Know yourself & others: the power of personality profiles
"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom” - Aristotle
The personality test has been around for centuries.
Ranging from the 18th century when they used phrenology ( bumps on the head) as a measurement, right through to today where they have become common in the workplace or during recruitment process and personal development. There are almost too many to choose from.
The first real test was The Personality and Preference Inventory (PAPI), originally designed by Dr Max Kostick, Professor of Industrial Psychology at Boston State College, in Massachusetts, USA, in the early 1960s which looks at and evaluates the preferred work styles and behaviors of individuals.
Essentially a personality profile provides you with a platform to be able to explore your core personality, strengths and work preferences. Identifying how others see you, how you work with others and where applicable how to adapt to lead your current team well or fill in gaps with others who are strong in areas where you may be weak.
The power of knowing yourself
You are the filter within which you see the world and how you perform is the tool within which things get done. So it make sense that there is true power in understanding who you are.
Growing as an individual can only be done when we create vulnerability and are open to look at ourselves at the core of our strengths and areas we could work on.
Just leaning in to what you are good at will give you off balance progress and just as they say with actions, it’s not the things you do but the things you don’t do that have the biggest impact.
We tend to do what is easier, it is easier to continue to get stronger in the areas we thrive in, however true growth and progression comes from building up our weaknesses and getting better in those areas.
As with any areas that we don’t pay attention to, sooner or later the parts you are not looking at will build up in to something that exists as a problem or a set back. However in fact if you were addressing it openly from the outset, the problem wouldn’t exist at all.
“Always remember, your weakness is somebody else's strength.” – Vinaya Panicker
Now let’s be clear, there is not right or wrong, good or bad measurement or judging with a personality the idea here is just to look under the bonet and to see who you truly are.
Personality test: what you get
Knowledge of what drives you
Understanding of your strengths and weaknesses
Realise what tends to overwhelm you and why
Knowledge to support your mental health
A toolkit for working with others well
Understanding of how best to work with you for others
Improved communications skills
Clarity on why you struggle and at other times excel.
Viewpoint on the best type of work and roles for you
The power of knowing others
Throughout the last 15 years I have used personality tests to continue to understand who I am and how I work with others to understand how to best lean in to my strengths, the areas that I need to work on. And this does change as you progress.
Alongside this I have brought using the disc profile personality test in to all the work that I do, whether it is working with a startup, individual or group of people whether in coaching or consultancy.
I strongly believe that understanding who I am working with is fundamental to the success of anything that they are asking me to deliver and have used the disc profile now over 150 times. When you use the personality test results alongside what you uncover or are presented with as the issues or progression to work on, this is a powerful space to be in.
You can have the best product, strategy or offering when working with a client however how they will approach what they do individually or as a group should play a part in how you decide to present the solution to them or what needs to be worked on and ensures maximum success for the longer term.
There are many benefits to using a personality test as a coach or consultant or when working with others
Benefits of using a personality test working with others
Teams
Know how to present information and keep the room engaged
See easily strengths and weaknesses and answers to why issues have occurred
Understand if this is the right team for future growth
Improved mental health at work by supporting from the core
Know who to bring in to keep the team balanced
Understand the training needs of the teams
Enable long term lasting results
Individuals
Fully understand the coachee and as such ensure maximum impact from the coaching
Providing a tool that has a measurement and can be worked with.
Uncover what strategies will work for improved time management
Understand why things have or haven’t worked in roles or companies
See barriers clearly and what to work on
Know how to present information or work through areas in line with how they take in information best.
Bring about long lasting impact and change in line with who they truly are.
Takeaway Tips & Tools:
Know yourself, know what you are capable of
Growth comes from working on your weaknesses or building the team that covers them
If you want to grow, you must know yourself well
Take time to get to know who you work with or who is on your team
My recommended personality profiles: Myers Briggs, Caliper profile or disc profile
Books to Read:
Who Are You, Really?: The Surprising Puzzle of Personality by Brian R Little
The Power of Personality: Unleash your potential in all that you do by Gareth English
DiSC - Handbook of Explanations by Brian Watling
Surrounded by Idiots: The Four Types of Human Behaviour (or, How to Understand Those Who Cannot Be Understood) by Thomas Erickos
How can I help?
I have thought carefully about how to bring you the best support with finding out your personality profile and getting the right feedback that you can put to use
Check out the Disc profile & feedback package HERE
or purchase a disc profile on it’s own by visiting the bottom of the services page HERE
Got a question about this area and how my coaching can help? Book a discovery call HERE
"The more you know yourself, the more patience you have for what you see in others” - Erik Erikson
About Sian Winfield
Sian has spent the last two and a half decades working with those that have made the choice to take action. From the fitness industry as a fitness professional to NLP coach and trainer working with Traders to attain peak performance in London City. Moving on to start her own company 7 years ago within which she has had the fortune of being involved with the successful growth and scaling of over 200 start-ups.
Empowering hundreds of entrepreneurs internationally coaching individually and through group programmes most recently including programmes such as Foundervine & Barclays Black Founder Accelerator Programme and mentoring for The Peter Jones Foundation.
Her experience has provided her with a huge wealth of experience in how others have attained their success and she is hungry to share her learning with as many people as possible.
Connecting with Sian
If you are interested in finding more about Sian and her coaching visit her website HERE
Connect on Linkedin and follow HERE