Donnie Darko's Personality Test

I am a Visionary. Apart from when I choose to work from home; then I am an Architect. When travelling to or from the office, especially when picking up my daughter from nursery, I am a Mastermind. And when trying to herd groups of friends together for weekend trips away, I become a Commander.

In other words, ENTP, INTP, INTJ and ENTJ (with the one-word summaries above provided by https://www.truity.com/)

These are my assessment results from various undertakings of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test over the years, in which everybody's personality type is summarised by four letters. My results have varied according to mood; time of day; age; probably level of hunger.

I am not the first, and certainly won't be the last, to be curious about the validity, credibility and overall efficacy of MBTI, as well as its ubiquity within the corporate world, but I do recognise it plays a helpful part in team building(/bonding) and corresponding team dynamics.

According to Wikepdia, MBTI is "an introspective self-report questionnaire indicating differing psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions." From speaking to its advocates, I am told it can provide a sense of belonging; their MBTI results fully explaining and in some cases justifying their personality type and preferences, giving them an argument along the lines of "I'm sorry you don't like the way I've handled the situation, but I am an ISFJ". Which is akin to blaming the rain on bad weather. Or my daughter stating "My brain made me do it " to explain why she's drawn sharks on the wall.

Before MBTI practitioners become too upset with me, my motive here isn't to challenge MBTI itself, or the DiSC behavioural model (and its Jung-esque cousins) or indeed Donnie Darko's FEAR/LOVE high-school evaluation; instead my challenge is whether or not such a concept as a personality (or behavioural) type actually exists. Of course people are different; of course they perceive and interact with the world differently; of course they all have different strengths; and inevitably not everyone is going to get along with everybody else (an "Everything is Awesome!" dystopian Lego nightmare otherwise springs to mind). But a type implies a fixed, unwavering categorisation. My proclivity to challenge the status quo; my predilection for intuition over factual procrastination; my propensity to excessively use semi-colons; my debilitating dislike of Bohemian Rhapsody: these are traits that I exhibit, some more frequently than others, but a single personality "type" is not the sum of these parts.

Having said all that, inevitably there are certain behavioural traits exhibited within a workplace environment that stand out from the norm - some productive; some less so. Recognising them, understanding the motives for them and determining the means to accommodate them may well be beneficial.

Accordingly, here is a quick guide to several entrenched behaviours you may encounter during your career. There are, of course, ten of them, neatly summarised below (let's call it the Entrenched Behaviour Sims Assessment: EBSA?).

1) The Scotty

Would you trust someone who consistently halved their original estimate under pressure?

"Scotty, how long will it take to repair the engine?"

"Four hours at least, Captain."

"The Romulans will be here in two!"

"Then I'll do it in two."

Characteristics: Exaggeration (or deliberate understatement) of findings to make themselves look good when later challenged on said findings. For example, a team conclude cost-saving measures can be put in place to save ￡4m. The Scotty takes this to the board and states "We can save ￡3m." A disappointed board seek further cost-savings. Two weeks later the Scotty returns to the board and states "I have worked out a way to save a further ￡1m".

How to accommodate: Transparency is key. There are levels of confidence in any estimate; using the above example: "We are 100% confident we can save ￡3m, but ￡4m may be possible with more time to evaluate." The Scotty can still look good (albeit less so with this approach), but the whole team will benefit, under the careful guidance of the Scotty.

If you observe this behaviour once, be forewarned it's going to happen again.

2) The Tick

Rather than climbing the rungs of a career ladder, learning as they go, the Tick presses the buttons of a career elevator, learning little as they rise; eventually reaching the top via a checklist of experiences listed on a CV and extolled in interviews.

Characteristics: Career progression is everything to the Tick. They will agree to work abroad to list such a thing on their CV, but they will not attempt to integrate; to learn the language; to stay longer than the minimum expected. They will not do it for the sheer joy and curiosity of working within a completely different culture. Similarly, they will agree to change roles temporarily, which can be an admirable career step, but not for the Tick - their goal is to accumulate these experiences (knowledge) without every worrying about how they manifest as learnings (wisdom).

How to accommodate: They are as clinical in their moves and as cynical in their outlook as I make them sound, but fortunately, they are rare.

3) The Foghorn-Leghorn

Characteristics: Bombastic: self-assured and vocal but with minimal substance, the Foghorn-Leghorn struts the office, adding a physical presence but little else. After encounters with the Foghorn-Leghorn, you will ponder your interaction for a while before concluding that absolutely nothing has been gained.

How to accommodate: They can be entertaining - get the most of your encounters, but limit them. And remember they may volunteer to help lead your next exciting project, but your meetings will be long; they will be loud; they will not be productive.

4) The Hurdle-Planter

A favourite interview question of mine (alas, probably not after posting this): "When you encounter hurdles along the way, whether in or out of work, how do you deal with them?" Most candidates describe how they go over the hurdles, or around them, but what I really want them to say is that they somehow removed the hurdles. Only one person ever has.

Characteristics: A tendency to create problems rather than identify them and recommend appropriate mitigation. Worse still are the Hurdle-Planters who deliberately exaggerate a problem in an attempt to subsequently deify themselves when they identify a solution.

