FIRO-B® fundamental interpersonal relations orientation

What the FIRO-B is

For more than fifty years the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior (FIRO-B) assessment has helped people understand human interaction at work and in their personal lives. Easy to complete, it quickly gathers insight into how a person’s needs for inclusion, control and openness shape their interactions with others. It is published by The Myers-Briggs Company.

The FIRO instruments address the core of personality, people’s underlying needs, and precisely identify sources of tension in relationships.

The three needs

Inclusion (participation) is the social side of interaction and association. A high score shows a priority on including others or being included; these individuals want to belong and to be accepted. Expressed inclusion is the need to include and associate with others. Wanted inclusion is the need to be accepted and included by them.

Control (influence) is about power, keeping the right balance of influence in interaction with others. More expressed control means a need to exert influence and take responsibility so things run under your direction. Wanted control is the need to let others hold the influence and to work under their guidance.

Affection (closeness) is the need for warmth and closeness in relationships. Expressed affection is the need to be close to others. Wanted affection is the expectation that others show warmth toward you. It is not about romance; it is the need to feel close and comfortable in working relationships.

Each need is measured as expressed and as wanted, which is what makes the profile so precise: two people can both value inclusion and still frustrate each other, because one initiates and the other waits to be invited.

What it helps you do

• Assess your interpersonal needs and the impact of your behavior in the workplace.
• Increase self-understanding: how you handle relationships and your own social needs, how others perceive you, and how you see them.
• Understand how people tend to behave toward others and how they want others to behave toward them, then use that to improve communication and address misunderstandings with colleagues.
• Repair strained relationships and take good, functional ones to a higher level.

FIRO Business and the Leadership Report

The FIRO Business assessment and the FIRO Business Leadership Report help leaders and emerging leaders understand their behavior and give development a solid starting point. A leader’s self-awareness is the platform for their decisions, yet their performance depends largely on their ability and willingness to connect with direct reports, peers and managers.

The leadership report helps you:

• Identify the communication and interpersonal dynamics that affect leadership success, and prevent or overcome issues.
• Understand your leadership approach and style, and how others perceive and react to it.
• Highlight perceptual gaps that may inadvertently derail relationships.
• Improve engagement by better meeting the needs of peers and direct reports.
• Improve effectiveness and impact in leading across, leading up and leading down.