Understanding your personality
Your Personality
Your personality is everything. That sounds bold, right? Yes, it is. Occasionally you might hear friends or colleagues tell you that you have a great personality and maybe sometimes you say it to them as well. Because this is life, there are also people you know who others or even you think have a bad or even terrible personality.
So is it really about the good and bad and should you only lean towards those who identify with your personality?
The truth is, even when you have a choice there is no guarantee that you will end up with people who think and respond to life in the same manner as you do. The key here then is to truly understand what goes on in the minds of those you despise or disagree with. Learning to understand your personality and that of others will give you a better footing than anybody who thinks the world will collide in their favour and fix everything. No, it will not.
Your Personality and Your Career
Understanding your personality is essential to your career journey. It helps you plan and to react better in different work situations in a way only you can. Understanding your personality is your sole responsibility and nobody else’s. Knowing who you are and how you react in different scenarios helps you to take charge of your life in many different ways. You may now understand why you feel very drained in certain environments as an introvert or as an optimist you now understand why no matter the circumstances around you, there is always a still small voice inside of you that says, everything will be alright.
Knowing your personality is critical for deciding where you would like to work and how your contribution would add value to the team and the company. Not only do you get to understand yourself but you also get to understand other people as well and why they behave the way they do.
Most of the work you will do in any company will revolve around working in a team. As we live in a globalized world, you will realize that the diversity that forms part of your team comes with a variety of personalities. Understanding yourself will help you better understand and communicate with others. Our personality essentially affects the culture of the team and the organisations we work in.
Getting Practical
One of the best-known and widely used personality tests is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). It's based on the work of Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychiatrist who studied personality archetypes and founded analytical psychology. Katherine Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, expanded on Jung's theory to identify a total of four pairs of opposing psychological elements. According to the theory, everyone has a preference for one of the characteristics within each pair and we use that preferred approach most of the time.
The four psychological scales are as follows:
1. Extraversion-Introversion - This deals with our flow of energy.
Extroverts are stimulated by events and people external to themselves. They show their feelings, learn by talking and work well in groups.
Introverts prefer private reflection, self-examination and self-discovery. They hide their feelings, prefer to work alone and learn by watching.
2. Sensing-Intuition - This is how we learn information.
Sensing people use their five physical senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell) to interpret the world. They like real-life examples, prefer practical exercises and get the facts while possibly missing the main idea.
Intuitive people prefer to rely on instincts. They work based on hunches and feelings, use their imaginations and get the main idea while missing some of the facts.
3. Thinking – Feeling - This is how we make decisions.
Thinking people use logic and objective criteria. They ask 'Why?' and enjoy debates.
Feeling people use their values and subjective ideas. They use lots of words and they prefer harmony, agreement and helping others.
4. Judging-Perceiving - This is how we deal with the world.
Judging people are purposeful and they like structure, plans, rules, and organization.
Perceiving people take a laid-back, relaxed approach. They're flexible, open to change and like to explore.
As you can see, there is no perfect single grouping. We believe striking a balance between the groupings might be a great idea. Your personality will help you navigate life at work and outside of work, it will also help you understand other people (your colleagues/business partners) and why they behave the way they do.
Most of the work you will do in any company will revolve around working with other people. How you talk to people, listen to and treat others and deal with challenging circumstances shapes the legacy that you leave with the work that you do. This is where your personal brand building starts. Build a strong foundation for your story by first understanding your personality.
Exercise
There are many personality tests you can take online to try and understand your personality type. However, we have worked out some personality types that might be a great starting point for you to begin with before going online.
Read these personality groupings and find the most fitting for you and let your advisor know which one you chose, what you think about it? Does it make sense? Did you know this before?
Try also this free online personality test ffrom Humanmetrics and see what it says in comparison to what you already have.
At the end of this exercise, you should know your personality type. You will also be able to :
- Use your personality to better inform, weigh and make decisions towards desired outcomes.
- Communicate more effectively by recognizing how you naturally give and receive information and how others interpret it.
- Learn how to successfully manage your career by navigating challenges and obstacles way better using your strengths.
Submit the summary of your personality test. Did you know this about yourself?
Combine and submit your career mission, vision and objectives with your personality results. What do you get?
Take the test home and ask your best friend, partner, parents, manager or colleagues what they think you are good at. What personality do they think you have?