At work I recently had a pretty detailed personality profile done (by Insights)
and I've copied and pasted it below in its entirety.
Enjoy :-) Commentary coming soon...
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PERSONAL
STYLE
Both alert and
outspoken, Nick can see the fatal flaw in a proposal or position but will often
argue (and often enjoys arguing) on either side of an issue from a position of
“devil’s advocate”. He prefers to be direct, results-oriented and thorough,
whilst not always taking time to give real consideration to others. Nick likes
working where he can achieve immediate, visible and tangible results. He can be
quite inventive and somewhat ruthless when something or someone is obstructing
him. He may have great difficulty relating to people he sees as over-concerned
with health, safety and comfort issues.
Nick is seen as
a natural leader with a hearty and frank style, who tends to take charge of any
situation in which he finds himself. With his keen analytical abilities and
good strategic thinking, Nick can almost always find the rationale for the
things that he wants to do. Whenever he is asked to assume responsibility, his
desire for control leads him to want to say “Yes”. He needs work that makes use
of his strongly creative drive. He tends to enjoy the company of like-minded
people and may be somewhat less interested in his opposite types, perceiving
them as drab, rather predictable and conventional. He is aggressive,
competitive, ambitious and seeks to win. He is an imaginative and creative visionary
who is a source of inspiration to most. He likes to have control of most
situations and can speak out clearly and forcibly when he sees the need to do
so. He is bored by facts, details and repetitive activities, especially those
not relevant to his current areas of interest. Logical, analytical and
critical, achieving power is important to him. He will be prepared to
constantly defend any stance or position he may have taken.
Personal
prestige is important to him and he appears as a natural, if somewhat
disorganised person with a tenacious drive towards future possibilities. In
developing the success of his “vision” he may unconsciously tend to compare
himself with the success of others, disassociating himself from the envy that
this process may generate. He finds it frustrating to do a lot of detail work
or attend to practical matters for long periods. Dealing with red tape can be
especially difficult. He may find it hard to prepare as thoroughly as he
should. If a job doesn't offer him new challenges, boredom and poor performance
may result.
His
inventiveness is linked to his extraversion which gives him imaginative ideas,
and an objective view of possibilities within the external world. He is less
suited to work that ties him down to routine details. He finds it hard to
concentrate for long periods on this kind of work, becoming bored and
frustrated. Nick is a good people manager because he has the ability to see
what may lie ahead and then communicate his vision to others. He is inventive, independent
and can be extremely perceptive of the potential contained within the views of others.
INTERACTING
WITH OTHERS
Nick has a
remarkable ability to get people to follow his lead. He requires continual change
in order to avoid becoming bored, and is rather power- and status-conscious. Nick
exudes charismatic charm and a natural ability to communicate well. He can be exceedingly
stubborn and independent when faced with change or new ideas if they are not
his own. Errors made by others may upset him and cause him to react loudly and
vociferously.
Usually verbal
and persuasive, he will seek or wish to withdraw quickly from confrontation unless
provoked to the extreme, when he may go “off the deep end” verbally.
Visualising future programmes or outcomes that seem impossible now, he may well
see them come to fruition months or even years later. Nick's ingenuity, warmth
and his understanding of others allows him to proceed through life with great
confidence. He is very effective in a leadership role, able to persuade others
of the value of his vision. A creative thinker, Nick is generally warm,
enthusiastic and confident of his own abilities. He makes stimulating company
with his witty and interesting conversational style. Curious and alert, Nick
prefers to understand rather than judge.
He is a good
innovator, negotiator, and manager. Nick can display quick humour and optimism.
He can be charming and stimulating company and will often enthuse with others
to become involved in his projects through his infectious personality. Having a
high need to be affirming of others and to receive affirmation from others, he
exhibits an infectious enthusiasm for living. He may need to slow down to
consider the feelings of people he is involved with and regularly listen to,
and accept, other people's opposing points of view. He may sometimes present
himself as an “expert”, fully knowledgeable on a subject and eager to educate
others about it. This can sometimes prove embarrassing when challenged by a
more qualified expert.
