What’s your personality type? Have you ever taken a test to find out?
In this episode, we’re talking about Personality tests and how finding out your Personality type can help you decide on your new career direction and give you some tools to power you toward your goals.
- You’ll find out what my top three personality tests are, and how you can try them out.
- How you can reflect on the results to understand more about yourself and your relationships with others
- And how knowing and understanding your personality type is integral in planning your career change.
If you want to get to know yourself at a deeper level, then tap play and let’s dive into the world of Personality tests together!
Are you feeling frustrated or stuck in your career but struggle to know what direction to take instead? Do you want to discover what you really should be doing with your life?
If the answer is yes, I invite you to check out my FREE guide ‘How to find your Burning Passion (& Re-ignite your career and life).
Find out more and download the FREE guide here...
https://www.nicholaohara.com/burningpassion
Links mentioned in this episode:
Free Personality test links:
https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test
https://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/evaltest
https://discpersonalitytesting.com/free-disc-test/
https://www.crystalknows.com/disc-personality-test
Official Sites:
https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/how-the-enneagram-system-works
Book - Living Life From The Front Seat By Jessica Butts
https://www.amazon.com/Live-Your-Life-Front-Seat/dp/0989704955
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Personality tests are, as they sound like, tools to assess your personality. In other words, how you typically respond and the traits you show in certain situations. There are many types of tests and they are in the most part self-inventory, which means that the results are based on your responses to a set bank of questions and there is no other input. So the results will be skewed if you respond in a way that you want to be seen as being, then what you actually are.
It’s really important that you are honest when you complete the questionnaires, as you are the one looking for more insight into yourself, you are only fooling yourself if you try and trick the test. The main thing to remember about personality tests is that there is no perfect personality profile, whatever the test, all profiles have their strengths and weaknesses so there is no point trying to get a certain result!
Now, there are many tests out there and it’s difficult to know which one to try. So I’m sharing my three favourite assessments, that personally I've used and that I’ve also used with my clients in courses and 1:1 coaching.
I have to say here that I’m not accredited in these tools, I use partner consultants when I include them in my programmes. I’m talking about this based on personal use of them and my experience of the benefit they have had with my clients.
The first is Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
This personality test is one of the oldest,( it was first introduced in the 1960s) and my personal favourite. It’s the only one that I feel really connects most with my personality and that has helped me understand myself, and that is spot on with my strengths and weaknesses.
It was created by the mother and daughter team Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers who based it on the work of the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. Myers and Briggs narrowed personality down to 16 types, based on 4 different dichotomy pillars, and an individual's preferences for one or the other. In other words they give 4 sets of options and your type is based on how much you prefer one option or the other. It makes more sense when you go through each one!
Extroversion or introversion is first: We have all heard these terms before. This is whether your preference is to focus on your inner world, or if you are more focussed the outer world. There is always a misinterpretation on this one, people think they have to be the life and the soul of the party to be an extravert or sitting in their house to be an introvert. That’s not quite right! It’s a huge topic so I’m not going into it here , but in short it’s where you give energy and where you get energy.
In her book ‘Live Your Life From The Front Seat’ counsellor and MBTI practitioner Jessica Butts says, Extroverts give their best energy to the world, to other people...doing this energises them and makes them happy. Introverts get energy and recharge from being alone. They save their best for themselves’. That does not mean that extroverts don’t need to be alone at times, or introverts don’t like to socialise!
The next pairing is Sensing or Intuition . This is related to how you process information, do you focus on the basic information that is in front of you by using your 5 senses, or do you prefer to look beyond that information and hypothesise or add to it. So are you primarily an ‘in the here and now’ type person focussing on what you see around you in the moment in other words a sensor, or do you mainly use your gut instinct, think of potential or what could happen in the future as an intuitive?
Thinking or Feeling: When you make a decision do you prefer to use logic mainly or would you prefer to consider people, your feelings or other circumstances first.
The last pairing is Judging / Perceiving : Do you prefer order and structure or to stay open to new circumstances and information. Are you someone who likes to plan a holiday down to the last detail, or do you like to just arrive and see how it goes? Are you organised or a bit of a butterfly or a squirrel darting from one thing to another? Knowing which one is more your preference can help you focus on being more organised if you're a squirrel or relaxing a bit if you are hyper organised!
So how do you find out your MBTI profile? The official MBTI test will take you through a number of questions all designed to assess your preference within each dichotomy pillar. You will then be given a four letter personality type and a report on what that means in terms of how you approach the world and decisions. You will have to pay to do the official MBTI test which is worth doing if you are happy to invest.
Alternatively there is a great free test based on similar methodology called the 16 personalities Type Test. It will let you know what personality type you are and you can read the general report on it (which is really detailed) but it won’t give you your personal breakdown on each pillar.
