Last night on my Leadership Wyoming call, one of my classmates was explaining astrology. I am a Pisces which I always thought was a terrible misunderstanding since I identified more with Aquarius.  Pisces was described to me as dreamy and artistic, while Aquarians were smart and independent.  Which would you choose?  However, upon further research, I learned that Pisceans were also empathetic, creative, idea generators, and like to make people happy. Now I’m ok with it.  As if I have any control.

This got me thinking of personality traits and how knowing your strengths and weaknesses brings understanding and some measure of clarity into who you are and why you act the way you do.

I was 40 when I took my first legitimate personality test.  When I say legitimate, I mean something other than the “What Kind of Animal Are You?” (otter) or “What Kind of Pizza Are You?” (Hawaiian) sorts of quizzes.  In 2008, I was a member of the CVC’s third CiViC Leadership Class and everyone took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality inventory before attending the retreat.  The questionnaire identifies a person’s preference in how they see the world and how they make decisions.

According to the Myers-Briggs test, I was a solid ENFP.  This means an extroverted (I know, shocker) sensing, feeling, perceiving type. That was the first time I ever thought about extroversion vs. introversion. Clearly, not everyone is as outgoing as I am, but everyone else is just quiet, right? Turns out, being an extrovert means less that I’m loud and chatty and more that I get my energy from other people. Introverts recharge with alone time.

Because I’m a big idea person, my impatience with people who ask silly questions like, “How will we afford this?  Do you have time to complete this?” was explained as well.  It turns out, like the age-old physics lesson, for all actions, there is an opposite and equal reaction.  Big idea people are super entertaining and lots of fun, but we need our opposites to execute the big ideas with details and real plans.  Who knew?

Enneagram is a system of personality typing that describes patterns in how people interpret the world and manage their emotions.  It’s kind of hot right now so, of course, I had to type myself.  I’m a Seven which means I’m extroverted, optimistic, versatile, and spontaneous.  Are you seeing a trend? What’s not to love about those characteristics? Try their complementary traits – overextended, scattered, and undisciplined.  Gulp.  Truth. Squirrel!

Then there is the Hogan Assessment that my Leadership Wyoming class took.  It has three reports – Interpersonal Behavior, Personality, and Motives, Values, and Preferences (MVP).  It measures fun-sounding traits like hedonism, sociability, and colorful from 0 to 100.  We were told that having a high or low score in any of these indicators should not be assumed to be good or bad, but to pay attention to them because they all have the potential to derail your professional or personal lives.

Let’s start with the big numbers.  I scored a 100 on Interpersonal Sensitivity, so I am obviously a caring, decent human.  My sociability number was 94 with hedonism coming in at a strong 86.  That means that not only will I always bring the party, I expect everyone to want to have as much fun as I do. Again, who wouldn’t want to hire me?

Let’s have a look at the other end of the spectrum.  I scored a big zero on diligence.   My science score was seven.  Attention to pesky details, research, thoroughness, and follow-through are all challenges for me.  Best factoid of the Hogan? I had a high sub score on Fantasized Talent, meaning I am convinced I have unusual talents and am born for greatness.  Are you kidding me? Of course, I am.  Fantasy, my leg.

I give you my personality insights for a reason.  Have you ever examined yours? The more we know, the better we can be.  Once I realized I need analysts and skeptics to make my work and decisions better, that slowing down is better than speeding up, and focus is not a bad word, I started to work on harnessing my enthusiasm and using my powers for good.  When I surround yourself with people who contrast my personality qualities, the outcome is always improved.  It may not always be smooth, but it’s definitely improved.

What could you be doing differently to improve your work and relationships? There are plenty of free and decent personality assessments out there.  It couldn’t hurt to take a look and then do some self-examination with the results.  You might ask your friends and coworkers if they agree with the findings. It’s all a quest for improvement.

Ultimately, I may not know when Mercury goes into retrograde in my horoscope, but I do know that my birthday is rapidly approaching, and I will be the life of my own party.  I’ll just forget to send out invitations until the day before.