concrete issues for every idea.

In the ready, aim, fire sequence, they would relish the firing—action. As a governor on too much contemplation, they may even be prone to change the sequence to fire, aim, ready.