Personality Characteristics: Dominant, very high I.Q., introvert.

PLANTS originally received their label when it was found that one of the best ways to improve the performance of an uninspired team was to "plant" one of this team type into it. PLANTS scatter the seeds which others nourish until they bear fruit. PLANTS are the source of original ideas, suggestions and proposals; they are the ideas people. Of course others have ideas too, but what distinguishes the PLANTS' ideas is their originality and the radical minded approach they bring to problems.

Usually they prefer to operate by themselves at some distance from the other members of the team, using their imagination and often working in an unorthodox way. They are the most intelligent members of their team, and the most likely to start searching for a completely new approach to a subject if their team starts getting bogged down, or to bring a new insight to a line already agreed. They are much more concerned with major issues and fundamentals than with details, and indeed they are liable to miss out on details and make careless mistakes. They have usually made their mark as founders of companies or as originators of new products. They are thrustful and uninhibited in a way uncharacteristic of introverts. They can also be prickly and cause offence to other members of the team, particularly when criticising their ideas. Their criticisms are usually designed to clear the air for their ideas and are usually followed by counter-proposals.

The danger with PLANTS is that they may devote too much of their creative energy to ideas which catch their fancy but do not fit in with the team's needs or contribute to it's objectives. They may be poor at accepting criticism of their own ideas and quick to take offence and sulk if their ideas are rejected or dissected. Indeed, they may switch off and refuse to make any further contribution to the discussions. They may be weak in communicating with other people who are on a different wavelength to themselves. It can take a lot of careful handling and judicious flattery to get the best out of them. But for all their faults, it is the PLANTS who provide the vital spark.