How to accommodate: Happy path. Always follow the happy path. Tell the Hurdle-Planter that their input and their observations are valid, but can be dealt with as part of the "20%" mop-up if they'd like to document them and formally propose a phase 2.

5) The Psychic-Vampire

As so excellently portrayed in "What we do in the shadows", psychic-vampires drain their victims of energy.

Characteristics: You may be full of enthusiasm, full of excitement about a new idea, but the Psychic-Vampire can rid you of such emotions. Strong allies of the Hurdle-Planter, the Psychic-Vampire can ruin any new initiative by spotting problems that don't exist, by intimating the approach is fundamentally flawed, or by reminding you of an action you've yet to address from a meeting two weeks' ago which quite clearly needs completing before you undertake anything new.

Within MBTI, there is a thorough exploration of how and where certain personality types get their energy from. Psychic Vampires get theirs from you - but not by generating additional energy - by draining yours.

How to accommodate: Avoid.

6) The Ting Bu Dong

The Chinese language (Mandarin in this case) is masterful in its ability to say so much with so few syllables. 听不懂: "Ting Bu Dong" being a wonderful example: literally "Hear don't understand".

Characteristics: Akin to Brian the dog from Family Guy, the Ting Bu Dong hears plenty and may be exceedingly well-read, but they fail to understand much of what they ingest; knowledge quite clearly failing to manifest itself as wisdom. They will refute this, recounting verbatim what they've been told, but applied knowledge is the enemy of the Ting Bu Dong.

How to accommodate: Most Ting Bu Dongs are not beyond redemption, and can be incredibly helpful for recalling facts. Work with them, and attempt to direct them; ask them how their knowledge can help shape an outcome, but don't expect a font of innovation.

7) The Wile E. Coyote

Characteristics: The master of perseverance, the Wile E. Coyote, keeps trying; and trying; and trying. They can be incredibly creative (subject to stock levels at ACME), but they never learn from their failings.

How to accommodate: Coach and support; the Wile E. Coyote's creative brain is an asset to any business. What's missing is that ability to understand why the anvil didn't land in the right place. Maybe an adjustment to the drop zone is all that's required, rather than purchasing all those sticks of dynamite.

8) The Ex-Goth (and other former counter-culture members)

Characteristics: Two distinct groups here - those who look back on their youthful exploits (and associated piercings/tattoos) with embarrassment, and those who look back fondly to a time when it didn't matter what other people thought; when thinking differently meant resisting the easy path, challenging the norm and doing what felt right.

Translated to adulthood, the latter of this group can be the risk tasters who think laterally, propose alternative solutions and avoid falling into pack mentality. They can be charmingly mischievous but retain that innate resistance to conformity.

The former of this group may be outwardly expressing regret because they feel a need to project a more mature outlook in the workplace. Or they may genuinely regret it. They shouldn't.

How to accommodate: Resistance to conformity doesn't mean the ex-Goth is incapable of "fitting in". Far from it. They can be the leader, the constructive challenger, and provide that spark of inspiration you've been lacking.

But remember, they do think differently...

9) The Cat from Hong Kong Phooey

Poor Hong Kong Phooey; a well-intentioned bloke (/dog) with very limited super hero crime fighting skills. Without his cat, Spot, he'd be nothing. Spot knows this, continually solving the riddles his boss can't, and ensuring the bad guys are captured without ever letting his secret out. Consequently, Hong Kong Phooey is never made aware that there could be one or two things to improve upon.

Characteristics: The Cat covers for his/her boss for a number of reasons. Genuine fondness; imposter syndrome; a lack of ambition to become the boss; a sense of duty; etc. Regardless of reason, the Cat's boss will fail to learn (incompetence not withstanding). Ultimately the Cat will be appraised by the very person they're covering for, which makes for a very awkward performance review.

How to accommodate: If you see this behaviour repeatedly in the office, try to determine its cause. Why doesn't the Cat seek recognition? Why the persistent covering for their boss? Can't the output of a task be considered a joint effort instead?

10) The Career Limiting Blogger

Characteristic: A tendency to share tongue-in-cheek views on Linked In despite the risk that articles not about self-empowerment, positive-thinking or technology start-ups may well be frowned upon. In this case, sharing with the full knowledge that actively encouraging the differences; the nuances in the workplace, rather than attempting to soften everyone's edges towards a grey, amorphous blob of mediocracy may not be everyone's cup of tea. But within any workplace, we can collaborate without merging; we can fail (and learn) without blame; we can collectively succeed without neutralising the non-maleficent quirks of those we work alongside.

I share with the awareness you may well disagree with me, but this is actively encouraged within the EBSA? system.

And of course, people can exhibit more than one of the behavioural traits listed above (so beware the Psychic-Vampire Tick, a superhero nemesis surely in the making).

How to accommodate: There's a box around you. If you think beyond its walls you never know what may lay outside. If only there were a phrase that summarised this neatly...

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Hopefully this anecdotal study of workplace behaviours tallies with your own experiences. There are, of course, more behaviours I have encountered and would love to describe, but it's late as I type, and I am therefore no longer a Visionary.