Your Shadow is in the Mentor Pattern. This means it can be harder and take more time to come alongside and develop others. The ability to hone others, fan the flame of their ability, and build into others will be more challenging for you. Coaching, guiding, and being a trusted ally will take effort and work for you.

You can develop your Mentor skills through education, on the job training, or life experience. Using your Mentor skills can bring satisfaction if you have developed this weaker area into a ‘Middle Ground.’ However, you will tire faster when using your Mentor skills, and these skills will be the first to under-perform when you are tired or in a crisis.

The Shadow is like using your non-dominant hand to sign a check. While a few people out of ten thousand are ambidextrous, most people are not innately able to do the same functions with both hands. Through education, on-the-job-training, or the school of hard knocks, you may get fairly good at your Shadow function. Yet, this is like comparing a gifted athlete to a highly trained one. The gifted athlete who hones his or her ability, will always be a better athlete—throwing farther, running faster, having more endurance, etc. In this way, you may be trained in your shadow, but it is not your area of giftedness.

One way to confirm your Shadow is to have another person take the People Patterns Indicator on you. A spouse, co-worker, or subordinate will have insights about your habits and gifts that you need to see!

Your Shadow is in the Administrator Pattern. It will be harder, and take more time, to establish a plan and then follow it as it is laid out. You may dislike or chafe at following all the policies in an organization. Details, budgets, and management tasks may be a challenge for you. Whereas Administrators are averse to taking risks, you might not see the risks in a situation until it is too late.

You can develop your Administrator skills through education, on the job training, or life experience. Using your Administrator skills can bring satisfaction if you have developed this weaker area into a “Middle Ground.” However, you will tire faster when using your Administrator skills, and these skills will be the first to under-perform when you are tired or in a crisis.

The Shadow is like using your non-dominant hand to sign a check. While a few people out of ten thousand are ambidextrous, most people are not innately able to do the same functions with both hands. Through education, on-the-job-training, or the school of hard knocks, you may get fairly good at your Shadow function. Yet, this is like comparing a gifted athlete to a highly trained one. The gifted athlete who hones his or her ability will always be a better athlete—throwing farther, running faster, having more endurance, etc. In this way, you may be trained in your Shadow, but it is not your area of giftedness.

One of the hardest Shadows to understand is the Administrator. This is because so many men and women are educated in business with Administrator skills. One leader of a company said, “I manage a $10 million dollar budget, so what do you mean that my Administrator is a Shadow?” The manager was asked, “after managing the details of that budget for 40 hours a week, are you energized or tired?” The answer was, I’m so ready to do something else. This is a strong sign that the person has been well educated in Administrator skills, but they are not a part of the person’s innate gifts.

One way to confirm your Shadow is to have another person take the People Patterns Indicator on you. A spouse, co-worker, or subordinate will have insights about your habits and gifts that you need to see!

Your Sunlight is in the Relational Pattern. Relationals are people who are motivated by harmony and see the team as crucial. They want people to be whole and healthy, and so are good team builders. Relationals highly value grace and mercy, and can be quite loving and warm. People deeply matter to them. Decisions are guided by deep-seated values and personal connections to others.

As a Relational, you do these things with relative ease, like using your dominant hand to sign a check. You won't have to give these things much thought as they flow naturally from your giftedness.

President Jimmy Carter, Princess Diana, and Gandhi were Relational leaders. President Carter called for “a government that is as honest and decent and fair and competent and truthful and idealistic as are the American people.” In helping the nation be whole and healthy, Carter modeled emotional and spiritual health. He portrayed himself as an openly religious man, even calling himself “born again,” a new term for an American President. Relationals are motivated by harmony and see the team as crucial, and so it is fitting that in his inaugural parade, Carter walked down Pennsylvania Avenue. His fireside chats were an authentic part of his persona, as were the radio call-in shows. As one person said, “Carter tried to set a high moral tone. He stressed human rights in international affairs and opposed ‘pork barrel’ legislation at home.” Relationals know the rightness of their crusade and the moral imperative in their agenda.

Princess Di said, “I wear my heart on my sleeve. I don't go by the rule book … I lead from the heart, not the head. I am not a political figure, nor do I want to be one; but I come with my heart.” The decisions of the Relational Pattern are guided by deep-seated values and personal connections to others. This is often called “heart.” Relationals want to help others be whole and healthy. Diana said, “Everyone needs to be valued. Everyone has the potential to give something back … I’d like people to think of me as someone who cares about them.” Decisions for Relational people are guided by deep-seated values and personal connections to others. Diana put her care into action. She was not content to merely speak about love, care and concern. She was impelled by an inner force to put her words into actions.

Jesus said, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

The Relational Pattern has a component of teambuilding and harmony among people. You will want to read that section about Carter, Diana and Jesus, as many people can miss the unique leadership style of the Relational. And, consider how to use your middle areas and Shadows! As the German philosopher Goethe said, “Where there is much light, the shadow is deep.”

Your Sunlight is in the Overseer Pattern. Overseers like to see the big picture. They work best with principles and concepts as their guiding force. Overseers prefer to work on strategy, aligning people with their right places to work. They think in terms of the vision and direction of things, tending to look at the horizon rather than at what is immediately in front of them.

As an Overseer, you do these things with relative ease, like using your dominant hand to sign a check. You won't have to give these things much thought as they flow naturally from your giftedness. President Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher were Overseer leaders.

President Reagan said, “We’ve gone astray from first principles. We’ve lost sight of the rule that individual freedom and ingenuity are at the very core of everything that we've accomplished. Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.” Overseers think in terms of vision. Reagan had a folksy charm and ability to weave in everyday elements that reinforced his principles. Reagan said, “All great change in America begins at the dinner table … If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under … Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.” Overseers concentrate on vision, purpose and steering whatever organization they happen to be in. One person said of Thatcher, “Her strong points were her iron will … anything that required guts and will she could do for you. Anything that required sensitivity, she couldn't, – she had none.

Margaret Thatcher was a tough woman, called the “Iron Lady.” Thatcher served longest as Prime Minister of Britain since 1827 and changed the course of that nation with her politics. She said, “Why do you climb philosophical hills? Because they are worth climbing. There are no hills to go down unless you start from the top … Economics are the method; the object is to change the soul.” Thatcher used whatever tools she had at hand to bring her ideas and plans into reality. Overseers like to focus on the big picture.

Jesus said, The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Here Jesus presents the big picture of his life—from good news to proclaiming God’s favor. Overseers marshal their resources, keeping people focused on their tasks.

Carefully read that section on Reagan, Thatcher and Jesus, as Overseer leaders can be prototypical leaders. And, they need to remember to use their middle areas and Shadows. As the German philosopher Goethe said, “Where there is much light, the shadow is deep.”