DECISION-MAKING
Nick finds
problems stimulating and is ingenious in tackling complex situations. He is driven
to think up many alternatives for a project or system due to his ability to
constantly see the big picture. In decision-making he may prefer to apologise
for exceeding his authority rather than getting permission in the first place.
He prefers to make decisions based on “gut feel” rather than on exhaustive and
repetitive analysis. Sometimes he makes poor choices by getting involved with
too many things at once. He is stimulated by difficulties and is most ingenious
in solving them.
He may
unconsciously manipulate the process to get his own way. He can be creative and
imaginative. With his enthusiasm and spontaneity, Nick brings a refreshing
approach to decision making. He tends to be influenced by the idea, rather than
the people behind the idea. He may be thinking of so many things that his
decisions may on occasions appear to be ill-considered.
He is outgoing,
versatile and quick-witted, and may have an endless supply of solutions to whatever
challenge he finds himself in. Nick is self-reliant and is not frightened to
take “the path of maximum resistance” in his efforts to produce the best
results. He will not allow systems and procedure to stand in the way of what he
believes is right. He enjoys the executive role and usually rises to challenges
although he needs someone around with enough common sense to bring up
overlooked facts and take care of important details. Through his intuitive feeling
personality, he may have difficulty in limiting himself to a single project and
usually prefers to keep many balls in the air.
STRENGTHS
Nick’s
strengths:
·
Finger
constantly on the pulse.
·
Constantly
juggling a large number of projects.
·
Zest
for the people and things around him.
·
Can
turn his hand to many things.
·
Dynamic
negotiator.
·
Constantly
strives towards self improvement.
·
Keen
sense of priorities.
·
Embraces
change readily.
·
Investigative,
interested and inventive.
·
Motivates
others to “achieve the impossible”.
Nick’s
weaknesses:
·
Fails
to appreciate the seriousness of certain situations.
·
Should
avoid china shops.
·
Doesn't
always consider the fuller implications of his actions.
·
Loses
interest when the initial challenge has gone.
·
Protects
his ego against all comers.
·
Generally
impulsive and overlooks important items.
·
May
ignore the practicalities.
·
“Tells”
rather than “asks”.
·
May
finish others' sentences for them.
·
Not
always attracted to what is practical.
VALUE TO THE
TEAM
·
Provides
charismatic leadership.
·
Adds
excitement (and unpredictability) to the team through intuition.
·
Sees
the “big picture”.
·
Is
always ready to offer service to colleagues.
·
Energises
the whole process with an infectious personality.
·
Brings
boundless energy to any situation.
·
Motivates
others with contagious enthusiasm.
·
Is
unhindered by existing procedures and practices.
·
Responds
well to immediate challenges.
·
Provides
creative input.
COMMUNICATION
Strategies
for communicating with Nick:
·
Provide
for both flexibility and structure within the meeting.
·
Support
his need for new ideas, material and challenges.
·
Generate
inspiration by recalling past successes.
·
Ask
for his thoughts and ideas.
·
Be
clear on completion details.
·
Respect
his “global” view.
·
Use
colourful and bold language in conversing.
·
Indulge
in speculation and offer opinions readily.
·
Encourage
his creative intuition.
·
Do
not obstruct opportunities for his development.
·
Be
aware of his becoming defensive by watching his body gestures.
·
Show
respect for his ideas and opinions.
When
communicating with Nick, DO NOT:
·
Be
surprised if he breaks the rules.
·
Assume
he has heard you.
·
Be
vague or leave things open to interpretation.
·
Assume
you will complete all of your agenda.
·
Emphasise
established processes.
·
Assume
that because you have “told it like it is”, this will make the slightest
difference
·
to
the way that he does things.
·
Speak
too slowly or hesitantly.
·
Get
carried away by his enthusiasm.
·
Challenge
his perception of himself.
·
Appear
slow, sluggish or too formal.
·
Talk
with him using a low-key voice tone.
·
Say
“any time will do”.
