Personality Test

            Self-reflection, an action which I have become accustomed to attempting every so often throughout the MSLD program. I am constantly reflecting on myself and rather or not I am a good leader or have the possibility to become a good leader. I believe that it is important for everyone to take a good look in the mirror and try to decide who you really are without lying to yourself. You have to realize if you are too compassionate, or perhaps maybe too strong willed. It is very hard to judge yourself but usually you can find the best answers by yourself to who you really are. As I went over the results of the personality test I found myself thinking that for the most part many things where accurate. I think that some parts I would not agree with but I think that for just fifty questions this personality test was pretty accurate.

            So the personality test diagnosed me as an “INTJ”, this is also known as an introverted, intuitive, thinking, judging. So what I would not agree with this personality test is that they pegged me as being a scientist or an engineer. I would not agree with that since I do not like putting puzzles together and building things because they take too long and do not hold my interest. Aside from my profession I do agree with other portions of the personality test; for example they said that I tend to be a perfectionist and this can many times be true. Many times I find myself wanting to do certain task perfectly; I do not like negative criticism so I will do whatever it takes to not have to receive negative criticism. They say that the perfectionist side of me will cause me to lose respect of authority which I might consider to be “slacking”. I can see how I might be standoffish with an authority figure but usually that will happen if I feel that they are almost too serious about their work. I am a relaxed individual and I tend to run my subordinates in the same fashion.

            I believe that this personality test might be useful to me and my leadership skills for many different reasons. I believe that to understand yourself is one of the best qualities a leader might have because sometimes you will have to go against the grains on some of your natural instincts. Knowing yourself lets you know how you will handle conflicts, communications, and different personalities which you will eventually hire for your business or to work under you. Many times we have to understand that as leaders our natural instincts are not always the best ones, in fact for some of us they can be harmful. For me I have come to understand that I do not like conflict, I do not like handing out orders and I think that this is due to the fact that I have always been a very young leader in the past. It seems that I have always been younger than those which I have been in charge of; at times I will still feel like a child giving orders. During my time in the military I had to learn to overcome those fears so that I could be the most effective leader possible. “Recognizing potential limitations”(MBTI) is what can make a leader or a business recognize what they have to get better at to improve their organization.

            Aside from knowing yourself you have to know who is working for you, understanding if you have a group of “A” type personalities can be beneficial; it might feel like you are trying to tame a cage full of lions. When you are trying to have control of a group of lions it is important to know what you are getting yourself into. If I were a leader of an organization I would recommend that every employee of mine take this personality test; I believe that knowing who you are working with is half the battle. Depending on a person’s personality you might have a better understanding of how to punish or reward them; you will also learn how to motivate certain personality types to get the most potential out of an employee.

            There is a wide range of personalities that we will encounter as leaders, some people will be easier than others to work with. Understanding the person you work with can make things much easier for a boss. Understanding who you are can also improve the situation for your organization; the work place is full of obstacles and understanding everyone in the office is half the battle. I believe that these personality test do have an important position in any business and should be taken advantage of.

Reference:

 Briggs, M. (2015, May 13). Humanetrics. Retrieved May 13, 2015, from http://www.humanmetrics.com/hr/JTypesResult.aspx

Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organization Development (Eighth ed.). Prentice Hall.