Career Tips - Issue # 23 (Sept. 2005)

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The Hidden Hand of Your Personality

A gentleman by name Mr Intuitive (not his real name) recently shared with me his work-related problem that could cost him his job. He worked for a multi-national company and his job involved quantitative analysis of equities--basically data crunching work.

His problem: He was prone to committing mistakes in his work. So much so that his boss had already given him an ultimatum to either improve or leave the job.

As we discussed the issue, he casually mentioned that he had once taken a personality test and he remembered he was INTJ. The moment he uttered those four letters, I felt I saw something: The hidden hand of his personality playing its game in his work.

The importance of personality cannot be overstated. When our personality and work match, we feel comfortable and do well. The opposite is true as well--mismatch can result in job dissatisfaction and poor performance.

Very often, inter-personal problems between team members or between a boss and a subordinate are also the result of mismatch of personalities.

So what's personality?

Personality is one of those vague things we all realise we have but don't know what it is. It's like fragrance of a flower-you know it's there but you can't touch it. Basically, personality is our natural style, temperament or behaviour.

According to the Personality Type, one of the widely used theories, there are four dimensions of a person's personality:

1. Extraversion-Introversion (E-I): This dimension determines where you like to focus your attention. How do you get energised?

Some people have an outward orientation (E type). They show a spark or higher energy level when they meet others. They are good at connecting with people.

Others, however, are inward looking (I type). These guys are happy to be left alone and often find it awkward to deal with strangers. They like to reflect and think deeply before taking action.

Who are you--E or I?

2. Sensing-Intuition (S-N): How do you prefer to get information?

There are people who are great at using their five senses to gather information (S type). They are good at handling facts and figures, and are generally practical. They show patience with routine details. They are good at precise work.

Some people, however, get information through intuition or what we call sixth sense (N type). They can see interconnections in seemingly unconnected events and situations. They dislike routine details and are prone to making errors of fact. They like to imagine.

Who are you--S or N?

3. Thinking-Feeling (T-F): This dimension reveals how a person prefers to make decisions.

Some people like to think and logically arrive at decisions (T type). For them, reasoning is more important than feelings. They are generally seen as cold and calculative. These people may often hurt others' feelings. They don't mind firing/reprimanding people.

Some people, however, base decisions on their feelings (F type). They are perceived to be warm and friendly. They like to please others. They are perceived to be sympathetic.

Who are you--T or F?

4. Judging-Perceiving (J-P): This dimension measures how a person prefers to deal with the outer world.

Some people are systematic and like to plan, set goals and work in an organised manner (J type). They don't like pending work; they like to finish it before taking a breather.

Some people, however, are "messy" (P type). These people are spontaneous, flexible and take the life as it comes. They would often start a new project only to get bored with it after some time.

Who are you--J or P?

As you can see each of the four dimensions has two preferences. Combinations of the above preferences result in 16 distinct personality types:

ISTJ, ISFJ, INFJ, INTJ

ISTP, ISFP, INFP, INTP

ESTP, ESFP, ENFP, ENTP

ESTJ, ESFJ, ENFJ, ENTJ

Experts say everyone conforms to one of the 16 personality types.

>>CAREER TIP: Knowing our own personality is an important piece of self-knowledge. It helps in many ways:

First, you know what kind of work may or may not suit you. For example, if you are an Introversion type, quite likely, you won't be comfortable in sales type of work where you have to deal with people. Studies show a correlation between personality types and occupations. For example, one study showed that people doing well in creative occupations, such as architects, writers, research scientists, etc., were mostly intuitive (N) type of people. Another study showed majority of the accountants were ST (sensing-thinking) type.

Second, knowing that each of us has his/her own personality or style helps you to deal with other people with greater understanding. If you find your colleague often commits errors of facts (forgetting certain details, small mistakes, etc.), it could be he/she is an Intuitive person (N type). And you can advise the person to take extra care.

Third, once you know your own personality, you can balance your own behaviour. For example, if you know you often make decisions based on feelings, you can deliberately bring in a little more thinking each time an important decision has to be made.

The bottom line: The hidden hand of your personality is playing its game behind the scene. The question is whether you can make it play to your advantage and success.

Note: If you are interested to know more about this subject, please feel free to contact me. I can direct you to certain books and online resources.

Atul Mathur

Atul Mathur

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***Copyright 2005 Atul Mathur***

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