POSSIBLE
BLIND SPOTS
Seen by many as
a smooth talking persuader, Nick may seem indifferent to people who appear to
be less of an extraverted achiever than himself. He may be seen by others as
shallow or superficial due in part to his glib way with words and his
orientation with the future. His intense dislike for routine and predictable
events can make it difficult for him to notice or even acknowledge the
necessary details. Nick may not always appreciate or solicit the views of
others and might, as a result, miss a more suitable solution. In his enthusiasm
to make changes, Nick may not be fully aware of others' opposing views.
He has a hard
time separating his “persona” from the reality of who he is deep down, and may be
unaware of, or ignore stress signals until stopped in his tracks by a severe
emotional experience. He needs to resist the urge simply to perform and instead
try to more readily share who he really is. His active life keeps him so busy
that sometimes he fails to plan ahead. With his boldness and abundant energy,
he may give the impression that task is significantly more important than
people. Fast, energetic, dynamic and creative, his motto could be “If at first
you don't succeed, drop it and try something else!”, which can lead to
unfinished tasks.
He can
sometimes be impractical and may neglect routine details that need attention. Nick
needs to work toward making commitments to fewer projects so he completes more
of the ones he begins. Nick's tendency to become distracted from finishing the tasks
he starts sometimes may make him appear indifferent or disinterested to some.
DEVELOPMENT
AREAS
Nick may
benefit from:
·
Being
less vocal at group meetings.
·
Greater
realism, keeping to the point and avoiding constant changes.
·
Taking
time to prepare and/or study the predetermined agenda well in advance of the
·
meeting.
·
Paying
attention to every detail and developing a systematic methodology.
·
Making
compromises to maintain good relations.
·
Reflecting
on just how considerate some others think he is.
·
Being
left alone to work quietly.
·
Experiencing
from the past and focusing on the present.
·
Modifying
his sometimes harsh voice tone to more appropriate levels.
·
Accepting
rather than rejecting negative feedback.
MANAGEMENT
Managing
Nick - Nick’s Ideal Environment is one in which:
·
He
does not have to sit quietly in reflection for longish periods.
·
Presentation
aids are of the highest standards -colour, image and sound.
·
There
is excitement and stimulation.
·
His
organisational skills are used to the full.
·
He
is given maximum space and minimum time.
·
He
can change focus immediately to deal with opportunities as they arise.
·
Detail
and routine tasks are carried out by someone else.
·
There
is opportunity to create and express ideas and to develop these collectively.
·
There
may be noise, i.e. music or a general “buzz” of excitement.
·
Activities,
variety and change are constantly taking place.
Managing
Nick - Nick needs:
·
Freedom
from controls, supervision and details.
·
To
be left alone to get on with the job.
·
The
opportunity of networking during his working day.
·
Space
to become the top performer.
·
Support
for his style by providing back-up.
·
Only
the minimum of social chit-chat around him.
·
To
be aware of his frenetic work pace and recognise the effect this may have on
others.
·
To
hit the most balls in the shortest amount of time.
·
Established
support systems and procedures.
·
Limited
exposure to bureaucracy and paperwork.
Managing
Nick - Nick is motivated by:
·
Career
prospects that appear unlimited.
·
Status
symbols that represent success.
·
Seeing
the results of his efforts.
·
Participation
in lively arguments, debate and discussions.
·
Having
a cause he can believe in.
·
The
possibility of winning against the odds.
·
A
team of like minded, ambitious people.
·
Buzz
words, jargon and lively language.
·
Personal
appreciation and public recognition for a job well done.
·
Problems
that require his intuitive skills.
In managing
others, Nick may tend to:
·
Be
inconsistent in delegation.
·
Appear
somewhat shallow at times.
·
Fail
to listen actively to the views and opinions of others.
·
Overlook
the need for detailed analysis and support work.
·
Encourage
and push to achieve a high standard of performance.
·
Pay
lip-service to, or completely ignore, both positive and negative feedback.
·
Seek
to boost team performance through exceptional personal input.
·
Create
chaos through erratic organisational skills.
·
Keep
rules and regulations to the minimum.
·
Try
to do several things as once.
