The Movement

How did the Action Profile® come about? A Movement Overview

An Action Profile® is based upon highly detailed recordings of minute variations of non-verbal expression, specifically qualities of movement such as accelerating and decelerating. This analysis is about what happens between positions. A description such as “folded arms” or “crossed legs” is not a description of movement. Movement is how the arms or legs move from uncrossed to crossed or unfolded to folded; eg. firmly, lightly, abruptly, freely, carefully or directly etc. The quality of a movement indicates that a particular type of energy is being used by the individual, which in turn can generate a particular type of thought pattern. For example, a direct, pointing type of movement indicates the use of focused energy which can promote thinking such as probing for information.

The observation of movement to draw up an Action Profile® has a long history beginning with the brilliant work of Rudolph Laban from the 1940s, with his extraordinary insights into the nature of human movement and his development of methods for recording it. Laban observed that actors made effortful movements that used space, weight and time as well as movements that flowed or were controlled. He noted that when these various movements were used a person was engaged in a decision process. He said there are four stages in which this happens Attention, Intention, Decision and Precision rather like Ready, Set, Go, Finish.

Laban’s efforts were followed by the original pioneering work of Warren Lamb who made the outstanding discovery of posture-gesture merging in movement. A Posture Gesture Merger occurs when a person assumes a Posture with the whole body, then uses a Gesture of an isolated part of the body or vice versa. The merger occurs when there is an overlap between the qualities of movement in the Posture and the Gesture and the two merge together as a continuous movement. Lamb noted that this type of movement indicated authenticity and sincerity in behaviour. It could not be learned or faked and hence was a good basis for a stable behavioural profile which he termed Aptitude Assessment. He added the dimension of shaping an initiative to Laban’s original concept of making the effort or asserting oneself to take an initiative. Shaping movement happens in the three planes Horizontal, Vertical and Sagittal (forward/back) and enables us to gain different perspectives on a situation. In addition he noticed that efforts and shaping movements could be put together in either harmonious or inharmonious ways and that this could affect a person’s capacity for interaction with others. He termed this Communicating, Presenting and Operating. He established the original method of estimating the scores on a profile and developed the next version of the framework of decision making after fifteen years of painstaking research into the characteristics of different managerial functions and the decision-making process in action. The 12 factors in his framework were termed Action Requirements for Management.

Pamela Ramsden further developed and expanded the Decision Frameworks of Laban and Lamb defining all the Areas of Decision more comprehensively and precisely. She created the next and current versions of the Decision Frameworks used in Action Profiling.

Integrated Movement

In summary there are 16 qualities of human movement. Six of the qualities are effortful such as using force or firmness. They enable us to assert ourselves to make decisions. Six are ways of shaping the body such as spreading or curving out or enclosing in. As mentioned above they enable us to gain various perspectives on the situation. Four of the qualities are different types of flowing movement such as freely letting the movement go or controlling it and making it seem more careful and cautious. Flowing movements are the underlying qualities of all human movement and are present from birth. In adults they give us spontaneity and the need for connection and involvement with the activities of others. An Action Profile is based upon the observation of all of the 16 movement qualities.

Pamela Ramsden developed the ground breaking concept of Integrated Movement and direct observation of it. This is based on the ability to observe specific moments when a whole-body movement (Posture) coincides in the instant with a movement of an isolated part of the body (Gesture), the two fusing together. Each Integrated movement reflects a moment when body and mind are united and the attitude toward a task or decision is one with the readiness to act.

Every person has a unique pattern of Integrated Movement. This pattern is stable and enduring. Expressing it through decision making, interaction and involvement with others is extremely important for optimal performance and well being. Being able to directly observe Integrated Movements ie the specific moments when melding of Gesture and Posture occur is the first step in measuring a person’s pattern of movement to produce the Action Profile. The next step is being able to discern which of the 16 movement qualities are present in those integrated moments. Then the movement elements in each Integrated Moment are counted, forming the basis of the person’s pattern reflected in the percentage scores of the Action Profile.

Noting discrete instants of Integrated Movement enables greater accuracy of measurement and makes it possible to ensure inter-observer reliability. In collaboration with Action Profile colleagues Pamela Ramsden was able to establish the standard of reliability as being +/- 3 percentage points. In addition she was able to refine the method for calculating the scores to produce a full Action Profile.

Movement Polarities And Action Thinking

Each of the movement qualities has an opposite polarity. For example the opposite of accelerating is decelerating and the opposite of spreading is enclosing. By observing discrete instances of these types of polarities it is possible to determine their place in the decision making process. We can discern for example that accelerating means speeding up the process of action and seizing opportunities, while its opposite polarity, decelerating, is present when a person is slowing down the pace and waiting for the right moment to act. Spreading leads to developing options and alternative ways of approaching action whereas enclosing leads to gathering and combining available possibilities. These are different ways of thinking in order to initiate or progress action.

