Increase Engagement with Personality Tests

If there is anything true of human behavior, it is that it is extremely complex.

The multiple ways that predispositions can manifest themselves in both micro and macro scale requires the leader to be incredibly agile. How does one work with competing demands- within themselves or the organization? It all comes down to awareness.

Personality assessments are just one tool to help make us more aware of ourselves, of what makes me me, and what is influencing my behavior. Through awareness, one can “tell” the mind to pause and be more strategic in its decision-making. Is this new situation really something to dread or avoid? What of my past is influencing this feeling? This awareness creates a congruence between self and other, organization and environment, and thereby serves the whole as much as its parts.

All self-assessments measure different aspects- dimensions, attributes, or similar synonym- of adult personality. Result types vary. Some offer scores, which produce a percentile ranking indicating what percent higher you score in any one category over other people. Others categorize your personality type by name, or put you in a quadrant.

Note: no personality test can measure every aspect of personality, nor can it be reliably used to predict behavior in every situation.

But, in examining the aggregate of human behavior, personality tests- like Myers Briggs, EQ, or the Big 5 Assessment Tool- define categories which emerge across cultures, countries and languages, rendering their application universal. From the hyper-local self to the global organization, identifying where we fall on the behavioral spectrum gives us the opportunity to reflect on, and discuss with others, how our previous experiences have been affected by our behavioral drivers, gifting us with the awareness to view new situations with authentic eyes.

Trying to understand what drives behavior requires deep reflection. Ironically though, the path to self-discovery is not walked alone. We all need proper mentorship. Our environment (those within it) influences these dimensions just as much as heredity. Like the ideal parent, the ideal leader will guide the employee through failure so she is able to discover her strengths and individual value. This effort in service builds self-confidence and trust, which leads to increased engagement (a necessarily emotional connection to work) and collaboration (also emotional, requiring consideration for both the self and the other).

Personality assessments give us an advantage in our efforts to build a more productive workforce by noting that real value is drawn from a feelings exchange, not a monetary exchange (although this is not inconsequential for obvious reasons). These emotional bonds have aided us in our survival as a species- we are social animals- and so too will they aid us in creating sustainable, thriving businesses.  

Interested in learning how personality assessments can help you discover your values, strengths and what's blocking you or your organization from moving forward? I can help. Please use the Contact page to reach out for more information.