Organizations invest millions each year in leadership development, team building, and employee engagement. Yet many interventions produce only temporary improvements because they focus on behaviors rather than the underlying beliefs and assumptions that shape how people work together.
Recently, I led a pilot project that reinforced a different lesson. With support from the American Psychoanalytic Foundation, I designed and directed a project that trained Latino clergy in Adlerian lifestyle assessment, a structured interview developed by pioneering psychiatrist Alfred Adler more than a century ago. This method helps individuals better understand how early childhood memories reflect their adult approaches to relationships and problem-solving. The project recruited 28 pastoral leaders, delivered training in early memory interpretation, provided follow-up consultations, and evaluated outcomes.
Although the project was conducted in a ministry setting, it highlighted something that has important implications for the workplace: when people gain insight into the beliefs that influence how they relate to others, empathy and collaboration improve.
Looking Beneath Workplace Behavior
Most team-building activities focus on observable behaviors: How do we communicate? How do we resolve conflict? How do we build trust? These are worthwhile questions, but they rarely address why people approach relationships so differently.
Adlerian psychology begins with a different premise: Early in life, each of us develops a unique way of interpreting the world. These interpretations often shape how we approach authority, teamwork, competition, recognition, conflict, and belonging throughout adulthood. Understanding these patterns can foster greater empathy, not only toward ourselves, but toward the people with whom we work every day.
A Successful Pilot
The three-hour training combined Adlerian theory with interactive exercises in which pastors interpreted early childhood recollections, case studies of famous people, a live demonstration, and guided discussion. Participants also had the opportunity to receive individualized follow-up consultations with experienced Adlerian counselors.
The response was overwhelmingly positive. More than 95 percent of pastors rated the training as excellent or good, while a large majority reported that they learned valuable new concepts, found the program engaging, and wanted to continue exploring Adlerian psychology.
Perhaps most encouraging were the participants’ reflections. Many pastors described gaining a deeper understanding of themselves and others. Others commented that the training had fundamentally changed how they understood the connection between early childhood recollections and strategies for living our adult lives.
What This Means for Organizations
As a trained Adlerian practitioner, I use lifestyle assessment very differently from traditional personality assessments or team-building exercises. I conduct the assessments myself and then help teams in safe settings to understand the interpersonal dynamics that emerge; this exercise is not to diagnose individuals, but rather to uncover the different assumptions, motivations, and personal beliefs that shape how people work together.
For example, one team member may be highly driven by achievement and independence, while another places greater value on consensus and belonging. Neither approach is right or wrong, but when these differing perspectives go unrecognized, they can lead to misunderstandings, frustration, and unnecessary conflict. Adlerian assessment helps explain the “why” behind these patterns. It enables colleagues to better appreciate one another’s strengths and work more effectively together.
The result is not simply better communication; it is deeper understanding. By helping employees recognize that our personal beliefs about life and its meaning influence how we approach collaboration, problem-solving, and conflict, I help teams develop greater empathy. This empathy, in turn, leads to stronger working relationships and a shared language for discussing differences constructively.
Unlike one-day team-building events that often produce only temporary enthusiasm, Adlerian assessment creates lasting insight. When people understand not only their own interpersonal style but also the perspectives of their colleagues, they become better collaborators, more thoughtful leaders, and more effective teams.
I invite you to reach out to me to learn how Adlerian lifestyle assessment can be leveraged to improve working relationships in your own organization.
Contact
Ellen Alderton
Apple Pie Communications 