How many personality quizzes have you done in your life? Can you event count them?
Or are you super skeptical about what they do for you?
Guess what, I’ve done a fair few of those quizzes and love talking about them. So let me share my experiences and how I think they might be able to help you in your professional and personal life.
How personality tests can help your business
There are a number of personality tests out there and you may think of them what you want but I personally found their results strangely accurate. What’s more, they actually help me in my business.
It’s crucial to understand why you do things the way you do and also understand that others might function completely differently.
That sounds like a no-brainer but how often have we been in a situation where someone else makes a decision (or is completely paralised by the challenge to decide something) that makes no sense to you?
The more you pay attention to your own thoughts and behaviours, the easier it is to notice the differences in approaches for others around you.
And that’s where the magic of personality tests comes in. It’s a way to reflect on yourself and others. That works in your personal as well as your professional life.
A few years ago, in my last job, my manager Stacey made everyone in her team take the Meyers-Briggs Test. It was just for fun but the results she got back actually made her realise that she’s not always been treating and managing us in a way that would resonate with everyone.
Lightbulb moment!
So let me share a few personality tests with you that I found particularly interesting.
Myers-Briggs Test
This is probably the best-known personality test out there. You’ll be one of 16 personalities and each has a different purpose and characteristics. You can take the test for free but the website also offers a paid option to learn more about each type.
Every result comes with a list of celebrities you share characteristics with. The website also goes into detail in how you act and perceive situations, relationships and life. It’s super interesting and I personally find it very accurate.
I am a Turbulent Advocate: INFJ-T
That means I’m an introvert who is intuitive and makes decisions based on feelings and judgment. The opposite would be ESTP (extraverted, observant, thinking, prospecting).
What they say about Advocates:
- They’re idealistic and principled and want to make a difference.
- They seek purpose and are committed to making the world a better place
- They move through life with a clear sense of their values
- Many Advocates see helping others as their mission in life
- They value deep, authentic relationships with others
Let’s move on to another test…
Enneagram Personality Test
The Enneagram divides personalities in 9 types, each with their own motivations, fears, and internal dynamics. Each of the 9 personality types has its own driving force, which is centered around a particular emotion.
This test is free to take and you can learn more about your result by either paying for a report or just searching for more info online.
The Enneagram types are called The Perfectionist (1), The Helper (2), The Achiever (3), The Individualist (4), The Investigator (5), The Loyalist (6), The Enthusiast (7), The Challenger (8) and The Peacemaker (9). You’re most likely a combination of a few of them but there’ll be one that’s dominant.
I’m a type 1: The Perfectionist
What they say about 1s:
- They strive to be good and honourable.
- They want to live a life with purpose.
- They have a fear of being morally flawed, or otherwise seen as imperfect.
- They’re coping by being rigidly disciplined and very hard on themselves.
- They have a natural talent for teaching and instructing.
But your personality also affects your financial habits and money mindset. I recently found another quiz, focussing on just that. I’ve been doing a lot of money mindset work over the past couple of years so this one was really fascinating for me!
Sacred Money Archetype Quiz
There are 8 money archetypes and once again, they have different preferences and priorities. The whole idea around these traits was created by Kendall SummerHawk but I’ve stumbled over it via Denise DT, the Money Mindset Coach who wrote “Get rich, lucky bitch” (one of my favourite books).
The Archetypes are The Accumulator, The Alchemist, The Celebrity, The Connector, The Maverick, The Nurturer, The Romantic, and The Ruler.
Again, you’ll most likely have elements of all of these in you but there’ll probably be one that’s dominant. For me, this is The Accumulator, closely followed by The Alchemist and The Nurturer.
Accumulator – The Inner Banker
- Accumulators love money but they like to keep it “for a rainy day”. Financial stability is very important to them.
- They don’t believe in debt.
- They pride themselves on getting great deals and living below their means.
Accumulators are trustworthy, disciplined, frugal, good at saving, and fair. But they feel guilty when spending money or investing, which isn’t always the best position to be in when you’re running a business. We all know, you have to spend money to make money…
My other two dominating archetypes are The Alchemist and The Nurturer.
