INDIVIDUALIZATION 
Your Individualization theme leads you to be intrigued by the unique qualities of each person. You are impatient with generalizations or "types" because you don't want to obscure what is special and distinct about each person. Instead, you focus on the differences between individuals. You instinctively observe each person's style, each person's motivation, how each thinks, and how each builds relationships. You 
hear the one-of-a-kind stories in each person's life. This theme ~xplains why you pick your friends just the right birthday gift, why you know that one person prefers praise in public and another detests it, and why you tailor your teaching style to ac- commodate one person's need to be shown and another's desire to "figure it out as I go." Because you are such a keen observer of other people's strengths, you can draw out the best in each person. This Individualization theme also helps you build pro- ductive teams. While some search around for the perfect team "structure" or "process," you know instinctively that the secret to great teams is casting by individ- ual strengths so that everyone can do a lot of what they do well. 

Individualization sounds like this: 
Les T., hospitality manager: "Carl is one of our best performers, but he still has to see me every week. He just wants that little encouragement and checking in, and he gets fired up a little bit after that meeting. Whereas Greg doesn't like to meet very often, so there's no need for me to bother him. And when we do meet, it's really for me, not for him." 
Marsha D., publishing executive: "Sometimes I would walk out of my offic~ and-you know how cartoon characters have those balloons over their head?'--I would see these little balloons over everyone's head telling me what was in their mind. It sounds weird, doesn't it, but it happens all the time." 
Giles G., sales manager: "I'm fairly new to this role, but very early on I can re- member apa11icular meeting when we got stuck on one subject and kept going around and around. I got frustrated and suddenly thought, 'These people have nevet: seen me get angry. Let me throw this out and see how each one reacts to it.' So I got angry, and it was interesting to see how certain people accepted it, some took it as a challenge, and others went into a big shell. Each one's reactions told me something useful about them, something I could use moving forward." 
Andrea H., interior designer: "When you ask people what their style is, they find it hard to describe, so I just ask them, 'What is your favorite spot in the house?' And when I ask that, their faces light up, and they know just where to take me. From that one spot I can begin to piece together the kind of people they are and what their style is."