In time (around 1992) the practise of noting discrete instances of Integrated Movement led to Pamela Ramsden’s addition of the 12 modes of Action Thinking (Polarities) and the Polarities Wheel which shows a person’s scores on all twelve types of Action Thinking.

Interaction - Matching And Mismatching Polarities And How The Brain Works

There are a number of ways in which people like and need to interact during decision making. For example sometimes we like to share our thinking and sometimes we want to sit and think by ourselves.

As mentioned above six of the movement polarities in the decision process are present when a person is asserting themselves ie making an effort to proceed (Effort) and another six enable shaping the decision by getting different perspectives (Shape). Effort and Shaping movements can be paired in various matching and harmonious ways or mismatching and conflicting ways. For example if a person spreads their arms at the same time as pointing their head a conflict ensues. The arm spreading invites another to look about widely while the pinpointing head invites them to look closely at this point. This is a conflict. A friend or co-worker will not feel invited to join in with the activity. If on the other hand the person brings their arms together in an enclosing way and at the same time points their head, the invitation is to bring things together to focus on this point. There is no conflict here and the co-worker feels invited to participate. Using such matching and mismatching movements affects the way a person typically shares thoughts and interacts with others and gives us a range of possibilities.

Ramsden discovered that we can be Sharing when we need to think things through with others or Private when we need to think alone. Sometimes a person is Neutral, not needing to either share or keep their thinking private. Some people are Versatile where they switch dramatically from wanting to involve others in their thinking to needing private thought. Finally some people are Adjustable where they fit in with whatever interaction is going on.

By counting Integrated Movements we are able to calculate where the potential for Matches and Mismatches between the Effort and Shaping polarities can occur. This reveals a person’s most likely preferences for interaction throughout decision making.

The fascinating thing here is that the reason for people’s interaction preferences are not as we may think about how social we are, but to do with how the brain works. The mismatching movements are more difficult for the brain to process, therefore there is a need for solitary thought uninterrupted by the contributions of others. Conversely the matching movements are easier on the brain and promote a feeling of positively wanting input from others.

Perspective Dynamism - A Helicopter View

Lamb saw that Efforts could be done in combinations of 2 or 3 and that this affected a person’s Dynamism. Dynamism results from being able to combine different stages of the decision process together in one thought: for example probing for information at the same time as seizing an opportunity to make something happen. Ramsden noted that Shaping movement could also be done in combinations of 2 or 3 and that this affected the amount of perspective a person can gain on a situation. For example a person may open up in a spreading shape at the same time as curving forward in an advancing shape. This means they can consider a number of options while at the same time seeing ahead and thinking about the future outcomes of the various alternatives. This is a type of Perspective Dynamism which gives a broad and forward looking, helicopter view of a situation.

Adapting To Change

The overall factor of Adaptability (first established by Lamb) is calculated from the shape of the whole profile rather than from direct observations of Integrated Movement. It is the subject of current ongoing research which so far has resulted in the delineation of a number of different ways in which people adapt to changes in circumstances. For example some people change their attitudes and behaviour to fit in with changed circumstances while others seek to keep their behaviours the same - perhaps preferring to alter external factors to suit them. Our current research shows there are nine basic types of adaptation that people use to cope with and manage change.

Identifying With The Activity, Mood And Environment Around You - Effort Flow And Shape Flow

Lamb noted that when a person does a lot of flowing movements - letting go and controlling ( Effort Flow), it gives them a need and capacity to identify with, join in and be part of others’ activity. We can see it clearly when we all wave and clap and shout at a sports event.

Informed by pioneering research carried out by Dr Judith Kestenberg into the movement of children, Ramsden saw that lots of expanding and shrinking of the body known as Shape Flow causes a person to be sensitive to the mood and situation around them. Again at a sports event we see people standing and stretching up, extending their arms and bodies in jubilation or shrinking down in despondency depending on whether their team is winning or losing. Some people do mostly expanding or growing Shape Flow and they tend to be positive and enthusiastic. Others do mostly shrinking and they are sympathetic to others and sensitive to the prevailing mood and atmosphere. When people do little of either, they are more detached from the joys and sufferings around them.

Many qualified Action Profile® practitioners have also made valuable contributions, such as the concise description of the early Action Profile® assessment, Executives in Action written by Carole-Lyne Moore, and the computerised report-writing system developed primarily by Eddie Bows. Over the years the interpretation of the Action Profile has become more and more comprehensive and balanced while applications to individual development and teamwork have progressed.

(From Action Profiling by Pamela Ramsden and Jody Zacharias)