Do you prefer sweet or salty? Personally, I’m more of a savoury kind of person. I’m far more partial to a cheese board than a sugary dessert! Though there’s nothing stopping me from being inclined towards sweet treats from time to time, it’s not my preference. Now let’s take a closer look at our natural tendencies: would you rather use your left or right hand? Here the answer is probably much more obvious. And this is key, because like sweet and sour, it will allow you to grasp the difference between a personality type and a personality trait. This distinction is fundamental, since depending on whether we want to measure a personality type or trait, our assessments objectives will vary.
In just a few phrases, these two preliminary examples have highlighted the keywords relating to personality types: preference, inclination, natural, tendency. We could even add the adverb ‘rather’ here, because if it’s a question of tendency, we would ‘rather’ gravitate towards one option than another, but without this being set in stone. I could force myself to go against the grain of my natural preference, but I would lose efficiency since I would be pushed out of my comfort zone into my effort zone.
Identifying Personality types
In general, we find out what our personality type is by filling in a questionnaire, through questions that put us face-to-face with our own selves and push us instinctively towards our preferences. For each question, we position ourselves on the side that fits us best. For example: are we more inclined to control our environment or to adapt, are we more innovative or conventional, are we more centred on our own objectives or do we direct our focus on those around us?
No side is better than another, it’s simply a question of situating ourselves and of understanding people. That being said, we can go further to deepen our understanding. This calls for a dynamic and all-round approach since it’s the combination of these elements that will shape someone’s personality type. Therefore, if I prefer to scope out my environment, control it and home in on my own objectives, I will have an ‘entrepreneur’ personality type. On the other hand, if I opt for exploration, adaptation, and interacting with others, I will have a ‘motivator’ personality type.
Benefits of typological assessments
Personality type-based assessments aim to bring the individual’s true self to light rather than seeking to compare them with others. Through the discovery of our personality type, we become more aware of how we operate, allowing us to make full use of our strengths, to act in ways that are in line with our true selves and to foster better relationships with others.
For companies, this assessment – which opts for a human touch over just stats and figures –
presents our potential in a different way. From these personality types, companies gain a whole host of information about their employees: their work style, their method of problem solving, their learning style, their preferred method of communication, their ideal work environment, their natural leadership style, how well they interact with other types, the role they play within teams, their growth potential, etc.
Personality type-based assessments therefore act as a benchmark model for companies, allowing them to maximize their human capital. By highlighting the diverse ways in which employees operate, they allow employees, no matter what their personality type, to express themselves, find their place, and cultivate their talents. Personality type-based assessments also make it possible to form successful teams that are committed to giving it their all. Companies are also better equipped to handle conflicts, more effective at bringing about change and more capable of centring their approaches around the typical employees that make up their company and define its corporate culture.
Limitations of “type-based” assessments
Of course, you cannot recruit employees based on their personality type. Since personality-type based assessments focus on someone’s personal preferences, this information cannot be compared with that of other participants. Moreover, these personality types provide a holistic view of the individual, so they cannot offer up analyses of specific skills and abilities. For recruitment, you will need to turn to an evaluation method that allows you to make comparisons between people, using quantifiable measures of people’s personalities to gauge how well they will perform at a given role, such as personality trait-based assessments.
Find out what your personality type is with AVATAR!
