INTERVIEW WITH A BP #11: CASSANDRA ANDREWS
October 14, 2020
“For me, success with a client, is not that somebody says ‘This is really interesting, thanks’, but ‘How can we imbed it in our business?’.”
Becoming a Business Practitioner is a big step, but the rewards are also tremendous. We wanted to speak with our BPs and get a sense of what they felt the biggest challenges and rewards of being a BP were, as well as foreground the amazing work they do. This interview with Cassandra Andrews is our eleventh and final instalment, revealing the secrets of life as a BP and the incredible difference they make in the Maps community and beyond.
Cassandra Andrews is a global Motivation and Employee Engagement Expert, passionate about helping business leaders engage with their people and understand and realise the power of Employee Engagement. She is the founder of Engaging Norfolk, to start a movement where Norfolk is recognised as a dynamic and great place to work.
MOTIVATOR: STAR & SPIRIT
“I did a Map in October, because I hadn’t done one in about a year. And then I did one last month, just to see what was going on! I’ve been on a bit of a personal development journey during lockdown. The shocking thing for me, was that they were almost identical! I have a high Star, and I’ve been working on a number of issues. It’s quite tough being a high Star, in terms of the pressure you put on yourself. I’ve been doing all this work with Bevis (Bevis is my coach) and he said he thought the Star would probably be less dominant in the profile. No! It’s exactly the same!”
That’s interesting, because in the light of coronavirus and lockdown, we’ve been having lots of conversations with Mappers about how people's profiles are changing in response to these dramatic circumstances.
“I know, without a doubt, that my top three motivators, they’re really high scores, and they have driven me throughout my life. My Spirit is 37! I always joke it’s the reason I’m divorced. I really don’t like people telling me what to do! When I was working in my last job (before quitting to become a BP), which was a not-for-profit, I was permanently frustrated with the bureaucracy, the time it took anything to happen, and the way that I was managed. Everything about it frustrated me and now I see why.”
“My Builder is a 33. I like stuff. And having an above average standard of living is super important to me. Often when I do debriefs with people, especially when I look at where their Searcher is, they can be quite uncomfortable with having a high Builder. I’m not ashamed of it at all! I like stuff, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But then, my Searcher’s not as high! I think I’m actually the opposite of most of the people in the Maps community.”
Certainly! The majority of Mappers have Searcher in their top three or even number one, it seems. There are a lot of narratives around “materialism”, and the extremes of materialism that of course can be all-consuming, which has given rise to negative associations with having Builder in your profile, so it’s interesting to meet someone who has embraced it!
“I think it’s really important, when you run your own business, that your Builder is high, otherwise where is your drive coming from?”
This is an excellent point, because not only is the Builder about material gains and success, but it is also the most competitive of the motivators.
“My third motivator is Star, which is a 28. And then the next motivator is at 18, so there’s a clear priority there! The thing that is potentially a bit of an Achilles’ Heel for me is my Expert. It’s my lowest motivator.”
I asked if she felt it was difficult sometimes, because the Maps, whilst easily understood in terms of what they mean, are also a rich and detailed subject that require a lot of expertise to deliver.
“I don’t, actually. I think that’s driven by my Star, how I want to be seen! So, I read a lot. In fact, I emailed James Sale recently, because I started getting into the Enneagram. And now I’m a BP, I feel it’s a missing link to help my LPs have a holistic understanding of where James was coming from [when he created the Maps]. I just love it! So, in terms of this Expert, what an Achilles’ Heel in terms of me learning about that, and it also impacts my Builder, because the way I’m going to make money is by showing my expertise at my craft! But, I think what it is for me, is I hate detail. Even in conversations, it can just switch me off. That’s my Achilles’ Heel when I’m dealing with clients. There are some people, usually Expert motivators, and they just always have to be right. It drives me nuts!”
This is really interesting because although the Maps tap into universal human drives, established with their roots in Maslow, there is a lot of individuality to how people interpret their motivators and the meaning they ascribe to the motivators.
“I find the whole combination of motivators fascinating! I’ve done hundreds of debriefs. I’ve rarely done a debrief when people don’t have a “wow” moment. That’s why I love Motivational Maps! I think it’s so much more powerful than a personality profile, because it’s real time. And you can take action. You can’t really take action on your personality!”
I wondered how that connected to being a BP.
“I fairly recently became a BP. I haven’t trained anyone yet! My motivation for learning about the Enneagram is because I’m now a BP and I take this seriously. The reason I became a BP is in part to grow my business. And, I’m a high Builder, so I like the idea of passive income.
“I used to have a business a number of years ago. It was a recruitment business and it was a franchise. I ran that for 8 years. At the time, I thought ‘This is the way forward’, I wanted to run a business that I was a franchiser of. Supporting a network of franchisees was an exciting feeling for me. Probably because of my Star! Now, my Spirit’s so high, I just think ‘Oh God’!”
There’s way too much management there for a Spirit!
“Yes! And, for me, the compromise is actually if I can train LPs. Firstly, my mission is to get Motivational Maps into as many businesses as possible and to embrace it. Predominantly, I want to do that in the States. Secondly, I really want to be able to support the LPs. I just see, every day when I’m working with a client, the impact it’s making, and I think: ‘This needs to be out there more!’ And the only way I can do that, because I have a ceiling on my time, is by training other people.”
A lot of Mappers have sought to bring Maps to the States, but for whatever reason, it has not quite had the impact that it has had in the UK, and indeed, in European countries such as Hungary. We discussed why that might be.
“I love the States. I’m fascinated by the different cultures there. The fact that Maps don’t really exist there to me is a complete gap in the market. And I want to fill it! I have big plans to fill it. That is my purpose currently!”
LINKS
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.