Personality Characteristics: High I.Q., stable, introvert.

In a balanced team it is only the PLANT and MONITOR EVALUATOR who need a high I.Q., but in contrast to the PL, the ME is a bit of a cold fish. By temperament they are likely to be serious, prudent and not very exciting. Not over-imaginative and a bit of a damper, they are also the team's rock. Their contribution lies in measured and dispassionate analysis rather than creative ideas. Whilst they are unlikely to come up with original proposals, they are the most likely to stop the team from committing itself to a misguided project. Although by nature they are critics rather than creators, they do not usually criticise just for the sake of it, but only if they can see a flaw in the plan or argument. Curiously enough, they are the least highly motivated of the team; enthusiasm and euphoria are simply not part of their make-up. This, however, has the compensating advantage that ego-involvement does not cloud their judgement. They are slow to make up their minds, and like to be given time to mull things over, but they have the most objective minds in their teams.

One of their most valuable skills is in assimilating and interpreting large volumes of complex material, and analysing problems and assessing the judgements and contributions of the others. Sometimes they can do this tactlessly and disparagingly, which does not raise their popularity, and they can lower their teams' morale by being too much of a damper at the wrong time. Although they are unambitious and have low drive, they can be competitive, especially with those whose skills overlap their own, which generally means the CO-ORDINATOR or PLANT.

It is important for MEs to be fair-minded and open to change. There is a danger that they will turn depressively negative and allow their critical powers to outweigh their receptiveness to new ideas. Although they are solid and dependable, they lack jollity, warmth, imagination and spontaneity. As their judgement is seldom wrong, they are indispensable to their team. In some jobs success or failure hinges on a relatively small number of crunch decisions; this is ideal territory for MEs.