What is your personality type? A quick and easy guide

What type of entrepreneur are you? Do you know yourself well? Getting to know each other well is not always easy. Still, it's really important to know what your personality type is for several reasons.

Knowing yourself also means becoming aware of your strengths, weaknesses and limits. Your personality type gives you a good idea of how you handle your interpersonal relationships and who your personality fits best with. 

As a business leader, it is as important to know the personality traits of his employees as yours. Do you hate one of your work colleagues? You have difficulty communicating effectively with one of your employees or your partner ? It may very well be that your personalities are at odds, hence your misunderstandings. 

Knowing about the differing personalities of people in our workplace (and how they might interact with each other) in advance can save you a lot of trouble.

Without further ado, let me tell you about the different types of personalities that exist. Maybe you will identify yourself or a colleague with one. 

Type A/B Personalities

We often hear those around us qualify as "type A" or "type B". By doing more research, we realize that these profiles are more relevant to qualify your response to stress than your complete personality. It is a basic personality concept, but it is important to understand it in order to be able to move on to the next analyzes.

A qualified "type A" person is someone who could be perceived as stressed, competitive and aggressive. This type of person is often addicted to work and has difficulty relaxing. They are also extremely hard on themselves and rarely feel proud of their accomplishments. These individuals are prone to outbursts of anger and they are very impatient. 

A type B person is calmer by nature. They are often more tolerant, patient and creative. They are proud of their accomplishments and show much less stress than Type A. All in all, they are easy-going bon vivants.

You can understand that these descriptions are not very thorough and it can be difficult to associate with one or the other exclusively. This is why we can see this concept as a continuum where type A would be one end and type B the other it is normal to be more on one side or the other without being 100% assigned to it. a type. 

Although there are several holes in the type A or B personality theory, it is excellent for acquainting us with the concept of personality styles. 

Le test DISC

We are now ready to embark on more complex theories. DISC tests are, in my opinion, the most effective and consistent way to determine one's personality or that of a co-worker. Believe it or not, this test has amazing accuracy for its simplicity.

The four-quadrant personality tests have their origins in the Greek era nearly 5 years BC. The DISC test was officially created in 1956 by an industrial psychologist. Its primary goal was to help hire competent employees. This therefore contains four types of personalities:

D: Dominant

I: Inspiring

S : Constant

C: Conscientious

You can therefore have several combinations and powers of these four characteristics. Usually you will have one or two dominant characteristics that determine your final personality type.

It is more common to get two adjacent letters than opposite letters. DS or IC type personalities are rarer since they are opposites in terms of values and behaviors.

Personality type ''D'': Dominant

Personality type D is very similar to type “A” seen above. This type of person can be described as authoritarian, ambitious and competitive. Type D personalities are extremely dynamic and have a developed leadership spirit. They are also excellent in decision making. This kind of person is confident and quite capable of drawing conclusions quickly from minimal information. They excel under pressure, love a challenge, and like to feel in control.

Type “I” Personality: Inspirational

Personality type I is the great communicator! They are outgoing and confident people who enjoy building relationships with others. Most of their relationships are positive and they are often seen as very charming. He is excellent at putting forward their point of view, but is also very understanding of that of others. She is driven by relating to others and is excellent at adapting to the situations around them.

If they feel rejected, they tend to react badly. They often seek praise and approval from their peers and the opinion of others is of great importance to them. Their circle of influence is sacred and they constantly seek to improve their relationships within their group. 

“S” type personality: Constant

This personality profile is a little less common than these colleagues. This profile is characterized by calm and patience. These people are kind and sensitive to the point of view of others and enjoy positive relationships. They are naturally introverted people. Although excellent at nurturing relationships, they do not like to make first contact and their circle of friends is therefore often small, but strongly bonded.

Reliable and loyal, support is one of their strengths. Indeed, they have a very high emotional intelligence and are therefore excellent advisers. Their patience is unmatched and they are able to cope with tasks that would be far too laborious for other profiles.