The Enneagram
You are usually either a fan of MBTI or Enneagram, so this is my personal second choice but it’s still a great option. It’s used a lot in business settings and can be very insightful. The Enneagram assesses you as one of 9 personality types. The 9 personality types (as described by the Enneagram Institute) are the:
1 THE REFORMER The Rational, Idealistic Type: Principled, Purposeful, Self-Controlled, and Perfectionistic
2 THE HELPER The Caring, Interpersonal Type: Demonstrative, Generous, People-Pleasing, and Possessive
3 THE ACHIEVER The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious
4 THE INDIVIDUALIST The Sensitive, Withdrawn Type: Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental
5 THE INVESTIGATOR The Intense, Cerebral Type: Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated
6 THE LOYALIST The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious
7 THE ENTHUSIAST The Busy, Fun-Loving Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Distractible, and Scattered
8 THE CHALLENGER The Powerful, Dominating Type: Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational
9 THE PEACEMAKER The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type: Receptive, Reassuring, Agreeable, and Complacent
You’ll take a 20-minute or so long test, and answer questions that will ask you to pick between two options. When you’re done, the test will have put you in 1 of the 9 different types.
I’ve put a link to a free version of the test and other links to the institute and the book in the episode show notes.
DISC
The DISC assessment is based on the work of William Moulton Marston, a psychologist who created the DISC theory. The DISC model centers on four DISC factors known as Dominance (D), Influence (I), Steadiness (S), and Conscientiousness (C).
It’s main focus is on empathy and how by understanding other DISC types you can adapt your behaviour to work better with others. This is a tool I used a fair bit in my courses in the past as it’s great for teams, but it also can help you understand how you may need to adapt when going into a new job specialism or industry.
Dominance: likely to be direct, assertive, independent, and decisive. They are competitive and ambitious, and love goals and challenges. They are action takers and comfortable with conflict. They are happy to assert their will to be in control of a situation.
Influence: People who are high in "Influence" often like fun. They are confident, engaging and extremely approachable. These individuals love social settings and value connecting with others, They get excited to explore fresh ideas and begin new projects.
Steadiness: Those who display a lot of steadiness tend to be naturally reserved people who look for similarly supportive, consistent, and loyal individuals in their relationships. They have great people skills and are known for being sympathetic to others' views. They have great listening skills and are a calm steadying influence.
Conscientiousness: These personalities are extremely analytical and enjoy process, structure, and rules. They are intensely skeptical and use logic to objectively make decisions, rather than being swayed by emotions. They think through their decisions and do not do anything rashly or spontaneously. These are the people that would usually be sceptical when I introduce personality tests to them!
There is a free Disc test you can take and can upgrade to pay for more details. Details are in the episode show notes. I have also added other websites with information on Disc.
When you take personality tests, it is really important to Take Action
Don’t just do the tests, look at the result, say that’s interesting, and then put it aside. They can be fun to do but also can be a really powerful exercise to help you at work, in your relationships and to confirm if your big career leap is aligned to your personality.
Ask yourself questions like:
- Was I surprised by my results?
- Were there any ‘OMG, that’s me’ moments?
- Was I relieved to know I’m not the only one to think that way?
- What were my weaknesses?
- What are my strengths?
- How can I better utilise this skill set?
- How can I use these results towards my career leap?
Then, share your results with your partner, family and friends, if you feel comfortable with it. It can be fun and really insightful to hear what they think. In my experience you usually hear them say ‘wow that is definitely you!’. If not, and you believe it is accurate you can talk to them about how it does reflect how you think and feel as that can really foster understanding.
Finally, if they are willing, get them all to do one or more of the tests, as understanding of how we all prefer to act in certain situations, can make things run far smoother.
Learning about your basic personality type through personality tests, like those I shared, can help you become your best self while giving you tools to understand and connect with other types. Ultimately, you may already know yourself and what you’re good at and what you need to improve. But sometimes we can be blind to certain aspects of ourselves or think that we are odd because we think in a certain way. Personality tests are tools that can help you recognise who you are and why you act in certain ways when faced with different circumstances. They also help you understand why you behave and think differently than other people in your life which can really help with your relationships with partners, parents, siblings, friends and colleagues.
In terms of your career leap, it can help you confirm if a certain career path is right for you. They can’t make the decision for you whether to take it, but they are another tool in your kit to help you decide before you take your leap!
The bottom line is ...personality tests are great tools to understand yourself more and to help others do the same. You need to be honest when completing them or the results will be not quite right or a waste of time if you are not being true to yourself.
There’s not one perfect test, so try a few as they all show you different aspects of your personality.
Most importantly, don’t just take a test and leave it there. Always analyse the results and ask yourself what you have learnt and how you can use that learning to impact how you view yourself, how others can view you and if what you are planning to do with your career and life is really true to you as a person.
If you’ve been looking for a way to connect with yourself, on a deeper level, in order to find your burning passion and purpose for your new career or life journey, then personality tests can seriously help with that.
I hope you will go and try some of the tests I shared. I would love for you to share your results with me, so let me know what types you are assigned, and if they are accurate by commenting below.
Remember, everyone deserves to live their passion so get started, this is your time!
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Join me in the next episode and remember, everyone deserves to live their passion, so get started this is your time!
