Since I started the Master's in Leadership Development program last fall, I have learned a lot about myself. Some of it I was aware of, while others of it I was not. We started our journey by taking a Jungian Typology assessment, liken to Meyers Brigg, and the results were me to a 'T'--I am officially an ESTJ. Throughout the lessons associated with that exercise, I have become more self-aware of my personality strengths and weaknesses and how to relate those into my professional life.
However, this quarter we were required to take the WorkPlace BigFive ProFile assessment. Personally, I think this was undoubtedly more accurate and 'right on' than the Jungian assessment. Had this assessment been given to others to complete about me, I am sure the results would be parallel to my own results. As the authors of The Owner’s Manual for Personality at Work point out, the bottom line for studying personality at work is specifically related to the performance of not only the individual but the company as well (28). It is crucial that I am self-aware of my own personality and how it affects and is affected by the variety of tasks and persons I work amongst daily.
A quick breakdown of the BigFive ProFile looks at five components: N need for stability; E extraversion; O originality; A accommodation; and C consolidation. If you can imagine, think of each on a spectrum—the far right (++) being the exact definition of each component, with the far left (--) being its precise opposite. Just as seen on a political, ideological spectrum, the center is moderate (=), a combination of both extremes. Another critical element to understand is that moderate BigFive scores are averages, not modes. The author of this text, Pierce J. Howard, Ph.D., also points out that blends of the different components/facets actually make for the ideal form of leadership (108).
With this very brief overview, my BigFive results are:
N=, E=, O=, A=, C+
This concise BigFive result is broken down within the assessment analysis by the different traits related to each of the five core components. Through careful review of the details (of which I will not bore you with at this time), I am confident in proclaiming that the concise, brief result seen above is exactly me!
I am excited to begin this journey over the next nine weeks as we decipher and better understand our individual and global results and how those implicate our professional, leadership careers. Some of the components I am keen to focus on are:
A= I am borderline between A= and A-. The explanation of this component focuses on the potential for my personality to come across as hostile, rude, hard-headed, and not a team player. As a leader, this is most definitely an area I need to focus special attention on as I am self-aware of this personality shortcoming.
C+ Though I do not think this is necessarily bad (since no one trait is better or worse), I do need to focus on this so that I am not negatively precived as overbearing, a workaholic, or inflexible. Again, this is an area that is critical to effective leadership and my self-awareness is my first step in adjusting my personality as needed. Of course, it is also crucial to be focused as a leader so adjustment is key to this component.
I highly suggest for anyone in a leadership role to look into the BigFive profile as it is already an important instrument in my own personal leadership toolbox.
-Colleen
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Colleen, this is a great blog! I had no idea there were such assessments that could be so useful to future leaders. I think that you are right, everyone needs to take some type of profile and use it as an instrument in their toolbox to become more effective leaders. The only way we can figure out what our strengths and weaknesses are is through some method of feedback, preferably one that is unbiased. I really enjoyed reading about your journey and what this assessment has done for you. I would like to know more about how the BigFive Profile is used in the workforce, more specific examples of how this assessment can be applied and what the benefits of doing such an assessment are. I agree that we all need to know what our strengths and weaknesses are in order to be more self-aware. This can only help us in our careers.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your explanations of each of the five components described in the BigFive Profile. Although I enjoyed finding out how you rated and which components you are going to be focusing on, I would like to know more about the spectrum of the five. I want to know more about the breakdown of the -- and the ++ and everything in between. What type of person scores high, low and medium and what does this say about them and the type of position they may be most successful in? How can one use and apply these results in their organization?
I am excited to see where your journey in the next 9 weeks takes you and look forward to your next blog.