Tuesday, 24-Nov-2009 06:39:11 EST

Personality assessments

Personality assessments are a personal and professional interest of mine. It's amazing how well some of these can describe you, but some people are wary of the "horoscope effect." Here are some of the different assessments I've tried and what my results have been:

Enneagram

The Enneagram is a powerful personality system that describes nine patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting based on a perceptual filter which determines what you pay attention to and how you direct your energy (from Daniels & Price, "The Essential Enneagram"). There are different names for each of the nine patterns, and each pattern is said to represent a basic belief of what you need in life for survival and satisfaction. This belief (and the resulting enneagram pattern) developed as an aspect of one's personality was threatened.

Wagner Enneagram Personality Style Scale
This was the assessment I took as part of a HRD seminar "Enneagram: Nine ways of working smarter" at UM. I was an 8+ 7- 5+ 2-, "The Powerful Person," or 8w7 - The Maverick:

People with an 8 style value power, are concerned for the underdog, and want to protect those who are underprivileged. As a resourceful 8, I am direct and straightforward, and am energized by a challenge. Confidence, assurance, and magnanimity make me a good leader. Eights have a very hard time acknowledging and expressing their tender side, and avoid connecting with others in ways that could be seen as weak or vulnerable. I dislike and avoid situations where there is poor leadership. Wing type: 8w7s may be more high-spirited, optimistic (always spin positive), independent, and adventurous. Stress pattern: Under stress, I utilize the resourcefulness of 5, "the wize person", to stand back and think things out, develop plans from an unbiased perspective, and become aware of how my actions fit into the big picture. I am calm in crisis. When secure: When safe, secure, and relaxed with others, I may foster relationships that require others to be dependent on me. The developmental shift that leads to this type is: Everyone begins in innocence and can sense truth --> It is a hard & unjust world where the powerful take advantage of others' innocence.

Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator

Myers-Briggs Type IndicatorŪ (MBTIŪ)

The Myers-Briggs Type IndicatorŪ (MBTIŪ) is one of the most widely-used personality type assessments, and possibly the most accurate type of personality assessment when administered and interpreted by a professional counselor. The MBTI determines your preferences among four dichotomies (Extraversion-Introversion, Sensing-iNtuition, Thinking-Feeling, and Judging-Perceiving), and then also gives you information on your combination of the four preferences (one of 16 distinct personality types).

My MBTI type is: INTJ (3/04)
People of this type tend to be: autonomous, aloof, and intellectual; imaginative, innovative, and unique; critical, analytical, and logical; intellectually curious, driven to learn and increase their competence and knowledge; socially cautious and reserved; organized and definitive. The most important thing to INTJs is their independence and being able to live according to their own standards.

Since the MBTI measures preferences, your type can change throughout life and if you are taking the assessment in a "work life" or "personal life" mindset. My testing history has been: INTJ (1/02), INTP (7/99), IN(TF)P (98).

StrengthsQuest

"StrengthsQuest: Discover and Develop Your Strengths in Academics, Career, and Beyond" is an on-line instrument and book combo that helps identify your top five talents (called "Signature Themes"), teaches you how to build them into strengths, and provides insights into how you can apply them to academics and other areas of your life. Here are my Signature Themes:

• Self-Assurance
• Strategic
• Responsibility
• Achiever
• Input

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last updated: Sunday, 01-Jan-2006 16:34:18 EST