Personality types. They can seem like a bit of mumbo jumbo, like trying to help your employees based on their astrology sign. However, with some personality quizzes the results can be fairly accurate in determining a lot of aspects of a person’s individuality.
A personality quiz can help to determine:
- What a person’s core values and intrinsic beliefs are.
- What style of working makes them more productive.
- What style of management or leadership gets the most out of them.
- What kind of work they are most akin to producing well.
It’s worth noting, that a lot of workplace dissatisfaction occurs when managers try to fit square pegs into round holes.
Although it can seem frivolous to spend time tailoring a role to an employee, rather than the other way around, the long-term benefits can be tremendous for any business.
Here are a few of our favourite online quizzes, that can help you to learn how to get the most out of your team.
16 Personalities
https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test
Are you an ENFP, a INTJ or a ESTJ? Ok, the letters alone can leave you a bit bewildered, but the concept is quite simple. 16 personalities works upon the theory that there are 16 distinct personality types. It’s also known as the Myers Briggs personality quiz. The quiz asks a serious of questions designed to determine whether you are ‘this’ or ‘that’ in 4 areas, which are:
Mind – Introvert or Extrovert (I or E)
Most people understand this very distinct way to categorise people, but it can be summarised as does the person gain energy from being around people, or does their energy drain when around company. Being introverted however, does not mean that your team member doesn’t work well with others, it could simply mean they’ll thrive with independent tasks.
Energy – Observant or Intuitive (S or N)
In this second aspect participants are sorted based on whether they are observant or intuitive. Observant people tend to be more practical and pragmatic. They enjoy habitual regularity, and focus on the here and now. Intuitive people however, tend to be imaginative and open-minded. They don’t mind change, and like the challenge of adapting to new situations. Again, as a manager, you should be able to see the advantages to both paths within this aspect.
Nature – Thinking or Feeling (T or F)
The next letter determines how the participant makes decisions and handles their own emotions. Thinking people are more logical and focus on the facts of the matter, whereas Feeling people tend to be slightly more sensitive and empathic. Each has its advantages in future leaders.
Tactics – Judging or Prospecting (J or P)
Finally participants are categorised based on how they approach work and decision making. Those who are ‘Judging’ tend to be decisive and confident in their decision making. They’re usually very organised and value having everything in order. Prospecting types however, can think on their feet and recognise opportunities as they arise, they are more flexible and adaptable.
Of course, this quiz isn’t an exact science. The creators themselves make clear that even two people who qualify as the same 4 letters, may be highly different. That said, as a manager this quiz could be very effective at helping you to create a harmonious workflow.
FiveThirtyEight
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/personality-quiz/
FiveThirtyEight contends that most personality quizzes are ‘junk science’ but theirs is based on a concept called the ‘Big Five’, archetypes that are frequently used by professional psychologists.
The quiz gives participants a score based on five areas; extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, negative emotionality and openness to experience. Many employers even use this quiz as a prior screening process to new job applicants, though the ethicality of that is something to debate.
The results of this quiz can help managers of larger teams work out who might gel well together in smaller groups, who might thrive in customer-facing roles, or who would be best in completing high-pressure tasks.
DiSC Assessment
https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc
Marketing directly to employers, the DiSC claims to help improve teamwork, communication and productivity in the workplace. It is created on the basis that employers can use the quiz to help their team members understand themselves better, and those who they interact with.
The DiSC assessment can be a great tool to use on a teambuilding day, where your staff can share their results publicly and discuss them as a group.
DiSC focuses on 4 main personality types:
- Dominance
- influence
- Steadiness
- Conscientiousness
D personality types tend to be confident and goal-orientated, they usually measure their success based on achieving a bottom line result.
i personality types are social creatures, they place a lot of value in relationships and are adept at persuading others. Perhaps they are your standard marketing type!
S types are dependable and reliable, they’re excellent team workers and don’t tend to rock the boat.
C types have a keen eye for detail and take pride in creating high-quality work. They enjoy being experts in their field.
Many managers consider DiSC to be a great way to resolve conflict in teams who already struggle to work together. If you are a new manager who’s been brought in to solve a ‘difficult’ team, a DiSC assessment can be a great place to solve, as it helps individuals to understand each other’s point of view and motivations.
If you’re interested in learning more about leadership and management techniques, don’t forget that you can enrol on to an apprenticeship through your employer and NTG. We offer a Team Leader / Supervisor Level 3 qualification or a Operations Manager Level 5 qualification. Both delve into the psychology of effective management.