This personality profile does not like change and needs to feel the support of those around them. This kind of person is often unsettled by change and interruptions. 

Type ''C'' Personality: Conscientious

This personality profile is rather complex. They are mostly passive and distant people. They may come across as hard to approach or lacking in interest. They are often very ambitious, but their lack of self-confidence can slow them down in their goals. We could qualify this person as “by the book” since they will tend to rely on existing structures and regulations as well as logical arguments to achieve their goals.

They are very organized and independent. It is therefore often interesting for them to work with detailed and sophisticated systems. They are quick thinkers, but like to be certain of other people's expectations of them.

They are poor communicators and they are blatantly risk averse. They have difficulty forming close relationships and their friendship is often based on common goals. 

What is my profile? 

If you're wondering: yes, I took the test! I did this for the first time a year or two ago. I wanted to retest the accuracy of these tests to demystify if they really work. So I did 3 again in the last few days and they all gave me the same answer: 

My personality profile is: DS (with the dominant D) which is very unusual since these are personality types that are fundamentally in conflict with each other. Here are my stats for the curious: 

The 16 personalities

If the DISC test is not detailed enough for you, you will certainly be satisfied with the 16 personality test! This test is based on five personality categories that define an individual: Spirit, Energy, Nature, Tactics and Identity. They therefore place these categories on a continuum that is divided into two aspects. Depending on how powerful these characteristics are in your personality, the test will place them in a combination (out of 16) that matches your personality type. 

In order to better understand the concept, I will briefly explain each of the categories.

Mind 

The spirit category is divided into two aspects: Introverted and Extroverted. This is the aspect that demonstrates how we interact with our surroundings. Being introverted, we tend to be exhausted by social activities and prefer solitude. When we are extroverted, we tend to be energized by social activities. Extroverts also show more energy and drive than introverts.

Energy

The energy category is divided between individuals who are observant and intuitive. It is the aspect that determines our view of the world around us. Observers are practical and down to earth people. They focus on the present moment and are creatures of habit. Intuitive individuals are the opposite. They have a great imagination and are curious, they love to focus on possibilities and the future.

Nature

The nature category is made up of thinkers and emotionals. It is the aspect that determines our decision-making and how we deal with our emotions. Thinkers are logical individuals. They often hide their feelings and see efficiency as superior to collaboration. Emotionals are sensitive and expressive. They like to focus on harmony and cooperation. They are much less competitive than thinkers.

Tactical

The tactical category is made up of judges and prospectors. It is the aspect that determines our approach to work, planning and decision-making. Judges are decisive individuals who like structure and who are organized. Whereas Prospectors improvise and are great at noticing opportunities.

Identify

The identity category is the most important of all. It determines the confidence we have in ourselves, our abilities and our decisions. Assertive individuals are confident, have a stable temperament, and are resistant to stress. They handle stress well and don't push themselves too hard to achieve their goals. Turbulent individuals are the opposite. They lack self-confidence and are stressed. They tend to have an unstable temper and be perfectionists.

By answering the questionnaire, it positions you on one side or the other depending on your answers. There are therefore 16 possible combinations which determine 16 personality types. These are then recategorized into type groups. These typical groups each have 4 personality profiles that look alike, but are not quite the same. 

There are analysts, who are intuitive and thinking types. Diplomats, who are intuitive and emotional types. Sentinels, who are observer and judge types. Finally, explorers are observers and prospectors. 

What is my profile? 

In order to test this concept, I made the questionnaire offered on the site of the 16 personalities. I am the Sentinel Personality, Assertive Defenders profile (ISFJ-A). Having read the full profile (it's quite long anyway) I think it's fairly representative of who I am. However, remember to always take this kind of test with a grain of salt. Here are the stats for the curious:

Mind :

Energy :

Nature:

Tactical:

Identify :

Take your test!

Personal development is very important. Especially as an entrepreneur. This is why knowing your personality type is crucial in order to be able to identify your strengths, but also your weaknesses. It is also important in order to be able to manage our personal and professional relationships well. 

Sources

Simply Psychology

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16 Personalities