Bob Patterson, LPC, LMFT,
Certified Birkman Business Consultant
Bob is a psychotherapist, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Birkman Consultant who has been in private practice for more than three decades. His areas of focus include helping corporate clients build stronger teams through Imago Relationship Therapy consulting, Birkman Consulting, and facilitating The Clearing for Men group sessions.
Prior to co-founding Imago Georgia with his wife Wendy, Bob specialized in management consulting and human resources. Through Imago Georgia’s consulting services, Bob works with Fortune 500 companies as well as small businesses in the areas of communications, team building, conflict management, organizational transitions, and more.
For over twenty years, Bob has served as a consultant/training specialist for major corporations, government agencies, universities, churches and national political groups. He holds a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology from Georgia State University and is licensed as a Professional Counselor in the state of Georgia. Before beginning his private consulting practice, Bob was a Vice President in the Atlanta regional office of Drake Beam Morin Inc., an internationally recognized leader in Human Resource consulting. In this position he led the Management Consulting practice area as well as the Senior Executive Career Counseling Program. Prior to joining Drake Beam Morin, he was a Senior Staff Consultant with O.D. Resources Inc., an Atlanta based firm specializing in providing training and consulting support to companies implementing major organizational change. Bob has been published nationally in Training Magazine.
Counseling and Coaching since 1989, Bob’s consulting and training specialties include implementing programs to:
• increase personal power and effectiveness.
• facilitate partnering among interdependent contributors.
• manage interpersonal and intergroup conflict.
• build effective work teams.
• manage the human aspects of major organizational change.
He is married to Wendy Palmer Patterson, M.S.W., has two adult children, and Georgia has been his home for 30 years. Wendy and Bob are also nationally known for their couples workshop “Getting the Love You Want: a seminar for couples”, based on the New York Times best seller by Dr. Harville Hendrix.
Past client organizations include: Allied Corporation, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, AT&T, CNN, BellSouth, Scientific Atlanta, Robert Sillman Associates, Pool Management Group, CARE International, Carreker Antinori Inc, Steffian Bradley Associates, Robert Silman Associates, University of Georgia, OSHA, Exxon, Coca-Cola Company, GA. Dept. of Natural Resources, Rockwell International, Schlumberger, Costing Services Corporation, EXARC Industries, Lulabelle’s Gourmet Cookies, Management Recruiters International and others.
Bob’s favorite aspect of his work is helping people communicate and reconnect, emotionally and relationally. Outside of Imago Georgia, he enjoys spending time with his wife, favorite friend, and business partner, Wendy. He also practices bonsai, golf, and enjoys outdoor walks with Wendy.
Degrees
BA in Sociology, Georgia State University
Master of Education in Counseling Psychology, Georgia State University
Accolades & Accomplishments
Certified Imago Therapist & Workshop Presenter, Institute for Relationship Therapy
Board Chair / Executive Board of Trustees, Imago Relationships International
Member, Georgia Association of Marriage & Family Therapy
Member, American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy
Past Conference Chair (15 years), Imago Relationship Institute
What is the Birkman?
Since 1951, Birkman has helped people and organizations improve performance through our extensive behavioral and occupational assessment – The Birkman Method.
We use The Birkman Method to encourage personal growth by acknowledging strengths and challenges alike. Individuals and teams benefit from The Birkman Method through better communication and a clearer understanding of people’s Interests, Needs, Usual Behaviors, and Stress Behaviors.
The Birkman Method is a favorite assessment of experienced executive coaches, organizational and HR professionals, mentors, and counselors because it paints a comprehensive picture of an individual’s personality and motivations.
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You have been asked to complete The Birkman Method assessment, and we want to help answer some basic questions so you can be comfortable with the process and result. The Birkman Method assesses motivation and perception to help individuals understand how their unique mindset impacts relationships, performance, and attitude. One of the most powerful uses of Birkman is for personal development. Our reports help you achieve a better understanding of how you act and react in certain situations, and when used with teams, this can help team members see how they can best work together.
How is Birkman different from other assessments?
Birkman is a positive psychology instrument and not a clinical diagnostic tool that looks for dysfunction in people. When Dr. Roger Birkman developed the assessment 70 years ago, he took a radically different approach by focusing on the different ways that people are effective in their jobs. By measuring these styles and differences, powerful conversations can result from the realization that how we perceive differences with others drives our choice to view others as competing with us or as complementing our own style.
To accomplish this, The Birkman Method reports on two measures of observable behavior and two measures of personal motivation. Our approach provides you with confirmation of who you are, and it almost always provides insights that you might not have thought about before.
Why should you trust Birkman?
In the 70 years since Birkman first started helping people understand themselves and others, we have helped millions of people in their journey of personal development. We’ve used that vast pool of data
to complete research to make sure that the assessment is accurate. Our Technical Manual covers the reliability and validity of the instrument. When we do research, only aggregated research findings based on anonymized data are ever reported.
We also prioritize your privacy. Your individual answers to questions are never shared with your organization or shown on any report. We provide access to summary scores through our reporting system, which will generate your report for you. All data collected in the personal information section (like gender, job history or ethnicity) are kept strictly confidential and only used for research to ensure that the instrument is not biased by these factors. The only information that shows on reports is your name, the generated scores, and interpretive discussion that helps you understand what the scores mean.
What if I don’t like the questions?
As you answer the assessment, you might come across questions that you consider sensitive or for which you don’t have a clear answer. For various psychometric reasons, Birkman does not allow you to skip questions. So to get your results, you do have to answer all of the questions. For example, how you answer all 50 questions on a hypothetical math exam gives a better indication of your math knowledge than how you answered any single question on the exam. The Birkman Method is the same. We use individual answers to calculate scale (composite) scores, then we report only those scale scores.
This is what we recommend as you are completing the assessment: If you come across a question that you aren’t too sure about the answer, go ahead and answer it. Use your first reaction and don’t overthink the question. Birkman assures you that no one, absolutely no one, will look to see how you answered specific questions. When you get your report, see if you agree with it. Ask someone who has known you for a long time if they agree with what it says. If you believe it represents who you are, then make the most you can of the valuable information provided in our reports.
However, if you feel it does not represent who you are then let us know. You have the right to have your data entirely removed. We have a formal process we follow to ensure your name and your data will not exist anywhere in any Birkman system.
What will I get and how will my results be used?
The exact report format you receive will depend on your organization. Likewise, how you will use your results will be determined in part by your company. Most commonly, companies use the resulting reports to help you gain perspective on yourself and others as a part of a self-development or leadership development process. Often, the reports will be used to help team members better understand each other. If you are asked to complete the assessment during a job interview process, then this assessment should be just one part of a larger selection system validated by the organization that asked you to complete it.
A few final words
Our goal is to help you find out what is “right” with you. There are no trick questions, no judgments that rule you out of a job, and no labels that you need to carry through life. The Birkman Method is here to help you discover you at your best: in the right role, using your strengths, in relationships that are supportive, and being proactive in creating an environment that will allow you to thrive.
If you have any questions, you can check out our website or call us directly. Happy exploring!
www. birkman.com | +1 (713) 623-2760 | support@birkman.com