FEBI （Focus Energy Balance Indicator) is a behaviour assessment tool that measures a person’s behaviour preferences along 4 dimensions called “energy patterns”. The 4 energy patterns are:

• Driver – focus, result-oriented, fast action
• Organizer – step by step, do things right, stable and reliable
• Collaborator – flexible and adaptive, build teams and networks, work around barriers
• Visionary – open to ideas, think big picture, go with the flow

Each energy pattern has its own characteristics, which includes, physical movements, emotional traits, mental models, and leadership styles. The combination of the different levels of the 4 patterns forms the behaviour styles of a person. This reflects in the way the person works, interacts with others, organizes and decorates the workplace, what sports and activities the person plays, etc. can all be estimated.

Beyond Ordinary Assessment

Does it sound like other assessments like DISC? Maybe. But if you look deeper, there are fundamental differences which make FEBI more useful.

FEBI ties mind and body movements together, which makes it the only instrument that connects the two and allows integral development.

Since the 1930s, Josephine Rathbone and Dr Valerie Hung had studied how opposing muscle groups and the nervous system interacted. And they speculated the connection between these movements and temperament. But it was not until Betsy Wezig’s work, Coordination Patterns, in the 1970s, that described how opposing muscle groups are coordinated in motion and also how motion, emotion, thoughts and actions function together. 

Dr Ginny Whitelaw and Mark Kiefaber further develop the idea into Focus Energy Balance Indicator (FEBI) as a formal assessment tool.

So, why does it matter?

FEBI is different from other tools in its mind-body connection. This provides a real gateway to growth and change beyond awareness.

The popular personality and behaviour assessment tools can all tell you your characteristics, strengths and weaknesses, together with the areas for improvement. They focus on “awareness based change”, which assumes that when you are aware of the need to change, you can then make the change.

This works for some people. But for most people, this is not enough. On the contrary, those tools support people to “claim” and “stick” to their types because change is usually not easy.

What FEBI does is different. The styles that come out from the assessment represents your current styles, which also reflect in your emotions and behaviours. This also means that your nervous system and body is “programmed” to use these styles on a daily basis, without consciously thinking about them. To make changes and improve yourself, you can take the “body trains the mind” route. If you have been practising martial arts like Judo, Taekwondo, or Taichi, you may have experience in how your body movement practices have brought forth mind and behaviour changes.

As an assessment instrument, FEBI can also provide a description of the current characteristics and the strengths and weaknesses. But FEBI also has the following unique features:

From Descriptive to Prescriptive

A good assessment instrument can measure and describe the person, and provide the person with the suggested list for change. But how to change apart from higher awareness?

Through suggested related breathing, sports, and other activities, FEBI can open real doors to the pathways to change, according to your specific needs. These activities will help train and build neuro-connections to new patterns.

For instance, if you are a person with high Driver Energy, who is direct, focus, and has a tendency to run over others, you may want to have more patience and flexibility when working with others. But improving patience is not easy. With FEBI, you can do it through triggering different breathing patterns to activate your Collaborator Energy and start changing.

A Positive Language for Change

Usually, you hear conversations like “Oh, you are xx style. I am YY style” after a group does the assessment together, or being introduced to the related framework. The focus is usually on the as-is styles. 

For FEBI, we use a different language. The focus is “which pattern is more effective in this situation?” If your preferred pattern is not that one, how can you “activate” the needed pattern.

So, you think of how to make new behaviours possible. This makes FEBI more fun and more useful.

Mind-Body Balance

With a focus on the mind-body connection, you will easily notice that when you use the appropriate (and more effective) pattern for a situation, you reduce your stress and tension, both physically and mentally.

Knowing More

We have just launched FEBI in Hong Kong. If you want to know more, you may join our upcoming events or contact us directly.