Have your heard about the so-called scanner personality? A scanner personality is an universalist or generalist… a multi-talent.

A pronounced curiosity about many topics is a nature of talent. Scanner personalities have an overwhelming curiosity about a variety of topics and prefer to deal with all their ideas immediately and at the same time. They are the opposite of a pure deep diver, which doesn’t means that they have a deep understanding of their topics… quite the reverse.

Diversity instead of specialization: The path for the scanner personality.

A scanner personality is often (but fortunately not always) a person who, due to his consciousness overflowing with ideas, impressions, interests and possibilities, no longer knows when, where, how and why he should realize it. Or worse: He suffers from it. Why? They are multi potentials are individualists, visionaries and lateral thinkers.
Today’s society lives from specialization, expertise and goal orientation. The exuberant spirit is brought up to the scanner talent at school and university.

Sadly a scanner personality often overwhelmed us, even in business. We see many great topics in such persons but also some negatives which scares us. The problem: The society has a different expectation. For outsiders, this scanner behavior probably looks rather chaotic, as if someone was getting bogged down. Expectations are also reflected in sayings like what you have started, you have to finish. For people who have found their profession, who specialize in one thing, the behavior of scanner personalities looks like an aimless wandering around.

We live in difficult times. Corona is slowing down the hole world and nobody knows what happens next, how the world is changing after. Even in such a time such people are a huge potential. What characterize them?

• diversified
• huge energy of enthusiasm
• quick familiarization
• quick success
• doesn’t like routine (which is often asked in jobs) and stultifying tasks
• looking for problem solving even if it’s not a run-of-the-mill
• interested in how things work tomorrow and the day after

Great things… but isn’t it dangerous that such a person is quickly bored in his job? On a first view yes, on a second view such a person will honor it if you give him jus a bit more freedom and show huge gratitude. He will come up with own ideas and topics, new approaches and develops his environment. So he is maybe quickly bored but he won’t stop things before they are successfully done and than he will quickly come up with the next important things.

A scanner personality is a maker, a person who oversees the big picture and inspires others with his vision and his zest for action.

A scanner personality has often to much ideas to get them done by his own. He needs people around him. People to discuss things, people he can support and people which like routine tasks and implement the defined bits & bytes. We experience him as a great team player who spends much trust but also earns trust. Trust is a huge point for him.¹⁾See the article about trust
They usually have a very strong need to give something back to people and thus solve an existing problem.

Everyone is talking about Digital Transformation, Customer Experience, Change, New Work and many other things. Often huge and complex things which are not done quickly and easy. Who around you is able to drive this Transformation?

No matter if you are a scanner personality or you are confronted with such a person. Take the chance, use the energy and passion they / you have and don’t be scared.