The Alchemist – the Inner Idealist
The Alchemist is creative, idealistic, great at manifesting, and can create money in unusual ways. But they struggle to create money goals and can feel judgemental about money.
The Nurturer – The Inner Sponsor
The Nurturer has a strong compulsion, need, and commitment to care for others. This can come at the expense of themselves so naturally, they aren’t the best at creating or sticking to boundaries.
One other way to learn more about yourself is actually not a personality test but it’s a system that combines astrology, the I Ching, Kabbalah and chakra system to create a blueprint of you. It’s called Human Design.
Human Design
Human Design is a very specific way to learn more about your personality, your emotions and energy centers. More specifically, Human Design breaks down how you are wired to make decisions and work in society. The system devides the population in 5 energy types.
You can create your chart (your result) for free on a number of websites. I did mine here.
Instead of answering questions, all you need is your time and date of birth, and your birthplace. To understand what your chart really says about you, you can trawl through the internet for all the free information that’s out there or book a reading with someone.
The Energy types are Manifestor, Generator, Manifesting Generator, Projector, and Reflector.
Every type has a different responsibility and job in society. It’s all about how you exchange energy with the world around you, as well as how we make decisions.
Apart from the energy type, every person also has a profile (that’s the numbers) and an authority. The whole concept of Human Design is incredibly complex but once you dive into it, it’s fascinating.
I’m a Manifesting Generator 4/6
MG (energy type)
- MGs are moving fast and love multi-tasking – they’re designed to be doing more than one thing at once
- born to do what they love to do
- to be truly fulfilled at work, they need to be able to blaze trails and forge new paths, as well as respond to projects and devote energy to bringing to life the vision of others
4/6 (profile)
- bringing people together
- lots of their identity comes from their connections
- it’s important to be in a community of like-minded souls
- natural role model and leadership quality which develops through community
- here to be of service
Your business personality
So, how do all these personality tests help you in your business?
First of all, it helps you to understand yourself better – what you value, how you make decisions, who you get on with and why. That means you can be much clearer in your own brand and business messages. If you know what you want and why, it’ll be much easier to articulate.
Secondly, doing this kind of reflection work will allow you to understand other people better. It will be easier to see why some people need lots of time to research, read all your testimonials and ask loads of questions before they buy while others make most of their decisions spontaneously or because it feels right.
You can ask specific questions when getting feedback to understand your audience better. And with this knowledge, you’ll know how to speak to them in a way they appreciate it – even if that might not be what you need when you’re about to make a purchase.
And let’s not forget that communicating who you are and what you care about, gives others the opportunity to connect with you. Whether that’s because you shared your Myers-Briggs result, your Human Design profile or your obsession with your pet.
People crave connection more than anything. We want to belong, feel seen and heard. We can only do that by sharing more of ourselves and give our audience the opportunity to find those parts of us that resonate with them.
Personally, these personality tests make it easier for me to show up in my business in a way that feels right to me. I don’t need to be quirky and loud, knowing that I’m an introvert who seeks purpose and wants to make an impact. That can define my offers and the way I present myself and my work.
My audience will tell me whether they like what I share online – by engaging (or not), by subscribing to, or unsubscribing from my emails. If what I speak about online, representing my business, does not resonate, I will feel the impact. I can then either change my content to please those who can’t relate or focus on those who already enjoy what I’m sharing. It all depends on whether I feel like my business, my audience and my own personality are aligned.
Conclusion
You might think of personality tests whatever you want. At a minimum, they’ll be entertaining. But they can also tell you a lot about yourself and how you perceive the world around you. This, in turn, will help you understand others better – and that’s how you run a successful business: Understanding what your audience or clients want and need from you and how you can serve them well.
I encourage you to do some of these personality tests and see what comes up for you. If you did any of those tests, I’d love it if you shared your result with me! Send me a message and let’s talk about what you can do with this information.
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