A few months ago I had the privilege of meeting a gentleman at a conference that explained to me his unique hiring process for his law firm. Instead of hiring and promoting based upon the traditional norms that one would expect he explained his philosophy for utilizing a personality test. Yes, that’s right, a personality test. As a person who has been in a position to do hiring and firing of employees and putting together teams – often moving people to coincide with their strengths so the can succeed rather than setting them up to fail – I was fascinated by this concept.  Truely fascinated. By the end of the short and casual conversation I felt that this guy had my personality pretty much pegged which made his comments regarding me being “rare” and “valuable” all the more interesting.  Apparently I was, in his mind at least, a “visionary” who also possessed the ability to “follow through.”

I’d like to think that I’m rather humble and maybe have a hard time accepting such compliments, especially when it comes to work, but this peaked my curiosity and I honestly wanted to know what it was that he saw that wasn’t so readily apparent to me. I didn’t see the significance. He then offered to allow me to take a personality test and visit with me about the results. I was absolutely interested and I almost couldn’t take it fast enough.  The results?  He was right!  The results suggested that I was indeed a visionary and a follow through person with the added near off the chart ability to adapt and work in a position that may not suit my personality for a long period of time and need for a high level of autonomy once I have mastered a task – which doesn’t take long for me.  I guess that explains why I’m not the “job hopping” type.  Sounds great, right?  Well, it depends on how you look at it, but for me, it kind of explains a lot about struggles I have experienced.

After taking his test (via the Culture Index) I really started digging in and trying to learn and understand more about what made me tick. I want to understand why I can butt heads with certain individuals yet have so many who have worked with me and under me say “take me with you” when I’ve considered a change in employment.  Accordingly, I began taking additional legitimate personality tests and studying up on my results.

Research suggests that people with personalities like mine make up only about 8-12% of the population.  This “executive” personality, also referred to as ESTJ by psychologists, is shared with people like Sonya Sotomayor, John D. Rockefeller, Steve Jobs, “Judge Judy,” Frank Sinatra and James Monroe.  At least I’m among some interesting company, right?  According to a test taken at 16Personalities.com I’m part of 11% of the population  with my ESTJ (-A/-T) personality.
Nevertheless, as cool as all this sounds, having this type of a personality can be both a blessing and a curse at the same time…but at least it is now making more sense.  16Personalities.com explains that “[s]trong believers in the rule of law and authority that must be earned, Executive personalities lead by example, demonstrating dedication and purposeful honesty, and an utter rejection of laziness and cheating, especially in work.”  Yeah, that last part is indeed a struggle for me.  I know when someone is being lazy or sort of halfassing something in order to just barely past muster.

Similarly, because I think of any group I’m part of as a team, the following passage from 16Personalities.com also makes sense: “Executives don’t work alone, and they expect their reliability and work ethic to be reciprocated – people with this personality type meet their promises, and if partners or subordinates jeopardize them through incompetence or laziness, or worse still, dishonesty, they do not hesitate to show their wrath.  For me, I don’t know that I would call it “wrath” per se, as I typically will handle matters as diplomatically as possible, but indeed I can see through BS and depending on the situation I may call someone on it.

Along the same lines, 16Personalities.com states that those with Executive personalities “show clear and consistent tendencies, and these are especially visible in the workplace. Whether subordinates, among colleagues or as managers, people with the [Executive] personality type create order, follow the rules, and work to ensure that their work and the work of those around them is completed to the highest standards. Cutting corners and shirking responsibility are the quickest ways to lose respect.”  This could not be more true for me. Not to say that a cut corner with a solid purpose won’t fly and may not even been encouraged when necessary, but when it’s to just be “good enough” without reason that I struggle with it.

I suppose it’s not all bad though.  Thanks to research, I have learned that the strengths of this personality of mine include (as provided by 16Personalities.com):

• Dedicated – Seeing things to completion borders on an ethical obligation for Executives. Tasks aren’t simply abandoned because they’ve become difficult or boring – people with the Executive personality type take them up when they are the right thing to do, and they will be finished so long as they remain the right thing to do.
• Strong-willed – A strong will makes this dedication possible, and Executives don’t give up their beliefs because of simple opposition. Executives defend their ideas and principles relentlessly, and must be proven clearly and conclusively wrong for their stance to budge.
• Direct and Honest – Executives trust facts far more than abstract ideas or opinions. Straightforward statements and information are king, and Executive personalities return the honesty (whether it’s wanted or not).
• Loyal, Patient and Reliable – Executives work to exemplify truthfulness and reliability, considering stability and security very important. When Executives say they’ll do something, they keep their word, making them very responsible members of their families, companies and communities.
• Enjoy Creating Order – Chaos makes things unpredictable, and unpredictable things can’t be trusted when they are needed most – with this in mind, Executives strive to create order and security in their environments by establishing rules, structures and clear roles.
• Excellent Organizers – This commitment to truth and clear standards makes Executives capable and confident leaders. People with this personality type have no problem distributing tasks and responsibilities to others fairly and objectively, making them excellent administrators.

I find all of these to be true, especially the last two.  I genuinely enjoy taking a business, observing its processes and figuring out how to make it more organized and efficient – especially if it results in a reduction in costs/overhead.  It’s just a skill that I have and one that I have used to create departments and implement policies and procedures for the same successfully.   In fact, if your company could use some help in this department, contact me for consulting! I’m happy to help!

At the same time, however, some of the typical weaknesses that I do recognize with my personality is that I can be considered stubborn or inflexible (especially without proof of concept) and I can find it difficult to relax.  A need for respect fosters a need to maintain dignity, which can make it difficult to cut loose and relax for risk of looking the fool. This is true in personal life and at work. Similarly, when it comes to work being done right, because I cannot accept shoddy or incomplete work, it’s not out of the ordinary for me to either send the work back to be fixed as many times as necessary or to just take it upon myself to fix the problem before it is presented. That need for respect and not wanting to look like a fool extends to work product as well for myself, my firm, or company I’m working for which means that if I am not careful, I can become overloaded and then feel overwhelmed.  Fortunately I am cognizant of these issues and I work on keeping myself in check.  Sometimes I’m better at it than others for sure.

All I can say is if you haven’t taken a personality test before, do it!  The test from 16Personalities.com had incredibly accurate results for me and the write up is quite interesting as you can see from some excerpts from this blog article.  Maybe you too will have an “Ah ha!” moment and have a greater understanding of how you operate and interact with others the way you do.  Who know, maybe through self evaluation you will realize that the job you are in now isn’t what’s best for you personality type and you may just decide to make a change for the better!  Life is short…find what makes you happy and feeds your soul.

Until next time friends…